May, 2022
Volume 3, Issue 1

50 Tips for 50 Years:
Celebrating 50 Yearsof EAI*

Strength & Hope
A message in support of emotional well-being.

Spring Cleaning — Colleen C.
In my part of the world, the warm weather brings a tendency to do somespring cleaning. I dust off cobwebs, vacuum behind couches, touch up
paint, wash windows and shake out rugs. I reboot my warm-weather rituals
like gardening, long walks and taking my pup to the dog park. Springtime
in North America is a beautiful (but often fleeting) thing to enjoy.
I also realize that my mental and emotional health need a little springcleaning as well. I’ve fallen away from coming early to meetings andsetting up the room. I’ve gotten a little lazy about making phone calls. My
meditation time is brief and I’m more distracted than I was during thecolder months. I skip reading my Today book and cancel counselingappointments to do something else, preferably outdoors.
This, for me, is a warning sign. Allowing complacency and the ease of life
to overcome my desire for personal growth and growth in the programmeans I have to “spring clean” my attitude. Luckily, I have been here
before and know that discipline and service are the answer. Just like I
won’t strengthen my muscles if I don’t walk or bike daily, I won’t
strengthen my program without working it each day.
I invite you, too, to recommit to service in EA. There are so many
opportunities to do so – from simple things like reaching out to a
newcomer, writing a short piece for this newsletter, or becoming a monthly
sustaining contributor (https://donorbox.org/emotionsanonymousinternational) – to things that have a broader impact,
such as applying to become an EA Board of Trustees member (https://emotionsanonymous.org/about-eai/eai-board-of-trustees-information/).
Applications are due June 1.
I invite you to celebrate the beauty of the world you live in bystrengthening your EA muscles, and to build trust in the Higher Power ofyour understanding by surrendering to the Twelve Steps. It’s not easy, but
doing so ensures that we have the humility, gratitude, and resilience needed
to get through the darker times – and that the program remains here for allof us and generations to come.

Just For Today, we should
not be afraid to work the EA
Program, face challenging
emotional problems and improve our daily emotional
health.
* Item #102

Your Trustees
Paul N.— TX
929-399-6515
aibtikarfoundation@gmail.com
President
Steve B.— CA
909-438-4938
stevebell_28@yahoo.com
Vice President
Colleen C.— MN
651-245-5461
coyne2003@hotmail.com
Secretary
John W.— MN
612-760-0313
johnwerner52@gmail.com
Kelsey W.— IL
618-334-6658
knlweez@gmail.com
Behzad Arabpour Dahouei —Iran0098 913 341 4015
Behzad_7761@yahoo.com

May Tools forRecovery
Step 5Admitted to God, to ourselves
and to another human being
the exact nature of our wrongs.
Promise 5
The feelings of uselessness
and self-pity lessen.
Just for Today 5
I will do somebody a goodturn and not get found out. If
anyone knows of it, it will notcount. I will do at least one
thing I don’t want to do, and I
will perform some small act oflove for my neighbor.
Slogan 5First things first.
Helpful Concept 5
EA is not a sounding board forcontinually reviewing our miseries, but a way to learn todetach ourselves from them.
Part of our serenity comesfrom being able to live at
peace with unsolved problems.
Tradition 5

Each group has but one primary purpose: to carry its messages to the person who still
suffers from emotional problems.
Principle 5Integrity

Managing Virtual Meetings
Virtual meetings have been a huge help to be able to continue
working the program during the pandemic when face-to-facemeetings couldn't be held. It appears that meetings on zoom,
conference call, GTM etc. are here to stay!
Many members have shared how helpful it is to be able toaccess a meeting on their schedule—even when the meeting
may have been started 1,000 miles away. We used to fieldmany questions about why there was no meeting in a particular city— now the lack of an in-person meeting isn’t a barrier
to attending one.
In the spirit of continuing to hold meetings where everyone is
not in the same room, we thought it would be helpful to pointout our Guide To Virtual Meetings, Item #7A. This isavailable to print off under “Free Publications” on our website
and offers a suggested outline and guidelines for both managing and participating in a virtual meeting. We hope you find it
helpful.

