Meetings so few and far between :( - Al-Anon Family Group

youfoundme · ~*Service Worker*~

Meetings so few and far between :(

abbyal · ~*Service Worker*~

If you want to start a meeting contact WSO , they will send you a packet and a book with guidelines etc , Al-Anon Service Manual .. As long as you stick to the literature only you cant go wrong . To get started in your area attend the next district meeting and see if they can help you with rent for a few months . goodluck- Some AA meetings are open they help to give some insite into the nature of this disease,I attended a few early on in my recovery listening to AA members share about where they had been and what thier lives were like now gave me hope that maybe someday my husb would find what they found. After a few months I stopped going as I realized it was still all about him and frankly I was tired of thinking about him . i enjoy AA speakers at a convention I participate in roundups when asked and often hear things I need to hear that help me in my program .

-- Edited by abbyal on Wednesday 4th of May 2011 12:08:20 PM

RLC · ~*Service Worker*~

I agree with Abbyal. I'll offer and added suggestion. You can also ask someone in your meeting who the DR (District Representive) is for your area. Get his/her phone number and I'm sure they will be more than happy to help and walk you through the process. I have been involved in our district for the past three years, and during that time there have been 4 new groups start up. It's a simple process and very rewarding. Go for it.

HUGS,
RLC

Aloha · ~*Service Worker*~

I've actually found that I really enjoy AA meetings every now and then. If I take away the discussions about staying sober, I find I completely relate to the "stinking thinking" shared by AA and Al-Anon members alike.

That's awesome you're considering starting a meeting. We had several meetings started out where I live by one member because she just saw the need. She'd get the meeting rolling and then was quick to turn the running of it over to the group, so she was never held entirely responsible for the meetings she started. She's actually moved to the mainland now, and yet all the meetings she started when she was here are still running and a couple are pretty strong and healthy.

youfoundme · ~*Service Worker*~

Ok so I don't have to be at every single meeting forever? I mean I was wondering what would happen if I were sick or had something come up. So I will look into that and find out. I have no money myself to fund anything, so I will call the WSO and find out more. I will ask them about the DR and find out if there is enough of a need here too, maybe that is why the meetings are so sparse? The reason I come to these boards is because it is easier but I think getting out will make me do the work more strongly....thanks all

tommyecat · ~*Service Worker*~

YFM,

Have you considered going to open A A meetings as well? That for me is another source of meetings if Alanon is few and far between.

Aimee · Veteran Member

I can totally relate. There are a shortage of meetings where I live and the few I've been to have just not been what I was looking for. I've been getting a lot from the open AA meetings. I go to my AH's home group every Saturday (my sponsor does as well) and it's been really awesome. There are lots of people our age (lots of married couples too) and it is a really strong group with many many years of sobriety under their belts. My opinion is that the only difference between an AA and an Al-anon is our solution before recovery didn't include alcohol. As far as the spiritual sickness and character defects I think we have a lot in common with our A's. Just my humble opinion :)

There are also TONS of Al-anon speaker MP3s available for download online. My two favorite sites are dog on the roof .com and xa- speakers .org (no spaces) I put these on my iPod and they are really great.

~ Aimee

youfoundme · ~*Service Worker*~

Aimee, thank you for sharing that information with me. And I humbly agree with you, that the only difference is our solution to our problems...his being substances and mine being people... Thanks :) I will look for some open AA meetings too. And thats great about the MP3s. I have an HTC Inspire phone that can do that stuff with Android I believe. I will find out :) Thanks again!

hotrod · ~*Service Worker*~

Hi

I agree attending open AA meetings does add to my recovery I found that attending alanon meetings, was all about MY recovery. I could not share at AA meetings , since I was not an alcoholic and sharing in an alanon meeting was a huge part of my recovery.

When I worked the steps in alanon , I discovered that one of my defects was that I made myself invisible, invalidated my needs and went along instead of validating who I was.

Sharing in alanon meetings was my first step in overcoming these issues.

Take what you l ike and leave the rest

-- Edited by hotrod on Thursday 5th of May 2011 01:03:47 PM

Aimee · Veteran Member

Thanks Betty! Your post made me realize that maybe not being able to share in the aa meeting is one of the reasons I feel so comfortable there. I have a huge fear of public speaking. Hopefully in time that will change as I grow in my program. :)

~Aimee

youfoundme · ~*Service Worker*~

Betty, I have no problem whatsoever sharing in Alanon and if I could talk in AA, I would probably say, "I have the same disease as you, only I use people as a drug instead of alcohol".... (or drugs). I really understand why it isn't ok for alanonics to talk at AA, but its only the difference of a word...they use a substance to cover their pain, we use people or things .... I want to go to Alanon, and work the steps. I want it so badly. I am going to pray for some guidance.....

The material presented here is not Al-Anon Conference Approved Literature. It is a method to exchange information, ideas, feelings, problems and solutions on a personal level.