“A glass that looks so clean when out of the bright light can actually be very dirty,” notes Paulette. When she agrees reluctantly in to be held up to the light, she says “It is shocking to see me as I really am . . . . but now I know what to do about it.” The answer is in the Seventh Step.
“I can freely, honestly, and humbly admit that I am powerless over food,” says Carolyn M. When she takes OA’s First Step, it is not in hopeless defeat. Instead it is the beginning of a hopeful and liberating journey with a source of help that “gives me a peace I cannot describe.”
”I struggle so much with the character defect of pride,” says one OA member, “and I find the antidote in the Principle of Step Seven: humility.”
Dorothy cheated her employers to the tune of thousands of dollars, and she was hopeless to pay back such a large sum. But her sponsor encouraged her, she became willing, and Higher Power responded in kind.
“We are all in charge of our own side of the street and our own programs,” says one OA member, who remarks how gratifying it is that service body decisions are all based on following our primary purpose: to carry the message of recovery.
A short explanation of OA‘s First Tradition: “Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon OA unity.”
A short video giving background information about OA’s Twelve Traditions and how they are applied in the OA Fellowship and to the personal recovery of OA members.
A short explanation of OA’s Twelfth Tradition: “Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all these Traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities.”
A short explanation of OA’s Eleventh Tradition: “Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we need always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio, films, television and other public media of communication.”
A short explanation of OA’s Tenth Tradition: “Overeaters Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues; hence, the OA name ought never be drawn into public controversy.”: “Overeaters Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues; hence, the OA name ought never be drawn into public controversy.”