Healthy Behavior in Virtual Meetings
Meetings held virtually offer great opportunities forconnection, but come with their own set of challenges. It is
important to know that EA discourages ‘leaders’ ofmeetings—everyone who attends a meeting can be
responsible for some portion of it and running the meetingshould rotate among members. However, some folks are more
technologically inclined than others and naturally gravitate
toward managing a virtual platform.
Healthy meetings allow everyone to express themselves—
which may take more effort than when we’re in the sameroom. Those managing the meeting might consider letting
everyone know how many people are on the call/virtual
platform so speakers can determine how much time theymight have to share. Groups can decide together whether
participants should be ‘live’, offer a static picture, or are
comfortable with an empty square representing those inattendance.
The real key to a healthy meeting—whatever method
employed—is to follow the EA guidelines.
You can find the Trustee Reflections on the website,www.emotionsanonymous.org.
This month we focus on JFT #5
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Contribution Gratitude

Self-Compassion — Sarah B.

EAI could not operate without donations
and we deeply appreciate your support!
Recent gifts have been received fromthese groups and monthly donors:

I had plans today with a friend and she texted last nightsaying she just found out she has to take her kid to basketballpractice and can't meet up. I said "No worries at all!" But
today I'm having intrusive suspicious thoughts--the storygoes: "She made up an excuse to get out of hanging out withme. She always does this — she uses her kids to get out ofthings. She makes plans and then bails all the time. Why
can't I find a friend who actually wants to spend time withme? Why am I so unlovable?" First I imagine the otherperson is wronging me in some way. Then I make it personal
and about their character. And then I make it about mystruggles and then I bring it home and tell myself I am
fundamentally flawed—if I wasn't, I wouldn't bestruggling, I wouldn't be friends with people with poor
character, my friend wouldn't have cancelled onme... Huh. Imagine that—if I was better in every way, I
could have controlled my friend's kid's basketball coach'schange in schedule. And shame on me for not being able tocontrol an action 4 degrees separate from me...

Arvada, CO (Hybrid group)
Atlanta, GA groups (2 Zoom groups)
Austin, TX (Zoom group)
Bend, OR groups (3 Zoom groups)
Burlington, IA group
Coon Rapids, MN group
Midwest City, OK group
Perryville, MO groupSun 2 PM, EDT (Zoom group)
7 Anonymous Individuals
Alexandra S. Deanna B. Kathleen M.
Bob W.
Holly V.A. Louis V.
Colleen C.
Ian G.
Scott J.
Dana J.
James K.

In Memory of:
Tom B., Bob W.

From the Executive Director
Each year we encourage new members tojoin the Board of Trustees. This group is
responsible for overseeing the financial
well-being of the organization, creatingand approving new materials, working
with me on direction and goals for theorganization as a whole. There are many
opportunities for service by Board
members, including making contact withgroups or individuals interested in thelearning more about the program,addressing concerns of current members,
and identifying new ways to share theprogram more broadly.
Board meetings are currently heldbi-monthly via conference call, withsome work by Trustees in between. This
program only works when everyone
works together—whether that is byattending meetings, writing materials, orBoard service. Please consider how you
might lend a hand in the coming year!

These types of thoughts are regular in my life, but today I
am feeling something other than the sadness and self-pityfrom "I'm unlovable," and the self-disgust from judging
myself for having these thoughts at all. I am aware of those
two feelings, but there is also something else... a bit of self
compassion.
I think I'm beginning to allow myself the space toacknowledge I have very low self-esteem. I have resisted
this idea as I think of it as pathetic, childish and weak. I am
confident and sure of myself! Except when I am not, andthen whatever problem in front of me is all my fault—not foranything I did, but for who I am. Over the years, I've comeback to the idea that my emotional challenges often stemfrom a foundational belief that I'm not enough, or that people
think I'm not worth the trouble. And each time, I think I
reach another layer of understanding—a higher point of vieweach time I come around the spiral staircase.
Today, I feel gentle and kind toward myself. I recognize thethoughts that my friend is ditching me because I'm awful,and also remind myself that those thoughts aren't true. "I see
how you're thinking, and we both know that's just where themind takes you, but it's not true. Why don't we go read for abit? Or take a hot shower? Want some tea?" I am being afriend to myself. I think that is what self-compassion is.
I am enough. And you are enough too, in case you werewondering.
Office Information
EAI P.O. Box 4245 St. Paul, MN 55104-0245 USA
Office Hours: TU-TH 12p.m. (noon) — 5 p.m. CT
Phone: 651-647-9712
www.emotionsanonymous.org
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