download microsoft mappoint 2009 buy photoshop elements 7 cheap buy symantec winfax pro 10.4 buy microsoft mappoint 2009 north america dvd ripper platinum 5 buy windows 7 original windows 2008 server purchase indesign software cost conceptdraw office download dreamweaver mac cs3 buy illustrator cs4 where to buy windows xp embedded buy photoshop canada buy windows xp installation cd where to buy windows xp cheap buy vista product key purchase microsoft office download windows 7 discount college students buy adobe premiere pro cs4 buy pdf converter professional 6 best price autocad architecture 2009 download uniblue registrybooster 2009 buy windows vista upgrade windows 7 purchase adobe cs4 design premium purchase vista home premium cheap xilisoft video converter ultimate 5.1 buy windows 7 israel buy navisworks manage 2009 download autocad electrical 2009 buy dreamweaver cheap purchase dragon naturallyspeaking 10 download autodesk autocad 2009 cheap photoshop cs buy office 2007 vlk cheap microsoft office xp buy adobe cs4 design premium mac windows 7 professional price comparison windows vista price india pixologic zbrush 3 mac price buy microsoft office suite buy cyberlink powerproducer 5 ultra buy powerdvd 9 ultra photoshop elements 8 purchase sony acid pro 7 price buy windows 7 ultimate upgrade buy windows xp activation code purchase microsoft office 2007 professional best price adobe photoshop for mac windows 7 price korea download autocad architecture 2009 download windows 2008 server r2 buy windows xp in india buy corel draw 14 purchase microsoft works 9 microsoft office 2007 price list windows 7 ultimate oem best price buy adobe audition 3 conceptdraw pro download cubase 4 cost autodesk mudbox price best price acrobat 9 pro purchase adobe captivate 3 download after effects cs3 download ashampoo burning studio 7 windows xp price in bangalore buy windows vista online download cubase 4 download windows 7 cost oem parallels desktop 4.0 download cheap windows 7 upgrade student cheap photoshop alternative master collection cs4 system requirements buy windows vista singapore windows 7 discount college students cheap acronis true image 11 windows vista price list cheap windows xp pro oem best price guitar pro 5 adobe presenter 6 download download dvd ripper platinum 5 buy windows 7 oem australia discount photoshop elements 8 microsoft office 2007 discount student buy cubase sx purchase windows 7 ultimate oem best price acrobat 9 purchase vista license buy windows 7 egypt download mcafee total protection 2010 purchase windows 7 download best price adobe contribute cs4 buy windows vista enterprise windows 7 discount student uk buy windows vista business 64 bit buy lightroom for mac cheap acrobat 9 windows vista buy product key buy windows 7 64 buy avid media composer 3.5 windows vista business download encarta 2009 full download get zonealarm antivirus 8 adobe premiere pro mac buy photoshop elements 6 windows 7 ultimate sale price buy ashampoo burning studio 8 buy microsoft office visio parallels 5 best price windows 7 buy oem powerdvd 8 download buy microsoft expressions buy office cheap adobe creative suite 3 master collection download cheap windows xp professional buy dreamweaver cs2 windows xp price india windows 7 price nz buy windows xp activation key buy autocad mechanical 2010 windows 7 professional 32-bit oem purchase dragon naturally speaking buy microsoft frontpage software microsoft office 2003 best price windows 7 home premium 64 oem buy office 2007 student product key buy photoshop lightroom for mac download mappoint europe 2009 buy microsoft vista online after effects mac system requirements autodesk maya 2009 download buy windows xp australia purchase windows xp professional full version buy adobe acrobat 8 standard buy windows xp service pack 3 buy adobe captivate 3 windows 7 price south africa buy microsoft office 1997 windows xp buy uk buy windows 7 india online cheap adobe photoshop software buy microsoft office xp professional where can i buy microsoft office 2010 quarkxpress for mac download buy abbyy finereader 9.0 buy windows 7 system builder windows r2 download windows vista sales norton 360 deals buy windows 7 aus smith micro poser 7 download buy windows 7 usa purchase adobe captivate 3 best price autosketch 9 purchase robohelp buy windows 7 family pack australia microsoft office 2003 product key best price adobe dreamweaver cs4 windows 7 ultimate cheapest price buy windows vista ultimate key download adobe illustrator cs3 buy cubase 5 dongle fl studio 8 xxl price purchase windows 7 professional windows 7 price mumbai buy windows 7 online download buy windows vista ultimate 64 bit buy photoshop serial number buy symantec antivirus where to buy windows xp cd sony vegas buy adobe illustrator 10 download cheapest turbotax 2009 best buy autodesk 3ds max 2009 microsoft word 2003 download full version