Inspiring AA Meeting Topics

Inspiring AA Meeting Topics: Meaningful Discussions for Lasting Recovery at Purpose

Types of AA Meetings

Most AA meetings have labels like beginner’s meetings, a study of the twelve steps, men and women specific meetings, online meetings, and LGBT AA meetings. These labels can help you, as a potential member, find an AA meeting more suited to what you are looking for.

Some sponsors recommend attending at least one gender specific meeting. These create a safe place where you can share about romantic relationships more freely without the pressure felt when members of the opposite sex are present.

You will notice that each meeting has its own vibe. While you may not mesh with one, there will always be another you will connect with. It is good not to carry unreasonable expectations into an AA meeting, as each AA group is autonomous.

What to Expect in a Typical Alcoholics Anonymous Meetings

Alcoholics Anonymous meetings usually begin with someone leading the AA group in the serenity prayer. The serenity prayer is about asking one’s higher power for the ability to discern what they have control of, the acceptance of what is out of their control, and courage to change what is in their control.

Then, AA literature is read, usually “How it Works”, “The Promises”, and the “Twelve Traditions.” In open discussion meetings, the floor is opened and you are able to share on the suggested topics chosen by the leader. Or, if it is a speaker meeting, someone will speak for the remainder of the meeting. At the end of the meeting, the AA group will circle up and hold hands to recite a prayer, and then close the meeting.

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The Twelve Steps and the Recovery Process

The 12 steps are a guide to produce the spiritual awakening that is required in order to bring about recovery. The recovery journey includes admitting powerlessness, turning your will over to the care of a higher power, making amends, and helping another alcoholic. It is a lifelong process, but is immensely rewarding and includes so much more than simply stopping the drinking.

A big part of the 12 steps is a moral inventory, which points out the exact nature of our wrongs. Doing a moral inventory will allow you to see your character defects. The recovery journey is about progress, not perfection and living life on life’s terms. It doesn’t hurt that AA offers the additional benefit of being a way to stop drinking.

Emotional Sobriety for a More Comfortable Life

Emotional sobriety is an important topic for AA members, as it is just as important as maintaining physical sobriety. It refers to the ongoing process of navigating emotional well-being by finding balance in honing the tools to handle emotions in a constructive way. To quit drinking is to take away an alcoholic’s coping mechanism.

Personal growth comes in many forms, including self-care and working with a good sponsor to clean-house. The development of your emotional IQ will create a profound shift in your personal relationships. A willingness to work on your spiritual condition will give you the freedom to repair relationships and find emotional balance.

The Doctor’s Opinion from the Big Book of AA

The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous has a chapter that includes a letter from renowned Dr. Silkworth. In this letter, the Doctor outlines what makes an alcoholic different from his fellow. This allergy to alcohol, as he explains, is a major factor in alcohol addiction.

The craving is the outcome of this allergic reaction, making it impossible for a person with alcoholism to remain in control once they start drinking. Silkworth also explains that it is a sort of spiritual malady that creates these issues more than a mental illness or physical illness. Maintaining sobriety can only be achieved through a spiritual experience sufficient to bring about psychic change.

The Serenity Prayer- AA’s Favorite Prayer

A staple of just about every AA meeting is the inclusion of the serenity prayer. The prayer goes: “God grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” It encapsulates a huge portion of the 12 step program, the spiritual principle of acceptance. The history of the prayer is questionable and heavily debated.

Many attribute the prayer to theologian Reinhold Niebuhr, while some contest this fact, saying it originated years before he claims to have created it. Alcoholics Anonymous does not give credit to any individual for creation of the prayer. That said, it is without a doubt the most recited prayer among all 12 step programs, especially Alcoholics Anonymous.

Discussion Meetings- the Most Common Type of Meeting

Alcoholics anonymous meetings are typically either discussion meetings or speaker meetings. In a discussion meeting, the leader chooses from a list of AA meeting topics. Then, volunteers share on that topic usually for 3-5 minutes. Topic suggestions are not set in stone. Typically, you can share whatever you want to in a discussion meeting.

Speaker meetings are slightly different in that one member will share their personal stories and hopes for the majority of the meeting. Some meetings are a mix of the two, where the leader will share for half the meeting, before allowing others to share for a shorter amount of time.

Spirituality in the Program of Alcoholics Anonymous

In Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, the concept of a higher power is brought up a lot as a key component of the 12 step recovery journey. Coming to believe that a power greater than yourself can restore you to sanity is step 2 of the 12 steps. The creators of the program wanted to keep it from being associated with a specific religion in order to reach people of all faiths or people that are agnostic or even atheist.

Whenever God is mentioned it is usually followed by “of your understanding.” This gives potential members the freedom to choose their own God or “Higher Power.” Spirituality is a major component of the program, and by freeing you to choose a higher power you can do business with, it allows the program to reach a much larger audience.

Only Requirement for Membership is the Desire to Stop Drinking

In the AA preamble, the requirement for membership and its primary purpose are explicitly stated. The primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics to achieve sobriety. There is no other requirement to join AA other than a desire to stop drinking.

This is an important aspect of the program that makes it very clear that you can join based on this one and only requirement. You may find this comforting, knowing you are welcome in the group. It also keeps things simple, negating anyone’s prejudice or perspective exclusion of anyone based on whatever preconceived notions a person may have.

Residential Treatment Center and AA

Purpose Healing Center offers clients a new chance at life, granted you have the willingness to take a few suggestions. One suggestion treatment centers often make is to begin attending 12 step meetings. Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), Narcotics Anonymous (NA), Cocaine Anonymous (CA), and Heroin Anonymous(HA) are all 12 step programs that follow the same general format.

In CA, NA, and HA, it is said in the beginning of the meeting that they do not care what specific substance was the issue. Of course, some AA meetings can be strict in their rules about limiting sharing to your problems with alcohol. Addiction recovery is complex and can involve many different roads to success. Purpose Healing Center provides a strong foundation at our residential treatment program where hurt people can begin to pursue recovery.