THE EA CONNECTION: JANUARY 2019Your monthly newsletter from ISC
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EA TOOLS FOR RECOVERY
Step 1: We admitted we were powerless over our emotions - that our lives had become unmanageable.
Promise 1: We realize a new freedom and happiness.
Slogan 1: Let go and let God
Just for Today 1: I will try to live through this day only, not tackling all of my problems at once. I can dosomething at this moment that would discourage me if I had to continue it for a lifetime.
Tradition 1: Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends on EA unity.
Helpful Concept 1: We come to EA to learn how to live a new way of life through the 12-step program ofEmotions Anonymous which consists of 12 Steps, 12 Traditions, concepts, the Serenity Prayer, slogans, Just forTodays, EA literature, weekly meetings, telephone and personal contacts, and living the program one day at atime. We do not come for another person - we come to help ourselves and to share our experiences, strength,
and hope with others

FROM YOUR EA BOARD OF TRUSTEES“What’s new?” “What’s up?” Sometimes we greet each other with questions that ask: what’s new in yourlife? Beginning with this New Year, we have occasion to ask about new things. In EA, in terms of trusted servants,we’ve got two new trustees! Derita and Colleen have both joined the board of directors. John, Gus, and I - current trustees - are thrilled to have them on board - literally! They have both started making great contributions
right away, bringing new perspectives to the work of stewarding this EA program that the 5 of us now share.
Each day is a new day to be entered into, guided and empowered by a power greater than myself. I see my H.P.
as inviting me and everyone working the EA program to enter newly into 2019 with opportunities for growth andmaturity.
We can discover new perspectives on how to work our program. We can enter into new sponsorship relationships. We can read new EA literature. We can reveal new insights as we offer our experience, strength and hopethrough sharing at face to face and phone meetings as well as in writing things for the loop or for the connection.
What is new in your life that you would be willing to share so that others might be inspired? Personally, I’m grateful for a new sense of hope that my H.P. has granted me. I struggled with despair in areas of my life for years decades! Now I see a new, open future for myself and my loved ones because of a new hopeful perspective leaving despair in the rear view mirror. Happy New Year, everyone! May you each find new growth in your program and new gratitude as you live each day, looking for the good and keeping things simple.
Scott J, VP Board of Trustees

www.EmotionsAnonymous.org
Box 4245, St Paul, MN 55104,
Phone 651-647-9712, Fax 651-647-1593
Hours Mon—Thurs: 10 to 3:30,director@emotionsanonymous.org
editor@emotionsanonymous.org
groupdata@emotionsanonymous.org
orders@emotionsanonymous.org
shipping@emotionsanonymous.org

Specials Gifts and Memorials
In Memory of Eleanor P-MN, an EA member for almost 50 years
In memory of his mother, Lorraine D, IL, David and Gail D

RECOVERY USING THE TOOLS OF EAStep 1: We admitted we werepowerless over ouremotions - that our liveshad become unmanageable.
Why do I want to admit I'm
powerless over my emotions?
Because if I am not so busy
controlling (or trying to controlthem), I can begin to accept theemotions as they come up, andnotice that when I accept each one
and locate them in my body, I notice
they can change all by themselves.
I can begin to experience that
acceptance of each emotion
eventually leads to my having newskills, to regulate my emotions, or so
I like to believe. Even when I am
most afraid, I can learn to find a way
to be there for myself. To staypresent, even when I don't feel
"real." It does help to be able to talkto someone about my fear, to put
into words what I feel in my body.
Slowly,slowly,stepby
step...Victoria
Tonight, I am powerlessover my anxiety andloneliness. I am giving in to these
emotions and I let them control myactions. I recognize that all night
I've been trying to manipulate
others into situations that will
relieve my anxiety and loneliness.
Doing so is making me miserable,
and the more miserable I get, themore I try to manipulate. Instead, I
could try letting go, admitting mypowerless over these emotions,admit that no amount of mymanipulating will ease my emotions.
They are strong, and I am powerless.
I admit I am powerless. I cannot
control them, but I know they too
shall pass. I know I will be okayagain once they pass, and all I haveto do until they do is NOT send
manipulative texts or emails...Sarah

