December, 2022
Volume 3, Issue 8

50 Tips for 50 Years:
Celebrating 50 Yearsof EAI*

Strength & HopeHappiness comes from beingat peace with yourself.

A message in support of emotional well-being.

* Item #102

Looking Ahead to 2023
As we approach the turn of the calendar to 2023, it’s a great time to reflect on how far EAI has come and think a bit about where we’re going.
Our program weathered the pandemic starting in 2020, when so many
people throughout the world struggled with loneliness and emotional andmental health issues. In response, we reached out to more than 20,000
healthcare providers in the U.S. with information about incorporating ourprogram into their recovery services. Many EA meetings also moved tovirtual formats during the pandemic, a shift that has made meetings moreavailable in more places.
Fast forward to today, when the world is still experiencing so many challenges—including a severe lack of resources to treat those experiencing
addiction and mental health crises. Emotions Anonymous has remained abeacon of fellowship, support, and hope during difficult times. It is members that make EA possible—by holding meetings and supporting the office that provides literature, information, answers and much more. EAI
has struggled each year to obtain funds necessary to continue to provide
services to members. On our tiny $150,000 annual budget last year, wecame up $30,000 short. The only place to make cuts now is to staff—
which means fewer services and longer wait times for orders and answers.
We need each member to support the organization in whatever way youcan. Please consider using the monthly giving program to toss your contribution into the virtual meeting basket. By giving, you give back. Thankyou for being part of the solution.
The EAI office manages the creation of new materials written by members—we’ve generated more new literature in the past three years than in
the ten years prior! We’re currently working on a new book that will focus on the Twelve Principles. If you’re interested in writing for this project, please send an email to Director@EmotionsAnonymous.org.
Together we can close 2022 strong and bring the Twelfth Step to life forourselves and for all those in need: Having had a spiritual awakening as
the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message and practice theseprinciples in all our affairs. Best wishes for a peaceful serenity-filled holiday season!

Your Trustees
Paul N. — TX, USA+1 929-399-6515
Aibtikarfoundation@gmail.com
President
Colleen C. — MN, USA+1 651-245-5461
Coyne2003@hotmail.com
Secretary
Kelsey W. — IL, USA+1 618-334-6658
Knlweez@gmail.com
Behzad A. D. — Kerman, Iran+98 913 341 4015
Behzad_7761@yahoo.com
Fred F. — CA, USA+1 909-384-2935
Oldpilot62@gmail.com
Carolina W. —NY, USA+1 646-525-0095
Sanctuarynyc2021@gmail.com
Kathleen E. — MN, USA+1 320-267-2040
Kathleene.engel@gmail.com

December’s Tools
for Recovery
Step 12
Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps,
we tried to carry this message,
and to practice these principles inall our affairs.

Simple but Not Easy
Ian G.
Living with a severe mental
illness is painful. Engaging
with the world and others
through a distorted lenscauses all sorts of problems
which lead to a lot of pain,
inner psychic pain or evenphysical pain.

Promise 12
We realize that God is doing for
us what we could not do ourselves.
Just for Today 12
I choose to believe that I canlive this one day.
Slogan 12
I have a choice.

Helpful Concept 12
Part of the beauty and wonderof the EA program is that atmeetings we can say anything
and know it stays there. Anything we hear at a meeting, on
the telephone, or from anothermember is confidential and is
not to be repeated to anyone—
EA members, mates, families,relatives or friends.

Tradition 12
Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of our traditions, everreminding us to place principles
before personalities
Principle 12Service

When I came to the programme I’d had a bucketfulof this pain and had come toa place where I wanted tofind hope that it was possible
to live without pain. What anoble but naive ambition! I
thought that by working theprogramme I would no longer experience pain, so itcame as some surprise to me
when I was diagnosed withboth ME and Borderline Per-sonality Disorder and fell
into yet another deep depression.
Today I accept the pain ofliving with my mental illness, but I know that withmy Higher Power’s help,
working the Steps, and thefellowship of the programme, I do not have tosuffer. I have had to be humble enough, through Step
One, to accept that I am really powerless over my illness,my emotions and other people. This is simple but noteasy. And through Tradition
One I can understand thatmy recovery depends on EA
unity, working this programme with others.

