Subscribed Members

Stepping into the Light at the End of the Tunnel

Ironically, I spent the first nine months of my existence in a dark place, a sort of tunnel, sheltered from the light, from real life, as it were. Then, I was thrust into the light, into the real world. But, over time, I found this light blinding and painful. All I knew to do was to look for a dark place to escape back to, somewhere that made me feel better.

By |2023-09-22T16:08:36-05:00May 22, 2021|Comments Off on Stepping into the Light at the End of the Tunnel

Meetings, Meetings, Meetings

A woman in AA told me after she spoke in a meeting, quoting Chapter 5 in Alcoholics Anonymous, that “God could and would, if He were sought.” And that’s how I did it. By letting God do it. Because I couldn’t. But God could and would - and did. But I had to go to meetings to learn things like that. “Meetings, meetings, meetings, meetings, meetings ... ” That’s what they told me. “Just keep bringing the body.” (SA 158)

By |2023-09-22T15:53:01-05:00May 22, 2021|Comments Off on Meetings, Meetings, Meetings

He Came to Believe and Found a Life of Unlimited Service and Fulfilling Relationships

My name is Bill, and I am a recovered sexaholic. My sobriety date is September 4, 1993, and for that I am never sufficiently grateful. When I arrived in SA, I was hopeless and suicidally depressed from over 35 years of untreated addiction.

By |2025-08-22T01:40:13-05:00May 22, 2021|Comments Off on He Came to Believe and Found a Life of Unlimited Service and Fulfilling Relationships

Committing to the Sobriety Definition Unites the Galway Group

In February 1995 an Irish SA member living in the USA, was informed by a friend of another “S Fellowship’’ meeting in Galway. He carried the following message to that meeting: “You are all newcomers. You will only relapse back into your disease unless you get a sponsor, make calls and have fellowship after the meetings.”

By |2023-09-22T15:37:37-05:00May 22, 2021|Comments Off on Committing to the Sobriety Definition Unites the Galway Group

Rigorous Honesty in Meetings is Such a Huge Force

The first characteristic that makes face-to-face meetings attractive for me is openness and honesty. During the meetings there is an “evil monkey” inside my head, constantly whispering to me, telling me how different I should be to the person that I am, whom I should compare myself to, and what other people think of me. But I am not the person the monkey describes.

By |2023-09-22T15:05:34-05:00May 22, 2021|Comments Off on Rigorous Honesty in Meetings is Such a Huge Force

Recovery is Like a Three-Legged Stool

When I think of meetings, I think of something that my sponsor said early in our relationship: “Recovery in SA is like a three-legged stool, you have to have a sponsor, the Steps and the fellowship in order for the stool to remain standing.” Meetings are where the fellowship happens.

By |2025-08-06T12:23:46-05:00May 22, 2021|Comments Off on Recovery is Like a Three-Legged Stool

Building Positive Sobriety in Bogotá

When I came to SA in 2006, we were holding the meetings in the building of a foundation where a fellow member worked, but soon after it closed and we had to move. For about a year we were meeting in a park, sometimes in the rain, sometimes in the sun. Then we moved to the garage of another foundation, which also closed its doors soon thereafter.

By |2023-09-22T14:54:03-05:00May 22, 2021|Comments Off on Building Positive Sobriety in Bogotá

Hearing God’s Voice by Keeping Silent

Two months ago, a member told me that several members of our fellowship were angry with me. I told the situation in a very long audio message to my sponsor. He suggested to me to shut up for a while and to not speak in meetings. He also told me that he had experienced that himself, which had been a very enriching experience for him.

By |2023-09-22T14:50:18-05:00May 22, 2021|Comments Off on Hearing God’s Voice by Keeping Silent

Strong Meetings Need Committed Members

I have no doubt that if every SA meeting was conducted along the lines as prescribed in our White Book (185-187), our fellowship would have thousands of strong meetings globally and many, many thousands of members with strong recovery.

By |2023-09-22T14:46:17-05:00May 22, 2021|Comments Off on Strong Meetings Need Committed Members

Ask an Old-timer

There I was sitting at an AA meeting in early Feb ‘84, when a man announced he was starting an SA group in Nashville, TN. I surrendered six weeks later when I met at his apartment for my first SA meeting. Soon we outgrew his apartment and moved to my office building.

By |2025-08-06T12:24:13-05:00May 21, 2021|Comments Off on Ask an Old-timer