Thur AM Online SAA Mtg

Thursday “One-Morning-at-a-Time”

Meeting for Sex Addicts Anonymous

Online (Zoom) Script

CHAIRPERSON'S AGENDA

Updated February 11, 2022

Begin the meeting promptly at

8:00 a.m. USA EST

WELCOME

Good day, and welcome to the Thursday “One-Morning-at-a-Time” Meeting of Sex Addicts Anonymous. My name is [ ], and I am serving as your chairperson today. This is a closed meeting for sex addicts and individuals desiring their own sexual sobriety.

In this meeting, we encourage participants to have their cameras ON whenever possible so we can all share in a more complete experience.

Please ensure that all images and activities on your camera are safe for those struggling with sexual addiction. If someone becomes uncomfortable with something being displayed on a camera, please post a private chat to the group leader or to the host to inform them.

By continuing to participate, you agree to respect everyone's privacy so this can be a safe place for recovery.

Let us begin the meeting with a moment of silence and the Serenity Prayer.

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.

THE READINGS

(Moderator ask): “Is there a volunteer to read “The SAA Preamble?”

The SAA Preamble:

SAA is a fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength, and hope with each other, that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from their sexual addiction. Membership is open to all who share a desire to stop addictive sexual behavior. There is no other requirement.

Our common goals are to become sexually healthy and to help other sex addicts achieve freedom from compulsive sexual behavior. SAA meetings are supported through voluntary contributions from members.

We are not affiliated with any other twelve-step programs, nor are we a part of any other organization. We do not support, endorse, or oppose outside causes or issues.

SAA is a spiritual program based on the principles and traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous. We are grateful to AA for this gift which makes our recovery possible. Pass.

(Moderator ask): “Is there a volunteer to read “How It Works?”

How It Works:

Rarely have we seen a person fail who has thoroughly followed our path. Those who do not recover are people who cannot or will not completely give themselves to this simple program; usually, men and women who are constitutionally incapable of being honest with themselves. They are naturally incapable of grasping and developing a manner of living which demands rigorous honesty.

There are those, too, who suffer from grave emotional and mental disorders, but many of them do recover if they have the capacity to be honest.

Our stories disclose in a general way what we used to be like, what happened, and what we are like now. If you have decided you want what we have and are willing to go to any length to get it — then you are ready to take certain steps.

At some of these, we balked. We thought we could find an easier, softer way. But we could not. With all the earnestness at our command, we beg of you to be fearless and thorough from the very start. Some of us have tried to hold on to our old ideas and the result was nil until we let go absolutely.

Remember that we deal with sex addiction — cunning, baffling, powerful! Without help it is too much for us. But there is One who has all power — that One is God. May you find Him now!

Half measures availed us nothing. We stood at the turning point. We asked His protection and care with complete abandon. Pass.

(Moderator ask): “Is there a volunteer to read “The 12 Steps of Sex Addicts Anonymous?”

The 12 Steps of Sex Addicts Anonymous:

Here are the steps we took, which are suggested as a program of recovery:

1. We admitted we were powerless over addictive sexual behavior - that our lives had become unmanageable.

2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood God.

4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.

6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.

7. Humbly asked God to remove our shortcomings.

8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all.

9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.

10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.

11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood God, praying only for knowledge of God's will for us and the power to carry that out.

12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these Steps, we tried to carry this message to other sex addicts and to practice these principles in our lives.

Many of us exclaimed, “What an order! I can’t go through with it.’’ Do not be discouraged. No one among us has been able to maintain anything like perfect adherence to these principles. We are not saints. The point is, that we are willing to grow along spiritual lines. The principles we have set down are guides to progress. We claim spiritual progress rather than spiritual perfection.

Our understanding of sexual addiction and our personal adventures before and after make clear three pertinent ideas:

a. That we were sexually addicted and could not manage our own lives.
b. That probably no human power could have relieved our addictive behavior.
c. That God could and would if God were sought. Pass.

(Moderator ask): “Is there a volunteer to read “The Meeting Statement of Purpose?”

The Meeting Statement of Purpose:

We understand recovery to be abstinence from all sexually addictive behaviors coupled with on-going spiritual growth. With the support of the group, each addict develops his or her own program around these two principles:

1. We support each other In abstinence by helping each member to:

Identify a list of all sexually addictive behaviors.
Establish boundaries that deter acting out and safeguard abstinence.
Maintain and refine those boundaries.

2. We support each other in spiritual growth by helping each member to:

Do on-going work on the 12 steps of SAA.
Stay in an active sponsorship relationship.
Develop and carry out a daily recovery plan.

Abstinence is not a requirement for group membership. However, we have learned that unless we hold it up as a goal and hold each other accountable to work for it, the "cunning, baffling and powerful" nature of our addiction will lead us to believe that it is not necessary to our recovery.

We have also learned that it is necessary to respect each other as sexual beings; therefore, we take the time to identify what behaviors are sexually healthy for us.

Finally, our experience has taught us that by abstaining from all sexually addictive behaviors and working for spiritual growth, new opportunities open to us for healing in our sexuality and our whole lives.

Through working the spiritual program of the 12 steps in this way, we have found that we are being led by our Higher Power to freedom from sexual compulsion to a healthy sexuality and true serenity.

(Moderator ask): “Is there a volunteer to read “This month's Tradition and The Promises...”