buy autocad 2007 microsoft office project professional 2007 price buy windows 7 deals cheap autocad software purchase norton 360 cheap sound forge audio studio 9 adobe cs2 illustrator download microsoft visio download purchase archicad buy windows xp pro final cut express 4 cheap cheap adobe acrobat software cheap adobe premiere pro mac download matlab r2008b autodesk architecture 2009 windows 7 discount student canada illustrator download cs3 adobe soundbooth cs4 download sony vegas 9 price upgrade vista to windows 7 price india vmware workstation 6.5 discount buy adobe cs4 cheap microsoft office price history buy cheapest windows xp powerpoint pricing purchase microsoft office streets and trips 2010 cost buy photoshop elements 7 download after effects cs4 windows 7 price for india get adobe premiere pro cs3 purchase windows 7 upgrade from vista buy windows xp canada purchase windows 7 professional (64 bit) buy adobe illustrator mac buy photoshop used photoshop discount for students cheap office 2003 cheap office 2007 for students windows vista ultimate price buy microsoft excel product key buy windows 7 ultimate full version buy windows 7 home premium full version cheap roxio creator 2009 turbotax best buy cheap turbo tax 2009 buy corel draw 9 buy vista service pack 2 autodesk autocad 2009 download download cakewalk sonar cheap windows xp desktop cheap windows 2003 enterprise adobe production premium cs4 adobe production premium mac microsoft windows 7 home premium 64 oem microsoft excel 2003 product key discount microsoft windows vista turbotax 2008 discount windows 7 price increase buy windows xp installation disc buy visual studio 2008 acrobat 9 download buy windows 7 home premium online photoshop buy mac buy windows 7 3 user license buy autocad 2009 purchase windows 7 now buy microsoft office access buy photoshop cs3 dreamweaver cs4 demo windows 7 price harvey norman buy adobe indesign cs3 cheap windows 7 keys buy photoshop cs4 serial number acrobat 9 pro buy buy acdsee pro 2 buy microsoft office download archicad pricing cheap windows 7 home upgrade adobe creative suite 3 design premium download buy microsoft money 2006 purchase office 2007 trial best price cakewalk sonar 7 buy windows xp media center cheap 3d home architect design suite deluxe 8 cheap flash cs3 buy windows 7 hong kong buy windows 7 international shipping buy photoshop elements cheap parallels desktop price windows 7 buy cheap cheap adobe photoshop elements 8 vista price list can i buy microsoft office online windows 7 discount canada student microsoft streets and trips 2010 best buy autodesk lustre pricing lightroom cost adobe pagemaker price cheap adobe cs4 software buy microsoft excel online purchase dragon naturally speaking 10 windows 7 ultimate purchase buy symantec ghost solution suite purchase microsoft office onenote 2003 windows 2008 standard pricing i.r.i.s. readiris pro 11 download best price adobe cs4 master collection mac cheap avanquest powerdesk pro 7 windows 7 price thailand download microsoft word 2003 buy propellerhead reason 4 mac windows 7 home premium 64 bit download cheap windows vista 32 bit turbotax deluxe 2009 download buy autodesk inventor microsoft frontpage license buy adobe after effects for mac best price adobe after effects for mac buy roxio creator 2010 pro buy cs3 master collection cheap windows 7 license cheap after effects cs3 buy windows xp cheap purchase windows 7 ultimate buy adobe acrobat reader cheap windows vista ultimate adobe framemaker 9 price purchase archicad 12 best price adobe lightroom 2 where to buy windows xp full version buy windows xp volume license corel draw x4 discount cheap adobe captivate 3 buy windows 7 from microsoft buy roxio creator 2010 sound forge price buy microsoft office enterprise 2007 where can i buy cubase sx3 buy photoimpact x3 buy maya 2010 buy visio 2003 professional imsi turbofloorplan home and landscape pro 12 buy cheap adobe cs4 master collection zonealarm internet security suite 8 price buy vista home premium omnipage price microsoft visio 2003 download windows 7 price at best buy purchase windows xp online cheap photoshop cs4 buy windows xp home full version windows 7 price in malaysia buy adobe photoshop for mac roxio creator 2009 download cs3 production premium mac buy office 2003 canada buy microsoft office 2003 for vista cheap microsoft office onenote 2003 buy corel draw x4 buy windows 7 upgrade download propellerhead reason 4 download download nero 9 purchase microsoft access buy windows vista activation key cheap windows xp software buy microsoft office professional 2007 buy windows xp serial number buy windows xp product key online buy vmware workstation 7 download streets and trips 2007 buy adobe flash player 10 i.r.i.s. readiris pro 11 buy cheap microsoft powerpoint buy acrobat 9 corel dvd moviefactory 7 download buy microsoft office professional 2003

