Second Quarter 2006 Volume 16, Number 2    Page 2 of 2 OA Worldwide: Region Nine Web Links The Balanced Application of Tradition Four Throughout OA Important Name Change in Lifeline Didja Know Dateminder OA Worldwide:Region Nine OA extends its hand, offering love and support to compulsive eaters in 38 countries. Kathleen R. has the opportunity to see this worldwide outreach in her work as Region Nine trustee, a region encompassing Europe, Africa and the Middle East. In her recent report to the Board of Trustees, Kathleen shared some of her experiences. She described the Spanish National Assembly and Convention held in December as “a joy to attend; it is run with such good humor and efficiency.” A group of OA English-speaking members, mostly United Kingdom expatriates working or studying in Spain, provided the opportunity for English-speaking OA meetings in addition to the Spanish-speaking meetings. The first meeting in Kathleen’s room overflowed into the corridor with expats and English-speaking Spaniards, necessitating a larger space to accommodate everyone. Barcelona, Spain, will host the Region Nine Assembly and Convention on October 18–22, 2006. Israel will host in 2007 and Holland in 2008. Kathleen also shared her thoughts on the many poignant emails she receives, the most recent being several from Iran. “The people corresponding with me have very little English, and I have none of their language, Farsi . . . Trying to understand them can be a little like learning to read a code. Lorie [WSO Group Registration Coordinator] found a translation company that would translate one message free—so we got one message to them. But from the response, I think it may have been a rather odd machine translation. I am impressed and very moved by their courage and persistence in using their small knowledge of English to such good effect. It is clearly very important to them to be in touch with worldwide OA.” Kathleen adds, “It is very important that we start to look at possible ways to help OA in countries where no one speaks English. In most countries there are at least a few who speak English well and act as interpreters and contacts with WSO and the region.” From an English OA member who works in Namibia, South Africa, and who started the Namibia OA group, Kathleen learned that “people coming to the meetings certainly can’t afford to buy healthy food like fruit and vegetables. In terms of food plans, because they don’t have a penny to their name (literally), they and their families don’t know if they will eat from one day to the next … If they do get food … it’s usually the stodgy maize meal or bread, maybe red meat if they are really lucky … and then when the food arrives, they often go on a binge and eat the entire family’s allocation of food! “People who are through-and-through compulsive overeaters… seem to have so many more practical obstacles to recovery than the vast majority of OAers. “It really is quite an eye-opener. Once I used to think that overeating was a ‘Western’ disease … but now I can see how it has nothing to do with the kind of food or money or choice that you have available to you. It’s about the predisposition to overeat, and the disease has no respect for whether you are rich or poor.” In Athens and Thessaloníki, Greece, the two main centers for OA in Greece, Kathleen participated in long sessions in which members discussed the OA service structure and the importance of service. She found in Athens that OA groups meet in a condemned building in which many Twelve-Step fellowships rent rooms. Kathleen describes the building as “battered and messy,” but OA members have “worked hard to make their rooms welcoming places.” Kathleen also traveled to Scotland to conduct a Steps workshop and to the OA Great Britain National Assembly and Convention, where delegates considered the shortage of volunteers giving service and its effect on the inability to complete tasks, She ventured to Italy to give weekend seminars on the Twelve Concepts of OA Service and to Stockholm, Sweden, for the Region Nine Assembly and Convention. She looks forward to the establishment of Poland’s National Service Board now in the works. OA members at the assembly and convention in Sweden addressed some concerns affecting OA outside the US. One involves the transferring of funds between currencies. After much research, establishing a PayPal account appeared to be the most cost-effective way to make such transfers; the funds are held in the same country and accessed easily by the region treasurer. Also, establishing a Euro account will make transfers within the European Union easier. Translations of OA literature and of information coming from the WSO and region continue to expand, but Icelandic members shared a concern. While seeking approvals and licensing agreements for three pamphlets, they found the yearly rotation of the OA trustee chair for international publications had them working with three different trustees over a two-year period, making the tasks harder to accomplish. The translations committee discussed this concern. Members discussed the serious issue of the decrease in contributions at the WSO and region levels, creating budget cuts for both the WSO and Region Nine. Delegates agreed that the treasurer should inform OA groups in Region Nine about the seriousness of the situation and that the region suggest an amount each group needs to contribute per year to the region to ensure it functions efficiently. Kathleen’s work for OA in her region never stops. First Finland and then Cork, in the Republic of Ireland, are next on the agenda, and more will be revealed to her. Top Discover interesting and helpful OA Web-site links in Web Links. Ask-It Basket Question — “What are the Step Principles, and where can I read more about them?” Recovery Story — “Transitions” World Service Business Conference — Third-mailing documents for download Matching Grant Program — Apply now for your service body to receive partial funding for projects that promote OA unity and carry the OA message (Links are current when A Step Ahead is published online; however, some pages will be updated during the quarter.) Top The Balanced Application of Tradition Four Throughout OA Tradition Four: Each group should be autonomous except in matters affecting other groups or OA as a whole. When I came to OA, I initially focused on the Steps. Considerable time passed before I involved myself in service and looked at the Traditions, and even more time before I considered the application of the Traditions to my recovery. Members suggested I go to meetings, get a sponsor, work the Steps, give up the food, get a food plan, find a God of my understanding, try and help others, and much more. They emphasized I didn’t have to do any of this, but if I wanted to get well, I would be wise to do certain things. In other words, I was autonomous within OA, free to do whatever I liked, make whatever mistakes I liked, but I might want to consider the wisdom in doing