THE EA CONNECTION: NOVEMBER 2019
PLEASE CONSIDER A CONTRIBUTION TO EAI TO SUPPORT THIS PUBLICATION.

EA TOOLS FOR RECOVERY
Step 11: Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, as we understoodhim, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
Tradition 11: Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we need always
maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio and films.
Slogan 11: Keep it simple.
Promise 11: We acquire a feeling of security within ourselves.
Just for Today 11: I will not compare myself with others. I will accept myself and live to the best of my ability.
Concept 11: Each person is entitled to his or her own opinions and may express them at a meeting within theguidelines of EA. We are all equal - no one is more important than another.

FROM YOUR EA BOARD OF TRUSTEESAt this time of year, cultures around the world observe a day of thankfulness: Thanks-giving, Dankdag, Niiname-sai,Dożynki, Erntedankfest, and others. Like many of us in our worldwide EA fellowship, I make extra efforts this time ofyear to reflect on the blessings in my life. Even while doing this, I can’t help but believe that limiting gratitude to just
one special day or season hampers spiritual growth. Gratitude is such a vital part of emotional recovery that I aspire(with varying degrees of success) to live a grateful life every day!
If you have trouble finding something for which to be grateful, just imagine for a moment losing everything in your life:
home, job, family, friends, possessions...everything! I don’t have to imagine. Twenty-five years ago, I lost everything
when I was sentenced to life in prison. I can’t begin to describe the trauma of this experience, and the anger, resentment, pain, and bitterness that overwhelmed me for my first few years inside. I blamed everyone and everything in
the universe for my terrible situation – everyone except the one responsible: me. Emotionally, I was drinking poison
every day and expecting others to die.
Developing an “attitude of gratitude” literally saved my life. By changing my perspective and focusing on the things forwhich I could be thankful, rather than on the bad and painful things (and I had plenty of these!), I began to develop
hope and, eventually, acceptance, forgiveness, and serenity.
How did I do it? I started keeping a Gratitude Journal. At the end of every day, just before lights-out, I would write
down one thing for which I was grateful. The next day, I’d write something else. At first, writing even one thing was astruggle! But with daily practice it became easier and my journal grew into a resource that helped me gain perspectiveon those occasions when my life seemed especially bleak. I began to see others who were struggling even more than I– reaching out to them started my journey toward a life of service. Eventually, after many years, the state parole board
recognized my emotional growth, acceptance of responsibility, and diminished risk; they released me.
My life is a miracle, but no more so than yours or anyone’s. All any of us needs in order to experience this miracle is to
shift perspective, to recognize and be grateful for the many blessings in our lives. I know that sometimes it’s not easy,
but if I could find such blessings inside prison, then anyone can do it. It might sound cliché, but I’ll tell you first-handthat it’s true and I am living proof: being grateful is not about having everything you want – it’s about wanting everything you have. Happy Thanksgiving!
Steve B, Trustee

www.EmotionsAnonymous.org
Box 4245 St Paul, MN 55104
Phone 651-647-9712
Hours Mon—Thurs: 10 to 3:00 CST

director@emotionsanonymous.org
connection@emotionsanonymous.org
groupdata@emotionsanonymous.org
orders@emotionsanonymous.org
shipping@emotionsanonymous.org

SPECIAL GIFTS AND MEMORIALS
Our thanks to the many folks who have designated a memorial or acknowledgement forthe support and love they have received from another.

