Vodkasaurus

How do I FI d out info on meetings? Sorry if its been mentioned before.

Maples

Hi Vodkasaurus, I see you are from Massachusetts as well. Welcome! You can find AA meetings in the Boston area here:

Welcome AABoston.org Central Service Committe of Eastern Mass. (Intergroup)

Maples

Went to a meeting last night, saw my "mentor" there. (not my sponsor, just someone who has taken me under his wing.)

Honestly, didn't have as great an experience. There were some people giving talks about their lives, what they went through, how bad it got, what they learned. The whole time, there was a group of younger AA'ers whispering, giggling, etc.. Here I am, end of day 4, trying like hell to make this work. And up front are some lifers spilling their guts. And these youngsters are texting, whispering, laughing, etc... going through the motions but treating the meeting like it's a social scene instead of what I want from it.

I was disappointed, it made it difficult for me to connect with the speakers. My mentor told me that it was just a reality. Not everyone at open meetings are there for the right reasons. This is why you try several different meetings before finding a home group and signing up.

Learned a lot.

Day 5 here I come.

paul99

Your friend there is right. You're going to run into people at meetings that frustrate you, anger you, annoy you. I used to carry some heavy resentments towards some people...even some groups. That was early on in recovery, and I had to work through that when I did my inventory. I have to remember that some are sicker than others, some are there not because they want to be there, and some aren't sure why they are there. But they are all welcome. If they're being disruptive, the chair or someone will usually nip it in the bud. But what I found is that the meetings were a good place to "practice" the spiritual principles of patience, tolerance, love and acceptance. Those were big things for me, and it took me some time to get to a place where I can either ignore or not let others bother me at a meeting. I am there to hear the message and help others.

Do try other meetings - there is a different vibe and energy at them all.

MIRecovery

It is great you were honest and said it was not a great experience but as others have said, "Try other meetings." I got luck and only ran into one meeting like the one you described.

The meetings I go to are full of serious but fun people that are commited to sobriety and many of them are the best friends I have ever had

courage2

You sound great, Maples! I'm so glad you're throwing yourself into a commitment to become a sober Maples!

I agree. Sometimes I get really distracted by other people's behavior in meetings, but part of that is me -- I'm allowing myself to be distracted, because my alcoholic self doesn't want me to give my full attention to messages I can use against the disease.

I go to meetings at several different places, and even the same meeting on different days or with a slightly different vibe in the room can be quite a different experience. But I think a person can learn from anything in a meeting, even from the things they resent.

Dave42001

Hi Maples,

Don't get discouraged its happened to me too.. We have a lot of people in my area that the court system makes them attend.. You can tell they're not there by choice.. Keep talking to your temp sponsor and let him know your thoughts!! It's annoying when people high jack the meeting for sure.. We had a guy snoring in a meeting recently and someone had to wake him up 5 times.. Just rude!! It happens.. Just keep up the great work and keep going back..

Maples

Wow, thank you so much cold fusion this was a big help. That opens up a lot of options for me!

I am continuing my journey here if anyone is interested in reading. If you aren't, no worries!!

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...ples-tale.html

No longer nervous about AA meetings so want a new thread.