Inner VoiceMay 2024

Newsletter of New Freedom Intergroup of OA
Step 5: Admitted toGod, to ourselves and toanother human being
the exact nature of ourwrongs.
• Spiritual Principle:
Integrity
Tradition 5: Each grouphas but one primary
purpose — to carry its
message to thecompulsive overeater
who still suffers.
• Spiritual Principle:
PurposeConcept 5: Individuals
have the right of appeal
and petition in order toensure that theiropinions and personal
grievances will becarefully considered.
• Spiritual Principle:
Consideration
Promise 5: That feelingof uselessness and selfpity will disappear.

Survey: What Works for You?
The OA Board Approved Literature (BAL) Committee is revising a piece of literature on the
topic of what recovery actions are most helpful to our members. Your answers to this survey
will provide valuable insight for this purpose.
This survey should take about five minutes to complete. Please complete the survey only once,but feel free to share the link below with other members to help us get as many responses as
possible.

Survey Link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BAL24
While this survey is in English, we encourage service bodies to help non-English speaking
members with translation to complete the survey.
We plan to begin sharing survey findings at World Service Business Conference in May, 2024.
Thank you for sharing your OA recovery experience with us!

Gearing Up for Recovery
I began using the Tools
of Recovery before I
even knew they were
the Tools.
It started with the Toolof meetings: I attended
my first one, then mysecond. As I listened toothers’ shares, I kept
hearing, “Find asponsor.” When I madethe decision to jump in,
I found a sponsor (asecond Tool) who had
what I wanted: peace, joy, and program experience. My sponsor asked me to telephone her(another Tool), and from there, we established a plan of eating (yet another Tool) that I could
live with while I made changes in my choices. Once I became comfortable with my plan ofeating, my sponsor introduced me to an agreeable action plan, another Tool I could use alongwith my plan of eating.
My action plan included daily meditation, which involved prayer, reading, and the Tool ofwriting. As I began working Step One, I’d read all I could find about it and then would write
down my thoughts on those readings and what they meant to me. Writing helped reinforce
what I was reading and encouraged me to explore the feelings that surfaced. The more I read,-1NEW FREEDOM INTERGROUPPO Box 31072 • Savannah, GA 31410 • Email: oanfig@gmail.com • Website: www.oanfig.org

the more I felt and wrote and learned about myself. I completed the first three Steps smoothly and with little pain.
Then came Step Four, which prompted me to use many of the Tools. At meetings, I would listen to others share about
their Step work. I would call my sponsor daily and talk about my work: Am I doing it right? What exactly do I need towrite down? I would consult the Big Book (Tool of literature) and found answers to my questions about what I ought toinclude. The OA Twelve and Twelve also provided a wealth of information. When I thought I’d read, felt, and learned allthat I could, I shared it with my sponsor in Step Five.
I continued to use meetings, my sponsor, the telephone, writing, and literature as I worked the remaining Steps. I still
use these Tools today as I work my daily action plan of making healthy food choices, exercising, and reaching out toothers.
The Tool of service takes many forms. I listen to others share their problems and try to focus on their day and theirneeds. I chair meetings and volunteer as meeting secretary, both of which encourage me to talk about the program withothers while reinforcing my practice of the Principles in my own life. As I speak with others, I remember to use the Toolof anonymity by keeping these conversations confidential out of respect for all concerned.
The Tools give me what I need to work a successful program at any moment of any day. They reinforce my commitment
to become a better person and, at the same time, offer me opportunities to help others do the same.
— Liz
5: Admitted to God, to ourselves and to anStep 5: Life & Death Errand Stepother human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
Once we have finished Step Four, it’s time to look for someone we can share it with. Many of us choose our sponsors.
Others choose someone from their religious affiliation, or a doctor or therapist. Still others look for a “closed-mouthedunderstanding friend.” The bottom line is that we choose someone who can understand our mission, who will not
repeat what we’ve shared and will offer considerate and thoughtful responses. Why does the Big Book call thisimportant process part of a “life and death errand”? Because “If we skip this vital step, we may not overcome our[eating] problem.” And because “We must be entirely honest with somebody if we expect to live long or happily in thisworld.” Do you want to live “long and happily” in this world without a food problem? I Do! After we share our Fifth Step,
we are directed to take some time to thank God and reflect on Steps 1-5; whether we have left anything out. We want
to be sure we are building a strong foundation for the rest of our work.
What do we gain from completing Step Five?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