RECOVERY USING THE TOOLS OF EAStep 11: Sought throughprayer and meditation to
improve our conscious
contact with God, as weunderstood him, praying
only for knowledge of His
will for us and the power
to carry that out.
Prayer has always been a largepart of my life. I have prayed to my
HP from childhood on. I believethat prayer works.
But since coming into the rooms ofrecovery nearly 30 years ago andworking these Steps I have cometo a realization that my prayer life
needed to change.
I used to think that I needed topray for everybody and everythingwith a 5 minute prayer for eachthing and person.
Not any more. Now, I realize thatfor me to be sober and sane andthus, more present to others, myprayer life is focused on the 3rd
Step prayer and the 7th Step
prayer because I truly don't knowwhat others need, only God does.
So my prayer life is more avisualizing of people in the gentle
hands of God and giving them backto Him and praying Your will be
done...Jim
Before recovery, I prayed for all
things on the temporal plane. The
here and now. Keep my marriage
together. Make me stop smoking.
Make me get in shape… What was
missing of course, was Faith andtrust in God. His will for me.
Since finding recovery, my prayers
have narrowed considerably. It
took a huge leap for me to actuallypray only for the knowledge of His
will for me and the power to carrythat out. That did not comenaturally or quickly. I kept wanting
to pray or ask for things. I came torealize that by asking like that, I
was actually trying to take backcontrol from God. Continuous
Spiritual practice means praying
exactly for knowledge of His will
and the power to carry that out.
Nothing more. Easier said thandone, but it does take complete
Faith. It is the ultimate leap into
the clouds, with no pre-arranged
meeting place or time, noparachute packed, just me leaping
into the loving hands of my Higher
Power, whom I choose to call God.
It is an exhilarating experience,and one that I never tire of. Only
after doing so, do I reap therewards of complete Faith. Fearfreezes, God releases. The choice
is mine...Lynn
In my mind I think of Step 11 as my“let it go” step. That is because inthis step I am told to seek God’s
guidance and to ask that He provide
direction of His will for me. My
problem is that I often forget to do
the above. It isn’t until I am reallyhurting that I remember to call on
God for guidance, and when I
remember that He always has mybest interest at heart. The step
serves as a reminder that God isalways there, I just need to “hook up.”

I find that the Slogans offer support
for Step 11, such as “Let go and let
God, You are not Alone, By the graceof God, and Keep it simple. If I
remember to keep Step 11 at myside and use the slogans ascompanions, life goes pretty darn
good and I am grateful...Cary

Slogan 11: Keep it simple.
Today on my walk, I becameaware of an interior conversation. I
know that I have always had thisconversation and usually I would

join into it but today I saw it as it
is—destructive. The conversation
goes like this: "wow that was reallystupid what you did there," "youshould be so ashamed," "it will
never be fixed that's for sure,""she'll never like you again," etc.
Then I replay all my actions and/or
remember other situations thatare similar and write up a long listof should do's to "fix" the problem.
All of it really drags me down. I
believe I use this conversation to
feed my self-pity and shame andself-hatred.
Today though my Higher Power
must have paused me because I
know I can't pause it on my own—
not yet. The pause was longenough for me to realize that I do
not need to join in theconversation and keep it going. A
simple "thanks for sharing" isenough. Then when I began tomake my suggested “Should List,”
which is always too long andcomplicated, I realized (thanks HP)
there is something simple I can do.
I can let it go and put in a new
action next time it happens.
This really is a simple program forcomplicated people. I know forsure that I can complicate mac andcheese in the box! So, of course I
complicate my life and especiallyaround the “Mistakes I Never
Should Have Made.” category. I
want to commit to myself to feed
this new action: to not join in thedestructive conversation and to
put in a simple solution...Wren
EA is a simple program for complicated people. I continually have totake out the extraneous stuff
remembering to Keep it Simple inorder to obtain peace and serenity
in my life...Anonymous

DISCOVERING THE TOOLS OF EA
Gratitude for a loving Higher PowerI am powerless over my emotions and powerless over people, places and things, but my loving Higher Power helps me
move through the storms of life with more serenity than insanity. I am very grateful for that.
I had severe emotional problems in the past. I was in mental wards a few times. I was heavily sedated with tranquilizers. Today I am free of all those stormy times due to having a desire to be well emotionally. With that desire, I do thethings I need to do to stay well. Those things are going to meetings, reading literature, reaching out to others, sharing,
listening and following my Higher Powers will.
I have been free from any mental wards since I was 21 years old. Luckily, I found EA at age 22 and that helped me towant to do better in my life than I was doing. I sought outside professional help and wound up off all tranquilizers. I
still see a Psychologist monthly and that helps along with my EA and other 12 step meetings.
I got married, had two kids who are adults now and my loving family, divorced like so many other Americans, but I got
through it all with a loving Higher Power helping me and guiding me daily. Things in my life are now worked through,or I just live with things and accept them as they are if I can not change them. I am not always able to change conditions, but I have learned to just accept conditions as they are when I cannot change them.
I liked the reading today where it is said to our Higher Power "Be my rain gear to get me through the storms I face".
This helps me to keep turning over the storms of life to my Higher Power, pray for daily guidance, do what I can in lifeand let go of the rest. I just keep going one day at a time and trust my Higher Power will be there with me through itall. I am so happy for EA. I no longer act out much on anyone and if I do even act out a little bit, I do make amends rightaway. I also am learning to have courage to speak up more for myself. I will keep asking my Higher Power more forsome more courage as I have to be my own best advocate on this arthritis thing called "trigger finger" in two of myfingers and in my thumb. So I recalled the Dr. office for some more suggestions on help for it. I do hope I will get somemore help from them, and if not, I do have choices to try and see another Dr. for help if need be. I am 58 and rarely
have any health problems that cause me pain, so I guess that is why this latest thing bugs me a bit, but I will keep doing my footwork for help and asking my Higher Power daily to guide me…Connie

