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OA REGION OA REGION 99
September 2015 Volume 5 Issue 5
Serving Africa, Europe, Middle East& Western Asia
“Faith in my Higher Power”
As a child, I believed in God. I never thought He did any wrong. People were responsible for the wrongs in the world. At the age of 44, I came into the rooms of OA, and started the program. Understanding that there was a spiritual side to this, I immediately took my God as my Higher Power. And I brought my childhood beliefs of God with me. But I always thought my eating problems were too small for God. He was way too busy for that stuff – He was out trying to make the world more peaceful. When I read Step 2 or Step 3 in the “OA 12 Steps & 12 Traditions” book, I realized that God was also there for me with the food. What a relief that was!
Faith in my Higher Power is what gives me strength. It gives me hope. When I work Step 3 – to let it be His will and not mine, when I let go and let God, my life is good. It’s when I forget or just don’t won’t to – that I want to write the ending instead of it being God’s ending, that I run into problems. When I remember that I need my HP, that I need to talk to Him, and to listen to Him, things get back on the right track. From the miracles I receive, from the lessons I learn the hard way, God – my HP, is always with me. When I put my faith in Him, all is the way it should be. All is great. Susan, Region 9 Chair
‘Peace of Spirit’ A twisting of fact, a wrong
committed by word or deed soon erode the spirit. I may rationalize “That’s the way life is, everybody does it.” But it is my wrongdoing, and therefore my peace of mind is at stake - not “everybody’s.”
Is it an unrealistic expectation to try to square things with my conscience? No. The twelve-step program promises to heal those who are ailing spiritually. Because I want that feeling, I follow the simple instructions and work as diligently as I can at practicing “…these principles in all my affairs.”
For Today: I chose to speak and act in accordance with the twelve-step program to the best of my ability.
For Today, pg. 109
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“Faith in my Higher Power” I arrived in OA an atheist so I had no idea how to pray and to what. They told me at the meeting it doesn’t matter, choose something and pray to it anyway, as if you believed in it. So I did. Initially I made the group my HP. Amazingly, it worked! I asked for help not to pick up the first bite and I received help. I only slipped when I forgot to ask for help. My ‘aha’ moment as far as HP is concerned was when about two years into the program I read in a big book study that HP could actually be a set of values such as love, truth, justice, beauty. So I might not have a God as others understood Him, but I did certainly believe in love, truth and justice. So I made those three my HP. Again, every time I asked love, truth and justice for help I was always shown the right way for me. In what I ate, in what I thought, in what I said, in my decisions. It transpired that I only made mistakes when I forgot to ask love, truth and justice for guidance. More recently it occurred to me that it’s not just those three that I may ask guidance from. The spiritual principles of the steps, and indeed the traditions, can also guide me. Wonderful principles such as courage, hope, humility, willingness, perseverance, purpose, unity. They too are now my HP along with love, truth and justice. They are the God of my understanding. I hope my HP continues to evolve, as does my spiritual growth. The key is not what constitutes my HP, but do I work on our relationship? It seems that the more I work at it, the more rewarding it becomes. I started at zero faith and my life was miserable. When I turned love, truth and justice into my guiding light and started thinking and acting accordingly, food all of a sudden stopped calling to me. I felt recovered. Now when I face difficulties in my life, I work at finding more effective ways to contact my HP and align myself to it. Then miraculously those difficulties fade away. My HP always comes to my aid when I am in contact with it and I think and act according to its directions. For me, faith is indeed spelled A – C – T – I – O – N. Miranda, R9 Public Information Chair
Tips!!:
1.Look out for the new approved piece of OA Literature tips for “Carrying the Message”. This will be available on the
OA Website as a free down -loadable and as a pocket card
2.Translate/Print
the New Region 9 PI Leaflet “Do You Eat Compulsively”
3. A “Taste of Lifeline”,
a new OA book, now available!
