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Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these Steps, we tried to carry this message to compulsive overeaters and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
(Spiritual Principle: Service)
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"We who once suffered from complete powerlessness to control our eating and our lives have now discovered the saving strength of a Power greater than ourselves. We have experienced the miracle of physical, emotional, and spiritual healing, just as we were promised when we began working these Steps.
We're no longer afraid of food because it no longer controls us...Freed of the obsession and restored to sanity, today we choose not to eat self-destructively. We have new ways of coping with our problems and new practices now, which make living a positive, joyful experience most of the time. If we should again crave more food than we need, we know we can find relief in the Steps instead of in compulsive eating.
The Twelfth Step invites us to continue the journey one day at a time for the rest of our lives. We need to keep moving forward in recovery, keep developing our spiritual consciousness, if are to remain spiritually awake and fully alive.
Walking hand in hand with fellow OA members and our Higher Power, we are now exploring this world, using the great spiritual Principles embodied in the Twelve Steps as the map to guide our way."
The Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of Overeaters Anonymous, Second Edition
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I am happy to announce two board officer positions for Ocean & Bay Intergroup
were voted in during our November 2023 IG meeting.
Vice Chair 2024-2026; Kara M.
Treasurer 2024-2026: Kathy W.
And our current Chair and Secretary are: (voted in last Nov 2022)
Chair 2023-2025: Nancy H.
Secretary 2023-2025: Diane C.
Welcome Kara and Kathy.
Nancy H.
Chair
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December 12 is OA’s Twelfth Step Within Day | |
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December 12 (12/12) each year is designated as OA’s International Twelfth Step Within Day. The purpose is to encourage OA service bodies, meetings, and individual members to reach out to those within the Fellowship who are still suffering from compulsive eating behaviors.
So please consider reaching out to someone that you haven’t seen in a while.
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“It works if you work it,” the saying goes. With the holidays upon us, we need to work it more than ever. Family gatherings, office parties, and seasonal sights, sounds and smells can trigger us to take that first compulsive bite. What can you do to help yourself stay abstinent? First of all, keep up your disciplines, no matter where you are.
- Take a mini journal to write down your food and your feelings (our disease doesn’t go on vacation when we travel).
- Purchase a phone card (available at any food or drug store) so you can keep calling your sponsor and OA supports without running up your hosts’ phone bill.
- Keep your regular meeting schedule, and if you have to miss your usual meeting, pick up a different meeting within a few days. Before you travel to a different area, call WSO or go online to find meeting times and places.
- Plan ahead for travel delays—especially with recent security changes. Pack your meal in disposable bags or containers, or find out ahead of time where you could eat abstinently, should your flight be delayed.
- Take some OA literature with you to pull out when you need centering. When it’s time for all those holiday goodies to come out and your meal is finished, what can you do to avoid temptation? Instead of sitting there wrestling with your disease, get up! Some tricks that have helped other recovering compulsive overeaters are:
- Play with the babies while their parents visit at the table.
- Do the dishes—not only does it get you away from food that’s “not yours”, it’s a great opportunity to be of service.
- Look around for someone who looks lonely (the holidays aren’t just tough for compulsive overeaters), and go talk to him or her—anything that gets us out of our own heads will help. One final tip—perhaps the most important of all—is to focus on gratitude:
- Look around you at the people you love (and sometimes grumble about), and send a special “thanks” to your Higher Power for another chance to celebrate the season together.
- Making a gratitude list is always a great way to change a lousy attitude.
- If you are having trouble feeling close to your H.P. in the midst of all the chaos, take a moment to step into a place of worship or find a place of beauty to reconnect. Whatever you’re celebrating, wherever you are, here’s hoping your holidays are abstinent and serene.
~Susie H., Beverly, MA
Source: North Shore Intergroup
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WHEN: Sunday, January 14, 2024
TIME: 1 PM to 2:30 PM Eastern time.
Rooms will remain open to 3 PM for fellowship
ZOOM INFO: https://zoom.us/j/81286952848
MEETING ID: 812 8695 2848
PASSCODE: 750781
DIAL-IN: 1 646 558 8656
IN-PERSON: YANA, 770 Aquidneck Ave., Middletown, RI
Everyone invited to help create the event as well.
Due date for submissions is December 15, 2023.
Questions can be free-form, multiple-choice, or fill in the blank.
Please also include answer and reference to OA approved literature.
There will be live OA music as well.
