EA Connection—august 2016Your monthly newsletter from isc

From the president of the board of trustees:
As you’re well aware, 2016 has been dubbed as the “Year for Sponsorship,” and the 2016 EA Convention has Sponsorship as it’s theme: SPONSORSHIP: Share the Experience. Having said that, I can assure you that from the Key Note Address on Friday evening and throughout the convention, we’ll encounter some challenging workshops, some exciting
speakers, as well as a number of vibrant panel discussions. Continue to watch for ongoing convention announcements
and information on EA’s website—as well as elsewhere in this and the September EA Connection.
All groups are reminded that one designated delegate is encouraged to attend the Annual BusinessMeeting on Friday, September 23, 2016 to be held at 1:30pm. Further information will be available uponregistration/check-in at The Hilton Doubletree Inn, Tempe , Arizona. Of special note is that during thisyear’s convention we will be celebrating EA’S 45th Anniversary!
Plan now to join us for Convention 2016 and EA’s 45th Anniversary!
Gus S, President of the Board of Trustees.

WHAT IS SPONSORSHIP? :Sponsorship is a mutual and confidential sharing between two EA members. A sponsor is a special person with whom a member can discuss personal problems or questions, andwho will share their experience, strength and hope in working the EA program. (EA form #25)

August tools:
Step 8: Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
Slogan 8: Know yourself-be honest
Promise 8: Our whole attitude and outlook upon life changes.
Just for Today 8: I will stop saying, “If I had time.” I never will find time for anything. If I want time, I must take it.

Tradition 8: Emotions Anonymous should remain forever non-professional, but our service center may employ
special workers.
Concept 8: The steps suggest a belief in a Power greater than ourselves. This can be human love, a force for good,
the group, nature, the universe, God, or any other entity a member chooses as a personal Higher Power.

Of Importance to Groups:
1. The EA Convention is two months away! Sign up online or print off a registration form atwww.emotionsanonymous.org.
2. Did you know EA has a free app? You can download it on the Itunes stores to receive EA Recovery, and access updates from the blog and EA materials wherever you are!
3. Included with this issue is a community flyer you can use to share information about your meeting - just print it off,
fill in your meeting information, and post it in your neighborhood. Thank you for letting others know about EA!

Memorials and Special Gifts:

In Memory of Connie B—A wonderful mentor and example of living the program
Owosso, Michigan EA Group
Remembering Richard G—A longtime EA member
To help support this publication, donations can be made to: EA Connection

EA Tools
Step 8: Made a list of all
persons we had harmed,and became willing to
make amends to them all.
Steps 4 and 8 are both about“cleaning our side of the fence.”
When making this list it doesn’t
matter who did what to who. The list
is about you and action/things you
may have done. Reviewing your 4th
step may be helpful in making thislist. One of goals of Step 8 is starting
to develop a healthy ego forourselves and an accurate sense ofourselves in relation to others. Goodto remember is that all we are doing
here is making a list and becoming
willingtomakeamends…
paraphrased from It Works if you
Work It ,p 43.

Just for Today 8: I willstop saying, “If I had time.”
I never will find time foranything. If I want time, I
must take it.
Oh wow, I need lots ofimprovement here. I schedule somany things for me to do thatsometimes I cannot find time in the
day to accomplish them. So I need toprioritize, I need to set goals, theyneed to be achievable, measurable,and specific. Sometimes I have to getinvolved with things I need to get
involved with at the expense of
putting things off. I always need totake these things to my higher
power. I need to pray and meditate,
and I need to put first things first...EdSlogan 8: Know
yourself—behonest

My attitude is still not best at times
but I'm getting better at it. It isconstantly changing, and eventhough I don't see it, it improves alittle bit at a time. I don't think gloom
and doom as much as I used to. I stilldo, but they are just moments. They
pass - Sometimes quickly, sometimes
slowly. I can be optimistic today. But
I can also be realistic. Life constantly
changes. I am better prepared today
to deal with life on life's terms…EdPromise 8: Our whole
attitude and outlook
upon life changes.
In Patti LaBelle's popular song, New
Attitude, she sang to an upbeat
tempo “I'm feelin' good from myhead to my shoes/ Know where I'm
goin' and I know what to do/ I tidied
up my point of view/ I got a newattitude.”This promise of an attitude change
has really happened in my life sincejoining EA. In the past, my old
outlook I viewed my life as very
cloudedandwithoutmuchhappiness or richness. I did not haveany goals and was extremely
depressed.
Today, I view my life much moredifferently. I can now appreciate thedifferent seasons both in theweather and in my life. I can feel thewarmth of a sunny day as well as
appreciate the cool briskness of a
Fall day. I have goals for which I see
progress in many areas of my life andit is filled with much richness andhappiness. “Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh,ooh/I got a new attitude”...
Rosemary H