“We can look the world in the eye.”“We can be alone at perfect peace and ease.”“Our fears fall from us.”
“We begin to feel the nearness of our Creator.”“We may have had certain spiritual beliefs, but now we begin to have a spiritual experience.”“The feeling that the food problem has disappeared will often come strongly.”“We feel we are on the Broad Highway, walking hand in hand with the Spirit of the Universe.”*I don’t know about you, but you had me at “we can look the world in the eye.” Yes! There are promises after Step Five!
The promises above are the result of being completely honest with God, ourselves and someone else about all the
behaviors and activities we have been feeling shame about. We get to let go of them and experience our own
conception of God. We get to go from believing to experiencing….I can honestly share with you that I continue toexperience all these promises after having done Step Five.
If you haven’t already, I hope that you will give yourself the gift of Step Five.
— Lucy B.
(Quotes are from Into Action from Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition.)-2NEW FREEDOM INTERGROUPPO Box 31072 • Savannah, GA 31410 • Email: oanfig@gmail.com • Website: www.oanfig.org

More on Step 4 From Our Region
When I came to OA in June of 2022, I committed to a plan of eating, then immersed myself in an intensive step study
hosted by my home group. We used the OA Twelve Step Workshop and Study Guide. While I had worked Step Four
several times in another fellowship, being abstinent opened the door to understanding many issues not addressed whilein my active food addiction.
Overconsumption of addictive foods had blocked my connection with my Higher Power (HP). With abstinence from myaddictive foods, I have a clear, direct connection to my Higher Power, which enables me to fully address and let go ofresentments, fears, and other troubling character traits.
For example, I had struggled with a major resentment for many years that continued to plague me. Once I did a fourth
step inventory, much was revealed, and HP finally put this resentment to rest. If it ever comes back, I know what to doabout it. Willingness and persistence have been the key to doing a meaningful fourth step. I have to be willing to write
down my thoughts and feelings, persistently, until I discover the truth lurking behind them.
I do a fourth step by writing the following:
1) What happened or what I am disturbed about?
2) What is the cause?
3) What character traits are affected, e.g., fear, self-esteem, security, personal relationships, sex relations, and/or
pride? Sometimes it is just one or two; other times it might be all six!
4) What is my part? I always have a part, even if it is just carrying the resentment or other negative feeling(s).
5) What would my HP have me be? What will I think, say, or do next time?
In addition to examining my negative character traits, it is important to acknowledge my positive ones.
Step Four enables me to become honest about the wreckage of my past and present, paving the way for future peace,serenity, and a happy, abstinent life.
— Anonymous, Tampa, Florida
5: Each group has but one primary purpose — toTradition 5: Over & Over Tradition
carry its message to the compulsive overeater who still suffers.
How do I incorporate this into my life? I welcome newcomers. Later I text newcomers and tell them I am glad theycame and to keep coming back. I show up every week to my meetings unless I am sick. I call or text people I have notseen for a while. I share what has worked for me and help people find out how the program might work for theminstead of trying to put them on my plan of eating, my daily routines, my beliefs, or my opinions.
These steps are suggested. No one does it perfectly. When I couldn’t get abstinent right away, my sponsor would say“maybe you are a compulsive overeater and are doing what we do.” Slips are Step One and many us have had to take itover and over. Please never give up. Don’t let shame at failures drive you away. It takes practice to get abstinent andpracticing will get us there.
When I got into program I had been practicing my dysfunctional eating, thinking. and beliefs for 45 years. That is notgoing to stop in a week or 30 days. That’s why I worked the steps slowly and thoroughly, over and over. I never give up.
Never give up because the steps will teach you how to live as an imperfect, lovable human being. You are imperfect.
You are lovable. You are human. These are three things many of us have been encouraged not to acknowledge anddon’t believe!
Develop your own food, behavior, and thinking guidelines. We each have to find out what works for us. My mainsuggestion: keep coming back and never give up. It kicks in eventually. So start over every time as soon as you can.
I also donate OA books and pamphlets to the friends of the library sale, put up OA posters on bulletin boards and used
to try to keep meeting information in the local paper. There are plenty of opportunities for service.
— Patience M., Gainesville FL-3NEW FREEDOM INTERGROUPPO Box 31072 • Savannah, GA 31410 • Email: oanfig@gmail.com • Website: www.oanfig.org

