Someone to Talk To
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Photo by Clif H
National Poetry Month
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Spanish Conference Participation
by Evelyn B
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“Cuán Importante es Florecer el Espíritu”
XXVIII Reunión Nacional de Al-Alanon para Hijos Adultos de Alcohólicos en Estados Unidos Seattle, WA El 24, 25, y 26 del marzo 2023 “Conociendo, Aprendiendo, y Recuperando”
Más de 300 personas vinieron a Seattle para juntarse en comunidad de Al-Alanon y como comunidad Latína. Vino gente de tan lejos como Colombia, México, Guatemala, Canadá, ¡y otros países! También vinieron de muchos estados en los Estados Unidos, como California, Kansas, Florida, Texas, Connecticut, y más. Representaron lugares locales en Washington como de la comunidad de Seatac, Puyallup, Auburn, Yakima, Spokane, y Vancouver. Unas personas volaron solas por la primera vez, para poder recibir las bendiciones del programa del Al-Anon, en comunidad Latína. En la conferencia, hubo talleres y charlas acerca de los Afectos del Alcoholismo, Características de los Hijos Adultos, Obstáculos al Éxito de Al-Anon, Guías para Nuestras Relaciones y más. En los pasillos se escuchaba los participantes riéndose, celebrando, abrazando, y conversando juntos de sus experiencias de recuperación en el programa del Al-Anon. Una señora conto que las amistades, apoyo, y las soluciones que ha encontrado en el programa del Al-Anon son milagros que no se puede descontar ni olvidar. Otros amigos se conocieron hace 25 años por medio del programa. Y claro q también dieron la bienvenida amistosa a los recién llegados al programa. La gente compro literatura para si mismos, para sus grupos del hogar, y para sus hijos y nietos. ¿Un tema que se escuchó seguido? “Hay tanta negatividad en el mundo. ¡Vamos a enfocarnos en la solución!” Para más información sobre reuniones de hijos adultos en español, busque en la página del web: https://www.rnwashington23haa.org/ |
"The Importance of Growing the Spirit"
XXVIII Al-Alanon National Meeting for Adult Children of Alcoholics in the United States Seattle, WA March 24th, 25th, and 26th, 2023 “Knowing, Learning, and Recovering”
More than 300 people gathered in Seattle to come together with the Al-Anon and Latino community. People came from as far away as Colombia, Mexico, Guatemala, Canada, and more countries! They also came from all over the United States, such as California, Kansas, Florida, Texas, Connecticut, and more. They represented our local communities, as well as other Washington areas such as Puyallup, Yakima, Spokane, and Vancouver. Some people flew alone for the first time, to receive the blessings of the Al-Anon program in the Latino community. At the conference, there were workshops and talks on the Affects of Alcoholism, Characteristics of Adult Children, Obstacles to Al-Anon Success, Guidelines for Our Relationships, and more. In the hallways participants could be heard laughing, celebrating, hugging, and talking together about their experiences of recovery in the Al-Anon program. One lady shared that the friendships, support, and solutions she has found in the Al-Anon program are miracles that cannot be discounted or forgotten. Other friends met 25 years ago through the Al-Anon program. And of course, they also gave a friendly welcome to the newcomers. People bought literature for themselves, for their home groups, and for their children and grandchildren. A theme that was heard often was “There is so much negativity in the world. Let's focus on the solution!" For more information about meetings of adult children in Spanish, look on the website: https://www.rnwashington23haa.org/ |
Spanish Conference
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Happy Birthday Lois W
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Phone Volunteer OpportunityVolunteer Opportunity to Answer the Seattle AIS 24-Hour Phone Line --Sign onto the Zoom app on one's smartphone --Provide meeting information --Share one's ESH (experience, strength, and hope) in the Al-Anon program If you can do all of the above, then Phone Service (3-hour slots or overnight) might be FOR YOU! Contact phones@seattle-al-anon.org Step Four Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. Searching and Fearless
by Zenia D When first I came, I heard the words, Searching and fearless moral inventory…of ourselves. Like every step before it, At first, I felt I’d best ignore it. By the time I made it to Step four, As I started to reflect, the words began to pour. My fingers flew, But how, I never knew. With shocking dread, I’d nearly seen red. What I discovered about myself, Should I hide them on a shelf? To continue to grow, By now you must know, I should take them forward, Don’t be a coward. To unravel the mysteries, this is just prep, And keep moving on to the next step. |
We Are Coming Home
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Recovery and service go hand in hand
It started out simply, not leading the band My journey took years Sometimes there were tears First coffee, room set-up, and group secretary Searching and finding the best parts of me Afraid that a request for help might never come I sat and I waited, not beating on him like a drum And then, there it was, a simple request for help My brother, he did it, one day he reached out Two days in his yard, cleaning up that big mess At the end of each day, well, I’d never have guessed His gratitude spilled out, It came out overflowing The hugs and the thank you’s, he was positively glowing To me, it was a simple task To him it was a huge, huge ask My service in Al-Anon’s paid untold dividends Among other benefits, my brother and I are once again friends |
Tradition FourEach group should be autonomous, except in matters affecting another group or Al-Anon or AA as a whole.