Concept 8: The steps

suggest a belief in a Power
greater than ourselves.
This can be human love, aforce for good, the group,nature, the universe, God,or any other entity amember chooses as apersonal Higher Power.
I am grateful to have a loving Higher
Power who can free me from any
difficulties that occur. My loving
Higher Power can help and support
and comfort me through everything.
I still have to do my footwork, but itis much more comforting that I havea loving Higher Power helping mewith all that I do.
I am praying more for people ascompared to “allowing” them to hurt
me so much with how they behave.
This seems to help more than living
in anger. Plus I just take extra goodcare of me when I am having
troubles with people. That helps me
not feel like a victim. As a matter offact, if “anyone” does anything that I“allow myself” to get upset over, I
will just do something extra nice forme and that helps me to love andrespect myself especially when itappears I am being disrespected. I
can’t really be disrespected if I don’t“allow it”. For too many years I
allowed others to disrespect me andI no longer allow it with my Higher
Powers help. I know my Higher
Power wants me to experience
respect, joy and love and I can now
walk away from anything that isn’t
that. Sometimes I do make mistakes
and fall back into that victim rolefrom time to time, but can get out of
it sooner ..Connie

Ea tools applied: self...
Self-AwarenessI've just about mastered the art of projecting my junk on to others, all the while in complete denial that it's MY issue
in the first place. Then I sit there and judge them up one side and down the other, and often have pity on them. Ha. I
can be such a hypocrite! It has only been recently that I've been able to start catching myself in the act, and try toturn my awareness back to my OWN inventory. Their inventory is none of my business!!! God, help me to know MYSELF, in an honest and open way...JohnSelf-Pity
Self-pity has always been a struggle for me. I didn’t know I was doing it for a long time – working the steps helped me
to see it. I still do it at times, but nowhere near as much as I used to. I truly felt so sorry for myself that I couldn’t see
the world around me. I couldn’t see that other people had it as bad as I did, if not worse. Once I was able to see that,it helped me to have perspective, and helped me to see that I was looking at things through the eyes of self-pity rather than gratitude (which I have been told is the opposite). Seeing the world with gratitude takes effort but it isworth it, when I do it. I must use self-discipline when it comes to gratitude – when I do, it really helps. When I spend
time every day naming the things in my life for which I am grateful – sometimes I write it, sometimes I talk to my higher power, the quality of my life is healthier. But if I don’t do it, the stinking thinking comes back. Part of my emotional un-wellness involves looking at myself in an unhealthy way, rather than focusing on myself and my well-being.
For me, emotional and mental health come as a result of having a balance, of focusing on myself and focusing on others – allowing others to live their own lives, and minding my own business. Easier said than done….. but I will keepplugging away. Thanks for letting me share...Gail

Self-Knowledge
I am grateful today for the chance to share about the power of gratitude that I have learned through the practice ofgratitude lists here on the loop (aka: EAnon). For being able to see that looking for the good, being on the lookout forthings to be grateful for, being on the lookout for my Higher Power speaking to me or acting in my life are all related
or at least are variants of the same kind of openness & awarenessThat such openness & awareness is becoming more a part of my life
That such openness & awareness is making my life deeper & richer
For EAnon as a safe place where I can share and where I can have the privilege of "listening" to others share...JoeSelf-LoveI am learning self-love. Self hatred came up as my number 1 character defect in Step 4. This year I planned with mysponsor that this is the only character-defect I will address. The first thing I started with was to not criticize myself.
Even inside my head. I am grateful that the critical voice inside my head is not as loud and persistent as it used to be.
I have mostly been able to stop beating myself up for past mistakes. Something I heard poet Maya Angelou say in aninterview helped me immensely. "If you knew better, you would do better. People should not be judged on the basisof what they were, but on the basis of what they are trying to be."'
These words really helped me with forgiving myself. If those past situations came up today, I know I would act differently. Because now I know better. At that time, I did not know I had an emotional illness. I did not know how to manage my emotions. I did not have any resources to guide me. I did not know that some people are toxic. I can now lookupon my past self with endearment and gentleness rather than with condemnation. I also
worried a lot about what people from my past think about me and some of my crazy behavior. But now I think that they should judge me by who I am today. And if they judge me by
who I used to be, they are only clinging to a past version of me that does not exist, that I nolonger identify with. This realization has been very freeing for me...Pri2015—2016 ea board of trustees
Region 1: Northwest - Treasurer
CAN: AB, BC, MB, ON, SK
USA: AK, ID, MN, MT, ND, OR, SD, WA, WI, WY
Position Vacant: Temporary Contact
Scott J—Email: sdjakel@gmail.com

507-276-0323

Region 2: Southwest - President
USA: AZ, CA, CO, HI, NM, NV, OK, TX, UT
Gus S—Email: schloessergus@gmail.com

602-319-3890

Region 3: Central
USA: IA, IL, IN, KS, MI, MO, NE
Lynne S—Email: lynnesmith50@hotmail.com