4. “Twelve Stepping a Problem” new OA literature on the OA
Website, also available as a pocket card
5. 12 Step Virtual Workshops started January 2015/phone
meetings, 1 each month, (more information on the OA Website)
6. OA’s focus for 2014 – 2016 … Abstinence, Working All 12 Steps and Individual’s Responsibilities
to Carry the Message
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News from the Trustee desk for the R9 Newsletter Sep 2015
OA R9 Statement of purpose
The purpose of the Region 9 Assembly is the same as that of all OA service – to carry the OA message to the still suffering compulsive overeaters, wherever they live and whatever language they speak. In fulfilling our purpose, we should ever strive to achieve worldwide OA unity and common policies among all countries. With love and tolerance as our code, together we can do what we could never do alone.
As I write this I am catching up after returning from my first Overeaters Anonymous Board of Trustees (BOT) meeting – as R9 Trustee. To quote a previous trustee ‘it is great fun & lots of work’.
I can honestly say that the BOT are amongst the most gentle and kind collection of folk that I have ever had the privilege to work with. And at the same time incredibly productive - truly HP love at work in principles not personalities and for the good of OA as a whole.
I will treasure this - my first Aug meeting.
The joint meetings with the Region Chairs were good too and of course the early morning OA meetings with all those long term abstinent members were sensational.
I learned a lot about the role and things that were a bit 'not joined up' in my mind are a bit more 'joined up'.
When I carry out my Step 11 & spend time with my HP in the mornings one of the things I tend to do is write a letter to the God of my understanding, it has various things in it including my list of gratitude’s of the day. In one of the early morning OA meetings – I shared how I had been writing that morning of my gratitude for the BOT sharing of gentleness and my election to this role.
I do truly feel that the BOT work together as a team for each one to be to best trustee they can be and it’s a pleasure for me to join them and try to do my best to join in with that spirit and do the best I can for OA as whole and our region 9.
A few things that you may find of interest:-
Google ads and search terms have been translated into German, French, Portuguese, Italian, Greek & Spanish. The google ads will run in the autumn and the links within the ads will go to the individual countries / languages websites. You may see an increase in meetings because of this so please try to be prepared. If you do begin to see an increase in newcomers and members returning and they say it’s because they saw reference on google – please let us know either to WSO or to me as Region trustee or the Region Chair.
An OA banner which shows various OA PI posters in different languages has been created and will be displayed at the 2015 Milan Expo. The event will be over 6 months and have over 20 million visitors. For more information on the event: http://www.expo2015.org/en/learn-more. The banner is shown on the last page of the newsletter - How wonderful:-
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ARC. Help OA be financially self- supporting by signing up on the Contribute page at oa.org to become an Automatic Recurring Contributor (ARC).
Notes from the accounts of OA. Inc.:- In the 2014 financial statement OA's total income was made up in part of
7th tradition contributions = 31% &
Literature sale surplus = 51% .
Our literature obviously plays a vital role in carrying the message of recovery but this highlights why we have to sell it and the enormous help the income from literature plays in covering the various costs of the fellowship.
Royalties :- Extract from the letter from the Board of Trustees International Publications/Translations Committee (of which as R9 Trustee I am chair) regarding royalties :-
‘We would like to remind you that you agreed to once a year send the WSO 10 percent of the net income from the sale of your translated literature. Net income means the excess of the selling price of the literature over the direct cost. It is important to record these royalty payments separately to your general contributions to the WSO. Please indicate that the contribution is for royalties and note the exact amount you are sending’
Does your service body (SB) translate, publish and sell OA literature? If so and you want to send the royalties – a good way is to set up a line in your SB budget, that way you won’t forget. When you do send the payment to WSO, do make sure to let them know its for royalties.
New – ‘How to be an Effective Trusted Servant’ the guidelines, inspired by the Principles associated with the Twelve Traditions and Twelve Concepts of OA Service, aim to help members have more harmonious and productive intergroup and service board meetings. https://www.oa.org/membersgroups/service-body-support/#servant .