Promises: It’s a Miracle

Promise 5: That feeling of uselessness and self-pity will
disappear.

Uselessness and self-pity – how accurate this was about the way I felt about myself in the throes of my active foodaddiction. Of course I could not be useful, since I harbored such a low opinion of myself. As I struggled through themire of battling food addiction on my own, my life was a continuous series of failures.
These inevitable failures helped validate my low self-esteem. It also gave me great excuses -- If you had my life, you
would be a compulsive eater too. I lived under this delusion and self-pity for many years. And the more I indulged myego in the poor-me’s, the more I believed that I had the right, or better, the need, to binge.
My children wouldn’t obey me. My spouse or partner was a nag and didn’t understand me. My boss and co-workers
were stupid. There’s no way I can eat right with my schedule. Working out won’t fit into my schedule, I have too many
important things to do and appointments to keep. If I don’t’ participate in this eating event or that food celebration,
people will think I’m weird. Poor me – I’m trapped.
The reality is that even if these delusions were true, the fact remains that as a food addict, my situation is quite grave.
In the chapter How it Works in the Big Book, it says, “In that state, the wrong-doing of others, fancied or real, had
power to actually kill.” With the help of my sponsor, the program, and my Higher Power, it is clear that my feelings ofuselessness and self-pity were indeed fancied. Upon close inspection, I can see that fostering feelings of uselessness
and self-pity only serves my addiction.
Today, as an active member of Overeaters Anonymous, my dignity has been restored. And, as a recovered food addict,
I am whole and useful in many aspects of life. And, thankfully, my experience fits me to be uniquely useful in helping
other food addicts. Today I am useful in passing along the 12 steps of recovery to the next person that comes into therooms of OA.
And, paradoxically, the more I think of you, the less I think of me. And, for me, my self-pity vanishes when I’m notthinking about me. For this selfish, self-centered food addict the disappearance of my uselessness and self-pity is morethan a promise, it’s a miracle.
— John K.

And More Promises
Here are some other promises in Big Book order with a few comments (see last month for the first installment). Notethat the promises are generally conditional. One needs to work the program for the promises to come true in our lives.
Bill’s Story“…I soon found that when all other measures failed, work with another alcoholic would save the day.” An outward
focus reminds me that I’m not the center of the universe.
“We commenced to make many fast friends and a fellowship has grown up among us of which it is a wonderful thing
to feel a part. The joy of living we really have, even under pressure and difficulty.” The word fellowship, used
repeatedly in the book (58 times in one e-edition!) is echoed in the familiar promise that your Higher Power, “willshow you how to create the fellowship you crave.” This is a craving that we have sought to satisfy with food.
“I have seen hundreds of families set their feet in the path that really goes somewhere; have seen the most impossible
domestic situations righted; feuds and bitterness of all sorts wiped out. I have seen men come out of asylums andresume a vital place in the lives of their families and communities. Business and professional men have regained theirstanding. There is scarcely any form of trouble and misery which has not been overcome among us.”
“There is, however, a vast amount of fun about it all.” (“…we aren’t a glum lot.”)“Most of us feel we need look no further for Utopia. We have it with us right here and now.” Living in the presentbeats living in regret for the past or in fear of the future.
— Mark W.