712-420-2058

Region 4: Southeast
USA:Tyrell D—Email: atdear08@gmail.com

706-782-2328
Puerto RicoRegion 5: Northeast - Secretary
CAN: NB, NF, NS, NT, PE,YT
USA: CT, MA, ME, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, VT
Valerie C—Email: valcea@gmx.com

585-371-4347

Region 6: French-speaking Canada
819-319-9912
France B—E-mail: france.boulerice@gmail.com
General Service Trustee - Vice President
Vince C—Email: vincovea@yahoo.com

603-891-1431

General Service Trustee - Trustee-at-large
Harold F—Email: hthnhhugs@aol.com

603-624-8455

General Service Trustee
Scott J—Email: sdjakel@gmail.com

507-276-0323

Non-member Trustee
Phyllis R—Email: eaphyllisr@hotmail.com

623-915-5795

Slogan 8: Know yourself—be honest
I’ve discovered that when I become more honest with myself, things around me begin to change. I begin toexperience positive energy. I, and only I, have the power within to change the things that need to be changed. WhenI’m not ‘my true self’, or pretending to be who I am not then I find myself living a lie, which simply drains all of thepositive energy from within...Gus S This is about being aware of who I am as a person. When I take time to meditate
and reflect upon my thoughts/actions, I develop a good feed-back loop for myself. I can live with integrity as mythoughts, words, and actions line up. I live an honest life when I show the world on the outside what's going on
within me...Scott JSelf inventory and self-accountability. I look at myself honestly and always notice a need forimprovement. I am perfectly imperfect. I have been dishonest to others and myself for many years of my life. This isgoing to take a lot of work and effort to change. The point is, I can't do it alone...Lynne S In my 10 years in the EA
twelve steps program, I have come to know myself better. Also, I learned how to be honest with myself and others.
The tools that help me know myself better are my daily readings in the Today’s Book, the 12 steps, the 12 slogans andother tools from the program. Now days, I feel more confidence about myself and that is all because of theprogram ...FranceFrom It Works if You Work It: Know Yourself—Be Honest
The 12-step programs all require rigorous honesty. We must delve deep into our past experiences andfeelings to come to know the person we are today. This is the hardest and most important part of thesteps. Many of the self-destructive behaviors we practiced in thepast, and perhaps continue to practice today, have resulted fromEvents Far and Near:
EA Retreat October 7-9, Glen Rose TX being less than honest with ourselves. We tell ourselves little
white lies such as, “Its okay to rage against my family because“How to live with unsolved problems”
they deserve it.” continued on page 76 It Works if You Work It
Speaker Kathy R , Milwaukee, WI$120 2-nights & 5 meals For more info
Ann (817-)714-8761/Anita (926)646-3584
28th Anniversary Public Info Meeting
October 25, 2016,7:45pm
2095 W Market St, Akron,
For Info: 234-206-1232
E-mail: emotionsanon@yahoo.com

Emotions Anonymous™

Email Addresses:

PO Box 4245
St Paul, MN 55104
Phone 651-647-9712
Fax 651-647-1593
Hours: Monday—Friday: 10 to 4

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

If you have an event you would like to see listed here, send your information to editor@emotionsanonymous.org

Come and visit beautiful Arizona
2016 EA International Convention
Friday, September 23:
7:00 PM

Welcome Message

7:15 PM

Keynote Speaker: Ron Regnier

Subject: Sponsorship: Where we were, Where we are, Where we’re going...

Saturday, September 24:
8:30 AM

Morning Meditation

9:00 AM

Welcome Message: Emory H

9:25 AM

Keynote Speaker: Dawn M
Subject: Using the 12 Step Philosophy to Navigate Your Emotional Well Being

10:30 AM

Breakout Session 1: What the heck am I feeling? Dealing with specific emotional triggers
Breakout Session 2: 1234567, We’re going to meditate to Step 11, Meditation Techniques for Serenity

11:15 AM

Breakout Session 1: Is it really this simple? 5 simple questions to engage in a healthy conversation
Breakout Session 2: Guilt and Resentment, Eliminating guilt and resentment to enhance well being

1:35 PM

Keynote Address: Scott J
Subject: The Target of EA-Aiming for Balance and Wellness

2:40 PM

Breakout Session 1: Anger and Fear-Get it in Focus –learning specific techniques to identify your triggers
Breakout Session 2: Welcoming the Newcomer- Making newcomers feel welcome and coming back

3:00 PM

Breakout Session 1: Men Sponsoring Men – To connect and learn the principles of sponsorship
Breakout Session 2: Women Sponsoring Women - To connect and learn the principles of sponsorship

3:20 PMWorkshop - Ron Regnier: Thinking Outside the Box-Learning how to take our sponsorship to new heights

4:00 PMRegional Breakout Sessions

4:25PM

Closing Remarks

8:00PM

Keynote Entertainment - Stevie Ann P

Subject: A comedic approach to conscious living

Sunday, September 25
9:00 AMA time to celebrate our recovery