Alcoholism Support Group

I'm with you Randy, we share in a general way. There are times when someone shares a problem but are looking for a solution to it.
And by the way, life happens to all of us, regardless of time sober. It's not always the newcomer sharing about difficulties with living life on life's terms. When we with time share that life sometimes throws us a curve ball, it gives the newcomer permission to be honest instead of saying what they think people want them to. For my part, I live the solution so cannot help but share it.

OK guys let me try to clarify. I understand what some of you are saying about sharing at meetings about whats going on in life on a daily basis and whatever issues is at hand. I agree with sharing problems and seeking the solution so we can can grow as a person.
I'm one that feels whatever the problem is there is a step to correct it and one of my defects is being self centered ( go figure ) but when i hear someone rambling on about whatever just to talk I have a problem with that and its my bad. My 1st sponsor use to tell me Gary everyone heard your bullshit in the beginning so its time to hear there's. I agree to a point but its something I need to work on but on the other hand I have a choice if I feel a meet is toxic so to speak I will just find another meeting.

As far as why we are alcoholic I see others say because of this or that for this alcoholic I drank and drugged is for one reason and one only FOR THE EFFECT. For myself there is quite a few in my family and I'm the only one that turned out like I did. So as far as the genetic thing for me it does not hold true.

I have problems sometimes to express myself in a forum like this but face to face well... That's why for this alcoholic I go to a lot of meetings.

To progress and of course more will be revealed..

BTW, How cool is this, that we can come together express what we think and not get all bent out of shape.

To Recovery

Jim the yodamiester you are so correct in your observation.
When new in the program I went to lots of meetings I heard lots of people share about some really serious stuff and some really insignificant crap in their lives all while they weren't drinking. I heard many solutions to my own problems in their shares.
Many a times I would have a problem and ask God for his will and guidance in dealing with it. Now I tried sitting on the porch waiting for him to speak to me, but my butt got tired. Many times while in meetings he would speak and give me the answer through another human being. If you have a serious problem that you must deal with do you share it with one or two people hoping God will give you the answer or do you share it with 30 people giving God the opportunity to answer you through a wide variety of voices. Of course this doesn't mean that i go to 10 meetings a week talking about the same problem for two years. Moderation is the key in all things except alcohol were abstinence works best for me.
Would not I be depriving people of my strength and hope and faith if I did not share how God was helping me deal with a lethal illness while not drinking? Am I not to talk about the fact that I'm alive when I should be dead and that without them listening to me and sharing their support I couldn't have done it.
I'm an alcoholic and my only problem with alcohol is that I love it. The real problem is me living life on God's terms. I need to talk about that at times in the open with many people who let me know I'm not alone. If I can't share those experiences then the program is leading me right back to where I was all alone with my bottle in my little tiny world thinking no one is like me no one understands and I'm different.
I believe that it is wonderful when people are still relatively new in sobriety after years of not succeeding when they finally get it, promote it talk it eat it share it hammer it, but there comes a time while maintaining our sobriety we must continue to live with the rest of the humans out there and for that we need the help and guidance of God and as many other people in recovery as possible. This is all just my opinion.

I have yet to hear anything talked about when it comes to the reference of unconscious burried memories which may be exposed but can never be aliminated.

We have had a very interesting topic on "Triggers" hear awhile back and that is a direct link to what I am saying.

There are and were many topics of discussion that did not fit the time of my understanding(I did not realize it and complained) where lifes experiences had yet occurred which would bring me into new realms of living and making healthier decisions in sobriety, directly/indirectly.

I have made decisions to address other issues in my life as a direct result of hearing another sober alkie discuss such action in their recovery and I already knew through being of better consciousness that this particular discussion/topic was all over an issue in my life and I came to believe ; There is a SOLUTION!

I have said this before and reference this alot; pg 19, BB makes direct and indirect comments concerning this very issue and that there are gonna be discussions not good or bad , but exactly apppropriate for the individual talking about it and the common thread to that is; Patience and Tolerance. I hugely believe this.
I have accepted the FACT that I am not so important anymore but when I share of the heart and you don't get it, stick around, you will when that lightbulbs finally go off because you have heard something maybe, earlier in the rooms or somewhere, you can't seem to put your finger on where you heard it then, POWEE, ZAP, GONGS-A-SOUNDING and then right out of the blue, the very person who talked about that stuff you did not feel was concerning alcoholism smacks you right in the face with a possible solution! The kicker; he/she had shared this years before and you happened to hear it then and now UNDERSTAND!

I can't expect to tell newcomers about this kind of lifes awakening prossesses to living sober most will not get it, but when I see those clacker eyeballs a-spinning when it finally does boy is that ever a great feeling and tears of joy for that other person!

I have received many answers from the least expected person and these individuals were my worst enemies I thought and now are my mentors!

Love ya!

There is a big difference between sharing constructively about growing towards practicising these principles in all our affairs and whining and moaning about problems in a selfish and self-centred way that helps no one including the person sharing.

That just proved my point.

Nicki.. . for me in the last 18 years it was that very whining and moaning that got my attention causing me to LOOK at the self and offering me a chance to change. You see I happen to believe that Nothing Absolutely Nothing Happens In God's World By Mistake. He can take the worst moments in life and turn them to VICTORY. I have to pay attention and look for the message, the solution, or I can go ahead and sit in my shit and keep wondering why my life stinks.

I read somewhere in some book, "If I complain about me or about you I am complaining about God's handiwork. I am saying I know better than God". The same holds true in a meeting. God can and continuously DOES direct the show. If I am bothered i need to look at me.

I don't know what's going to come out of my mouth when I share. I have no prepared content. I just get up and speak. I try not to run off at the mouth, but there's been times I have run amok with emotion. There's usually someone who will come up afterwards and hold a mirror to my face and give me something to think about. My groups are pretty honest when it comes to accountability.

When others speak about their realities, I usually smile, because I can relate. Or I find my mind wondering to the banners around the room. That is rare, because I like to listen to see if I can help the speaker in some way. Hold the mirror up to them to see inside themselves, like so many have done for me.

I'd been whining and moaning for so many years while drinking, it was going to take more than a few meetings to break that habit. And although I've been fortunate, many struggle to find a sponsor, and they are not always available throughout our lives. You lean on me, I'll lean on you and we'll be okay yeah. CM xxx

I do have to say that my home group more than once saw that I was miserable and asked me right out what was wrong. When I told of my problem with my wife, boss or just life, they would tell me how something similar had happened to them and this was how the BB helped them handle it. I was lucky to have them around when I first got sober. Jim glad2b you are absolutely right about people looking for solutions. Our history is our biggest asset