How to Share in a Meeting

I’d like to outline a simple and principled method of sharing a message of experience, strength and hope at meeting level. Following these suggested guidelines has enabled me to speak in a way that few people in meetings know how to. It is simple. It is effective. I try to follow these suggestions and I find that the more closely I adhere to them the more God can work through me.

  1. Part of sharing is sharing time. Give others a chance to share. Three minutes is all it should take to carry the message at meeting level. (Humility and Service – Steps 7 & 12)
  2. If you share a problem, also share the solution. (Hope, Faith, Integrity and Service – Steps 2, 3, 5 and 12)
  3. Sharing IS carrying the message and that means sharing about a spiritual principle or step. (Hope, Faith and Service – Steps 2, 3 & 12 and Traditions 1, 5 and 11)
  4. If God wants you to share someone will call on you. (Faith, Integrity and Humility – Steps 3, 5 and 7)
  5. When you have very little to say, then say very little. Do not start by saying, “I really don’t have much to say”, and then ramble for the next 15 minutes. It is selfish and it blocks others from sharing the real message by taking up valuable meeting time. Brevity is the hallmark of efficacy. (Courage, Integrity, Willingness, Humility and Service – Steps 4, 5, 6, 7 and 12)
  6. A 12 Step meeting is not group therapy, counseling, church or a garbage dump. This is the place to carry the message of recovery, not spread your disease. You are there to carry God’s message, not your own. We are, at best, vessels for the message of a loving Higher Power. (Hope, Faith, Humility, Brotherly Love, Spirituality and Service – Steps 2, 3, 7, 8, 11 and 12 and Traditions 5 and 11)
  7. After you share do not get up and walk right out. Set an example for the newcomers. (Willingness, Humility, Brotherly Love and Service – Steps 6, 7, 8 and 12)
  8. If you can’t get to the meeting on time you have surrendered your right to share. (Willingness, Humility and Service – Steps 6, 7 and 12 and Tradition 11)
  9. A step or topic meeting is about that step or topic. It is not about you. If you know little or nothing about the step or topic then do not share.(Honesty, Integrity, Humility – Steps 1, 5 and 7)
  10. If you share you should also contribute to the 7th Tradition. (Integrity, Willingness, Humility, Brotherly Love, Spirituality and Service – Steps 5, 6, 7, 8, 11 and 12 and Traditions 1 and 7)
  11. Do not call on yourself. This is rude. This is not recovery. If you feel powerfully moved to share then politely attract the attention of the chairperson and wait to be recognized. (Honesty, Faith, Integrity, Willingness, Humility, Brotherly Love, Spirituality and Service – Steps 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11 and 12 and Traditions 1, 2, 5, 9, 11 and 12)

This is by no means a comprehensive list of guidelines. “God will constantly disclose more to you and to us.” Furthermore, I have not been able to maintain anything like ‘perfect adherence’ to these principles. I have been able to share the message more effectively when I have been able to stay close to these guidelines and when I ask God to work through me to help the next sick and suffering alcoholic/addict.

Share
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Current
  • StumbleUpon
  • Technorati
  • Tumblr
  1. I have only recently started going to meetings in NA (since January this year) and I have been very infrequent even in this time. Whenever I have got a chance to share in meetings, I have mostly rambled useless garbage, this does not lift any weight of off my own heart or even identifies with anyone else who is listening to my sharing. Thanx for these guidelines. I will try this and see how it goes … :-)

  2. Fantastic summary. Clearyly stated and right on the mark. I have shared this with all my sponsees. Thanks for taking the time to put this together.

