The EA Connection: February 2018Your monthly newsletter from ISC
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Sharing my EA JourneyThis month's column, written by Scott J, is a reflection of theBoard of Trustees’ desire to welcome the many ways to identify
a Higher Power.
“Spiritual but not religious.” It’s a way of viewing the world
through a lens of spirituality that is not expressed in terms ofreligion and religious institutions.

E.A. understands this distinction between religion andspirituality. Concept 7 says: “E.A. is a spiritual program and not areligious program. “ We do not advocate any particular beliefsystem.” This “boundary set by E.A. founders reminds us toavoid stressing one belief system over another. We never wantto advocate for the use of religious terminology to be used in
our program.
We use the words “Higher Power” in our literature and prayers
very deliberately – these two words emphasize our commitment
to being a spiritual program. Personally, I have found a greatsafe harbor in this phrase as I’ve sought to experience growth inmy spiritual life separate from religion.
The E.A. program is clear that our Higher Power is a force wedepend on to help us achieve serenity. Each of us can look towhatever we personally designate as our H.P. to give us strengthand wisdom.
Concept 8 lets us know that this Power, that is greater thanourselves, is to be broadly defined. Our HP can be human love, aforce for good, the group, nature, the universe. In fact our HP
can be any entity that we might select and we can choose how
we name it.
Future articles will continue to explore this distinction ofspirituality as it relates to religion—as I trust in my Higher Powerto guide me in writing what I perceive to be a respectful andhumble sharing of my experience, strength and hope when it
comes to this topic...Scott J, EA Board of Trustees, VP/Treasure

EA Tools for Recovery
Step 2: Came to believe that a Power
greater than ourselves could restore us
to sanity.
Promise 2: We do not regret the past or
wish to shut the door on it.
Slogan 2: You are not alone
JFT 2: Just for Today I will try to behappy, realizing my happiness does notdepend on what others do or say or what
happens around me. Happiness is a resultof being at peace with myself.
Tradition 2: For our group purpose
there is but one ultimate authority—aloving God as He may express Himself in
our group conscience. Our leaders are
but trusted servants; they do not govern.
Concept 2: We are experts only on ourown stories, how we try to live theprogram, how the program works for us,
and what EA has done for us. No one
speaks for Emotions Anonymous as awhole.
NEW CHAT ROOM MEETING: All arewelcome. No account Required
Chat Room Contact Meetings RoomModerated meetings: Wed—-Sun 8 p.m.
EST Unmoderated Fellowship: Sat—Sun 3 8:00 p.m. EST.
The Loop (EAnon) is our online discussion
forum. Click here more information Loop

Of importance to Groups and Members
Effective January, 2018 EA will release an updated print catalog and order form twice each year inJanuary and July. Please be sure you are using the most recent version. The online store will be continuously updated
as we add new literature and other items. Please order online for the most current material.
Check the event calendar for special meetings, retreats, or conferences close to you. New notices to Elaine.

Recovery using the Tools of EA
Step 2: Came to believethat a Power greater thanourselves could restore
us to sanity.
I came to believe that I could berestored to sanity a little while ago
now. People,
my life and inrecovering people I saw theevidence. But I'm mindful that likeany relationship the one with my HP
needs attention and all the otheringredients that lead to healthy
relationships. Often times withouteven realizing it, I move away frommy HP. Then I blame Him for leaving
me until finally I realize that it is I
that have moved away from my HP
not vice versa. I also need to keep inmind that my mental health,sobriety and ultimately my life arecontingent on the maintenance ofmy spiritual condition and myrelationship with God as I
understand God.
Step 2 is an ongoing process. My
insanity and my mental illness are 2
separate but interlinked things. My
insanity was doing the same thingover and over again but expecting a
different result. ''I know, but thistime it will be different''. That was
my thought pattern for a lot of years
and so I kept doing what I was doing
and I kept on getting what I wasgetting.
Faith doesn't come natural to me.
My faith ebbs and flows. I'd like tosay that my faith is constant andunwavering but that isn’t true. The
basis of my faith comes from my''bad and painful' experiences. I say
that because through hell and highwater, my HP has brought methrough it. That is the evidence. Not
what my head tells me.
I can't trust my head. It wants mealone, in bed, duvet over my head,
isolated, not answering the phone,
the door, the mail. It wants me
blaming you, and thinking that you
are my enemy. Ultimately, I believethat my head wants me dead. The
only enemy I have right now, today,
is my head. That has been the casefor most of my recovery. The antivenom to my head for me is to stickclose to recovering people, work thesteps, do the next right thing andcultivate gratitude. Gratitude allows
joy to enter into my life. Thanks forbeing here. Without you, there is nome...AdamStep Two is a step of hope. Withouthope, life is a dark hole. I haveexperienced being in that dark hole
but thanks to the EA program I'mchoosing not to go there any
more...CarolSlogan 2: You are not alone
I used to think that I was all alone
and had no one to rely on butmyself. I used to think I had to do
everything all on my own and that I
had to be totally self-sufficient. NowI know that self-sufficiency is a lie. I
need people! So I no longer isolate
and try to be a part of not only 12
step groups, but part of life daily. I
try to not add misery to any ones life
and if I do, I try to make amends
right away.
If I am lonely, I try to remember that
my Higher Power is always with me.
That I truly am never alone, when I
remember that, I try to reach out toothers. Sometimes I ask my Higher

