Anyone else go to Agnostic AA meetings? - SoberRecovery : Alcoholism Drug Addiction Help and Information

HuskyPup · 08-04-2011, 03:49 PM

I really like the ones I go to, but I'm finding it very, very hard to find others online to talk about the agnostic version of AA. So I was just curious if others wished to discuss what benefit they found in them, and how they differ from the more formal meetings.

I'd also appreciate keeping the focus on the positive, here. I understand people may disagree, but I would mainly like this to be a place we can talk about things without too much fighting

MycoolFitz · 08-04-2011, 03:59 PM

I'd be willing to but I've never found an agnostic AA meeting out here in cowboy country, I'm lucky to find smoke free ones.

HuskyPup · 08-04-2011, 04:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MycoolFitz

I'd be willing to but I've never found an agnostic AA meeting out here in cowboy country, I'm lucky to find smoke free ones.

Yeah, they are hard to find. Luckily, we have one here, and it's on my day off. I wish there were more, really...I think it very much extends an olive branch, of sorts, to those who might not otherwise go.

Well, here's to wishing these groups expand,

much peace,

H.P.

Boleo · 08-04-2011, 05:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HuskyPup

I really like the ones I go to, but I'm finding it very, very hard to find others online to talk about the agnostic version of AA.

I try to be open minded enough to try every new meeting in my area regardless of what type it is. As far as I know there are no Atheist/Agnostic meetings in my area YET.

AA Agnostics

HuskyPup · 08-04-2011, 06:45 PM

Yeah, I like my RL meetings, both the agnostic one and the LGBT one...but online, it seems much harder to talk/connect/feel supported. I mean, this whole section is a ghost-town, pretty much. And that is fine, I can handle it, just gets kind of lonesome, but I'm strong enough to pull though

Boleo · 08-04-2011, 07:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HuskyPup

...just gets kind of lonesome, but I'm strong enough to pull though

Seeing as how you are already comfortable with Taoism, why don't you try practicing Zen. It is a direct spinoff of Chan Buddhism which is a blend of Taoism and Buddhism.

P.S. Have you ever read "A Million Little Pieces"? It has some great Tao descriptions that relate directly to recovery.

HuskyPup · 08-04-2011, 10:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boleo

Seeing as how you are already comfortable with Taoism, why don't you try practicing Zen. It is a direct spinoff of Chan Buddhism which is a blend of Taoism and Buddhism.

P.S. Have you ever read "A Million Little Pieces"? It has some great Tao descriptions that relate directly to recovery.

I have read some Zen material, and do find it interesting...though Tao feels more natural to me, and there is indeed a large area of crossover. I will have to look for "A Million Little Pieces"...it sounds oddly familiar, I recall it getting a good deal of press, some time ago.

I also enjoy reading Jain texts, another atheistic religion, and have found some really beautiful things there.

johnclavin · 08-04-2011, 11:26 PM

"Anyone else go to Agnostic AA meetings?"

Hi Husky,

I went to Agnostic/Atheist meetings in Los Angeles (Hollywood area) for 25 years or so, but now I have moved to the Coachella Valley where there are none.
I found the meetings to be a nice accompaniment to regular AA meetings, but I actually don't feel that I ever found a real intellectual connection. Most people were there just to the avoid the AA dogma found in other AA meetings, or talk about atheism in a cartoonish way.

My suggestion is to engage in all these things, all types of 12 step meetings, the history of AA, the art process, philosophy, science, literature, futurist groups, the big picture of the human race and human civilisation, and most of all sobriety.

HuskyPup · 08-05-2011, 09:08 AM

Interesting. At my meetings, people seem pretty diverse...nobody is really dogmatic about atheism in that exaggerated way I do see, especially on the internet, and many talk about various approaches to the spiritual. The neighborhood where it takes place is a liberal, reform Jewish area, so there are a lot of people into the arts, spirituality, and intellectualism, not to stereotype liberal Jews! So it doesn't strike me as side-stepping matters; the things discussed there are much along the lines of the LGBT meetings I have gone to, only at the agnostic meeting, no prayers are said.

I feel very comfortable there, and it reminds that at many times, I wish I had been borne into a liberal Jewish family...my great Grandfather was Jewish, but that's not enough to count. I suppose this reflects my sense of not belonging, and my yearning to belong, yet not finding thing I want to belong to, and the welter of personal and developmental issues involved in the tangle!

Thanks for responding,

H. Pup

Boleo · 08-05-2011, 03:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HuskyPup

... I will have to look for "A Million Little Pieces"...it sounds oddly familiar, I recall it getting a good deal of press, some time ago.

James Frey tried to pass it off as an autobiography and got a lot of support from Opera Winfrey when it first acme out. She later renounced it because it was part fiction. Then she turned around and said it was good for those in recovery anyway.

I had a resentment myself for a while because I was under the impression that it was non-fiction. However, I still think the passages related to the Tao of recovery were excellent.

Boleo · 08-05-2011, 03:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HuskyPup

I feel very comfortable there, and it reminds that at many times, I wish I had been borne into a liberal Jewish family...