what others had done. In time I came to understand my responsibility to behave like a person in recovery and carry the message to others; compulsive eaters and others would judge Overeaters Anonymous by how members conducted themselves and how they reflected the program in action. A healthy OA group, like a healthy OA member, is one that knows it has the freedom to do whatever it likes. Yet, the group understands its very survival depends on following certain principles, making an effort to study and apply these principles, and being a living example of them in all its affairs. And a healthy longtime member, like a well-established group, knows that sometimes we need to go out there and learn from life’s experiences. We must be there for those compulsive eaters who come stumbling back after faltering along the way. The longtimer also understands that while we do our research, OA will not collapse, be it at the individual or group level. At every service level, the key to Tradition Four is autonomy with responsibility — and patience. In May, delegates at the 2006 World Service Business Conference will discuss the meaning of Tradition Four. They will hear perspectives on how far autonomy should go and what really affects other groups or OA as a whole. Some of us would say Tradition Four leaves groups able to do pretty much whatever they like, learning whatever they need to learn in the process. Others would say that much of what we do can have wide impact, and we should be very careful in doing anything without consulting the wider Fellowship. The rest of us believe everything in between. At the group level, what might affect other groups or OA as a whole? Perhaps very little. Some possibilities are: When we are doing PI work or working with institutions, we need to consult other groups. If we are setting up a meeting, we probably should make sure we don’t have it on a night that will clash with a nearby group. When it comes to setting up a telephone line or distributing a local-meetings list, we may want to work with other groups to avoid duplication of service. But regarding all else, what if we were to ask, “Does this action greatly affect OA as a whole?” (the words of the long form of Tradition Four). As mentioned, autonomy does bring responsibility. We must learn about the Traditions and speak up when we see them being broken. We must always ask, “Will our action hurt anyone? Are we helping the Fellowship as a whole?” But having asked those questions, perhaps we will learn more through tolerance (even of those we believe are breaking Traditions), through open-mindedness, and above all, through accepting that there is more than one way to work the program. AA’s cofounder, Bill Wilson, wrote in AA Comes of Age (p. 105) that Tradition Four means “alcoholics could try for sobriety in any way they liked. They could disagree with any or all of A.A.’s principles and still call themselves an A.A. group … If  … they found something better than A.A., or if they were able to improve on our methods, then in all probability we would adopt what they discovered for general use everywhere” (italics added). Do we live by this belief in OA? Are we willing to allow groups to disagree with all of our principles and still call themselves an OA group? If a group were to find a way that worked better than what we are doing, would we embrace this new way, knowing it may help someone? Or do we in OA micromanage and overregulate, as some suggest? Have we lost sight of the fundamental faith that AA’s early members had, that such liberty would have little risk because our disease itself would ensure that we would conform, or perish. Are we willing to look and see if some of those “mistakes” might even be right, be something we could learn from? Are we ready to welcome, even encourage, new ideas and ways of working the program, knowing they may benefit some; and if they don’t, they will not last? Are we ready to believe the Fellowship is strong enough to take the risk? — Member of the Board of Trustees Top Important Name Change in Lifeline Lifeline is your meeting on the go, a personal experience with OA members worldwide. To make your experience more personal, Lifeline is implementing a change in how authors’ names appear in print. The new standard will be first name and last initial, city, state, province (if any) and country. However, authors may request to exclude any of the preceding in print, but all must be included in the email or letter submission. You may also request “anonymous,” first name only, or initials. If you have submitted an article at any time in the past and would like to request a change from the new standard form of attribution, please send your request by June 15, 2006. The new policy will begin with the July 2006 issue. Send your changes to Overeaters Anonymous, PO Box 44020, Rio Rancho, NM 87174–4020 USA or email. Thank you. Top The Twelve Steps and Twelve Tradtions of Overeaters Anonymous Find relief from obsession and discover renewed hope and the promise of a better life! Hear OA’s basic text on four 90-minute cassettes. Great for listening while driving or during physical activities. Item #695 cassette $20 Item #696 CD $25 plus shipping OA Recovery Brochures Program brochures for the newcomer to OA, but also useful for any member wanting inspiration and guidance. Recording includes Our Invitation to You, To the Newcomer, A Commitment to Abstinence, The Tools of Recovery, A Plan of Eating, Questions and Answers, Think First and the OA Promise. Item #691 cassette $5 Item #692 CD $10 plus shipping Hearing is Believing: OA Members Speak… NEW! This inspiring collection of interviews depicts the journeys of several OA members from despair to recovery and serenity. Helpful for newcomers, returning members and longtimers alike. Item #685 cassette $5 Item #686 CD $6 plus shipping And Now a Word from Our Cofounder… Five WSBC Speeches by Rozanne S. Listen, learn and be inspired as Rozanne S. speaks with love and hope to Conference delegates about OA’s Traditions, anonymity, principles before personalites, and how OA members can impact the future of our Fellowship. Speeches are from 1994, 1997, 1998, 2000 and 2001. Item #680 cassette $5 Item #681 CD $10 plus shipping Shipping: $3 for orders up to $18. Orders $18.01 to $100, 17% of total. Above $100, 12% of order. Call the WSO for shipping charges outside the US. Top DATEMINDER World Service Business Conference May 1-6 EACH GROUP HAS BUT ONE PRIMARY PURPOSE — TO CARRY ITS MESSAGE TO THE COMPULSIVE OVEREATER WHO STILL SUFFERS. Top Previous page   Attention Intergroups: Please inform the WSO whenever you have meeting changes to your directory. A Publication of: Overeaters Anonymous, Inc. P.O. Box 44020 Rio Rancho, NM 87174-4020 USA Phone: 1-505-891-2664 Fax: 1-505-891-4320 E-mail: info@oa.org OA Homepage Registered OA service bodies may reprint articles crediting A Step Ahead and Overeaters Anonymous. © 2006 Overeaters Anonymous®, Inc. All rights reserved.