Power to give me the courage toreach out to someone when I am
nervous about it.
I am grateful for those in recovery
who keep coming back and keep
sharing what works for them. When
we share our solutions we arehelping others. I like how Concept 5
says: "EA is not a sounding board forcontinually reviewing our miseries,
but a way to learn to detachourselves from them. Part of ourserenity comes from being able tolive at peace with unsolved
problems." I have learned how tolive serenely, even with unsolved
problems, by coming to EA
meetings. I have learned manysolutions which I am grateful for.
When I hear someone dealing with aloss and I see how they are coping
by reaching out, that gives me
courage to reach out when I am
dealing with a loss. And when I hearsomeone struggling and having a
tough time, but hear they are goingto meetings, reading literature andpraying, I know that they are in thesolution which helps. It gives mehope that I can do the same when I
am having a tough time.
When I don't isolate, when I keep
being a part of Emotions
Anonymous, I will never really bealone again and I am so grateful forthat! And I will keep being able tohear all the good things I hear inthese 12 step rooms and hope by
the grace of a loving Higher Power,that I can keep sharing the goodthings I have learned...Connie

Discovering the tools of EA
How to love
I am grateful to EA because EA has really taught me how to "love." I definitely used to think love was like banking...you put something in...and get something back...I don't think I consciously knew I was thinking this way until EA.
When I started EA, I was so down on life and myself and I really felt like I had lost my capacity to love anything. I felt
completely abandoned. I now realize that I was using my love almost like a terrorist. Yes, I did a lot of things that
seemed nice but I really did think I was banking good deeds for people to then do for me. This is not love, it is manipulation. I see this now, thanks to EA. Thanks to EA, I realized that I had to begin by taking care of myself in order to really learn what love is...and that I should never do anything for anyone else that I would not do for me, or am not doingfor me, this is what love my neighbor as myself means, to love me...so I can love others. Now I get that love needs tobe given away for free...no strings attached....no expectations...no unspoken contracts. This is a huge concept to understand and it was a huge concept for me to learn to embrace. I now think of love this way, it is a far more peaceful
way than I used to think of love. A very unselfish way and a way that helps me to not feel resentful towards people as I
only give the love that I can and want to give...Kelly

Unconditional Love
Unconditional love...Yep...this is a tough one. Can I love another who has just disappointed me? Can I love anotherwho has hurt me? Can I love myself when I make poor choices which bring really bad consequences to my life? Onand on these questions roam around inside of my head..
I am a conditional lover! I don't know much about unconditional love. When I was taught by my parents, teachers, andreligious leaders they spoke a lot about this unconditional love which God was giving out, but what I received was theconditional stuff. Yep, I got the words., I love you enough to make these tough decisions and you have to understandthat I am doing this out of love.. That didn't feel very good, but they were a lot stronger than I was and so they taught
me how to do this conditional love stuff.
These nice and good folks were not bad people. They were just teaching with what they learned from others and believed. The problem was that as I attempted to put this into my life, my life began to spin out of control and my emotional problems prevented me from living the life which I wanted to live. I had to find a new way of dealing with mylife.
The very first time I went to a 12 Step meeting, I knew that I wanted what these good people had. But, I was very undisciplined and my world had a lot of unfinished business in it . It has been quite a recovery road for me, I needed large
doses of pain and suffering before I could let go and let God. I wanted the microwave program and instead got the 12Steps. I have been at this process for over 25 years and I have made lots of mistakes and poor choices.
I can say that today I have the powerful tools of acceptance, surrender, and forgiveness working to help bring me tounconditional love, which I would like in my life and to extend to others...PaulResponsibility when using the word LoveWords are very important to me and are to be used wisely. There is responsibility involved when using the word
love. Love is the antidote to all but it cannot always be given freely and honestly by humans. Unconditional love is a
tough thing to continually offer. But I try my best and am getting better and better at this.
This love I extend to others is also necessary to extend to myself. I try to be an honest person and at times when dealing with others I have found it quite necessary to be direct with them. This may seem unkind but they have overstepped boundaries and need to be informed. I feel it better they understand than continue to be disillusioned. I try to
do this as kindly as I can….it is not always taken as such. Over this I have no control.
I do not and cannot take the word love lightly nor use this term to please someone or to be dishonest with them. I
would be doing them and I a great dis-service to lead them into thinking something that is not true. Being kind is onething, saying things I do not mean to get a result I want is not in any ones best interest...Twyla