Al-Anon Groups
by Ralph D My group is autonomous, While I am anonymous. Each one of us working together. To weather all storms, We keep to the norms. In the end, all are the better. Need a Free Newcomer Packet?Anyone local to Seattle who is a newcomer and wants an individual newcomer packet (or in Spanish, too!), please send an email to outreach@seattle-al-anon.org with the name and mailing address. |
Cosmic Cat Helps Me
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Going up the steps, I stumble,
splash the electric socket. Pussy cat nuzzles my toe and says, “Hey, if you’re not ready for this much soul, I’ll try to understand. I know that all the light can be blinding for your little eyes. You relish the cave of failure, the plank you walk and the railroad ties you’re tied to. If you ever decide to focus the magnifying glass that you are, shovel coal into the steam engine blaze, and let the laundry soak for days before we spin off dirt and grease that left you dingy, I’ll be your guide. I will lick your wounds, hold your purse while you fill your dance card, and bring home fried crispy nuggets of something delectable for you. I’ll braid your hair and caress your eyelashes, feed you mint chip ice cream that I softened with the back of a spoon. I’ll burn my whiskers on the ceremonial flame. I will test your game and call your name across the chasm of faith. You only have to want it enough to work for it though you feel like a slave. All you have to do is ask, every day and every second for the rest of your life, and know in every crest and valley of time circling out from you like radio waves that your spine is an antenna. |
Your locomotive lifestream pommels.
Your homebound express barrels down the squealy tracks and thunders through your heart. Never fear the rainstorm and lightning or the silken wormhole moment of your death. You are a cluster of galaxies. Your sealed envelope breaks open. Your message is wax melted through paper to form a wick for the flame at the heart of the pressure and mass at the center of your black hole. But you really don’t suck. You are a light and a force, the turning point of contraction, paused, in frequency alive now. Blasto---Expando-----Maximo------Frequentis! Continue conversing with who you are now, who you will be, and who you will be to the others, yesterday and today, where there are no days, but only the event horizon and the pulse in your ears, throbbing your celestial body, squeezing forth your status as an organism, moving among relations: asteroids, comets and constellations. Sing yourself home down the mountain, stretch out from under the mystic tree, trot a lap round the cosmic stadium, high-fiving your cadre, blowing kisses to the masses.” |
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AIS Council Meeting
The next Council meeting is Thursday, April 13th, 2023, 7:30-9:00 pm. Click the AIS website 2023 Calendar link on the Events page (https://www.seattle-al-anon.org/events) for the zoom information. AIS Board MeetingThursday, April 20, 2023 at 7:00 pm. Check the AIS website calendar (https://www.seattle-al-anon.org/events) for the zoom link. 
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Concept FourParticipation is the key to harmony.
Internal Harmony
by Faith B I’ve heard it said that participation is the key to harmony. To that I propose this homily. In each meeting I care, So, often I share. Service work is rewarding, And I feel like I'm forwarding, Growth the program can offer. Has Your Meeting Changed?
Please send all meeting changes to the WA Area Group Records Coordinator [https://wa-al-anon.org/meeting-changes/] Changes and Updates are made Weekly. (Seattle AIS is automatically cc'd in the change request) If you have any questions or concerns regarding the Seattle AIS updated meeting schedule, please contact meetingdirectoryeditor@seattle-al-anon.org |
Taking Inventory of The Collateral Damage |
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Living around active alcoholism has taken quite a toll on my life. The insanity and chaos creeps under the door and seeps into the walls of every room. I can’t ignore it. I feel I would be living in denial, if I did. I, at least, have to be honest with myself, my God, and my journal.
Every day I am faced with the irresponsibility and irrationality of the circumstances. Not for the lack of trying, I have discovered I am powerless to resolve any of it. I don’t have any standing. Yet, the alcoholic continues to try to shove their remaining responsibilities off onto me. I have invested my time, energy, love, and other resources into an already bankrupt situation.
I have lived in survival mode for too many years. My mind is tossed back and forth as my perception is called into question, with frequent gaslighting. When the alcoholic doesn’t get their way, they fly into a terrifying rage or sarcastic childish tantrum. This is to gain compliance with their every whim.
I do have intermittent seasons of denial. Pain slaps me back into the reality that I have gotten sucked into the orbit of the alcoholic, once again. Regrettably, another year has passed as my life continues to stagnate and my goals and dreams lay by the wayside. Broken sleep, waking up in the middle of the night, trying to resolve the insidious labyrinth created by the disease.
