Yes, I agree Don. I'm also in AA, as it works for me. I still need it to stay sober, and also to help my mental health. However, I also know of other ways. And I do think that some kind of reliance on a power greater than us is of utmost importance.
For me, that power is open and a bit blank. The main characteristic of that power is that it's not me. I can practice handing over and surrendering to that which I can't comprehend, it's great.
I think if I hadn't practiced such things, and prayed like talking to someone in my head - I don't think I'd be here.

I cant explain it but I am at a crossroads and really enjoy aa mtgs but I feel like I need to move on... maybe this is just the disease talking to me but I fessed up about hitting a j and my sponsor told me I had to start over . haven't drank since june 9, 12 but had to pick up a white chip on jan 7. I am disillusioned with the whole thing. I need to stay sober and to do that I need to stay near other people like me. but I am just so mad at having to start the steps over and on and on. I think that I may try to work a martial arts program for a bit and see how it works for me. I need to lose a few pounds and keep the head clear. I will keep going to a mtg or three a week but not the daily like I was ... I just need a break.
1is2

I like the meetings. I enjoy the people, the shares, and I always hear at least one thing that resonates. I often hear something that helps me solve a problem I've been dealing with. I'm grateful to the people who suit up and show up to contribute to the entire experience. It's a safe soft spot for me.
I also get a similar feeling of well being with horses, running, and being outdoors.
These are the feelings I sought in a bottle, powder or a pill but never ever found.

1is2 I would say that the pickup of the Joint is a sign that something wasn't working....I do know that I am glad you confessed to sponsor and that he did not drop you like hot potato and tell you get new sponsor...some will do that...

I have had to choose different sponsors over the years for one reason (selfishness mostly) :( but I have had to restart steps...and I hate restarting them unless I really need to go back to work one two and three why would someone tell me to start over with them as sponsor? I dunno but it happened....anyway my thing is I haven't really ever been able to get into steps six or seven because of sponsorship changes...and I have gone on after vague attempts at six and seven to do 8 and 9 and feel ten is out there someplace...eleven well I just aint there yet I guess...and I have never been asked to sponsor on 12th step....so I guess 18 yrs of sobriety can happen with half measures? I dunno...I give it my all and am there now with six and seven again with my newest sponsor....who really did not ask me to sit down with him and tell him my lifes story...for five....yet we went thru 4th step thuroughly...

Donttread about meetings....for me they help me not be alone....I would be alone if I did not go to meetings...I do not go as much as when I first came into AA where I went just about 8meetings a week....maybe more because I was also attending NA meetings too....I wanted to help the addicts see that someone could recover from drugs as I had long term no drugs but just alcohol use....but of course alcohol is a drug right? LOL

anyway social program that the meetings provide me with helps me a bunch...I hate not going to one meeting a week usually and if I were for some odd reason not in at least one meeting in a month I would be a bit uncomfortable....but rarely will I go to more than 3 meetings in a week....now....

Good topic! I'm a happy AA member and have no desire to pull away from it - nor a need to - for me to continue to grow spiritually etc.

I go to three meetings a week generally but I don't rely on meetings to keep me sober. The 12 Step programme took care of that and I haven't had a drinking problem for some years.

I go because I attend some very positive meetings and that has a positive effect on me. I love seeing the friends I've made over the years and meeting newcomers and visitors.

Meetings are also a most useful place to put in some selfless action like sponsoring other women through the 12 Steps and doing service at various levels. I give AA quite a lot of my time away from the meetings too for the one to ones of sponsorship and meeting with my own sponsor.

My spirituality is different to anyone else's as it is uniquely personal but spiritual values are all the same to me - do no harm, honesty, unselfishness, love, kindness, self-discipline, etc etc.

We all have a different path to walk through this life but I love some common bonds. AA gives me a sense of community in an increasingly insular society.

We just had a member celebrate 33 years. He returned a few years ago, after ditching meetings for 15 years.

He said skipping the meetings was the worst decision he made. Despite staying sober, he had close calls, and some of his character defects were returning.

As for me, the meetings give me empowerment and not necessarily over alcohol. I have grown as a person in the 5 months I've been going to AA. While I'm not a God person, nor have I done the steps, I do feel the spirituality of the meetings, and camaraderie of the group.

