What does your group say about sharing?

[tomvlll]

Ours says " please limit your discussions to alcohol".

[Cubile75]

That's what they say at mine...

Mark

[tommyk]

We say it, but it isn't enforced, and people talk about whatever they need to talk about for their recovery.

[barb dwyer]

my home group is a noon meeting, so time is a factor. we HAVE to start on time, and finish so people can get back to work.
(O,NS)
the group learder is responsible for bringing people back to topic, and keeping shares to a minimum. There's times that ... well, what needs to be ... needs to be, but for the most part, it's respected.
Our only rule is you must have a minimum year sobriety to chair.

[bballdad]

We are glad you are all here - especially newcomers and visitors. In keeping with our singleness of purpose and our Third Tradition which states that "The only requirement for
A.A. membership is a desire to stop drinking," we ask that all who participate confine their discussion to their problems with alcohol and recovery from alcoholism.

[McGowdog]

We're a closed group, so it's only alkies.

A chair person brings a topic and reads a little something out of the book, shares their current experience on that topic, we meditate for 3 minutes, then he/she calls on people to share on that topic.

Then when everyone has shared, we open the meeting to crossfire; anybody can ask anyone a question about the topic. When there's more than 6 of us, we use a 5 minute timer for our shares. When the meeting is over, we pass the basket and close with LP.

[Ago]

Depends on if it's an open or closed meeting

Open meetings get about the same as Bballdad

In keeping with our singleness of purpose and our Third Tradition which states that "The only requirement for A.A. membership is a desire to stop drinking," we ask that all who participate confine their discussion to their problems with alcohol and recovery from alcoholism.

and add if you have had a drink in the last 24 hours to please not share

The kicker is they have a "timekeeper" with an 'alarm" that goes off, 10-15 minutes for the "chair" depending on the meeting, and 3-5 minutes for normal shares depending on the meeting.

I actually have come to love the alarm, there's something about STFU you have been talking long enough that gives me the warm fuzzies and makes my bottom feel funny, i start getting uncomfortable at other meetings and start looking around for the "time Police" if someone starts yammering now.

[barb dwyer]

add if you have had a drink in the last 24 hours to please not share

wow.

[Zencat]

My home group is an open meeting but here is a lot of old times there. Yet its a free for all as I understand what sharing goes around there. Ive just about given up on judging the shares of others. The whole thing looks like a work in progress.

[Wolfchild]

Same suggestions as most other groups. About the only time we have stopped someone in their share is when they started bashing the fellowship or when they were being argumentitive with another members share. We sorta look out for one another and when someone comes in who is obviously drunk, we give the chairperson a heads up not to call on that person.

[bballdad]

ago
if you have had a drink in the last 24 hours to please not share

we see it that way too except we ask newcomers,visitors or anyone else "does anyone have any questions about AA?." before we git started
so if they are drinking,we let then ask a few questions if they feel the need
most of the time they don`t...

[digderidoo]

"To share on the reading, on any issues you may have or whatever is on your mind..."

Paul

[Freedom1990]

Originally Posted by bballdad

We are glad you are all here - especially newcomers and visitors. In keeping with our singleness of purpose and our Third Tradition which states that "The only requirement for
A.A. membership is a desire to stop drinking," we ask that all who participate confine their discussion to their problems with alcohol and recovery from alcoholism.

Ditto.

[Firehazard]

My home group states in it ritual format reading for the chair "that we limit our share to the issue of alcohol" It is strictly followed for anyone in the meeting that is new and wants to talk about olther substances. However, being a spiritually bases group, some of the people who have multiple years of sobriety or have been to the group enough to be involved have mentioned other addictions. They have done this to just let the group know and it seems to be cool.

[Ago]

Originally Posted by barb dwyer

wow.

Actually the group is much more laid back then I am, the group asks that you don't share for 24 hours, I suggest pretty strongly to my sponsees they don't share for a year or until they get through step 12 unless it's to ask for help or at a newcomers meeting.