A New Book is in the Works!
Your Trustees are developing a new book focusing on the 12Principles. The book will contain personal stories, interpretations, reflections, and questions for personal reflection oneach of the principles. We plan to publish the book in 2023
and we’d like member input! Interested in writing a reflection? Please use Submissions@EmotionsAnonymous.org. tosend in your writing. Do you have any questions? Contact
Elaine at Director@EmotionsAnonymous.org.

You can find the Trustee Reflections on the website,
www.EmotionsAnonymous.org.
This month we focus on JFT 12.
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Contribution Gratitude
EAI could not operate without donations
and we deeply appreciate your support!
Recent gifts have been received from thesegroups:
Daily M-F Phone GroupUkiah, CA
Daily M-F Zoom Group
Burlington, IASun 2:30, PM, ET Zoom Group
Elgin, IL
Tues 6:30 PM, ET Phone GroupAustin, TX
Sat 11:30 AM, MT Zoom Group
Bend, ORDayton EA Chapter (St. Paul, MN)
Hamline EA Chapter (St. Paul, MN)
Apple Valley EA (Burnsville, MN)
Colorado Springs, CO
Midwest City, OK
Tues Virginia Beach, VA
EA 世田谷グルー(Tokyo, Japan)
Caminhar em Esperança (Lisbon, Portugal)

In Memory of:
Brian F., from the Winston-Salem,
NC EA Group

Gratitude for:
EA Work IT 12 Step Series Group,from Stacie R.

From the Executive Director
This is the last edition of this form of thenewsletter. Next month we’ll begin sending
weekly emails with information, reflections,and requests to the EA membership. We
hope that shorter bits of news more often
will be easier to digest and more engaging.
We welcome your thoughts on the newsystem. We continue to make changes thathave been suggested by members or that webelieve will help make this program moreeasily accessible for all.
If you haven’t made a contribution to EAI
yet this year, I hope you will take amoment to reflect on how the program hashelped you and how much you value its
presence in your life. You can go to
www.EmotionsAnonymous.org/Donate to
make sure that all the resources continue tobe available for yourself and others
throughout the world. Thank you for yoursupport.

An EA Book that’s Falling Apart is Usually
Owned by Someone who isn’t — Sharon B.
I don’t recall where I first heard this saying, but it’s true. Now
that some of us are returning to Face to Face meetings, we cantake a look at the books from fellow EA members. You canusually see which books have been used the most; the pages aredog eared, there’s different colors of ink used to write in themargins, and there are circles, arrows, doodles, underlines andhighlights, from all their years of use. Some of these books havebecome real works of art! But to the owners, every one of theseadditions is what makes the book uniquely theirs.

I’ve seen books that have holes punched so a three ring binder
could accommodate them, and I’ve seen books that have had
spiral binding applied to them. Another EA member carries her
EA book in a case that has the Serenity Prayer printed on theoutside, and has pockets for pens and other notes inside. My book
was adorned with stickers when another member brought stickers
to one of our meetings, and I’d even taped a fortune from afortune cookie to the cover of my Today book. For awhile, an EA
friend and I shared Chinese food before our meetings. The
fortune reads: “Chances are present to make huge personal
gains.” It seemed appropriate to apply it to my EA book.
The owners of the most worn books are usually the calmest
people in the room. They have a sense of peace about them thatworking the program for many years has given them. One person
in our group, has been with EA since if first began over fifty years
ago. The pages of the book are held together by a rubber band.
When he opens the book, the pages lay out flat on the table infront of him. None of the pages are secured to the binding, andmind you, this is the second book he owns. (The first book was
the black EA book.) This member has described through tears
how anxious and broken he felt when he first found EA and goeson to tell us how EA has saved his life.
You can tell which books have been used. Imagine thestories these books could tell if they could talk! Imagine thegrowth they’ve seen! I remind myself to read my EA books
when I feel like I’m falling apart.
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: +1 651-647-9712
www.EmotionsAnonymous.org
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