2017 - 2018 EA Board of Trustees
Please feel free to contact members of the Board with questions or concerns
Gus S, AZ 602-319-3890 schloesser us@gmail.com President (from Region 2)
Scott J, MN 507-276-0323 sdjakel@gmail.com Vice President/Treasurer (from Region 1/GST)John W, MN 612-760-0313 johnwerner52@gmail.com Secretary (from Region 1)
Jack H, IL 773-720-1827 disaster_man@msn.com (from Region 3)
Valerie C, NY 585-371-4347 valcea@gmx.com (from Region 5/GST)The 12 Principles, Step 2: HopeIn the early 1950’s Twelve Step groups began informally sharing what has become known as the Principles of the 12 Steps. Each step has a corresponding
principle that one can keep in mind when working the steps. Below members
share how HOPE factors into Step 2 for them.

Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could
restore us to sanity.
I like the reflection (Today 1/16) about finding hope, even if my life hasn't
become more manageable. For me, when I admit unmanageability, it helps alot, because that's when I usually am able to surrender and stop trying to fix
things that are out of my control. I think my life has become a lot more manageable since I've been in EA, for that reason .I wouldn't say my life is perfect,
but it's gotten a lot better since I stopped trying so hard to manage things thatweren't mine to manage. I’m very grateful….Gail
When I first saw the 2nd step, I thought this is easy. I had started to go tomeetings and assumed that in itself was sanity. I may not have found instantsanity I thought was there, but I did find hope, hope in people, the programand God. The people I met knew and understood what it was like to feel alone
and I felt safe; in the program I found hope in the Promises, so many of themhelped to combat the fear I had inside, and I became reacquainted with theGod of my understanding and remembered what it was like to have Him by myside. Many years later, I still find hope through 12 step recovery...KarenStep 2 gave me hope that I could come to believe there was a Higher Power
greater than me and all those emotions that were bothering me, in particular
extreme anger and sadness. This step gave me hope that I could have sanebehavior. I got hope when I saw other members using a Higher Power to help
them with sanity in their lives and saw them living sane lives. I found the hopethat I needed to change to live a way more peaceful life. After step two, I had
hope EA could help me and grateful it has! ...Connie
Many things were missing from my childhood. But it wasn't until I committedto working my program that I realized one of the most important things missing was hope. Hope that I will get better. Hope that "this too shallpass." Hope that there is a Higher Power behind me. Now, I have hope. And I
believe it is one of the most important things I can have and hold onto...Chris

REGIONS OF EMOTIONS ANONYMOUS
Region 1: Northwest
CAN: AB, BC, MB, ON, SK
USA: AK, ID, MN, MT, ND, OR, SD, WA, WI, WY
Region 2: Southwest
USA: AZ, CA, CO, HI, NM, NV, OK, TX, UT
Region 3: Central
USA: IA, IL, IN, KS, MI, MO, NE

Region 4: Southeast
USA:Puerto RicoRegion 5: Northeast
CAN: NB, NF, NS, NT, PE,YT
USA: CT, MA, ME, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, VT
Region 6: French-speaking Canada

Emotions Anonymous™
Hours Monday—Thursday: 10 to 3:30
Phone 651-647-9712
Fax 651-647-1593
PO Box 4245
St Paul, MN 55104

www.EmotionsAnonymous.org
director@emotionsanonymous.org
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