cyber s.r. sponsors ????

[trio313]

would you believe it's day 35.I don't have the time to do a 90 & 90,but wiyh the meetings I do make & sr here I have managed to stay c.s.
I'm having trouble with picking a sponsor. Trust , ego. Maybe it's fear of rejection. I fell like I'm proposing.anyway its 6.30am n.y. 10 degrees & snowing & i'm off to work.
last sunday I received * 30 day key chain which made be feel good. thanks for the encouragment I received here tony & toad its good to know im heading in the right direction.
have been taking it easy not getting stressed or sucked into any drama.
the honesty here & in the rooms is mindblowing.I am in the middle of a wolfpack daily. if you let your guard down for a second they will eat you alive. BUT I AM SOOOO GRATEFUL JUST TO HAVE 2 ARMS & 2 LEGS im really starting to enjoy this. but I must remain on guard to anything or anybody that will sabotage my recovery. I like to read books any suggestions on meditations that is not to deep or self improvements. I think my soul is starting to come out. have a great day people.

[Fulldresser4]

Hi Trio, and welcome!! I don't have any advice as far as cyber-sponsors, but I was told this once (please don't take offense, just my esh):
When I said I didn't have time for 90 in 90, or sponsors, or reading the Big Book, a wise gentleman told me this: you found time to drink and use, you surely can find time for your recovery.

Blessings,

Annie

[Astro]

Hello Trio, welcome to SR. Stay warm!

I agree with Annie, I could make all kinds of excuses about not having time for meetings & F2F recovery, but I had zero problems with drinking 24/7. I learned quickly that it was better to lose a few hours sleep to attend a late-night or early morning meeting than it was to attempt self-sponsorship or trying to stay sober on my own. I didn't do a 90 in 90, but for the last few years I've done my best to make it to as many meetings as possible.

Guard your sobriety, and please keep coming back!

[The_Hammer]

Don't let yourself be conned into believing that what you're doing is; "Good enough". The suggestions the books Alcoholics Anonymous and others make were barely enough to keep the founders on the straight and narrow. You'd do well to follow them to the letter. Then you can begin to understand the front of Chapter 5 "Rarely have we seen a person fail...", go ahead and read it for yourself, it's better that way. Get a flesh and blood, same sex, same sexual preference sponsor and after a year or so, your soul will surely come out.

[Jazzed_N_AZ]

Lemme think here...

I guess I would have to voice the, "you found or made enough time to use, why not do the same for your recovery", statement as well.

90 in 90, I don't remember if I did that when I was fresh,(who am I kidding?). I do know that I was in and out of recovery for the first 15+ years of my journey,(81-96)
(Counting from '96), I do know that after my first year clean, I 'moved' to a place where there was only 2 meetings a week. That (controlled) environment lasted for 4 more years. Then I was able to do a meeting a day, sometimes more and I now have 12+ years of continuous clean time.

I don't get to a meeting a day anymore but I go as much as I can without jeopardizing my work/health and family obligations (about 4-5 a week). I also have 2 sponsors (long distance) and 7 trusted friends locally in recovery. The long distance relationships are because either I moved or they moved. I am moving back to the area that one of them lives next month.

I found that for me, I only get out what I put into my recovery and when I think how difficult it was to stay high, it takes less effort to stay clean. Still, it does take effort. We don't just lay around and recover.

Books? AA's Big Book, NA's Basic Text, One Day At A Time, As Bill Sees It are good for starters.

[toad]

The big book Alcoholics Anonymous, and the Narcotics Anonymous Basic Text are text books that I use daily. They are text books, not novels or self-help books and should be used as text books. Mine are marked up from cover to cover. Anytime I read or hear something read that strikes a note in my heart I underline it. Sometimes I put a date by the statement so I know when in my recovery I had that moment of clairity. On the blank pages of my books I write things that I hear at meetings. I always record who said it and the date. Here is a quote I heard just last Monday evening, "Treatment is about discovery, AA is about recovery." I have wore out several AA big books. When I get to the point where I have to use rubber bands to keep them together they are almost ready for the book shelf. Starting with a new book is almost painful, because of having to leave all my quotes at home.....but before long, new stuff is added all the time.

There are several daily devotionals that I consider to be good.

Hazelden .... Twenty-Four Hours A Day,
AA .... Daily Reflections
NA .... Just for Today (Probably my favorite)

Took me 25 years, in and out of AA and NA, to get a one year medalion.
I never was able to make 90 meetings in 90 days because of living in a rural area and not driving for 10 years. When I finally surrendered I did everything I could to stay clean and sober and that included going to church.

Good to hear from you trio, congratulations on the 30 day key tag. Take your white key tag and attach it to your 30 day tag and start your chain. One day at a time and you will have a string of them.

We had 3 degrees here this morning......it should be in your town tomorrow.

[sticker]

Glad to hear from ya trio..weird but I was just thinkin about ya last night wondering how you were doing and all. Like toad said you cant go wrong with the basic text or or big blue. Kinda like instruction manuals for those of us that never really figured out the whole life on lifes terms thing

As for the sponsor question... In my experience I need to build those face to face, live personal relationships with others that have been through some of the same things that I'm going to deal with in recovery and came thru them clean. Yea that whole ego thing ,asking some one for help can be a stumbling block IF you let it be. Most of us thought we could deal with stuff on our own and look where we ended up. The one thing I know today is I cant do this on my own..Ive tried...many times!!! NA is the only way that has worked for me (by trying to follow the simple blue print in the books)

Best wishes for ya brother trio..keep the shiny side up

[Jazzed_N_AZ]

Originally Posted by toad

... Sometimes I put a date by the statement so I know when in my recovery I had that moment of clairity...

I never even thought of that. And with my C.R.S. disorder, I am surprised that my wife (at least) didn't suggest it to me.

I am always remembering things or finding familiarity with things and not remembering the significance of them to my life moments.

I have gone through some books in my days, marking them up with highlighter or whatever is handy. Never got one to the rubber band stage though.

I find that I have just given them away alot because most of mine were given to me. Someone gave me a J4T recently. I had missed reading mine.

Thx 4 letting me share.