Inside this issue - oc-aa.org

1 May, 2018 Volume 48, issue 5 Experience, Strength, and Hope in orange county AA MY EGO CAN WHIP YOUR EGO LET YOUR CONSCIENCE BE YOUR GUIDE I ve haven t had too many problems with places or things. My problems have always been with the peo-ple in those places and the ones that owned those things. It s always been THOSE OTHER PEOPLE. When I first entered , I learned that one of the symptoms of alcoholism was our inabil-ity to form a true partnership with an-other human being. I could be your partner as long as you were willing to see it my way. Most of the people I knew got tired of me and pulled away. I had to explain why they deserted me, so I went about pointing out all of their faults while ra-tionalizing (making a socially acceptable excuse for a socially unacceptable behavior) my own behavior. I never felt good about myself after behaving that way, but I couldn t face the idea of admitting that I was the problem. One evening, I was talking to a friend of mine about this topic and he said: all forms of criticism and character assignation stem from low self esteem.

2 I heard another person say there are two ways to get the tallest building in town, 1. Build the tallest build-ing or 2. Tear all the other buildings down . The low self esteem comment stopped me in my tracks. I knew I had to restrain my tongue if I was ever going to overcome the insecurity Inside of me. I was going to have to rely on my own merits if I was ever going to have a healthy self image. All people are conditioned to protect themselves and often they overreact and do and say things that cause others to react in kind. This can do damage to any relationship, and sometimes can destroy a My Ego Can Whip Your Ego 1, 3 How I Learned to Pray 4 Principles 6 Birthdays 7 Roving Reporter Convention News 8, 9, 11 Group Contributions 12, 13, 15 Speaker Meetings 13 This Month s Featured Book 14 Central Office Activity 14 Events 15 Statement of Income and Expense 15 Crossword 16 Continued on page 3 friendship.

3 I am in the program of Alcoholics Anony-mous to heal myself so it s my responsibility to cut off my own escape and take the initiative to deal with my side of the action whether the other person cooper-ates or not. If I want to have the best possible rela-tionship with every human being I know (12x12 step 8) it s up to me. I had to stop judging people by their surface behavior, look deeper and try to understand how they are conditioned to behave the way they do. This gives me the strength to be em-pathetic and not aggravate the situation. We all make mistakes and today I don t let my EGO compound the problem. When I let myself get into a confrontation with another person who has problems like I do, all I am saying is, I LL BET MY EGO CAN WHIP YOUR EGO . Inside this issue 2 Volume 48, issue 5 May, 2018 Purpose: The orange county Lifeline Committee is a commit-tee of members, charged with the responsibility of produc-ing and distributing the orange county Lifeline, (a publication of the orange county Intergroup Association).

4 The Lifeline is pub-lished monthly and is supported solely through contributions from the groups and members of orange county . The Lifeline is published to meet the following needs of the orange county membership: to inform the membership regarding service, events and an-nouncements; also to share ex-perience in recovery, unity and service; to keep the mem-bership informed regarding the actions, finances and meetings of the orange county Intergroup Association and other Central Office committees. orange county CENTRAL OFFICE 1526 Brookhollow, Suite 75 Santa Ana, CA 92705 Phone: (714) 556-4555 Fax: (714) 556-7231 E-mail: Web site: Office hours: Mon-Fri: 9am-7pm; Saturday & Holidays: 9am-1pm SOUTH county OFFICE 30011 Ivy Glenn Drive, Suite 117 Laguna Niguel, CA 92677 Phone: (949) 582-2697 Fax: (949) 582-2611 E-mail: Office hours: Mon-Fri: 10an-5pm Who? What? When? Where? Public Information Committee: Meets the 4th Wednesday of the month at 7:00 pm, Central Offiice, 1526 Brookhollow, Suite 75, Santa Ana Group Relations Committee: Meets the 1st Tuesday of the month at 6:30 pm.

5 Central Office, 1526 Brookhollow, Suite 75, Santa Ana Lifeline Committee: Meets the 1st Thursday of the month at pm . Central Office, 1526 Brookhollow, Suite 75, Santa Ana Special Events Committee: meets the 3rd Wednesday of the month at 7:00 pm. Central Office, 1526 Brookhollow Drive, #75, Santa Ana South orange county H & I meets the 3rd Wednesday of the month at 7:00 pm. Laguna Beach Canyon Club, 20456 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach orange county H & I meets the 2nd Sunday of the month at 4:00 pm and 6:00 pm. Garden Grove Alano Club, 9845 Belfast Drive, Garden Grove (Orientations for institutions is at 3:15pm, followed by the Institu-tions meeting at 4:00pm. Hospitals orientation starts at 5:15pm, fol-lowed by the Hospitals meeting at 6:00. One year sobriety required.) The orange county Intergroup Assoc. Meets the 2nd Wednesday each month at 7:00 pm. Costa Me-sa Senior Center, 695 W. 19th Street, Costa Mesa. For more information on any of the above committees, please contact orange county Central office at (714) 556-4555.

