THE EA CONNECTION: JULY 2019
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EA TOOLS FOR RECOVERY
Step 7: Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
Tradition 7: Every EA group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions.
Slogan 7: By the grace of God
Promise 7: Self-seeking slips away.
Just for today 7: Just for today I will have a program. I may not follow it exactly, but I will have it. I will save myself
from two pests—hurry and indecision.
Helpful concept 7: Emotions Anonymous is a spiritual program, not a religious program. We do not advocate any
particular belief system.

FROM YOUR EA BOARD PRESIDENT
What’s new in EA these days? A lot!! First… two new people have agreed to serve in the important role as trusted
servants. YAY! Paul N. is from New Jersey and Steve B. is from California. They both gladly responded favorably to theexisting trustees voting them in, saying “Yes, I’ll serve as a trustee.'' The application process is now closed for this year.
We had an additional person voted in but has since withdrawn her name and we received two applications we are stillprocessing. We are always grateful for new people stepping up and being willing to serve! You'll be hearing from all
the trustees as the months go by. Please go to the EA official website – emotionsanonymous.org - if you want to keep
up on the work of the trustees or the organization. Our minutes are posted there. Along with the Connection newsletter, the EA website is the only other official place for information regarding the work of the board and staff. Again, welcome Steve and Paul!!
What else is new? The trustees voted unanimously to return to the 2017 Bylaws, which is the last set of changes ratified by the EA membership. This means that the changes to several of the Steps as well as to one of the Traditions andone of the Promises now have the original language of God, Him, He, and His as part of the content. It also means thatthe EA membership will once again be asked to ratify the bylaw changes to come in the future - as was done previously, with the exception of 2018. The main reason the 2017 bylaws were changed was because they were not practical orworkable in their entirety. They had been changed in the past without looking holistically at them and were full of extraneous information that didn’t apply or make sense. We know that reverting to the 2017 bylaws will be welcomedby some, while others will be disappointed. (We’ve already started hearing about disagreement with moving back toGod, He, Him, and His in the Steps, etc.) Please know that we will be bringing many of the good ideas from the 2018
revisions to the table for future discussion and we will be looking for EA member participation in the bylaw development. As noted earlier, there will be a ratification process by the membership for any changes in the future. We’ll alsoneed your help in crafting good strategies for better communicating the work of the Board to all of you, and strategies
for hearing your voices represented in our decisions. Watch for more on this later.
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www.EmotionsAnonymous.org
Box 4245 St Paul, MN 55104
Phone 651-647-9712
Hours Mon—Thurs: 10 to 3:30 CST

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

Special Gifts and Memorials
In memory of Leroy P, former trustee, for his many years of service to EA — Serenity Group, Irving TX
An Anonymous donation in memory of Anonymous.

RECOVERY USING THE TOOLS OF EAStep 7: Humbly asked Him
to remove our shortcomings.
I had missed an important partin my recovery workbook as it
didn't register at that time.
"Until it goes away, you canbegin to change what you areable to about the defect, but you
must be willing to learn to livewith the defect in your life,
knowing you have surrendered it,
and love yourself anyway, until it
is removed."
I'm suddenly aware that I havenot been willing to live with mydefects. I have assumed that I
should be able to rid myself of all
my defects right now, and that byworking hard to be somethingother than what I am, my defects
would go away. This is denial,
and ithas put me under hugepressure.
I need instead to be realistic, accepting that at the moment I am
an intense person and that mylife choices need to reflect thisuntil such time as God takes thisdefect from me. I need to surrender the need to be perfect...Ian
This was a difficult Step to forme. In order to humbly ask tohave them removed, I had to firstquestion what my shortcomings
were and why I might need them.
They were easy to find, but whatjumped out at me was my anger.
Anger was my shield against theanger of others, it also was a protection against the ignorance ofothers and the teasing what went
with growing up in an alcoholic
abusive home. And it was mycompanion, as long as I could beanger, I didn’t have to deal withthe loneliness that was my secretcompanion.
Does this make sense? Not much,
but I needed to learn that I would
be safe if I let go of the anger,that God would be there to protect and take care of me. It is only through the program that I
able to do this...Carrie

