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.
Well, the subject is a bit obvious...lol. I'm wondering how to go about finding an Alanon sponsor. I know I need one, but I have no idea where to begin looking.
Hi, in the UK we have a leaflet entitled "What's Sponsorship All About?" Very useful. I assume you can contact your General Service Office and request a literature order form which will list all items available. There are also several entries in the daily readers (listed at the back) which may give you 'food for thought'. Hope you get some info and find someone you can relate to. Good Luck!
I know I need a sponsor, too. I am nervous about getting one, though...I am going to have to trust my HP to bring me one when I am really ready.
I am a very stubborn thing, and hate to have people tell me what to do, I often rebel against other people's ideas, even when it is for my own good. I am working hard on this character defect of mine! I used to think a sponsor just was someone who "bossed us around". Now, I know better.
Hi Ashraven! There is a brochure put out by the Al-Anon Family Groups called "Sponsorship, What It's All About". Any meetings where they put out literature is likely to have these, or they can be obtained from your local Al-Anon office. It's a very nice summary of how to go about the business of looking for a sponsor and what to expect, or not expect, from that relationship. It also covers what it means to BE a sponsor (and also what it doesn't mean). Very helpful! Basically what you are looking for in a sponsor is someone who seems to be truly committed to their own recovery and a bit further along with it. You want their experience, strength and hope, for sure, which could involve some strait-talking, no-nonsense, do it for yourself stuff you may not like sometimes, but if it's what we need, it can be the catalyst for enormous growth. But a sponsor can't do for you what you must do for yourself, and it's really up to you how you use their inspiration or strength, or walk away if you just can't handle it. It's OK to try different sponsors too, until you find one you can really work with. Or you can have a sponsor just for a particular phase or step. I've worked through Step Four a few times, each time with a different sponsor--and one time we worked the step four at the same time and became a sponsor for each other that way. Which of course helped us go through Step Five as well (Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs).
Look for someone you admire, or who seeems to have something you want. That's the key.
Good luck with the process (which doesn't have to be perfect, just good enough!)
Being "willing" helps. I love hearing people's stories of how they met their sponsor I have to say. I wish there were a book on that I would just devour it.
