WHAT I LEARNED: 1. I was just poking around the al-anon.org website today & found the brand new introduction created for the daily reader: “One Day At A Time In Al-Anon” (also known as: “ODAT”). For a little background on why this new intro came about, check out pages 38-39 of the “2021 World Service…
Tag: ODAT
CAL – The Forum Writing Guideline (Item # F-1)
Next week I’ll be posting an update on several Al‑Anon guidelines that have been revised this year. However while I was researching those, it led me to this guideline for The Forum that was very recently updated – just last month, in October 2021, in fact! It got me wondering, 🤔 “What changed exactly?” See…
MTG – Kissimmee – “Sólo Por Hoy”
WHAT I LEARNED: Around this time each year, I look back & think: “Boy, that year was rough. Next year has to be better!” But Al-Anon has given me perspective to see that this past year wasn’t all that bad… & the next one doesn’t necessarily have to be better. Because even if it’s not,…
N. FL Fall Assembly 2017 – Days 1 – 3
WHAT I LEARNED: 1. When I keep words like: should, shouldn’t, good, bad… out of my vocabulary, then I become more grateful. 2. I think that I think too much. 3. It’s important to know the difference between the God of my perception versus the God of my understanding. 4. If I don’t qualify my…
PODCAST – How Al-Anon Works / Just For Today Bookmark (Item #’s B-22 / M-12)
EPISODE 10 of my “CAL Chat” podcast is now available to listen to! What are good consequences? Where does the fear of letting go come from? What are literature discussions like at the World Service Conference? (To hear this episode, please visit the show’s website at: calchatpodcast.com – or you can subscribe to it for…
PODCAST – Courage To Be Me / Various Alateen Literature (Item # B-23)
EPISODE 8 of my “CAL Chat” podcast is now available to listen to! How can I keep things simple? If my growth is like a tree, then what are my roots? What Alateen book can I bring to an Al-Anon meeting? (To hear this episode, please visit the show’s website at: calchatpodcast.com – or you…
PODCAST – As We Understood / How Al-Anon Works / Alateen-a day at a time (Item #’s B-11 / B-22 / B-10)
EPISODE 6 of my “CAL Chat” podcast is now available to listen to! Can I fire my Higher Power? What is a “Meeting on Wheels?” What is not allowed in recovery literature when bringing it into jails? (To hear this episode, please visit the show’s website at: calchatpodcast.com – or you can subscribe to it…
CAL – Parents of Alcoholics (Item # R-18)
WHAT I LEARNED: 1. The item # for this short 12-page piece begins with an “R” because this is a reprint of various articles from The Forum magazine. It came out in 2012 & reprints are typically only printed for a 2-year period. However, demand for this piece must be high because it’s now 4 years later…
CAL – Al-Anon/Alateen Service Manual 2014-2017 (Item # P-24/27)
WHAT I LEARNED: 1. Originally, I only read the “Al-Anon/Alateen Service Manual” on an as-needed basis, but when my next podcast guest said that this was her favorite book that she wanted to talk about on my “CAL Chat” show, I had to dust off my manual & put on my scuba reading mask to…
CAL – Sexual Intimacy & the Alcoholic Relationship (Item # P-77)
WHAT I LEARNED: 1. Well surprise, surprise, this is not an instruction booklet on how to have sex with an alcoholic! However, it does reassure me that I’m not the only one who has had difficulty in this area. Intimacy, especially sexual intimacy, is a topic rarely brought up in Al-Anon meetings. This must have…
PODCAST – One Day At A Time / Detachment (Item #’s B-6 / S-19)
EPISODE 2 of my “CAL Chat” podcast is now available to listen to! Why is Al-Anon not considered a self-help recovery program? How is detaching different than separating? Am I making my spirit sick? It was such a good conversation, I didn’t want to edit anything out, so I had to break it into 2…
CAL – How Al-Anon Works (Item # B-22, B-32, eB-22, eA-22)
WHAT I LEARNED: 1. Originally, I was going to read this book as the very last one of this blog since I was making my way up to the top seller & according to the World Service Office, this one is it. …It would be like starting a climb by already being at the top…
MTG – Ocoee – “Monday Miracles”
WHAT I LEARNED: Step 2 is an invitation to humility. …And I’ve already RSVP’d! – P.S. – See May 24th from the daily reader: “One Day at a Time” (item # B-6).
CAL – Forum Favorites, Vol. 1 (Item # B-9A)
WHAT I LEARNED: 1. As an Area Archivist once said, “I love my position because I get to time travel.” I too feel I get to step into the ‘Wayback Machine’ whenever I read discontinued Al-Anon literature. When this “Forum Favorites” book was first published in 1970 it was a hefty hard cover book &…
CAL – Forum Favorites, Vol. 2 (Item # B-9B)
WHAT I LEARNED: 1. Since I’m reading the entire discontinued “Forum Favorites” series from most recent to oldest (see my previous entries for Volume 3 (item # B-9C) & Volume 4 (item # B-9D)), this Volume 2 (item # B-9B) came as a shock because it was immediately apparent that every story was in the…
WORKSHOP – Orlando – Summer Service Workshop
WHAT I LEARNED: If Al-Anon was not supported by its own members, think of everything that would go away… groups, CAL literature, phone hotlines, websites, Gratitude Dinners, Conventions, & even the World Service Office. The Seventh Tradition reminds me that no one is an island & it makes me grateful for everything that we do…
"CAL Chat" Blog ~My journey in Al-Anon~ 