2008 Index of Forum articles

Letters

Using The Forum to welcome newcomers Jan 4
Let’s focus on the Steps Jan 4
I packed my Al-Anon tools while traveling Jan 5
Lessons from laundry: the world is not against me Feb 4
How Al-Anon warms my heart Feb 4
A special thank you Feb 5
How I use The Forum at meetings Feb 5
Finding the good amid the bad Mar 3
An old Forum offers a new solution Mar 3
The discoveries I uncover while journaling Mar 3
What I’ve gained from supporting Lone Members Apr 4
Taking responsibility for myself Apr 4
Grandson’s drinking is his own business Apr 5
Using The Forum to reach out Apr 5
Finding inner strength May 4
On the road with Al-Anon May 4
Finding encouragement in The Forum May 5
Service is essential to my recovery May 5
Fighting for emotional sobriety Jun 4
Words that connect us to shared serenity Jun 4
Finding what I need in The Forum Jun 5
My family worldwide—through Al-Anon Jun 5
Forum feedback Jun 6
It’s never too late for recovery Jul 4
Age makes no difference Jul 4
Focus on self opened his life to others Jul 5
Letting go brought his daughter closer Jul 5
From tears to laughter with Al-Anon’s help Jul 6
Trusting her daughter to God gave her a new lease on life Jul 6
Why I stole—to fill my emotional void Aug 3
The elephant is still there Aug 3
Losing my dog helped me find my marriage Aug 4
Putting myself at the top of the amends list Aug 4
Gratitude for support and understanding Aug 5
Buzzing fly gives perspective on serenity Sept 4
The key to detachment—let live and live Sept 4
When facing adversity—let go and be willing Sept 5
When help is needed, look to The Forum Sept 5
From despair to recovery Oct 4
Discarding my false self, discovering my true self Oct 4
There are no ‘small’ choices Oct 5
Think before jumping Oct 5
The Forum spoke to my doubts Oct 5
A high five for the Seventh Tradition Nov 4
Being self-supporting is more than a financial principle Nov 4
Letting my Higher Power steer the canoe Nov 5
Bubbles of blessings Nov 6
The Forum, my very own meeting Nov 6

Letting go

The Serenity Prayer showed me how to let go Feb 1
Learning to let go—and enjoy life Aug 26
Learning to let go after a lifetime of being in charge Sept 6
I can begin to heal—when I let go Nov 3

Listening

A father found help when he learned how to listen Nov 12

One day at a time

Recovering lost socks and finding faith Jun 16

Newcomers

Patterns, Repeated

Escaping the attraction of abusive alcoholics: How I got better Jan 18
I repeated the pattern again—but let go more quickly Mar 26

Powerlessness

Finding strength by admitting I was powerless Jan 27

Public Outreach

Finding unity in sharing Al-Anon’s message Jan 24
Al-Anon Faces Alcoholism: my recovery stimulus package Jun 14
Paying it forward—carrying Al-Anon’s message Sept 12

Reconciliation

Family reconciliation, after the wounds of alcoholism Jan 1

Recovery

Keeping the focus on me helped my recovery Sept 16

Relationships

How I let go of my pattern of unhealthy relationships Apr 10
Listening without judgment improves the quality of my relationships Jun 3
Understanding my past, finding peace today Jul 26
Making sense of my life—after living with an alcoholic spouse Aug 12
I felt responsible for everyone’s happiness—except mine Sept 8
Cancelled wedding was a lesson in acceptance Sept 14

Self-esteem

Self-esteem and Step Eight: my personal challenge Sept 23
Standing up for myself, with Al-Anon’s help Sept 28

Self-worth

Overcoming my inner emptiness Feb 10

Serenity

From insanity to serenity Sept 1

Service

Service keeps me engaged with the program Apr 1
An opportunity for a new type of Al-Anon service May 14
Al-Anon service brought her closer to her Higher Power Jul 3