Perhaps you might like Kabbalah? WARNING - It is definitely not for neophytes:

"Kabbalah Revealed" Episode 1 | kabbalah.info

ananda · 08-05-2011, 04:02 PM

Husky,

We don't have any agnostic AA meetings here in Manhattan Kansas LOL

But I have found alot of support for my own path anyway. I remember when I was working on step 3 and approaching step 4....I started to get all bent about the god thing. My sponsor was one of those "linage type BB thumper" people, but when I started going wacko...her sponsor told her to have me go back to my buddhist/aithiest roots and get grounded.

They don't understand my beliefs, but they encourage me to go where my spiritual path takes me.

It's funny cause I get just as irritated with the hard core aithiests as I do with the hard core god people.....why can't we all just get along LOL

08-04-2011, 03:49 PM	#1 (permalink)
HuskyPup Shape-Shifting Super-Hero Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Eating Tofu! Posts: 719	Anyone else go to Agnostic AA meetings? I really like the ones I go to, but I'm finding it very, very hard to find others online to talk about the agnostic version of AA. So I was just curious if others wished to discuss what benefit they found in them, and how they differ from the more formal meetings. I'd also appreciate keeping the focus on the positive, here. I understand people may disagree, but I would mainly like this to be a place we can talk about things without too much fighting __________________ $C:\Documents and Settings\kcarps\My Documents\My Pictures\cb_my__kryptonite_bbcolorbar.gif$ Teen Titans Go! "The body is the soul."-Nietzsche

08-04-2011, 06:45 PM	#5 (permalink)
HuskyPup Shape-Shifting Super-Hero Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Eating Tofu! Posts: 719	Yeah, I like my RL meetings, both the agnostic one and the LGBT one...but online, it seems much harder to talk/connect/feel supported. I mean, this whole section is a ghost-town, pretty much. And that is fine, I can handle it, just gets kind of lonesome, but I'm strong enough to pull though __________________ $C:\Documents and Settings\kcarps\My Documents\My Pictures\cb_my__kryptonite_bbcolorbar.gif$ Teen Titans Go! "The body is the soul."-Nietzsche

08-05-2011, 09:08 AM	#9 (permalink)
HuskyPup Shape-Shifting Super-Hero Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Eating Tofu! Posts: 719	Interesting. At my meetings, people seem pretty diverse...nobody is really dogmatic about atheism in that exaggerated way I do see, especially on the internet, and many talk about various approaches to the spiritual. The neighborhood where it takes place is a liberal, reform Jewish area, so there are a lot of people into the arts, spirituality, and intellectualism, not to stereotype liberal Jews! So it doesn't strike me as side-stepping matters; the things discussed there are much along the lines of the LGBT meetings I have gone to, only at the agnostic meeting, no prayers are said. I feel very comfortable there, and it reminds that at many times, I wish I had been borne into a liberal Jewish family...my great Grandfather was Jewish, but that's not enough to count. I suppose this reflects my sense of not belonging, and my yearning to belong, yet not finding thing I want to belong to, and the welter of personal and developmental issues involved in the tangle! Thanks for responding, H. Pup __________________ $C:\Documents and Settings\kcarps\My Documents\My Pictures\cb_my__kryptonite_bbcolorbar.gif$ Teen Titans Go! "The body is the soul."-Nietzsche

08-05-2011, 04:02 PM	#12 (permalink)
ananda Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 12,049 Blog Entries: 1	Husky, We don't have any agnostic AA meetings here in Manhattan Kansas LOL But I have found alot of support for my own path anyway. I remember when I was working on step 3 and approaching step 4....I started to get all bent about the god thing. My sponsor was one of those "linage type BB thumper" people, but when I started going wacko...her sponsor told her to have me go back to my buddhist/aithiest roots and get grounded. They don't understand my beliefs, but they encourage me to go where my spiritual path takes me. It's funny cause I get just as irritated with the hard core aithiests as I do with the hard core god people.....why can't we all just get along LOL __________________ Copyright © 2010 - 2010 Ananda You can't stop living just because it hurts a little - Ananda's Mom

08-04-2011, 03:59 PM	#2 (permalink)
MycoolFitz Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Here, Now Posts: 4,271	I'd be willing to but I've never found an agnostic AA meeting out here in cowboy country, I'm lucky to find smoke free ones.

08-04-2011, 11:26 PM	#8 (permalink)
johnclavin Human Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 101	"Anyone else go to Agnostic AA meetings?" Hi Husky, I went to Agnostic/Atheist meetings in Los Angeles (Hollywood area) for 25 years or so, but now I have moved to the Coachella Valley where there are none. I found the meetings to be a nice accompaniment to regular AA meetings, but I actually don't feel that I ever found a real intellectual connection. Most people were there just to the avoid the AA dogma found in other AA meetings, or talk about atheism in a cartoonish way. My suggestion is to engage in all these things, all types of 12 step meetings, the history of AA, the art process, philosophy, science, literature, futurist groups, the big picture of the human race and human civilisation, and most of all sobriety.

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