I am happy to be working on Step 1
again. I am powerless over myphysical health as well as my life andI am working to make peace withthis. I am not powerless over how I
accept what comes If I am open to
the power of my HP. I can learn toaccept what is and be OK with
it...Ruthie
Defeat can be sweet. The
day I realized that God had
all the power, I was down on myknees thanking him for the life He
gave me.
I can't, wasn't as hard to say once I
surrender to the first step; itbecame the most logical thing to do.
I was filled with so much self hatethat I couldn't see my way out of all
the pain. After all that I had put
myself through, reaching for theimpossible, making others andmyself troubled, I began to believethat God watched over me.
The changes I made to live a more
simple life were God's blessings. I
had to change my attitude, people,
places, and things too. I needed tochange all that was possible to makethis work for me. Acceptance wasanother thing that made thingseasier. After making the same
mistakes over and over, I finely
understood I am no different than
the folks I sat beside in meetings. Iwas part of something good. I can
now claim defeat, as a matter of fact
I love it…Pat M

Slogan 1: Let go andlet God
Lately I am really focusing on letting
go and letting God help me in mylife. I started to really pray lots andtalk to my Higher Power even morelately. I am trusting my Higher
Power will continue to help medaily.

I have been in 12 step
rooms for a long, long time. I havenoticed that the people that seemto be doing better in their lives havea Higher Power belief. So that gaveme the incentive to develop aHigher Power belief of my own
understanding. And I learned thatthe understanding ought to be thatthe Higher Power be loving andcaring and helpful. I am grateful I
have an understanding of a Higher
Power just like that. With that kindof a Higher Power, it is so easy to letgo and let God help me.
I write Higher Power letters andthen just put them in my God Box
and that helps me let go, too. I no
longer wish to hang onto
resentments and anger and sadness.
So daily I am journaling and if I feel
any anger, sadness or resentments, I
write them out and then I turn it allover to the Higher Power. I feel lotsof release by doing this lately. Like itis okay to feel what I feel and thenturn it over to the Higher Power. I
then trust the Higher Power will
guide me to the next right things I
need to do...Connie
Letting go and letting God I needed this reminder.
Thank you. I need to continuously
send my fears up to HP.
I feel immobilized today by theweight of heavy memories that arecoming to the fore... memories thatcan be healing in the long term butin the short term are deeply painful.
I did ask HP to lift it this morning. It
seems I need another dose of letting
go this afternoon.
Thank you for the reminders that I
don't have to go at this alone. I
didn't create all my problems and I
cannot solve all my problems. I needpeople. HP has a plan. I will stickaround to find out what it is.
Thanks for being here...Michelle

DISCOVERING THE TOOLS OF EA
Acceptance is not apathy“Acceptance is not apathy. Acceptance is: "This is who I am; this is the best I can do today. Stop fighting."
However, acceptance does not mean we resign ourselves to an unkind fate. It simply means we can live today without fighting things which we cannot change. Apathy says, "I give up. It isn't worth it. I don't care; I
don't want to try." Apathy demonstrates how little regard we have for ourselves. It is giving in to the distorted viewthat there is no hope for us. Acceptance frees us to change. Apathy keeps us locked into our emotional and spiritualillness.” (EA Book, p.49-50)
As members following this program we will not do all steps perfectly and come back to the the early foundation steps
time and time again. There is no graduation ceremony at the end of Step 12. There is a need to accept oneself on adaily basis no mater how well we view our activities or applied our EA tools and program for the day. If you give up or
say you are giving up then how does one reap the benefits of the program?
This really is a simple program. That said, in this case simple and easy are not synonyms. It would be so easy to skip
the parts of the program that we don’t like or find difficult, but again, how will one reap the benefits of this program, ifone just gives up?
We are all on an individual path to recovery, some of it is done independently while at times we encounter others going through similar issues, pain, struggles or difficulties. These others show up in our lives to teach us something. They may be in our life for a reason, a season or a lifetime.
By examining oneself in Step 4 a person may discover why they are stuck on some of the other steps which might include prior steps. . I have found for myself that EA is not a linear in nature. If it was, I wouldn’t have been in this support group for the last 30 years. Rather for me, it’s a 24 hour program in which I continue to discover newthings about myself and make attempts to figure out why I am stuck and how I can get around barriers or
hurdles during certain steps. Remember, recovery is NOT a destination, it is a journey. I wish you muchsuccess on your journey of recovery!...Rosemary H