I was eating healthier and had started to lose weight. However, now it has been soda, processed meats, sugar, and mainlining junk food for days. I’ve got to pull myself out of this toxic cycle and reverse the powerful jets of these engrained dysfunctional patterns. Generational alcoholism and maladaptive living do not retreat silently.
I have to let go and surrender this agonizing feeling that I am responsible to keep the alcoholic loved one alive. “The Enabler is a person who feels he must not let the alcoholic suffer the consequences of his drinking when he can so easily prevent this by a simple rescue operation” (Alcoholism, A Merry-Go-Round Named Denial, Pamphlet).
In my experience “rescue operations” may appear “simple” but often they are just the tip of the iceberg. Underneath lay vast tentacles of continuing obligations and unresolvable conundrums. The double bind. Damned if I do, and damned if I don’t.
There is powerful resistance, internally and externally with the letting go of my loved ones. Grieving the ongoing losses and the dream of what could be, and accepting what is. Trusting that my higher power will guide me through this process and supply the resources needed along the way.
Every day I am faced with the irresponsibility and irrationality of the circumstances. Not for the lack of trying, I have discovered I am powerless to resolve any of it. I don’t have any standing. Yet, the alcoholic continues to try to shove their remaining responsibilities off onto me. I have invested my time, energy, love, and other resources into an already bankrupt situation.
I have lived in survival mode for too many years. My mind is tossed back and forth as my perception is called into question, with frequent gaslighting. When the alcoholic doesn’t get their way, they fly into a terrifying rage or sarcastic childish tantrum. This is to gain compliance with their every whim.
I do have intermittent seasons of denial. Pain slaps me back into the reality that I have gotten sucked into the orbit of the alcoholic, once again. Regrettably, another year has passed as my life continues to stagnate and my goals and dreams lay by the wayside. Broken sleep, waking up in the middle of the night, trying to resolve the insidious labyrinth created by the disease.
I was eating healthier and had started to lose weight. However, now it has been soda, processed meats, sugar, and mainlining junk food for days. I’ve got to pull myself out of this toxic cycle and reverse the powerful jets of these engrained dysfunctional patterns. Generational alcoholism and maladaptive living do not retreat silently.
I have to let go and surrender this agonizing feeling that I am responsible to keep the alcoholic loved one alive. “The Enabler is a person who feels he must not let the alcoholic suffer the consequences of his drinking when he can so easily prevent this by a simple rescue operation” (Alcoholism, A Merry-Go-Round Named Denial, Pamphlet).
In my experience “rescue operations” may appear “simple” but often they are just the tip of the iceberg. Underneath lay vast tentacles of continuing obligations and unresolvable conundrums. The double bind. Damned if I do, and damned if I don’t.
There is powerful resistance, internally and externally with the letting go of my loved ones. Grieving the ongoing losses and the dream of what could be, and accepting what is. Trusting that my higher power will guide me through this process and supply the resources needed along the way.
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March 2023 AIS Council Meeting Minutes (Summary, not yet approved)
Meeting Opened at 7:30 PM with the Serenity Prayer
Attendance: 19 individuals
Introductions: all
Readings: Concept 3 by Will W
Secretary: Kathy K: February meeting minutes were approved.
Chair: Karen L: AWSC was held Feb. 25 and Karen L attended. PEM’s have changed nomenclature to PEG (Permanent Electronic Groups). There is a task force formed and Jackie T is a member to look at issues of incorporation of PEGs into the WA Area.
There are currently 4 vacant DR positions in our districts.
Pre-Con will be held 3/31/23-4/1/23 and will be hybrid. Karen L anticipates that Fall Assembly will also be voted to be held hybrid as well.
International World Service Conference will be held June29-July 3, 2023: It was decided that there will be no watch party due to costs and lack of Sat programming.
Treasurer: Gary H: Seattle AIS continues to be financially stable.
Vice Chair Report: Dave M: The March open house on Sat 3/4/23 was a success and was combined with celebration of Lois’s Birthday. There were Literature sales of approximately $1000.00 . We are fully staffed for the April opening. Action: It was moved by Solveig W. to open the office for the rest of 2023 on the first Sat of the month. It was seconded and passed unanimously.
Coordinators:
LDC: Mary R and Linda H: They are training a new shipping volunteer but need 2 more. They have been invited to sell literature at Spanish speaking conference held at Sea Tac at the end the month, as well as, at Pre-Con on April 1. The 2020-2025 Service Manual is now in stock and the Spanish language edition is ordered and expected soon.
Communications: Jackie T: We have a new Web editor. The BITS Editor is looking for article submissions. The new process for submitting flyers is available on the website.
