Keep ‘em coming Alex! You’re making it easier for me
Following up on the “crosstalk” topic… we have an email written from a oldtime member of AA;
Date: Thurs, Aug 21 2008 4:22 pm
From: olemole
I’ve been around and sober for close to 37 years and so called crosstalk in one meeting is standard format in another all depends on the size and make up of the meeting. Cross talk is as old as AA.
On Aug 18, 8:52 am, Sottovoice wrote:
“I have to profess that I am not one who understands the detailed history of “cross talk” or what it really …read more

From “Indelible Humility” printed in the Grapevine Dec. 1990 and reproduced at Silkworth.net. (pdf.)
Thanks again Alex…
“No look at anonymity as practiced by AA can be truly complete without including the question: is it possible for an AA member to be too anonymous? Too anonymous for the good of the individual and the Fellowship? The answer is ‘yes.’ And there are more than a few examples of this: members who feel they must not tell their families or their friends or coworkers or doctors or ministers or lawyers that they are members of AA.
There have even been instances when …read more

When we tell them they are the most important person in the room? Do we think these people don’t recognize our humanity? What do they see?
Consider one simple thought – they don’t see time, time sober. They begin to hear that but did you understand it in the beginning? Most of these folks sitting in their first few meetings (at least in our area) don’t even understand that we practice abstaining from drinking alcohol much less recognize what we’re about. What they see is a room full of unknown faces with unknown quantity/quality. That’s all.
So we tell them they’re the …read more

After a great deal of trial and error, some manufactured, some ill conceived, some forced upon, regarding anonymity, Bill W. learned what may have been the lesson that “saved” Alcoholics Anonymous.
Subsequent to many situations involving the breaking of anonymity by AA members, Bill says (The Language of the Heart, pg. 216);
We now fully realize that 100 percent personal anonymity before the public is just as vital to the life of AA as 100 percent sobriety is to the life of each and every member. This is not the counsel of fear; it is the prudent voice of long experience. I …read more

From Alcoholics Anonymous;
Facts about anonymity in A.A.
It is not the media’s responsibility to maintain our Traditions; it is our own individual responsibility.

A.A. members generally think it unwise to break the anonymity of a member even after his or her death, but in each situation, the final decision must rest with the family.
A.A. members may disclose their identity and speak as recovered alcoholics, giving radio, TV and Internet interviews, without violating the Traditions — so long as their A.A. membership is not revealed.
A.A. members may speak as A.A. members only if their names or faces are not revealed. They speak not …read more

From Alcoholics Anonymous;
Some questions and answers about anonymity
Personal anonymity
Q. After I tell my loved ones about my A.A. membership, should I ask them not to disclose this information to anyone else?
A. This is entirely a personal matter, but it is usually best for all concerned to let the A.A. member decide who shall be told and when.
Q. If relatives, friends, and business associates comment on my improved appearance and functioning after I become sober, should I tell them I’m in A.A.?
A. Members of the immediate family and close friends are usually pleased to learn about an alcoholic’s membership in A.A. …read more

Often questioned…
From Alcoholics Anonymous;
Understanding Anonymity
“Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our Traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities.”
What is the purpose of anonymity in Alcoholics Anonymous? Why is it often referred to as the greatest single protection the Fellowship has to assure its continued existence and growth?
If we look at the history of A.A., from its beginning in 1935 until now, it is clear that anonymity serves two different yet equally vital functions:

At the personal level, anonymity provides protection for all members from identification as alcoholics, a safeguard often of special importance to newcomers.
At the level of …read more

It appears that the well-known “Anonymity Statement” may have been the result of “The Manhattan Project.”
“Whom you see here, what you hear here, when you leave here, let it stay here.”
It may also have been the result of our sister fellowship according to Glenn C. and others. Glenn points us to “The Tools of Recovery” at Hindsfoot and says: “Some of the local folks say that this statement was first read by one of the people who put together the seven ‘tools of recovery’ when he was attending an Al-Anon meeting.”
Steven L. comments that he’d seen the statement on a …read more

Quoting Henrietta Sieberling, through her son John, who made an audio tape of his mother for the Founders Day meeting in Akron in 1971. Bill W. had passed away in the spring of that year and the members in Akron wanted Henrietta to speak but she wasn’t well enough to travel from New York.
She’d said quite a bit prior to this passage and I’d seriously suggest you click through above to read it. But this part is very interesting;
“Father Dowling, a Jesuit Priest, had first met our group in the early days in Chicago, and he came to Akron to …read more

After he turned his glasses to face forwards rather than backwards…
For those who haven’t had an opportunity to listen to Dr. Paul, “Doctor, Addict and Alcoholic,” or, from the 4th ed., “Acceptance Was The Answer,” this is a link to one of his speaking engagements from which you can download one of his tapes.
He has a wonderful sense of humor yet also carries the message in an old-timers kind of way!
Focus. Dr. Paul talks quite a bit about focus on pgs. 418-419;