An example of what’s included: -
‘Be Considerate – Listen carefully and consider all points of view. Group conscience is about hearing and evaluating the ideas of all members. Don’t be in a rush to persuade everyone that your way is the best or only way.
Concepts 5 Consideration 11 Humility 12e Compassion 12f Respect Tradition 12 Spirituality
OA Responsibility Pledge :-
Always to extend the hand and heart of OA to all who share my compulsion; for this I am responsible.
Stella, Region 9 Trustee
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The Twelve Steps of Overeaters Anonymous Step Nine:
Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
Spiritual Principles in the Twelve Steps A spiritual principle is associated with each of the Twelve Steps.
Step Nine: Love for others
The Twelve Traditions of Overeaters Anonymous Tradition Nine:
OA, as such, ought never be organized; but we may create service boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve.
Spiritual Principles in the Twelve Traditions
A spiritual principle is associated with each of the Twelve Traditions.
Tradition Nine: Structure
The Twelve Concepts of OA Service Concept Nine
Able, trusted servants, together with sound and appropriate methods of choosing them, are indispensable for effective functioning at all service levels.
Spiritual Principles in the Twelve Concepts of Service A spiritual principle is associated with each of the Twelve Concepts of Service
Concept Nine: Ability
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“Faith in my Higher Power “
Let Go and Let God. Accept the things I can’t change. To do my
footwork. Good Orderly Direction.
Some OA slogans and words that came into my mind while
thinking about the subject of the Region 9 Newsletter. Actually
when I read those in the order they appeared in my mind it’s
kind of funny. The most important thing is to Let Go and Let
God. To accept that there are some things that I can’t change.
With regards to my footwork I can do the things that I can
change. And my God takes care of the Good Orderly Direction.
Important detail is that some days my own self -‐will, my
negative mind, my lack of trust, me pushing God away from the
steering wheel and driving the car on my own is getting in the
way. In that same car God in the backseat talking to me, but I’m
listening to extreme loud music (my own head) instead of
taking some time to hear God’s voice through it all. When I
hear and feel ‘God’s Voice’ through step eleven, other fellows,
program material, beautiful music, nature, children or old
people or whatever channel I need at that moment it feels like
a heavy burden is lifted. That’s where faith kicks in. My Higher
Power is there to take care of me, to do together the things I
couldn’t do on my own (abstinence for example) and to give
me love. Luckily I get reminded of that most of the time on a
daily basis. Faith in God is sometimes hard work and doesn’t
come naturally. Especially when life takes over. Luckily there is
the Love of my God. I’m grateful to have felt that and to keep
receiving this Love. The only thing that can fill my God Shaped
Hole.
Meike,
R9 Bylaws Committee Chair
Anything we can imagine, we can do, with the help of our HP. OA 12&12, pg. 89
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Dates to Remember:
1.End of September -‐ 2nd Mailing for the Binder (R9 A&C 2015)
2. October 28 – November 1, 2015 – Region 9 Assembly & Convention
3. November 21, 2015 -‐ IDEA Day (International Day Experiencing Abstinence / Abstinence Day)
4. December 12, 2015 -‐ Twelfth Step Within Day
OA is not a religious program, it is a spiritual one. This comes from Ebby’s first conversation with Bill W when he suggested that Bill define “his own concept of God”. The word faith often is synonymous with religion. I looked up some definitions of faith and as you can imagine many of them talk about faith within religions. I am not religious myself, but when I arrived in OA, I met people who said they had faith in a HP and they were abstinent and I wanted that. They encouraged me to try to pray and to try to develop a faith in something bigger than me (the only requirement was that the HP wasn’t me) and that I could use the group if I wanted or anything so long as it worked for me. I didn’t believe it would work. I couldn’t understand how it could work. But I was a good girl and did what was suggested. The very first night I prayed with disdain, but I did say the words. The next day I had a good day, and that felt odd. So I prayed again that night, and the next day I had a good day. And so I have regularly repeated this experiment and I have experienced the benefit of practicing faith even when I didn’t understand or believe. I now have enough evidence to see that faith in a HP does work for me. But as the Big Book says “Faith without works is dead”. My faith is kept alive and well by my actions. When I looked up faith online, I found the following things, which I found interesting so I share them in case anyone else does too. The main thing I discovered is that across the faiths of the world, actions are imperative: ·∙Complete trust or confidence in someone or something ·∙Strong belief based on spiritual conviction rather than proof ·∙t is also accepted by many that faith must include an element of doubt in order for us to believe anything ·∙It implies a resolute and courageous act of will. The teaching suggests investigating and living by what is learnt and accepted, rather than believing in something simply because it is taught.
