EA CONNECTION - OCTOBER2017
Your monthly newsletter from ISC
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From the EA Board of Trustees President

EA Recovery Tools

The Board members of Emotions Anonymous gathered at the ISC
Offices in St Paul, MN last Wednesday, Thursday and Friday forthe annual Board Workshop to begin the process of moving EA
into the future. Our time together consisted of three important
meetings: EA Board of Trustee Workshop; EA Board Meeting andthe Annual Membership Business Meeting via Conference Call.
We had a small but vibrant group of people for the meeting. Asalways, additional information will be forthcoming, so pleasecheck our Web Page for this information. As a heads up, our Annual Gratitude Month (November) is just around the corner,providing us the opportunity for generous group and individual
EA Contributions. Please be generous in your response for theSerenity you have gained as a member of Emotions Anonymous.
Happy Fall!
Gus S, President EA Board of Trustees

Step 10: Continued to take personal inventory
and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.

Of Importance to Groups

Tradition 10: Emotions Anonymous has noopinion on outside issues; hence, the EA nameought never be drawn into public controversy.

Promise 10: We intuitively know how tohandle situations which used to baffle us.
Helpful Concept 10: We have not found it
helpful to place labels on any degree of illness
or health. We may have different symptoms,
but the underlying emotions are the same orsimilar. We discover we are not unique in our
difficulties and illnesses.

1. We’re hearing that some groups are being asked for insurance at Just for Today 10: I shall be unafraid.
the location of their meeting. Please know that the ISC does NOT Particularly, I shall be unafraid to be happy, toprovide any sort of insurance coverage.
enjoy what is good, what is beautiful, and what
2. Are you organizing a local event? Please let ISC know if you are is lovely in life.
holding something special so we can share your information on
the Calendar! Send your notices to our director, Elaine .
3. Has your group contact or meeting information changed?
Email Bobbie Jo with updates. Correct information on thewebsite listing is important so newcomers can find a meetingor someone to contact with questions.

The Loop (EAnon)
Many shares used in the EA Connection are from our online discussion group, the Loop. Click here to learn more about the Loop

New Literature: Real Listening #29
A reflection on listening and why we might
focus on it. This shares how the JFT's,
promises and slogans remind us to listen toothers and ourselves and how the noise in
our lives makes this difficult. Available on
our website

A Service Opportunity
Do you have graphic design skills and a few hours available for some service work for EA? The ISC is in need of aprofessional designer who can help us update/refresh/design our materials. You can work from wherever you are andyou don't have to commit to more than one piece at a time! Currently we are looking for someone to update our cards
that mark time spent in EA (30-90 days etc) and to recreate our "I have a Choice" and "The 12 Promises" cards. New
ideas are welcome! Contact Elaine at director@emotionsanonymous.org if you are interested.

Memorials and Special Gifts will be acknowledge, to donate click here1

RECOVERY USING THE TOOLS OF EAStep 10: Continued to takepersonal inventory andwhen we were wrong
promptly admitted it.
I am doing a daily written 10th
step and it is helping me to connect
more to my Higher Power and tosee the truth about things. I can't
really fool myself when I write
down my feelings about things andface facts about my day. Then I canturn things over to the Higher Power and pray for guidance.
Having these quiet times for myself
really helps. I can see in writingsome of my resentments, self-pityor anger. Then I can come to resolutions on things. Like praying forpeople I resent, or practicing gratitude when feeling self-pity, orthinking about ways I can be morecalm and forgiving of others insteadof being angry. I discovered thesethings today when I took my inventory. I am going to practice thesequiet times for myself as I feel they
not only will help me, but help others around me as I behave better. I
trust my Higher Power will keep
helping me and guiding me as I connect daily with that Power.
I love our Just for today that says:
Just for today I will have a quiet
time of meditation wherein I shallthink of my Higher Power, of myself, and of my neighbor. I shall relax and seek truth.
I can do that while doing a written
10th step. I can do that while goingfor a nice quiet walk or bike ride
when I just connect with my Higher
Power in the present moment. I cando that while listening to music,
too, which calms my mind andhelps me connect more to my Higher Power, too. I can do that at night
just while praying and meditating. Ican even pray and meditate while
doing something as simple as thedishes. Mainly it is connecting withthe truths within myself and ask myHigher Power to help me and guideme daily to the right things I need
to be doing for myself and others. It
takes work doing this program, but
it is worth it. So work it because
you are worth it!...Connie
Today my 13 year-old son and I
went grocery shopping. I intentionally took him grocery shopping so I
could apologize. This year we’ve
had a lot of things going on in ourfamily and though I hate to say it
my wife and I have often let thegrocery shopping slip. Our kids
would often tell us over the summer, there is nothing to eat in thehouse! Sometimes when they say
this, what they are really saying isnothing that I like to eat is in thehouse. But this summer, it has beentrue, we’ve just not gone grocery
shopping a lot! Even I got to thepoint where I would say to myself,
our house is like “old mother hubbard.” So, I took my son with me
today and we went grocery shopping. And I apologized to him forletting the groceries slip. After all,there is not much he can do about
it and I felt bad.