I am very thankful for Emotions Anonymous. I consider all of you out there my friends. Today I have had a great day. I
don't want it to end. That's the first time I have ever thought that way in my entire life. My anxiety has been almost
non-existent today. I owe it all to my Higher Power and Emotions Anonymous…Brandon

Gratitude
I realized the dream of getting married and having a beautiful family. I fell in love to the point of forgetting myself. I
ceased to be the happy and confident woman I was in order to please my political family. It was only two years before
my life became a true hell. For 10 years I endured and tried to maintain a marriage broken by infidelity, mockery andno amends. I arrived at the program of Anonimas Emotions in June 2015, divorced with fears, low self-esteem, resentments, anger, etc. Now, thanks to the help of the 12 Steps and my EA Women's Group I am able to have an emotionaland spiritual awakening...Norma

Gratitud
Realize el sueño de casarme y tener por fun Una Bonita familia, me enamore perdidamente, al punto De olvidarme Demi misma, deje de ser la mujer feliz y segura de si misma, por agradar a mi familia politica, no pasaron más que dos
años para que mi Vida se convirtiera en un verdadero infierno, y durante 10 años soporte lo unsupportable queriendo
mantener un matrimonio roto por la infidelidad, la burla y las amenzas, llego al programa De Emociones Anonimas en
Junio del 2015, Divorciada, con miedos, baja autoestima, resentimientos, ira, etc., Y gracias a la ayuda de los 12 Pasos y
al Grupo De mujeres pude tener un despertar emocional y espiritual.
Ahora soy coordinadora de 2 Grupos th Corona California, y ha sido la Mejor experiencia para mantenerme en control
con mis Emociones. Dios ha obrado como el guia y la oracion de la Serenidad me han mantenido en el Camino De laverdad en mi vida...Norma
Aquí es donde puede encontrar literatura española gratuita: https://emotionsanonymous.org/literature/publicaciones-gratuitas---espaol.html

2019 - 2020 EA Board of Trustees
Please feel free to contact members of the Board with questions or concerns
Minutes of the Board of Trustees Meeting can be viewed here.

Scott J, MN 507-276-0323 sdjakel@gmail.com President
John W, MN 612-760-0313 johnwerner52@gmail.com Vice President
Colleen C, MN 651-245-5461 coyne2003@hotmail.com Secretary
Derita P, OH 216-624-3559 deritapippen@gmail.com Treasurer
Paul N, NJ 201-264-1807 paul@nobleequity.com Trustee
Steve B, CA 909-438-4938 stevebell_28@yahoo.com Trustee

