The EA Connection: JanuaryYour monthly newsletter from ISC
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Sharing my EA Journey

EA Tools for Recovery

My name is Scott J. I live in Hastings, Minnesota. I am amember of the board of trustees and serve as the Vice President / Treasurer. I am on the Book and Literature committee.
I am the trusted servant for the Hastings EA group. My wifeof 30 years and I have two daughters in their twenties. I am a
Lutheran Pastor and work as an interim minister.
While living in the small Minnesota town of New Ulm, on asnowy New Year’s Eve, I reached the EA contact person innearby Le Sueur. I asked when I could learn about EA. She
said, “How about tomorrow?” Thus, I began my EA journey
on New Year’s Day a decade ago with a two-person, two-hour
meeting with 90 year old Kathleen. Through the transforming
work of my Higher Power, I continue to learn about EA and I
continue to grow in my ability to deal better with people andthe circumstances of my life and to “handle” my thoughts andemotions in healthier ways.
Through sponsorship, 12th step service, and attending
meetings, EA has helped me to develop a more rich and authentic spirituality as I enter more deeply into the lives of others who are working this powerful recovery program. I’m
drawn closer to my Higher Power and to others as I find thecourage to trust and to let them be close to me. Love is thedriving force behind my desire to help others experience serenity in their lives.
As we enter 2018, I invite you to allow our Higher Power tobring health, wellness, and healing into our lives and into theEA fellowship, as we work to increase the membership and tomanage the challenging financial life of this organization
through generous giving. Happy New Year!...Scott J

Step 1: We admitted we were powerlessover our emotions - that our lives had
become unmanageable.
Promise 1: We realize a new freedom andhappiness.
Slogan 1: Let go and let God
Just for Today 1: I will try to live throughthis day only, not tackling all of myproblems at once. I can do something at
this moment that would discourage me if I
had to continue it for a lifetime.
Tradition 1: Our common welfare shouldcome first; personal recovery depends on
EA unity.
Helpful Concept 1: We come to EA tolearn how to live a new way of life throughthe 12-step program of Emotions
Anonymous which consists of 12 Steps, 12
Traditions, concepts, the Serenity Prayer,slogans, Just for Todays, EA literature,
weekly meetings, telephone and personalcontacts, and living the program one day
at a time. We do not come for anotherperson - we come to help ourselves and toshare our experiences, strength, and hopewith others.

Of importance to Groups and Members

Recovery using the Tools of EA
Step 1: We admitted we werepowerless over our emotions - that our lives had become unmanageable.
I have been procrastinating on sharing on the loop for many months
now. I keep waiting for my circumstances to change and my problems
to be solved. And, as I’m sure you
can imagine, I’m still waiting... I am
ridiculously complicated which is nota good thing at all. I walk aroundwearing “Life is Good” t-shirts or“Keep it Simple.” I must buy theseshirts trying to remind myself to dothis. I know that I have to startsomewhere on page 44 of the EABlue book, towards the bottom of
the page, “Admitting” is discussed.
It says “Admitting we cannot manage our lives is not easy”, “It is noteasy to admit our self-centeredness,self-pity, and resentments”. “It isdifficult to stop blaming others forthe way we are and the way we behave”.
Today I am admitting that I cannot
manage my life and I certainly can’t
manage anyone else’s life either. I
have worked really hard at doing thison a daily basis and must admit it’s
not working very well. For somereason I have this illusion that I havecontrol over a whole bunch of things
that I have no control over. I thinkthat I just let my EGO guide me
sometimes to avoid pain. What I’ve
found though is that the pain hap-pens anyway and then I feel guilt for
my reactions to situations regardlessof what anyone else has done.
On page 44 it also says “ThroughStep One we begin to learn to accept
our emotions as they are and notallow them to control our behavior.
As we learn to accept our emotions,
we are better able to manage ourlives. We can make conscious choices in response to our emotions rather than just reacting and having
our emotions manage us. We begin
to take responsibility for our lives,
regardless of who or what may haveinfluenced us in the past. This firststep is one of honesty and humility.
Admitting our human limitations
frees us from hiding our imperfections from ourselves and others,
thus allowing us to face the reality ofour situation”
I am grateful that Step 1 offers hope.
I believe that if I was able to accept
myself more, I wouldn’t feel asaffected by the actions and choicesof others. I’ve been struggling forquite awhile now, today , I am giving
this situation to my HP for safe keeping...Michelle
Why do I want to admit I'm powerless over my emotions? Because if I
am not so busy controlling (or trying
to control them), I can begin to accept the emotions as they come up,
and notice that when I accept eachone 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 new skills.
Even when I am most afraid, I canlearn to find a way to be there formyself. To stay present, even when I
don't feel "real." It does help to beable to talk to someone about myfear, to put into words what I feel in
my body. Slowly, slowly, step bystep...Victoria

1: Let go and let God
I haven't worked my way throughthe steps but even in early recovery
the thought of “Let go and let God”
speaks to me. As a way of trying tocombat anxiety and depression,
attempting control of pretty much
everything in my life has been a coping mechanism for me for as far backas I can remember. The problem, Irealize now that it actually makes
the anxiety/depression worse, because it's just not possible. I can't
control situations or issues or otherpeople or what happens in my life.
The only thing that is really mine is
my reaction, the emotions, thethoughts and even those are things
that I realize I am very much powerless over. My first response is still,"How do I?" When I need to remember to just, Let Go and Let God. Ican't, but He can, I just need to let
Him. It adds so much to my stresslevels to try and be the manager, theone in control, when it's not my job
and not within my capabilities. In
trying to feel more secure I am actually adding to my own fears, exhaustion, and pain by trying to be the one
controlling things and other people. I
get it intellectually, it's putting it into
practice that I am having difficultywith. But, I know that it will get easier with time if I keep working it. I
need to be patient with myself. Ineed to hand even that, over to God.
...Kathleen