Any questions and to send submissions:
Call/text Carole at 916-730-9277
or email at morrellcj1941@gmail.com
Birthday hats and costumes are optional
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OA has a new pamphlet just for men. It's called: "To the Man Who Wants to Stop Compulsive Overeating, Welcome" | |
New Zoom OA Meeting from CT Intergroup | |
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Started Saturday, November 4, 2023 at 6:00 PM
Zoom: 874 305 1352 Password: recovery
Phone: 646-931-3860 Password: 32148903
Sandy G 860-391-7092
CT Intergroup - Region 6
We will be reading and sharing on the New Beginnings
the first and third Saturday.
Slipping and Sliding Recovery Program
on the second and fourth Saturday.
On the fifth Saturday we will read and share on
the Tools of Recovery and we can share on
the Principles of the program.
The following books and pamphlets will be used but not mandatory.
If you want these books and pamphlets you can get them at oa.org/bookstore and/or amazon.com.
New Beginnings; Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of Overeaters Anonymous, 2nd edition;
Overeaters Anonymous, 3rd edition; For Today; The Tools of Recovery pamphlet;
A New Plan of Eating pamphlet.
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Start the New Year with a New Journal | |
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You can take your recovery program to the next level with Ocean & Bay Intergroup’s re-designed, updated journal. It has more space and comes in two sizes. This beautiful softcover journal covers 90 days and helps you structure daily recovery actions. There is room for planning food and meals, writing a gratitude list, doing a 10th step inventory, writing notes, plus much more. It is easy to support recovery with this new and improved journal.
The Ocean & Bay Recovery Journal can be ordered conveniently online at Amazon.com. The cost is $15 for the smaller size and $17 for the larger version. Please email questions to literature@oceanandbay.org.
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People from Ocean & Bay groups coming together to form Ocean & Bay Intergroup
Please consider sending a rep from your group to Intergroup
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Ocean & Bay Intergroup Meeting
December 5, 6:30-7:30 p.m. ET
ALL ARE WELCOME
Zoom Meeting Link
Meeting ID: 831 1095 1408. •. Passcode: 247365
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Please email Nancy at chair@oceanandbay.org if you have any questions and/or if you would like to VOLUNTEER for any of the following projects and endeavors:
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SPECIAL FOCUS MEETINGS
You are welcome at any OA meeting, and we hope you’ll try many of the meetings on our Connecticut Intergroup and oa.org meeting lists! Some of our members find they also benefit from OA meetings with members who share similar experiences, so we are sharing this list of some of the special focus resources that are available in OA.
100 Pounders: Click Here
American Sign Language & Closed Caption – This meeting offers ASL interpretation Tuesdays at 8:00 p.m. Eastern: ASL Tues 8pm
Anorexics and Bulimics in OA – special focus meetings: Anorexics/Bulimics in OA
Asian-Pacific Islander OA Click Here
Atheist, Agnostics, Secular - special focus meetings: Click Here
Bariatric Surgery - Click Here
BIPOC (Black, Indigenous & People of Color) – special focus meetings: BIPOC Intergroup
Health Issues - Click Here
LGBTQ special focus meetings for OA: bit.ly/ckslist and Click Here
OAMen.org is dedicated to distributing information about meetings, resources, and support for men in OA: Men in OA
Young People in OA – resources for those under 30 who suffer from compulsive eating include Meetings for young persons and https://oayoungpeople.org/
For more special focus meetings, you can go to OA.org:
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go to Find a Meeting
- select a type of meeting (face-to-face, online, telephone, or non-real-time)
- click on "additional search options" and select the desired special focus
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Mission & Vision Ocean & Bay Intergroup is dedicated to supporting individuals in need of recovery from compulsive eating (e.g.: overeating, bulimia, anorexia) through carrying the OA message and empowering all meetings within the Intergroup.
Strategic Goals
1. Help members strengthen their personal recovery
2. Increase the number of sponsors
3. Increase the number of newcomers
4. Increase the retention of newcomers
5. Help those in relapse
6. Inspire people to give more service
7. Increase outreach activities, including outreach to members and healthcare professionals
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Please note that every effort has been made to adhere to OA's policy for newsletter publications. Opinions and experiences expressed within are those of the individual writer and not OA as a whole.
SUBMISSIONS: This is your newsletter! We welcome your contributions of news items or commentary.* Deadline: 1st of each month. Example: Deadline 12/1 for December newsletter.
Please email : newsletter@oceanandbay.org
You are also invited to be one of the members who provides answers for a Q&A.
Again, just send us a note to: newsletter@oceanandbay.org
*May be edited as space allows.
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Ocean & Bay Intergroup
PO Box 2243, East Greenwich, RI 02818
Note: Make checks payable to Ocean and Bay Intergroup
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