I’m trying each day this month toapologize on the spot when it calls
for it versus getting defensive andproject the blame onto someone orsomething else. I’m trying to practice making amends daily...Chris
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Just for Today 10: I shallbe unafraid. Particularly, I
shall be unafraid to behappy, to enjoy what isgood, what is beautiful,
and what is lovely in life.
I was busy most of the day with errands and chores. I was thinking
that I had not taken the time to find
one thing that was beautiful andlovely today, when I rememberedthat a friend had posted on Facebook some gorgeous photos she
had taken while she was stuck intraffic of a beautiful sky and the sun
setting behind a bridge whichcheered her up. I decided to savethe photos and make them my"something beautiful and lovely"
for today. Yet another example ofmy Higher Power supplying exactly
what I needed as long as I was open
to it...Joe.Slogan 10: I need people
Dear God, help me let go of myneed to stay immersed in negativity. I can change the energy in myself and my environment from negative to positive. For my part, I willaffirm the good of who I am, andthe world around me until it sinks
in and feels real. In learning to liveat peace with problem people, I will
also strive to find one quality that I
like about someone else who is important to me, and I will take therisk to tell him or her that...Victoria

DISCOVERING THE TOOLS OF EA
Negative Thinking
A few days ago I was feeling really horrible and realized it was time for some much needed step work. I use a 10step inventory that I made based on another 10-step inventory.
It’s a worksheet with a few columns. In the first one, I write down all the people, places, and things that I am feelingstrong emotions towards. In the second column, I write a few details about these people, places, and things thatare triggering my different emotions. The next column is sub-divided with room for 4 basic positive emotions and 4
basic negative ones. The last column is for writing any recovery actions that I might be able to take.
I didn’t have any specific actions that came to mind, but what jumped out at me is all the things in the first column—my wife, kids, the holidays, and my work —and that all my negative feelings were towards them. It felt like asmack in the face, “Hey, your perception must really be warped here because these are things that a lot of people
would probably think of in a positive light, but all I do is feel annoyed towards them all.” That helped me shift myperspective, and I have been feeling more positive since then.
I did wake up one day and a negative thought about something flashed into my mind, then I was feeling negative
about everything else throughout the morning. When I noticed that I was feeling bad, I tried to trace back mythought process to the beginning and identified the thought that set off the avalanche. Other people might be able
to realize the original thought, neutralize it, and then feel good. But for me, that one thought poisoned my whole system and after it had taken hold, I was not enough to neutralize that thought.
I walked through all the steps in my head, surrendering my will and my life to a Power greaterthan myself, and that is what it took to clear my head again...Elyah

Positive thinking
After stating that I alone cannot change my thinking, I need to accept it then turn it over to my Higher Power. I
think HP had me get the books so I might have some tools in retraining my thinking about myself. There are somepositive affirmations in the Book "It Works If You Work It Book" Pgs. 94-96. I found in my darkest hours that I hadn'ta good thing to say to or about myself. I was all misery. But underneath that misery was also a desire to stay miserable, to punish myself. I was very comfortable with being not good enough. There was a lot of very self-centered willfulness on my part to keep myself 'miserable'.
Reading the affirmations felt stupid and useless at first, but it was a 'balancing' experience. It helped me to remember there is a white side as well as a black side and a lot of gray in between. I wouldn't call it 'positive' thinking, I
would call it a reality check. A lot of statements in the affirmative were actually true of me. I have defects, but I also
have assets too - to dwell on only one or the other isn't quite being 'honest'. It challenged me to think outside mymisery box, outside my pity party attitude. I started to realize, I am not a demon or an angel, I am human. I havestrengths and foibles but that is part of being human.
That helped me a great deal as I asked HP to assist me in also accepting my own 'positives' and maybe focus onsome of these for awhile, as well as challenge my own desire to strip myself of positive assets and stay stuck in selfpity of who I am. In other words to stop focusing exclusively on the 'negative' thinking...ML
Yesterday evening I was humming one of the tunes from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory don't know how it got in my head! - when I realized the wisdom of the words I was humming. "If
you want to view paradise, simply look around and view it." It seemed so simplistic, but the message is profound. My Higher Power is right at my fingertips, and always has been...Thomas3

2017 - 2018 EA BOARD OF TRUSTEESGus 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
John W, MN 612-760-0313 johnwerner52@gmail.com Secretary from Region 1

Jack M, IL 773-720-1827 disaster_man@msn.com from Region 3
Valerie C, NY 585-371-4347 valcea@gmx.com from Region 5“ The Concepts provide us with the basic structure of EA”
Concept 10: We have not found it helpful to place labels on any degree of illness orhealth. We may have different symptoms, but the underlying emotions are the sameor similar. We discover we are not unique in our difficulties and illnesses.

Thoughts from your Trustees on Concept 10
We live in a world of labels which are used everywhere. The medical profession used them to identify illnesses; they are used to identify sexual orientation; a person’s marital status; nutritional information in our food, etc.
But, EA is unique. We’re asked to not use labels, as they can be hurtfuland judgmental, plus we gain nothing from them. What a blessing to knowthat EA is label free...Gus SREGIONS OF EMOTIONS ANONYMOUS
Region 1: Northwest
CAN: AB, BC, MB, ON, SK
USA: AK, ID, MN, MT, ND, OR, SD, WA, WI, WY

The best part of the EA program in terms of our pursuit of improved emotional / relationship health is that we go about this goal without comparing
each other. I focus only on myself in terms of where I used to be, prior toEA. I have observed many different symptomatic emotion-based behavior
in others. Nevertheless, I don't think that others are "special" in terms of
their lives being better / worse than others. We're in this thing together(working toward balanced / healthy thinking patterns). I'm glad I'm not on
this journey alone...Scott JRegion 2: Southwest

I can suffer from "terminal uniqueness" where I continually compare myself to others. I can feel like I have more or less recovery or more or lesswillingness, more or less hardship, etc. This prevents me from learning,
because I think what worked for others can't work for me. When I am
open-minded and willing to try new things, my recovery improves. Avoiding comparisons helps me to stay open-minded...Val C

Region 5: Northeast

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 Rico

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
editor@emotionsanonymous.org
groupdata@emotionsanonymous.org
info@emotionsanonymous.org
orders@emotionsanonymous.org

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