THE TWELVE TRADITIONS
The 12 Traditions are the guidelines by which our group and our fellowship function.
They have proven over the years to be an effective way of holding the fellowship and individual groups together.
Tradition 11: Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we need always
maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio and films.
I’m thankful for the cautionary nature of Tradition 11 in two ways. First, it keeps us from being promoters: people who make promises (like a snake oil salesman!) Instead of promoting the fellowship of EA, we help to
attract people to the possibility of the promises of EA coming true in their lives. A secondary caution - the harder part ofthis tradition - is the element of anonymity and how that’s ham-strung many people from sharing the program with others when anonymity is too narrowly interpreted. The founders of our program wanted us to avoid have any one person speakfor EA as a whole. The founders wanted us to avoid having a person be seen as a representative of EA who might later bringshame to the program through a public scandal – hence the need for anonymity in a pubic setting involving press, radio –and now days – the internet. May our Higher Power, active in our lives, continue to guide us to attract others to this lifesaving program in ways that it can help them – just as it’s saved my life - practicing caution along the way… Scott J
In my experience with the program, it’s been important to understand the terms referenced in Tradition 11. It really talks
about two related ideas. The first is about attracting, rather than promoting, the EA fellowship; the second isabout maintaining anonymity in our external communications. Attracting something means to draw in or entice,
while promotion is meant to increase interest in or demand for something. They are similar, except promotion
may conjure the idea of promising a great outcome – such as smooth skin in ads for face cream.
Maintaining my anonymity, in the sense it’s used here, means not identifying myself or any one individual or group as representing the EA fellowship as a whole. It is related to the idea of “principles before personalities.” I sometimes ask myself
how I can spread the news about the program to more people in need? How do I do this humbly, without making promises?
How can I discuss what I feel is the great hope offered by the program, but avoid presenting myself as EA “spokesperson?” It
is worth thinking about...Colleen C
Once we understand the EA program and the positive power that it can have in our lives, many of us are anxious and excited to get the word out about it to friends, family and anyone who will listen. It is understood that relating our experiences,and the way that we utilize and benefit from the program is acceptable and in some cases encouraged. But there is a line asit pertains to promoting the program. Not only does the fellowship not want to make flashy promises about what the program can do, but it also does not want to make the program about any one person or persons. There are many ways thatmembers can attract people to the program without engaging in flashy promotions and I hope that fellow members continue to inform others of our program in ways that respect Tradition 11...Paul N
Someone once told me that “promotion” involves making promises about results. A cosmetics company promotes its product with promises of eternal youth. Politicians promote their campaigns with promises of lower
taxes or safer streets. However in the EA fellowship we don’t promote. EA doesn’t promise results, doesn’t promise an emotional cure, doesn’t promise a perfect life free from strife. Instead of promotion we attract prospective members, and we
can do this through outreach. Outreach is not promotion; it makes no promises about results. Outreach means letting people know that EA exists, sharing our mission and values, and telling them what our fellowship offers: a safe, supportive environment where everyone is welcome to work on their recovery. Outreach, either person-to-person or through EA literatureor other means, is not only completely consistent with Tradition 11 but also necessary if our fellowship is to grow andthrive...Steven B

EA Invites Local Groups to Start New Workbook Studies
EA will host telephone intro sessions to “Welcoming Spiritual Awakenings” Workbook in Nov.
In June EA released our new workbook “Welcoming the Spiritual Awakening Within Me.” The Awakenings Work-book has a positive vision of thriving beyond of just surviving. The new workbook is a huge leap forward
for EA in that it addresses a number of vital recovery issues which have not been covered so far in EA literature. The workbook explores issues including;

Recognizing, exploring, & healing the effects of childhood trauma in our 4th step work.
A section exploring all our family of origin roles and current roles we still play.
Exploration of healthy and unhealthy understandings of powerlessness.
Exploring the new EA stages of recovery; Stabilization, Understanding, and Thriving.
Recovering from codependent & dysfunctional relationship patterns with the EA steps.
Powerful ways to work steps 6-12 which help transform negative thinking.

Emphasizing compassion & kindness in working of all of our EA steps.
Local groups are invited to start using the new workbook by hosting workbook study times. To this end, EA will be hosting
two phone in introductions to the workbook in November. Folks who want to get a 3 hour introduction to the workbook
can just phone in to be a part of the seminar. This session will help prepare them for their own journey through the workbook and to help lead study sessions with sponsees and groups. It is recommended that folks who want to participate havetheir workbooks in hand for the phone call. (Note that electronic versions of the workbook are also available from the EA
website.) Take advantage of this powerful and fun opportunity to advance your recovery and share it with your recovery
friends too!

Welcoming Spiritual Awakenings Workbook Introductions
Thursday November 21st 2019th

Saturday, November 30 201910:00 am EDT to 1:00 pm EDT
10:00 am EDT to 1:00 pm EDT

Description: This interactive telephone introduction will help prepare you to start working yourself or withothers in the Awakenings Workbook.
Just call (605) 313-5768

Access code is 471918