Slogans

Here’s an instant meeting on ‘Using the Slogans’ May 24

Sponsorship

My Sponsor’s encouragement led to spiritual experience Jan 3
Sharing recovery: how sponsorship works for me Feb 26
She’s more than just a Sponsor—she’s my inspiration Mar 23
Finding a Sponsor prompted my growth Apr 22
E-mail makes long-distance sponsorship possible May 28
What does sponsorship really mean? Jun 1
The joy I experience from sponsorship Jun 27
Daily e-mails are an opportunity for support Jul 16
The spiritual lessons I learned from my Sponsor Aug 24
I was trying to work the Al-Anon program on my own Sept 3
Sponsorship—a gift to give and receive Oct 18
Sponsorship is a two-way street Nov 7

Taking care of myself

Here’s an instant meeting on ‘Taking care of myself’ July 24

Talk to Each Other

How members respond to group concerns Jan 8
How can an atheist or non-theist be a successful Al-Anon member? Feb 25
Members respond May 23
A Group Representative asks how to keep group members engaged Jun 15
Members respond Nov 26

The Forum

Forum sharings are welcomed with loving care Jan 26

Trust

Here’s an instant meeting on ‘Trust and Honesty’ Jan 28

Trust in a Higher Power

I no longer swim against the current Oct 14

Twelve Concepts of Service

Concept One: I don’t have to do everything on my own Jan 31
Concept Two: Delegating tasks at work and at home Feb 32
Concept Three: Building a foundation of mutual trust Mar 31
Concept Four: The difference between participating and controlling Apr 31
Concept Five: Listening to the minority allows me to grow May 31
Concept Six: Allowing others to be themselves Jun 31
Concept Seven: Balance and boundaries guide Al-Anon service Jul 35
Concept Eight: Trusting the safety of our fellowship Aug 35
Concept Nine: Leadership, the Al-Anon way Sept 32
Concept Ten: Balancing expectations while maintaining boundaries Oct 32
My journey through the Concepts Nov 15
Concept Eleven: Finding balance through group decisions Nov 29

Twelve Steps

The first three Steps: key to feeling better Jan 6
Step One: Learning to leave chaos behind Jan 32
Step Two: I had to understand my beliefs before moving on Feb 30
Step Three: Learning to really give up control and turn things over Mar 32
Here’s an instant meeting on ‘Step Four’ Apr 24
Step Four: Finding the courage to deal with my faults Apr 32
Step Five: Shame and fear blocked my progress May 32
Step Six: Learning to let go of my defects Jun 32
Step Three: Tough experience opened her heart to a deeper understanding of Step Three Jul10
Step Seven: What I take to my Higher Power Jul 36
The world is a friendlier place—thanks to the Twelve Steps Aug 32
Step Eight: Taking a deeper look at life Aug 36
Step Nine: Making amends can heal a relationship Sept 29
Self-esteem and Step Eight: my personal challenge Sept 23
Step Ten: Being ‘right’ is not good enough Oct 28
Here’s an instant meeting on ‘Step Eleven’ Nov 24
Step Eleven: Prayer and meditation affect every aspect of my life Nov 30

Twelve Traditions

Tradition One: Considering the whole, rather than the individual parts Jan 30
Tradition Two: Learning to ‘govern’ my family without controlling them Feb 31
Tradition Three: Leading the way to compassion Mar 30
Tradition Four: Autonomy does not mean being disconnected Apr 30
Tradition Five: The benefits of giving encouragement to others May 30
A message about attraction—taught by quail Jun 7
Tradition Six: A newcomer’s lesson Jun 30
Tradition Seven: Learning to be self-supporting in a healthy way Jul 34
Tradition Eight: We help each other in fellowship Aug 34
Tradition Nine: Passing it on—how to share the spiritual benefits of service Sept 30
Tradition Ten: Minding my own business allowed me to make the right choice Oct 30
Tradition Eleven: Accepting myself and letting go of shame Nov 32

World Service Conference

News from the 2009 World Service Conference—Part One Jul 29
News from the 2009 World Service Conference—Part Two Aug 14

Worry

Here’s an instant meeting on ‘Worry and Fear’ Aug 28