Some definitions include the following: “ first conscious knowledge, and second, the practice of good deeds” “ the conscious awareness of humanity to realize it’s sacredness and that we are all united by compassionately seeking the goodwill, harmony and welfare of all living beings.” “ faith includes belief, profession and the body’s performance of deeds” “ faith is often described as:
o A conviction that something is o A determination to accomplish one’s goals o A sense of joy deriving from the other two”
So I conclude that if I don’t know what else to do to help find some faith or develop it, I should concentrate on love, compassion and positive actions for me and others and faith will surely follow. Joanna, Hereford, UK
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• Even If I don’t believe in God today, I act as if and work
the steps anyway. • Something is working in our
lives in recovery. It is our Higher Power.
• Solution to problems: more Higher Power, less me.
OA World Service Convention 2010, Los Angeles, California
USA
Fields like diplomacy have a saying: “The devil is in the details.” In program, my Higher Power, whom I call God, is in the details. I have been in OA this time about 22 months. For the past year I have sustained a 65-‐pound (30-‐kg) weight loss. I have become closer and more aware and attentive to a God who was always present in my life, but who was way too busy to deal with my weight.
I have heard people of faith say, “I now I could do this program if only
I had some sort of sign or great whitelight experience like the AA founder.”
Yet I know people with that kind of spiritual experience who seem unable to maintain consistent back-‐to-‐back abstinence. A newcomer said that though she was unhappy with her food plan, she was not hungry. That’s a miracle! Before abstinence, I had only eaten when hungry. Frequent hunger caused me to reach over 200 pounds (90 kg) on my 5’4” (163 cm) frame. I remember those first few days without hunger, on a weighed and measured food plan. The lack of hunger still amazes me. Every other time I tried to control my food— and I tried it all—I was hungry. As a “grazer” I am accustomed to sampling a great deal while preparing meals and cleaning up afterwards. I am amazed that I don’t lick the spoon or my fingers anymore after dishing out my weighed and measured portions. I am not a detail-‐oriented person, so doing this is a huge, daily source of gratitude and wonder. Every time I find that spoon under the faucet instead of in With this grace I have experienced an awareness of and have embraced a Higher Power who has made him/ herself known to me, not only as the teacher and authority figure of my childhood, but also as a newborn needing my affection, and a friend and guide who will cradle me and wipe away my tears. Wow, what a journey! Being willing to put my food on the scale daily is my white light. I am not capable of that on my own. Abstaining from flour and sugar for this amount of time is not something I could have done alone. Every time I acknowledge these facts, I become aware of God’s presence.
— J.D., Sudbury, Massachusetts Lifeline, December 2009
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“To Atheists and Agnostics”
What If I Don’t Believe In God?
The spiritual experiences and beliefs expressed by members of Overeaters Anonymous are as varied as those found in society at large. Some members have spiritual orientations; still others have come to OA with a history of religious conflict or do not accept the concept of God.