I'm not super rigid about it but you can't give away what you don't have.

I don't suggest that to everyone but generally speaking I sponsor lil Alpha Males that know everything about everything when they "get here" (like I was) so a lil STFU take the cotton out of your ears and stick it in your mouth is frequently helpful.

The truth of the matter is they then go to other meetings i don't attend to share, I hear about it and I'm cool with it, I did the same thing, but that exercise taught me how to listen, if I knew I wasn't allowed to share in meetings my sponsor was attending I wasn't planning my "share of infinite wisdom and humor" and actually listened to what was being said in spite of the chatter in my head.

The "suggestion" isn't a hard and fast one, in that I don't just assign it to sponsees arbitrarily but I have gotten sponsees I do make that suggestion to and they all have double digit sobriety to this day so I guess it didn't harm them too badly.

[ian_g]

My group is a Big Book Step Study and the group conscious is that sharing from the floor after a speaker shares on the step is limited only to those who have experience with the step as it is laid out in the Big Book. Also if discussion strays from the step being studied the chairperson with ask the individual sharing to please keep it to the step. Additionally, it is round-robin so when it gets to an individual who doesn't have experience they will state that their name and are new and just pass (or they will say they are reading (Big Book), writing (4th), reading their 5th etc.) Also shares are usually limited to 5 minutes from each person.

Also in the preamble the group asked that if a person doesn't have experience with the step as it is laid out that they kindly pass and get with someone after the meeting. It also states that the groups is not trying to be intimidating or insulting but that they know "if you are talking about the problem, you can't possibly be talking about the solution". Then it states that if someone has a situation to get with someone after the meeting.

[chairmanma084]

i discussed chronic opiate abuse at my last meeting and was replied with, "J****, please discuss your dependency issues with alcohol only. This is AA. I'm sorry we don't have any NA meetings around here."

I haven't returned to AA.

[McGowdog]

Good.

It's that kind of motivation that might lead you to go start a good N.A. meeting.

When Bill and Bob got together, they didn't have any A.A. meetings either. So they had to go out and create some.

[chairmanma084]

Originally Posted by McGowdog

Good.

It's that kind of motivation that might lead you to go start a good N.A. meeting.

When Bill and Bob got together, they didn't have any A.A. meetings either. So they had to go out and create some.

i might just do that if i knew any recovering addicts. i had a hard enough time finding a source, let alone those to share the habit with.

haha, I'll start a good N.A. meeting of one...sponsor myself.

[tomvlll]

Originally Posted by chairmanma084

i discussed chronic opiate abuse at my last meeting and was replied with, "J****, please discuss your dependency issues with alcohol only. This is AA. I'm sorry we don't have any NA meetings around here."

I haven't returned to AA.

I can't tell from your post; do you think there is something with what those people did?

[chairmanma084]

Originally Posted by tomvlll

I can't tell from your post; do you think there is something with what those people did?

something with what they did? what do you mean?

[tomvlll]

Originally Posted by chairmanma084

something with what they did? what do you mean?

whoops I meant do you think there was something wrong with what they did?

[trucker]

Originally Posted by chairmanma084

i might just do that if i knew any recovering addicts. i had a hard enough time finding a source, let alone those to share the habit with.

haha, I'll start a good N.A. meeting of one...sponsor myself.

start that meeting chairman....you might be surprised who comes out the woodwork once they know there is a meeting available to them to freely talk about their narcotic addiction...

Good luck with it....

[bballdad]

chairmanma084
i noticed you are from Salisbury
they have NA meetings and so does a few locale cities within driving distance.I have attended NA meetings there back in 1988...

[chairmanma084]

Originally Posted by tomvlll

whoops I meant do you think there was something wrong with what they did?

i don't know. i just found it discouraging. i understand they had enough to deal with with alcohol, that they didn't need the burden of me discussing my main DOC.

The Effectiveness of the Twelve-Step Treatment