They may not know me very well, as I share maybe every third meeting, but I know them. They are all very important figures, and I replay their wisdom in my head repeatedly.

I feel very fortunate for AA. It feels like going to coffee with old friends, and I'm a newbie.

SMART Recovery, among other programs, do not have any mention of a reliance of a power greater than ourselves. I know that turning things over to a higher power was not a part of my personal recovery, not at all.

While it might be what was important to you to quit, and it might be part of AA, I don't think that is universally true, donttread.

I have personally have come to believe that one can have a sobriety date AND a different clean date. I know I do. Although counting other drug use as a slip is well entrenched and certainly dangerous to our sobriety I don't really believe that they can have it both ways : That is to say I don't like the attitude I have sometimes encountered that smoking s joint requires you to reset your alcohol sobriety date but then turn around and not want to discuss other drug issues in the meeting.> Another obvious question would be that if other drugs affect my sobriety date what about tobacco? Or that second vicodin you didn't really need after that muscle strain? Don't get me wrong other drug use impairs sobriety and I haven't smoked pot since a couple years after I stopped drinking and should always be adddressed
.

I still like meetings. I enjoy the people I've met there, and I almost always come away feeling better, with something positive to think about. I don't go nearly as often as I used to, though -- a few times a month. A lot of the meetings I used to like have changed quite a bit, and I don't much care for the "new" AA. Like you, donttread, I don't need them to battle thoughts of drinking anymore, but I'm never too sober to be reminded of how to live in a way that makes my life run more smoothly.

I sponsored a woman for about a year, who quit drinking, worked the steps, and then never came back. I run into her now and again, 15 years later, and she's still not drinking, but her life is kind of a mess. Makes me wonder what it might have been like for her if she had stuck around. There's nothing very spiritual about what's going on with her.

I agree that spirituality -- not necessarily religion -- is one of the keys to a happy life. Where you find it is personal, and that's one of the things I like best about AA. Your concept of "God" is probably very different from mine, but it doesn't matter. There are some principles that simply work when you work 'em!

I have only attended meetings to support another friend, but now I find that I may need them for myself. I don't drink heavily, but I drink for the wrong reasons, to relax and to sleep. I would love to find a meeting of non smokers and coffee drinkers though. Wine is my only maladaptive behavior, and love the idea of surrounding myself with positive people. People who make a choice to take responsibility for their lives, and happiness. I pray to my higher power each night which is a recent thing for me, and brings much peace. Hope you find what you are searching for.

Interesting topic and responses DT Ive been involved in AA for over 8 years I am pretty sure I wouldn't have achieved continuous sobriety without it. In that time I've done a fair bit of service like phone duty for 5 years 12 step response and continue to do 4 sevice rolls at my homegroup not because I want to "Run the sbow" LOL but not many others seem to volunteer to do service. In some ways paradoxically this may have kept me connected to this one meeting as up to now my conscience would not allow me to leave tbe meeting with the only other 2 folks who do service who have poor health.
It seems human nature is what it is some peoplecome and go Good luck to them I've seen many do that A few stay around long term A lot , onger than me
Must say I wouldn't be comfortable with 1istomanys position especially if its had such a negative effect Probably why that part of AA formal sponsorship has never sat comfotably with me glad I trusted my instinct on that

Hi Rivalino, I know personally how hard it is to chuck "time sober" down the pan but it's something I and many others had to do at some time if being spiritually well was the goal. It's all about self-honesty for me and that has been a hard call at times.

It's my belief that a good sponsor will spot a slip back into self-delusion and (gently, I hope) suggest that a sponsee start again at Step One. For me, when I had to start over, it was not about the sponsor - it was about grasping the full weight of the first step. Without that it would be a bleak outlook. In such circumstances it's the mind altering substance use that flags up something is wrong and I believe it matters little what the substance is in such circumstances.

Building a strong foundation in sobriety has been far more important to me than time away from a drink but I can only appreciate it in hindsight. I don't think I would have got what I have today without it. I'm glad I started over but I was heartbroken at the time.

But that's just my feelings on my own sobriety.

Kudos to you Rivalino on all that service! I do a fair bit too and it helps me a good deal to be less selfish with my time and effort.