Working the OA program of recovery is a highly individual process. We don’t all think alike. As stated in The Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of Overeaters Anonymous, page ix, “Our common bonds are two: the disease of compulsive eating from which we all have suffered, and the solution that we all are finding as we live by the principles embodied in these Steps.” This is what unites us in OA. Differences regarding a spiritual concept, or lack thereof, need not keep us from working the program. As the Third Tradition states, if we have the desire to stop eating compulsively, there is a place for us in OA. Therefore, we need not explain or defend our individual beliefs even if they differ from the majority opinion.
“I think we naturally assume people who call themselves atheists or agnostics are not spiritual people. Therein lies the basis for confusion.”
Open-‐mindedness is our watchword, as we read in The Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of Overeaters Anonymous, page 13-‐14:
“OA doesn’t tell us we have to believe in God—only that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. We are invited to define that Power however we wish and relate to it in whatever way works for us. OA only suggests that we remain open to spiritual growth….“We learned we could ‘act as if.’ This didn’t mean we were to be dishonestly pious or pretend we believed in God when we didn’t. It meant we were free to set aside theological arguments and examine the idea of spiritual power in light of our own desperate need for help with our lives.”
All in all, the experiences of those who work this program with their own concept of a Higher Power show that this program does work regardless of one’s personal interpretation of that power. Clarity, peace of mind and growth are some of the many byproducts of OA’s recovery program. When we stay in the program and apply these principles in keeping with a personal understanding of a Higher Power, these rich rewards are ours! These are certainly good reasons to “keep coming back.”
https://www.oa.org/newcomers/to-atheists-and-agnostics/
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ASK IT BASKET:
Check this out in our OA website!
A FREE Step Eight Podcast to Download or Stream
Second Sunday Telephone Workshops continue in 2015, and the Step Eight podcast is now available to download or stream. Spend some time in recovery and take in this in-‐depth focus on Step Eight.
To participate in the next telephone workshop on Sunday, October 11, see the Datebook Calendar for dial-‐in instructions.
STEPS—TURNING FOOD OVER TO A HIGHER POWER
How does a person turn his or her food over to a Higher Power, and what does it mean to turn one’s food over to a Higher Power?
In Step Three of The Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of Overeaters Anonymous,
much is written about turning the food problem over to a Higher Power. That chapter states,
“If we want to live free of the killing disease of compulsive eating, we accept help without
reservation from a Power greater than ourselves” (p. 19). The chapter proceeds to discuss
the willingness to adopt a new attitude about weight control, body image and eating. The
following are two quotes of interest from that chapter: “As we become aware of what our
eating guidelines should be, we ask God for the willingness and the ability to live within
them each day. We ask and we receive, first the willingness, and then the ability. We can
count on this without fail” (p. 23) and “As we work 45 the steps, using the tools of the
program—a plan of eating, literature, writing, meetings, the telephone, sponsorship,
anonymity, and service—we find the help we need” (p. 24). Rereading this chapter, working
the Steps with a sponsor and using the OA tools of recovery are the best ways I know to turn
my will, life and food over to my Higher Power.
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In Service
Region 9 Board
Trustee-‐Stella (UK)@[email protected]
Chair-‐ Susan (Israel) @ [email protected]
Secretary-‐ Mette (Denmark)@ [email protected]
Acting Treasurer-‐ Elena (UK)@[email protected]
Committee Chairs
Literature and Translations-‐ Irenne (Denmark)@ [email protected]
Twelve Step Within-‐ Catherine (Italy)@ [email protected]
Public Information-‐Miranda (Greece))@ [email protected]
Bylaws-‐ Meike (Netherlands)@ [email protected]
Electronic Communication-‐ Webmaster@ [email protected]
Banker Belle (Scotland)@ [email protected]
Newsletter Coordinator
Chryssa(Greece)@ [email protected]
Region 9 Website
http://www.oaregion9.org
World Service Website
http://www.oa.org
The personal stories express the experience of the individual member and not of OA as a whole