Discovering the tools of EA
In the hustle and bustle of the holidays, we sometimes lose the peace and serenitythat is to important to those of us in recovery. Meditation is suggested as a way
to improve our contact with our Higher Power in Step 11. Meditation which canalso provide a path to peace and serenity but at times can be frustrating.
Frustrated while trying to meditate
Every morning for the past few days I've tried to meditate on my prayer to my Higher Power. One thing I have noticed
is just how difficult it is for me to concentrate--even for just 5 minutes. I start repeating my prayer and after even just30 seconds, I'm off onto some other tangent thought. I really, really have to try--and even then I can only get about 2
minutes and then I'm off. It's really frustrating to me--and it even scares me a little. But when I reflect back on my life,
I do notice that one of my difficulties in general is an inability to focus, concentrate, and stick with something for longer than even a few days. Does this sound familiar to anyone else? Does anyone else wrestle with this? I have a feelingit could be a significant piece to my emotional health puzzle, but I don't know what to do with it all--or how to address
it...ChrisMeditation
I had been doing meditation for the last twenty years. Meditation has nothing to do with concentration, it’s a byproduct of Meditation. To start with the byproduct, one will obviously gets frustrated. Meditation is about attention, not concentration. Attention is easier and more natural. We pay
attention to things that we need. We need Grace. No need to concentrate for Grace, justpay attention, leaving all other works and to sit and be calm for something not found in thephysical world. Meditation is just sitting and being in Grace. Meditation is not a doing,
meditation is a non-doing. Meditation is to give a break to the tormenting intellect. Let
the intellect be kept aside for some time from its ever solution giving mode to so many
problems. We all know, no matter how hard human intellect works to give solutions, there are to many unresolved
problems in the world. Because of intellect we are more in destroying mode of the planet with very effective nuclear
weapons, which can lead to depletion of basic elements to live water, pure air, etc. Meditation is to keep away little
from the intellect, logic and be in Grace consciously for a while till we are in meditation.
There is a tremendous possibility from intelligence, still it has limitations. It can harden the ego and block a personfrom growing beyond the hard cocoon of intellect to the beautiful butterfly stage which awaits from the cocoon. Meditation is to be away from intellect, emotions and be in Grace for a while. This is termed as Nirvana, to drop the intellect and emotions for a while and be naked in Grace...NareshA Gift
Today I'm feeling especially grateful. I am off work for two days, and am embracing it. In the past, I would get depressed, withdraw into myself, and count the minutes to get back to the comfortable and familiar routine. Today, I am
enjoying it, and I figured it's because I'm enjoying life. For the the first time in years, I can actually say I am enjoying mylife - which I never thought would be possible. I adore my children, love my husband, love my face to face meetingsand its members are becoming my most closest friends. I started the program a year ago, and cannot begin to compare myself of the past, to myself of the present. I got a really special gift, and that is a second chance at a healthy
life...Esti
TODAY BOOK—JANUARY 27
Every day is better when I start it by communicating with my higher Power.
If I forget to start my day with a meditation, please remind me how important it is for me.

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)

REGIONS OF EMOTIONS ANONYMOUS

Scott J, MN 507-276-0323 sdjakel@gmail.com VP/Treasurer (from Region 1/GST) Region 1: Northwest
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 1: Honesty
In the early 1950’s Twelve Steps groups began informally sharing what has become known as the Principles of the 12 Steps. Each step has a corresponding
principle that one should keep in mind when working
the steps. Below members share how HONESTY factors into Step 1 for them.

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

We admitted we were powerless over our emotions that our lives had become unmanageable

USA: CT, MA, ME, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, VT

The principle of honesty, in working the EA program calls us to be authentic
and genuine as we approach our recovery. When I take an honest look at myself and my life, I get to look at the good and the bad. It's about a fair assessment - taking stock of things. To be honest in daily living is to be straightforward in dealing with myself and my world. If I avoid patterns of blaming
others and if I stop making excuses for why I'm not doing my program work, I'm

Emotions Anonymous™

being honest in working the EA program... Scott J

www.EmotionsAnonymous.org

In Step One, I had to honestly admit that I could not handle my life by myself
alone and that I was powerless over my emotions. I had extreme emotions
and was behaving in ways I did not really want to behave. Honest admission I
needed help was the first step on my road to freedom. I asked my first EA
sponsor, “How honest do I have to be in my recovery?” She replied, “Howwell do you want to get?” From then on I knew that honesty was going to be
the guiding principle in my recovery...Connie W

Region 6: French-speaking Canada

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

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

Step One is about honesty and accepting the unmanageability of our lives.
Honesty has always been difficult for me. When I admit I have trouble withhonesty, I feel like a bad person. Step one is also difficult because when I admit my life is unmanageable, I feel like a failure. As I work through Step One, itwill be important for me to reframe how I view myself and who I am. I canfeel bad about having trouble with honesty and feel like a failure for the emotional chaos in my life, or I can feel good about admitting these things and taking steps to turn myself and my life around...ChrisWhether you are in in the frozen
tundra of the North or on the sunny beaches of Australia, I want towish you all blessings of the New
Year as you grow in peace andserenity through the 12 Steps ofEmotions Anonymous.

It was difficult for me to be honest with myself and others about the unmanageability in my life because of my out of control emotions, but I could not doa good first step until I was able to do that...Susan

Karen M, Editor
EA Connection