Slogan 7: By the grace ofGod“Amazing Grace,” It embodies
the Serenity Prayer to me. It has
become a sort of mantra that reminds me to breathe, to recall
the Slogans, Just for todays andSteps, to slow down for at least aminute and feel, and most of allto give myself a chance to feelGod's support and let the program work. At my worst, I canput an instrumental version of
the song on repeat and it will
help me get to the point where I
can remember the things theprogram teaches me and begin
to put those principles into practice. Loving myself is hard, butamazing grace reminds me that
God always loves me...Mary

Just for today 7: Just for today
I will have a program. I may notfollow it exactly, but I will haveit. I will save myself from twopests—hurry and indecision.
I can cling to this Just for Today
when all the others seem out ofreach. It simply says that I recognize that I’m in a twelve-step program. This program holds out thepromise of serenity in return for
my hard work and honesty. I will
think about this during the day,even if I’m not directly working
the Steps.
Strangely enough, as this thought
becomes part of me, I’ll find thatI’m less likely to rush through myday and be overwhelmed by thesmallest decisions. I’ll become

12 Step Recovery
The 12 Steps are the heart of theprogram, but as our literature suggest, we never do them perfectly.
There is always room for growth in
my understanding and working thesteps and the EA program.
My face-2-face meeting is a step
meeting so we read and share on astep each week. As soon as wereach #12 we start back at #1. I've
been going to meetings for 7 years
and I still find things I haven't noticed before. Even with things I've
noticed before there are always
new insights into how to use & apply them…Joe

I have worked the Steps many times
to the best of my ability. I continue
being amazed that the critical voicein my head has been gone for over ayear now...CarolDISCOVERING THE TOOLS OF EA
Reflection for Today
Let me remember how the dawn breaks in the morning. The change from darkness into light comes on so
gradually it’s hardly noticeable. But at one point I become able to discern forms where before has been complete darkness. And everything around me becomes clearer, almost imperceptibly, up to the moment when
the sun rises in all its splendor, flooding the glorious beauty of the earth with its golden, warming rays. Letme think about this whenever I am feeling impatient...Today Book, July 15

A Change in My Outlook
I wanted to share how a few "bad" things recently happened to me: my luggage got lost; apaper got rejected; my project got stalled; a colleague criticized my guest lecture to herclass; another colleague asked me what felt like a trick question to expose a gap in myknowledge.
Less than two years ago, I would have been terribly worried and upset and taken all of this as "proof" that
I'm unable to live in this world. Instead, I'm just shrugging because there are so many good things going on in
my life that those mishaps barely made a dent in my well-being.
Plus, I am now able to put all of it in perspective. Luggage gets lost all the time, and mine did indeed show up
again, thanks to the help of a very kind airport employee. The paper wasn't a good idea to start with, andwas partially foisted on me; my project will still turn out alright; my critical colleague actually likes and appreciates me (and probably doesn't think I need a lot of approval); and that other colleague is just awkward.
The change in my outlook happened when I realized I am truly powerless over stressing and worrying andperfectionism, and that those are fully capable of destroying me. That's when I understood the most important thing is serenity and well-being…Tobias

Change Brought Me a Routine
For most of my life I’ve wanted to have a morning routine, but for whatever reason, I never established one.
Strangely, over the past few weeks, one has taken shape, and it feels great! It has coincided with the newpuppy we have in our family.
Early each morning I walk my dog for 30 to 45 minutes. On the walk, I do three things.
First, I listen to a recorded meditation on how to become closer to my Higher Power.
Then, I read RFT on EAnon. Finally, I pray and in my prayer is my Step 7 work in which I
ask for the defects of self-doubt and self-hatred to be removed. I’ve done this every day
in July and it feels great...Chris