  3. remember there is a “before” the meeting and an “after” the meeting for sharing one on one, with a sponsor or a couple of AA’s those things that might not be good for the whole meeting– if you are not sure whether something should be shared, ask you sponsor

  4. That’s a really important point, dave o. Learning to discern what is right to share in meetings and what is right to share with our sponsor or those closest to us in the program doesn’t happen immediately. If I’m not sure, I always talk to my sponsor first.

  5. I was impressed by your article took afew copies and circulated it our group
    Thanks a nice one

  6. I might just print this for my sponsee’s.

    Next subject could be “How to chair a meeting”.

  7. THAT is a FANTASTIC idea. I nominate you to write it! LOL

  8. I’m glad I found my way to this subject (and article) after a meeting tonite fraught with examples to the contrary. Someone even reacted to a 90 day “recovered” alcoholics personal homily with a “shut the f— up!” It was a mens loosely organized meeting which is often pretty raucus, yet serious.
    I plan to pass this out at the next Group Conscience meeting.

  9. Thanks Jimmy. Sorry to hear about your meeting experience. I hope that you at least found something in that meeting motivated you to grow. Even the worst meetings can do that. It’s much easier though to just kind of check out, or worse, to sit in a meeting judging the people around you. The worst I’ve felt since I got sober was when I found myself in meetings often judging others, thinking how much nicer it would be to just spend the hour stabbing myself in the eye than listen to one more person who had never taken the steps tell me about how to take the steps. (I unfortunately actually HAVE pulled someone aside after a meeting and told them to “shut the F up.” I have grown a lot since then.)

    I actually grew from that experience in part because I realized that they just weren’t having the same experience as me, and just because I could see the peak from my side of the mountain didn’t prove that they couldn’t see the peak from theirs. Sometimes now, if I’m finding myself in a meeting judging people again, I sit quietly and pray for each of the people in the room, individually, one by one, till my mind is quiet enough to listen for the solution or the opportunity to share my experience with it.

    Thanks for your comment.

  10. Excellent suggestions and a much needed and seldom addressed topic.

    Two points:

    No one is ever required to participate in the 7th tradition. As someone who showed up at AA eight years ago without a penny to my name, I am forever grateful that people explained to me that AA is free. I cringe when I hear people say “and a meeting is only a dollar.”

    There are no “principles behind the steps”. (Those one word nemonics like Hope, Honesty, Justice etc) These seem to have taken on a life of their own. They simply don’t exist and whenever someone quotes them like they were fact they give them credence. Remember if its not anywhere in the literature it is not part of the AA program…

  11. Larry, the principles behind the steps appear clearly stated in the NA literature: NA Step Working Guides. For each step, they are listed under the heading: Spiritual Principles.

  12. I recommend big book studies, they have played and are playing a vital role in my growing in understanding and effectiveness. I remember going to meetings and hearing 1 or 2 people share and I’d say to myself “that person is saying exactly what I’m thinking.” And I’d naturally be attracted to them but my ego would tell me to stay away from them because they know! They seemed to have what I wanted and but I didn’t know it at the time turns out they did have what I wanted! A spiritual awakening!!! And the book is what holds the directions to that! We beg of you to lay aside prejudice!! God set aside everything we THINK we know so we can have new and open minded experience, the illness centers in the mind, alcohol is not the problem, sobriety was my problem I hated how I felt sober and the only thing that “fixed” it was alcohol. I’ve found only 2 remedies for alcoholism the STEPS or ALCOHOL… God is everything or else He is nothing, what was our choice to be?

  13. Good point, Ben. I actually require anyone I sponsor to make a commitment to one of 2 book study meetings around here that I think are particularly good. I’ve seen people fail the program for any number of “reasons” but I’ve never seen the program, the steps, fail anyone.

  • Viagra ordre
  • Cialis en ligne
  • Levitra en ligne
  • Propecia acheter
  • Viagra acheter
  • Acheter cialis
  • Ordre levitra
  • Ordre propecia
  • En ligne viagra
  • Vente cialis
  • Levitra bon marche
  • Propecia en ligne
  • Viagra online
  • Buy cialis
  • Order Levitra
  • Buy propecia
  • Buy viagra
  • Cheap cialis
  • Cheap Levitra
  • propecia online
  • Viagra prescription
  • Cialis online
  • Buy Levitra
  • Order propecia