Our Thursday 7:00pm meeting is a discussion meeting with topics relevant to
newcomers and about the AA Program. Near the beginning of the meeting, each participant is given an opportunity to ask a question or to suggest one from the topic list below.
Drinking
- How do I know I am an alcoholic?
- How is our drinking different from ‘normal’ drinkers?
- What does it feel like to have a craving for more after the first drink?
- What have we lost because of our drinking?
- How did our drinking affect other people?
- What lies did we tell about our drinking?
- How did our drinking make us isolate from others?
- When did we realise we had lost control of our drinking?
- What was the last straw that made us decide to stop drinking?
- What is our experience of the alcoholic cycle?
Stopping
- Why do we need abstinence?
- How did we initially stop drinking?
- What was our experience of the first 10 days sober?
- What medical or other help did we need to stop drinking?
- In early days, how did we cope with the urge to drink?
- What is our experience with aches and pains, sleeplessness, or other physical symptoms in early sobriety?
- What is our experience of returning to AA after a relapse?
- How do we explain to other people why we decided not to drink?
- How do we handle parties and other social events in early sobriety?
- How have we managed big changes in early sobriety?
- How many meetings do we need?
Step One
- What made us admit defeat?
- What were the consequences of our craving for alcohol?
- How were we obsessed with alcohol?
- What is an example of having ‘no defence against the first drink’?
- What do we identify with when listening to other members?
- What does it mean to be ‘powerless over alcohol’?
- How did drinking make our lives unmanageable?
- Why is honesty important to our sobriety?
- How did we take Step One?
Hope
- When did we find hope?
- What have we learnt from other members?
- How does the program work?
- Why do we need a Higher Power?
- Where do we find courage?
- What do we pray for?
- Where do we find inspiration to stay sober?
- How did we stop relapsing?
- What does AA promise?
Step Two
- How did we overcome prejudice against spiritual ideas?
- How did we choose our own conception of God?
- What’s it like to be ‘restored to sanity’?
- How did we ‘come to believe’ we could recover?
- How does the program work for people who are atheist or agnostic?
- What is a ‘spiritual awakening’?
- How did we take Step Two?
The Program
- How did we learn about the 12 Steps?
- When were we ready to take the Steps?
- What made us balk at taking the Steps?
- What does an AA sponsor do?
- How do we choose a sponsor?
Step Three
- How do we become willing?
- What are we deciding to do when we take Step Three?
- What does the Third Step prayer mean to us?
- How do we turn our wills and our lives over to God as we understand Him?
- How did we take Step Three?
Action Steps
- Why is inventory necessary?
- When did we start Step Four?
- How did we take Step Four?
- How do we ensure our Fourth Step is fearless and thorough?
- How are resentments dangerous?
- What did we learn about ourselves from Step Four?
- How did we choose someone to hear our inventory in the Fifth Step?
- How did we take Step Five?
- How did we become willing to change?
- What defects of character did we hesitate to give up in Step Six?
- How did we take Step Seven?
- How do we become less selfish?
- What’s so great about humility?
- How did we become willing to make amends?
- How did we take Step Eight?
- What are some examples of amends we can’t or shouldn’t make?
- How do we take Step Nine?
- How have we made financial amends?
- How have we made amends to our loved ones?
- How do we continue to take inventory in Step Ten?
- What meditation routines do we use in Step Eleven?
- How can we help others?
- How do we ‘carry the message’ in Step Twelve?
AA
- Why is anonymity important?
- Why do we go to meetings?
- How do we get involved in service?
- What is a Home Group and how do we choose one?
- How has AA service helped our sobriety?
- How is the AA fellowship structured?
- What do we tell others about AA?
- What have we learned from the Big Book?
- What AA Literature have we found useful?
- What strength do we find in the Serenity Prayer?
Sobriety
- What do we need to do to stay sober?
- What is the greatest danger to our sobriety?
- How do we keep the program simple?
- How do we live one day at a time?
- How do we deal with people who don’t understand and want us to drink?
- What is our experience of staying sober while on holiday or travelling?
- What do we tell other people about our alcoholism?
- What have we been able to achieve in our sobriety?
- How have we changed since we started to work the program?
- How have our lives and our relationships improved?
- What’s the best thing about being sober this week?