Lots of Change
Wherever I am, God is with me. I've been feeling that strongly lately, and I'm grateful for it. It seems like I
am going through a lot of change, and I find myself wanting to isolate and feeling misunderstood which is old
thinking for me. But it's where I've been, and I don't want to make it worse by punishing myself. I find myself observing these feelings of things changing, and the things that have been comforting and familiar don'tseem to be working as much. But I feel God's presence, and I know that He's with me. It keeps me from feeling depression or sadness. With the end of my marriage coming, I've felt a lot of sadness, and it helps when Idon't fight it. It helps to have an understanding that grief has an energy of its own. I know that sadness
tends to come and go, but for now, I'm ok. Work is still very frustrating for me right now, but I don't feelguided to make any changes, so I guess I'll be here for a little longer. The more I can have acceptance, thebetter. I continue feeling huge resentment toward my boss, and I also continue praying the resentment
prayer for him, which it seems clear I need to do. I'm a work in progress, and that's ok...Gail2019 - 2020 EA Board of Trustees
Please feel free to contact members of the Board with questions or concerns
Minutes of the Board of Trustees Meeting can be viewed here.
Scott J, MN 507-276-0323 sdjakel@gmail.com President
John W, MN 612-760-0313 johnwerner52@gmail.com Vice President
Colleen C, MN 651-245-5461 coyne2003@hotmail.com Secretary
Derita P, OH 216-624-3559 deritapippen@gmail.com Treasurer
Steven B, CA 909-438-4938 stevebell_28@yahoo.com Trustee
Paul N, NJ 201-264-1807 paul@nobleequity.com Trustee

THE TWELVE TRADITIONSThe 12 Traditions are the guidelines by which our group and our fellowship function.
They have proven over the years to be an effective way of holding the fellowship and individual groups together.
Tradition 7: EVERY EA GROUP OUGHT TO BE FULLY SELF-SUPPORTING, DECLINING OUTSIDE CONTRIBUTIONS.
EA members support EA. If EA members do not support EA, we won't have our meetings for our personal recovery, wewon't have EA International with all the work they do and we won't be able to continue to spread the EA message
around the world to those who still suffer from emotional problems. When anyone, anywhere, reaches out for help, I
want the hand of EA always to be there. And for that I am responsible (AA responsibility pledge). I would venture out tosay that most people have either more spare time or more money. If you have time volunteer to do some form of service. And if you are a busy person, but have money give that; and I mean more than $1.00 when the basket goesaround. ..Derita P, Trustee
The 7th tradition speaks to groups about not receiving money from outside sources. The implication is that since we’renot going to accept outside money for local groups, the individuals who participate in groups understand themselves tobe responsible to support the group financially with their donations. The work of EA, however, extends beyond thelocal group. That’s why I understand conversations about the 7th tradition to be a reminder to all of us about the needto financially support the work of EA International – working on behalf of the entire fellowship. We can do this in twoways - by sending on to EA International group donations - and by sending individual donations to EA International, separately...Scott J, Trustee
Tradition 7 tells me that for the privilege of being able to seek serenity in community with EA members, I have the responsibility to support the work of EA International. In part, this keeps our fellowship free of the outside influences thatcan be brought in by interest groups. But I believe that by regularly donating—no matter how little—I help build on thespiritual bond I feel between all of us, as we work together to become well emotionally...Colleen C, Trustee
Continued from page 1:
What else is new? The newest EA workbook is about to come out in print. It’s entitled “Welcoming the Spiritual Awakening Within Me.” EA members collaborated - guided by their sense of a power greater than themselves - to create
this resource. It’s really going to be a great asset for this organization! I hope you’ll buy and use it to help you and yourEA group receive health and healing - wholeness - in your lives! I’m very grateful for this and other new material tobring a greater sense of well-being to us and to our world. The new book should be available in July.
The one final new thing I’ll share is that the finances have been extremely tight during the controversy over the bylaw
changes, the process of how that was managed by everyone, and specifically in regard to the H.P./God language issues. People have openly declared their unwillingness to support the work of EA financially and it’s really put the organization in a tough place in terms of income. People who need help from EA for their emotional recovery may not
be able to get the kind of help and support that we’d all like to give if this pattern of refusing to financially support thework of EA continues. I hope that we can rebound as a fellowship with a renewed commitment to support this organization that exists to help others. Without ongoing individual and group donations this organization will not be able tocontinue to operate. Please financially support EA to help this organization thrive in our ability to help people struggling with their emotions. Thank you… Scott J, President, EA Board of Trustees