-4NEW FREEDOM INTERGROUPPO Box 31072 • Savannah, GA 31410 • Email: oanfig@gmail.com • Website: www.oanfig.org

Trusted Servants and Committee Chairs (New emails)
GENERAL INFORMATION
Chair
Vice Chair/Bylaws
Treasurer
Secretary
Delegate
Newsletter/Meeting List
Public Info/Prof. Outreach
Young Persons
12th Step Within
Sponsor CoordinatorWebsiteWays and Means

Secretary will forward as needed
Echo G.
561.704.2917
Barbara C.
352.474.1366
Augusta L.
912.508.4777
Sandi JC912.464.4231
VACANT—Consider doing service
Mark W.
904.527.3433
Nancy K.
516.286.1888
VACANT—Consider doing service
VACANT—Consider doing service
Hailey R.
404.797.5586
Brian B.
904.616.0608
VACANT—Consider doing service

oanfig@gmail.com
chairnfi@gmail.com
vicechairnfi@gmail.com
nfitreasury@gmail.com
oanfig@gmail.com
delegatenfi@gmail.com
innervoicenfi@gmail.com
piponfig@gmail.com
youngpeoplenfi@gmail.com
TSWnfi@gmail.com
sponsor.nfig@gmail.com
websitenfi@gmail.com
wandmnfi@gmail.com

Save the date!
Big Book Weekend
NOVEMBER 1-3, 2024

Stepping
Our Way to
RecoveryJoin us in person as we witness examples of‘how to recover’ from the disease of(A Big Book Buffet)
compulsive eating, as outlined in the “BigBook” of Alcoholics Anonymous. A guest
speaker will share how he practices his
program, maintains recovery, lives in spiritualabundance, letting go of the food and working
with others. There will be group sharing activities and plenty of time for fellowship, reflection andrelaxation. Abstinent meals, on the premises, will be available.
Program begins at 7:00 pm Friday evening
and ends at 12:00 pm Sunday.
LOCATION: MARYWOOD RETREAT AND CONFERENCE CENTER
235 Marywood Drive, St. Johns, FL 32259
www.marywoodcenter.org
904.287-2525
If you cannot attend the full weekend in person, virtual access will be available for the speakers. Virtual
registration will give you access to these workshops, but not any of the after-hours activities.
More information and the registration flyer will be coming soon.

-5NEW FREEDOM INTERGROUPPO Box 31072 • Savannah, GA 31410 • Email: oanfig@gmail.com • Website: www.oanfig.org

Highlights of the April NFI Business Meeting:(Note: These are NOT the official minutes; they are only a recap of what was discussed. Official minutes are released
after changes and approval in the next month’s business meeting.)
New Freedom Intergroup business meeting was held April 13. Each meeting is welcome and encouraged to send two
voting members, and as many observers as desire to attend. The meeting is always the second Saturday of the month(unless otherwise decided) and runs for one and a half hours. Thus, the next business meeting is Saturday, May 11
from 10:00 am to 11:30 am by Zoom. (Meeting ID: 872 7218 1719, Password: 883350).
Highlights of what was covered at the April business meeting:Service Opportunities:•••

We need to fill the following service positions: Delegate, Parliamentarian, Young Persons subcommittee chair,
Twelfth Step Within chair, and Ways and Means chair. Other committees also need volunteers to provide
service.
We’ll be hosting a Big Book Retreat at Marywood on November 1-3, 2024. There will be many opportunities togive service as we plan for this event and at the event itself. If you are interested in volunteering in any way,please reach out to Nancy K. Expect more details soon! And please continue to be on the lookout for moreannouncements and information about this!
In August of 2025, the World Service Convention will be held in Orlando, FL. While NFI is not officiallysponsoring or hosting this event, ANYONE is welcome to give service for it! If you are interested in helping withplanning or otherwise volunteering, please contact Susan B. by email at chair@oaregion8.org

