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…
Tag: Principles
N. FL Summer Assembly 2019 – Days 1 – 3
WHAT I LEARNED: 1. I have lost a lot of pain in Al-Anon. 2. Wise people plant trees under whose shade they’ll never sit. 3. We give from the gratitude we’ve already gotten. 4. The alcoholic has not volunteered to get sober. 5. God’s will for me is to stop playing God! 6. Joy is…
PODCAST – Service Manual / Courage To Change (Item #’s P-24/27 / B-16)
EPISODE 3 of my “CAL Chat” podcast is now available to listen to! How can I give the gift of dignity to the alcoholic? What page is possibly read the least in each daily reader? How can my inner child voice be heard in a different way? Once again, I had such a great conversation…
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 – Forum Favorites, Vol. 3 (Item # B-9C)
WHAT I LEARNED: 1. After I became the North Florida Area Literature Coordinator in 2015, I was “bequeathed” a lot of CAL & some were discontinued pieces. Whoo-hoo! So I’m slowly making my way through them & decided to start by reading the entire “Forum Favorites” series from most recent to oldest. (See my previous…
N. FL Spring Assembly 2014 – Day 2 of 3
WHAT I LEARNED: Breaking news! There is a brand new booklet coming out very soon: “Talk to Each Other – Resolving Conflicts Within Al-Anon” (item # S-73). This is a service tool that will also be sold as a combo set as item # K-70 that will include 2012’s “Conflict Resolution – Wallet Card” (item…
CAL – Forum Favorites, Vol. 4 (Item # B-9D)
WHAT I LEARNED: 1. To see the early beginnings of this multi-volume book, we have to go back to an AA event, specifically the International Convention in 1970 where it made its debut as a hardcover book: “Al-Anon’s Favorite Forum Editorials” (item # B-2). (Side note: Al-Anon didn’t start having its own International Conventions until…
CAL – Al-Anon’s 12 Traditions Illustrated (Item # P-60)
WHAT I LEARNED: 1. This pamphlet answers the age-old question, “What do principles look like?” The drawings accompany short explanations about the Traditions that originally appeared over the course of 1983 in The Forum magazine. 2. When I think of the Traditions, I usually think “Oh, they’re about unity… they’re for the group, etc…” but what…
CAL – Sponsorship, What It’s All About (Item # P-31)
WHAT I LEARNED: 1. This pamphlet isn’t just for members looking for Sponsors, but members looking to become Sponsors as well. It’s very comprehensive & touches on the principles of humility, readiness, acceptance, honesty, trust, service, responsibility, & love. My favorite section is the list of 16 items under: “What is the role of a Sponsor?”…
CAL – 12 Steps & 12 Traditions for Alateen (Item # P-18)
WHAT I LEARNED: 1. At 48 pages, this is the longest pamphlet in the CAL catalog because it’s filled with a little info about each Step & Tradition followed by several related questions & personal stories from Alateen members. The reflections share quite a bit about when good Traditions go bad, so for someone like…
CAL – Al-Anon Faces Alcoholism (Item # B-1)
To me, there’s something intriguing about reading discontinued books. I feel like I’m uncovering something they no longer want me to know. This is how I felt reading Al-Anon’s second book, “Al-Anon Faces Alcoholism” (item # B-1) that I got from our District Archives chairperson. 1. The first edition originally came out in 1965 at…
CAL – Why Anonymity in Al-Anon? (Item # P-33)
WHAT I LEARNED: This pamphlet is a mini lesson on Traditions 11 & 12 & gives examples of anonymity from different angles. …How can I tell that anonymity is one of the most important principles of this program? When it’s broken… that’s how! ━━━━━▼━━━━━ **UPDATE (11/13/13): Keep a look out for an updated version of this pamphlet…
CAL – The Twelve Steps & Traditions (Item # P-17)
WHAT I LEARNED: 1. Continuing on with my historical jaunt through the pamphlets… 1961 was a major year for Al-Anon. After being around for 10 years, they finally had their first trial Conference that year & the concept of having Conference Approved material was adopted — yet, at that time, groups were still allowed to…
"CAL Chat" Blog ~My journey in Al-Anon~ 