6 Welcome 2018 SERVICE BOARD Chair, David B. Vice Chair, Jason G. Treasurer, Kelly L. Secretary, Michelle B. Central Office, Kathy C. Group Relations, Luis A. Lifeline, Mary W. Public Information, Manny A. Special Events, Sparrow LaP. SpecialEventsOCAAI ntergroup Hospitals & Institutions, Gretta S. Thank you to our board and committee members. 3 May, 2018 Volume 48, issue 5 The orange county Hospitals and Institutions (H&I) Committee holds new member orientation sessions and business meetings at the Garden Grove Ala-no Club on the 2nd Sunday of each month. The Institutions Committee meets first at 4pm and the Hospitals Committee meets at 6pm. There are new mem-ber orientation sessions which cover information about both committees at 3:15pm and 5:15pm. Anyone wishing to become an H&I Committee member must attend one of these orientation sessions along with three successive business meetings. This H&I Committee is responsible for more than 500 panels occurring each month.

7 There are 325 hospital panels and 200 institution panels. That is an average of 17 panels per day! To lead either type of panel one must be a member of the H&I Committee. If you would like to lead or even participate on an Insti-tution panel there are further requirements of at least one year of sobriety and clearance from the OC Sheriff s Department. There are plenty of opportunities for service on panels in local hospitals, detox centers, California Institute for Men, Chino State Prison, Norco State Prison, OC Juvenile Hall, Theo Lacy Fa-cility, James A Musick Facility, Intake Release Center, and at the Central Men s and Women s Jail Complex. There is a lot of great work being done, and many opportunities for people to help. For more information please visit Continued from page 1 It s a long and slow process, and it requires constant attention on my part. I try to give everyone amnesty. I apply the golden rule in every situation. I use the St. Francis pray-er for inspiration.

8 I refuse to pile on when another person is a little off his/her game. If I find that that person is still willing to cross my boundaries and cause me grief, I can remove myself and detach without con-demning the other person as I withdraw. I don t discuss his faults to others when he s not present. (No gossip) And most of all, I must be satisfied with delayed gratification. It may take years before anyone appreci-ates the changes that I have made, and when they do, it makes it even more grati-fying. Today I am nobody s adversary; I am nobody s victim; and I am nobody s perpe-trator. I know that my ego doesn t like the way I live today, but my conscience gets the final say. Rick R. Jennifer J. is a writer and editor from Costa Me-sa, where she lives with her husband, Bob, and two children, Bobby, 5, and Julia, 5 months. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Master of Arts degree in creative writing from California State University, Northridge. Prior to her writing career, Jennifer worked in retail management as well as training and development.

9 She enjoys reading and spending time with her family. Her sobriety date is June 21, 2008. You can reach Jennifer at 4 Volume 48, issue 5 May, 2018 CALL FORWARDING The call forwarding program instituted by orange county Central Office insures that our help line phones are answered by volunteers 24/7. During hours when the Central Office is closed, calls to the Central Office are forwarded to a call forwarding volunteer s home or cell phone, where the volun-teer answers the calls just as if he or she were sitting in the Central Office. This service allows the Central Office to realize a significant cost saving because we do not need to contract with a phone answering ser-vice. Even more vital, when a call is placed to Alcoholics Anonymous in orange county , the caller will be talking to an Alcoholics Anony-mous member not a phone service! This truly is front-line 12th Step work and we would appreciate any time you can give. VOLUNTEERING: In order to volunteer for this service it is sug-gested that you have two years of sobriety.

10 Please arrange with the Central Office Manag-er in Santa Ana (714) 556-4555 or the Satellite Office Manager in Mission Viejo (949) 582-2697 for a brief orientation session which will be held at one of the offices. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE. SHIFTS: Monday Friday 6am 9am 6pm 9pm 9pm 6am Saturday and Holiday: 6am 9am 1pm 4pm 4pm 7pm 7pm 10pm 10pm 6am Sundays 6am 10am 10am 2pm 2pm 6pm 6pm 10pm 10pm 6am How I Learned to Pray When I was fairly new to I was having trouble with the idea of prayer and meditation. Although I was brought up in West Texas Christian churches, the concept of prayer and meditation in the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous made no sense to me. As luck (or God) would have it, I went to a convention while I was still struggling and the Speaker shared her story. I was about a year sober and was still living in my car, with no job and no money. I was surviving by going into the casi-nos in the town I was in and looked for change left in the slot machines or on the floor and sometimes found a buffet ticket unused, in the trash.