KellyToronto

Hmm...pondering whether to do an open or closed meeting tonight.

8 pm, Toronto time

..picking up a new friend I met in rehab over the last 5 weeks.

Kelly

TheTinMan

I like closed but have met some great people in open ones.

Mark75

Doesn't matter too much in my neck of the woods, really... most of the Big Book studies are closed ... and that might be a good choice.

daviddocum

I`m new to all of this, what is the difference

EmeraldRose

I don't mind either as long as I get there!
Depends on what you need. That is great if you have a choice.
Unfortunately, I don't.

Ranger

Anyone can attend an open meeting. Closed meetings can only be attended by AA members or those who have a desire to stop drinking...but I repeat myself.

omegasupreme

Might I suggest literature based. Experience always supersedes opinion in the 4th dimension.

daviddocum

I see, so an open meeting I could show up and just sit and listen. But to get into a closed meeting I assume I would need a sponsor and whatnot?

Zencat

As a not-so-much into AA person I attend only open meetings. It works for what I need to
give and get out of AA as a group experience. Looking for the solution as its laid-out in the BB, closed meetings are best chance for that.

Antiderivative

In my experience, open or closed has little bearing on how good or not so good a meeting is. It is the people who make up the meeting and how it is chaired that makes the difference.

Open meetings are open to non-alcoholics, so that the possibility that a non-alcoholic sits in and listens bothers you, then go to a closed meeting. In my experience, the non-alcoholics that attend are there supporting someone, an addict, or a student from a local university who is gaining experiencing for related field. I have never met one who wasn't friendly and supportive.

If you have options of meetings, I would bounce around and find one that you like. Spread your wings a little bit and find a nice home group.

Ranger

Actually, you could show up to a closed meeting and just sit and listen if you have a desire to stop drinking. I suspect a lot of folks dip their toes into the AA water in this manner.

keithj

This is a great idea, and it's advice that is frequently given. I'm not sure that the best criterion for deciding, however, is how much I like a meeting or how comfortable I feel

Meetings can vary from strictly solution/literature based to strictly fellowship and support based. It may be that I like the funny stories and hugs and talking about my problem du jour. It may be that I feel very comfortable in that setting. However, that setting may have nothing to do with the AA solution to alcoholism.

Learning about and discussing my powerlessness and hopelessness, my selfishness, my faults, how to set things right, and my reliance on a higher power were not comfortable for me, and I didn't necessarily like it much. But those were the things that led to being recovered.