Other Items of Note:
•
•

•

•

All meetings are to let Chair know about changes in format. Thank you to those who sent us updates thismonth! They should be reflected on the website and meeting list.
Voted to increase the budget for Marywood Big Book Retreat by $2,000.00 – This will allow the planningcommittee to hire a professional Audio/Visual company who will livestream the event and create audio-onlyrecordings for registered attendees. Having a livestreaming option allows us to carry the message farther, andhiring a professional company to provide this service will guarantee that the quality of the sound and video ishigh and they will be able to provide technical support as needed.
Reports from the Region 8 Spring Business Assembly were given by Echo G., Barb C., Georgette P., and Sandi
JC. All motions that were submitted passed.
o The International Committee has moved from being a subcommittee under IGOR to a fully funded
committee.
o Added more flexible wording to allow R8 BAs (Business Assemblies) to be held in alternate months
when the preferred timing isn’t feasible.
o Added guidelines for how to write a motion and the timeline to be followed.
o Cleaning up the information tied to C. “Carry the Message” fund and ensuring the correct form islisted.
Next assembly will be held September 20-22nd and is being sponsored by Gold Coast Intergroup and Palm
Beach County Intergroup.
o Location: Doubletree by Hilton in Deerfield Beach/Boca Raton.
o There will be a Recovery Convention and a Business Assembly.
o Theme is “Be Protected, Stay Connected.”o More information will be provided as we are given it.

-6NEW FREEDOM INTERGROUPPO Box 31072 • Savannah, GA 31410 • Email: oanfig@gmail.com • Website: www.oanfig.org

Events from All Over

-7NEW FREEDOM INTERGROUPPO Box 31072 • Savannah, GA 31410 • Email: oanfig@gmail.com • Website: www.oanfig.org

-8NEW FREEDOM INTERGROUPPO Box 31072 • Savannah, GA 31410 • Email: oanfig@gmail.com • Website: www.oanfig.org

-9NEW FREEDOM INTERGROUPPO Box 31072 • Savannah, GA 31410 • Email: oanfig@gmail.com • Website: www.oanfig.org

-10NEW FREEDOM INTERGROUPPO Box 31072 • Savannah, GA 31410 • Email: oanfig@gmail.com • Website: www.oanfig.org

More from Region 8
A new way to carry the message!
Region 8 announces an excellent resource page with links to valuable OA information to benefit
newcomers, returning and current members. Maybe even the "old timers."
Have you read the appendices to Overeaters Anonymous, Third Edition? They include writings on
The Role of a Plan of Eating, A Disease of the Mind, A Disease of the Mind, A Disease of the Body,
A Disease of the Spirit and more.
People may scan this QR code (point your smart phone’s camera at the QR code and it will pop
up a link) and connect to the Region 8 resources page. Please feel free to print this information and pass around in
face-to-face meetings or insert into a visual format for virtual meetings.
Check it out — Pass it on!
Articles printed in this newsletter reflect the opinion of each individual OA member and do not represent OA as awhole. Intergroup meets on the 2nd Saturday of each month. The deadline to submit articles is the 20th of the month
before the Intergroup meeting. Articles may be edited. When submitting articles, please include your name andphone number and whether or not you would like your name printed. This newsletter may be reproduced andenjoyed by other 12-steppers without written permission. If you would like to submit articles and/or comments, or if
you would like to receive the Inner Voice in color as a pdf, send your email address to the Newsletter Chair at
innervoicenfi@gmail.com.

-11NEW FREEDOM INTERGROUPPO Box 31072 • Savannah, GA 31410 • Email: oanfig@gmail.com • Website: www.oanfig.org

rot

Where are your donations going?
According to our Seventh Tradition, we are self-supporting through our own contributions. To donate directly toIntergroup, write a check made payable to ‘NFI’ and mail to: OA NFI, PO Box 550842, Jacksonville, FL 32255; or log onto
oanfig.org and scroll down to the ‘donate’ button. You may pay by PayPal or credit card.
When you contribute your 7th Tradition donations, if you indicate your group number, the donation will be recorded forthat specific group. When we do not have a group number to work with, we may include the donations as unspecified.
Each 9, NFI tallies the group donations and sends 10% of the total to Region 8, with an additional 30% to the World
Service Office. Donations sent directly to World Service Office do not reflect in our group donations total.

-12NEW FREEDOM INTERGROUPPO Box 31072 • Savannah, GA 31410 • Email: oanfig@gmail.com • Website: www.oanfig.org