Phones: Dave M (outgoing Coordinator): The coordinator position is open. The ZOOM phone transition has been successful. Phones were staffed 67% in Feb between 10:00 AM and 4:PM, M-F. There were 64 calls in Feb. with 42 that were Al-Anon. Calls continue to be primarily during the daytime. We received 3 texts which is the first in the new zoom phone system.
The manual has been edited to reflect the phone system change and he is still in need of more volunteers.
Outreach: Solveig W: Outreach in a Box- Available to groups wishing to do outreach.
Tech: Pierre J: He has changed the Broadband service to save money.
Old Business: Need a phone coordinator
New Business: AIS has been asked to present a workshop at SSA about AIS.
Next Council Meeting: Thursday, April 13th, 2023 from 7:30-9:00 PM
Next Board Meeting: Thursday, April 20, 2023 at 7:00PM
Adjournment: Al-Anon/Alateen Declaration at 8:35 PM
Submitted by Kathy K, Secretary
Attendance: 19 individuals
Introductions: all
Readings: Concept 3 by Will W
Secretary: Kathy K: February meeting minutes were approved.
Chair: Karen L: AWSC was held Feb. 25 and Karen L attended. PEM’s have changed nomenclature to PEG (Permanent Electronic Groups). There is a task force formed and Jackie T is a member to look at issues of incorporation of PEGs into the WA Area.
There are currently 4 vacant DR positions in our districts.
Pre-Con will be held 3/31/23-4/1/23 and will be hybrid. Karen L anticipates that Fall Assembly will also be voted to be held hybrid as well.
International World Service Conference will be held June29-July 3, 2023: It was decided that there will be no watch party due to costs and lack of Sat programming.
Treasurer: Gary H: Seattle AIS continues to be financially stable.
Vice Chair Report: Dave M: The March open house on Sat 3/4/23 was a success and was combined with celebration of Lois’s Birthday. There were Literature sales of approximately $1000.00 . We are fully staffed for the April opening. Action: It was moved by Solveig W. to open the office for the rest of 2023 on the first Sat of the month. It was seconded and passed unanimously.
Coordinators:
LDC: Mary R and Linda H: They are training a new shipping volunteer but need 2 more. They have been invited to sell literature at Spanish speaking conference held at Sea Tac at the end the month, as well as, at Pre-Con on April 1. The 2020-2025 Service Manual is now in stock and the Spanish language edition is ordered and expected soon.
Communications: Jackie T: We have a new Web editor. The BITS Editor is looking for article submissions. The new process for submitting flyers is available on the website.
Phones: Dave M (outgoing Coordinator): The coordinator position is open. The ZOOM phone transition has been successful. Phones were staffed 67% in Feb between 10:00 AM and 4:PM, M-F. There were 64 calls in Feb. with 42 that were Al-Anon. Calls continue to be primarily during the daytime. We received 3 texts which is the first in the new zoom phone system.
The manual has been edited to reflect the phone system change and he is still in need of more volunteers.
Outreach: Solveig W: Outreach in a Box- Available to groups wishing to do outreach.
Tech: Pierre J: He has changed the Broadband service to save money.
Old Business: Need a phone coordinator
New Business: AIS has been asked to present a workshop at SSA about AIS.
Next Council Meeting: Thursday, April 13th, 2023 from 7:30-9:00 PM
Next Board Meeting: Thursday, April 20, 2023 at 7:00PM
Adjournment: Al-Anon/Alateen Declaration at 8:35 PM
Submitted by Kathy K, Secretary
Thank you for your donations and your support of AIS!
Our funding now comes primarily from:
*Donations by Members, Groups, and Districts
*Literature Sales
Please send all AIS mail, including checks for literature orders and donations, to:
Seattle AIS
505 Broadway E #400
Seattle, WA 98102-5023
Donate Now
Our funding now comes primarily from:
*Donations by Members, Groups, and Districts
*Literature Sales
Please send all AIS mail, including checks for literature orders and donations, to:
Seattle AIS
505 Broadway E #400
Seattle, WA 98102-5023
Donate Now
And More ...
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MEETING SCHEDULE: registered Al-Anon groups in the Greater Seattle Area. Hybrid, Concurrent, and in-person meetings are listed.
Please visit our Members section for the most up-to-date information on:
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Meeting NewsNews from the Meeting Directory Editor
Very few groups reported changes to their meetings in March. So if you see a date at the top of the Meeting Directory that is a week or two old, please don't assume that our schedule is not up to date. All changes are usually made within a couple days of their submission to WA Area via the form on their site. AIS is immediately notified when you submit the change to WA Area. Many groups with the note "Face Masks Optional" may not have reviewed whether they want to continue to have that note in their listing. If you would like the note removed, please make the change by using the form on the WA Area website. The following changes were made from February 26 through March 21.
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