Acceptance didn’t come easy
For the last month I have not been able to walk because of a very painful and infected left ankle. The doctors keep saying I have gout and then they do their testing and the testing says I don't have gout. They medicate me and the medication does not heal the infection, and so it goes.
I am very thankful for the EA program and for the 12 Steps, without them my patience with the medical community
would have hurled anger and rage at them because of their lack of response and the pain which this illness is causing
me 24 hours a day.
Over the many years I have been in the program, I have studied things concerning being a victim or a volunteer. It issaid, "The problem with being a victim is that you stay a victim, but with being a volunteer you are able to choose
differently." That made a lot of sense to me. Being in constant pain I have really struggled with the idea of having volunteered for this pain. I have fought hard to accept the pain because when I am unable to do that my resistance causes me more pain.
The slogans have been really good tools for me to use in this struggle. I know this too will pass and I'm digging hard tofind the good in this illness. I have grown and I have learned some things about the many folks who are supporting meand their attempts to keep me positive.
Many negative things have happened to me in 2017, I have had to dig deep in the foundation the 12 Steps have given
me to keep moving forward without trying to go into the past wanting this moment to be like it was before
I am again thankful I can start each day with gratitude which leads me to acceptance. I surrender my ego
and my will to my HP. I feel blessed and I am thankful that I see myself today as a volunteer for life and thelearning opportunities which it provides me with., even though I am sometimes confused by the present

2018 - 2019 EA Board of Trustees
Please feel free to contact members of the Board with questions or concerns
Gus S, AZ 602-319-3890 schloessergus@gmail.com President
Scott J, MN 507-276-0323 sdjakel@gmail.com Vice President/Treasurer
John W, MN 612-760-0313 johnwerner52@gmail.com Secretary
Colleen C, 651-245-5461 coyne2003@hotmail.com
Derita P, OH 216-624-3559 deritapippen@yahoo.com

THE TWELVE TRADITIONS
The 12 Traditions are the guidelines by which our group and our fellowship function. They have proven over theyears to be an effective way of holding the fellowship and individual groups together.
Tradition 1: Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends on EA unity.
Welfare: 1. The state of doing well especially in respect to good fortune, happiness, well-being, or prosperity. 2. Aidin the form of money or necessities for those in need.
I like the idea of focusing on our common welfare or our common well-being in EA. How do we achieve a “communitylife” where things are better for us all in EA? By keeping in mind the good of the whole. We consider what is best for
all of us – not just what is best for me. If we have unity in our program, only then will my own personal recovery“work”. That’s Tradition One, for me… Scott J
I’d been in the EA fellowship roughly ten years before I became consciously aware of our EA Traditions and Principles.
I knew we had them; read them monthly but never began to study their meaning. They were just part of the Tools of
the program in the Yellow Pamphlet. I saw myself simply as attending meetings, just like everyone else. Whatmattered, I was led to believe that it was the Steps that counted, working them on an individual “I” basis. Alas I woke
up: I became aware that alone I could not maintain emotional sobriety. I needed to support others in their desire tobecome emotionally well, and I needed them. What a gift Tradition One became (and remains) for me! I can only
encourage other EA fellowships to study monthly or regularly the Tools of Our Program!...Gus S
Personal recovery depends on EA unity, but what is unity? It is an ancient word with Latin roots that refers to a stateof one-ness. The opposite is disunity, or a state of separation. This state of separation is what so many of us struggle
with, that feeling that our problems are unique and that no one else relates or cares. Our recovery, then, is built on ashared, unified foundation -- the guiding principles and traditions of the EA program -- which give us strength in theknowledge that we are not alone...Colleen C
The first tradition tells us that each member of EA is but a small part of a greater fellowship. Of course, ourindividual welfare is also a priority. .continued on page 51, It Works if you Work It. Available on our online store.

NEWLY TRANSLATED
La versión traducida del libro Hoy, ya está disponible! Gracias al trabajo de los amigos de EA que
pasaron muchas horas traduciendo este libro de meditación, ahora lo tenemos disponible en latienda en línea.
This translated version of the Today book is now available at our online store! Thanks to the workof EA friends who spent many hours translating this meditation bookNEW 12 STEP GUIDE NOW AVAILABLE
We are very happy to announce that we have a new four-color workbook available at EA! This 69 page, spiral-bound book is a guide to working through the 12 Steps - whether it is your first time or you have beenin the program for years. A wonderful series of explanations, reflections, worksheets, prayers and more arein this recently-approved workbook. Available through the online store for $15, a terrific resource for all.