This month's Tradition is:

1. JAN. Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon SAA unity.
2. FEB. For Our group purpose, there is but one ultimate authority — a loving God as expressed in our group conscience. Our leaders are but trusted servants; they do not govern.
3. MAR. The only requirement for SAA membership is a desire to stop addictive sexual behavior.
4. APR. Each group should be autonomous except in matters affecting other groups or SAA as a whole.
5. MAY. Each group has but one primary purpose — to carry its message to the sex addict who still suffers.
6. JUNE. An SAA group ought never endorse, finance, or lend the SAA name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property, and prestige divert us from our primary purpose.
7. JULY. Every SAA group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions.
8. AUG. Sex Addicts Anonymous should remain forever nonprofessional, but our service centers may employ special workers.
9. SEPT. SAA, as such, ought never be organized, but we may create service boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve.
10. OCT. Sex Addicts Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues; hence the SAA name ought never be drawn into public controversy.
11. NOV. Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we need always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio, TV, and films.
12. DEC. Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities.

The Promises:

1. If we are painstaking about this phase of our development, we will be amazed before we are halfway through.

2. We are going to know a new freedom and a new happiness.

3. We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it.

4. We will comprehend the word serenity and we will know peace.

5. No matter how far down the scale we have gone, we will see how our experience can benefit others.

6. That feeling of uselessness and self-pity will disappear.

7. We will lose interest in selfish things and gain interest in our fellows.

8. Self-seeking will slip away.

9. Our whole attitude and outlook upon life will change.

10. Fear of people and of economic insecurity will leave us.

11. We will intuitively know how to handle situations which used to baffle us.

12. We will suddenly realize that God is doing for us what we could not do for ourselves

Are these extravagant promises?

(Unmute if you wish and say together as a GROUP): We think not!

They are being fulfilled among us — sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. They will always materialize if we work for them. Pass.

INTRODUCTION OF NEW MEMBERS

If this is your first SAA meeting, please introduce yourself by your first name.

(Say the next sentence only IF THERE IS A NEW MEMBER:)

“Who would be willing to act as a temporary sponsor to help our new member become grounded in the program? (Otherwise, continue reading…)

If this is the first time you have attended THIS meeting, please introduce yourself.

Who is willing to stay after the meeting to meet with anyone who is struggling today?

BIRTHDAYS

In this program, we take time to recognize those who have reached particular milestones of consecutive clean time. (Pause after each for recognition and applaud each.)

Is there anyone celebrating 30 days? (Pause.) 60 days? (Pause.) 90 days? (Pause.) 6 months? (Pause.) 9 months? (Pause.) 12 months? (Pause.) 18 months? (Pause.) Is there anyone who is celebrating multiple years of sobriety?

This group wants you to know that there is hope in recovery. If you have more than 6 months of clean time, please raise your hand. (Applaud.)

7th Tradition Collection

We are self-sufficient in keeping with the 7th Tradition which states that ‘every SAA group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions.’ You can donate via PayPal or by mailing a check or money order by visiting the following link:

(Moderator: Do not read this section. The dashboard operator will post it in the Zoom chat. Continue with Trusted Servant reports.)

(Dashboard operator - post the following in Zoom Chat:)

https://saatalk.info/us/donate

SAA Telemeeting Intergroup

P.O. Box 62

Windsor, CO 80550

To donate to the ISO directly using your phone - text the letters (“SAA” for individuals or "SAAG" for groups) to 91999. You will receive a link from SAA with instructions explaining how to donate electronically. For help, call the ISO in Houston at (800) 477-8191.

If you want to donate directly to this “Thursday One Morning at a Time Meeting” Zoom room fund, download the Zelle banking app to your phone and send a donation to (317) 654-3846. If you want to send a check or a money order, let us know at the end of the meeting. (End here.)

TRUSTED SERVANT REPORTS

Is there an Intergroup Report? Secretary? Treasurer?

Are there any other announcements?

ACTIVITY

Is there anyone who has scheduled a Step or other abstinence and spiritual growth-related presentation for this week? (If there is a presentation, then there will be no check-in.)

In this meeting, we use the word "I" instead of "you" when sharing about our recovery. We do not interrupt or give advice. We address our sharing to the whole group, not to one or more individuals. We try not to use offensive language or descriptions that are too explicit. Our focus remains on the solution rather than the problem.

SPIRITUAL TIME-KEEPER

Who would like to volunteer to be our spiritual time-keeper today? Thank you (name). When the sharing time has reached 3-minutes, please call “time.” If you are the one sharing, please acknowledge that you’ve heard the time-keeper, then try to wrap up your share within 15-30 seconds.

TOPIC:

Does anyone have a topic for discussion? (Wait for someone to volunteer a topic.)

You can share on the topic, or simply get current if you wish. After everyone has shared once, or if there is an extended period of silence, you may “double-dip” if you wish. At 8:45 a.m. we will break into smaller groups of 3-4 people, where we can ‘get current,' or do a 'check-in.' At 9 a.m., we will all be brought back to the main session to end the meeting. Who would like to begin sharing?

CHECK-IN (at 8:45 a.m.)

Thank you all for your shares this morning. We will now break into separate virtual rooms of smaller groups of 3-4 people for individual check-ins. In your check-in state your name, your addiction, the amount of clean time you have, and a brief statement of how your recovery has progressed this week. Please limit your comments to your progress in recovery, and be brief, allowing all in your breakout room equal time to share, since we will be closing the meeting soon. We do not give advice to others, and we do not share graphic details of our acting out behaviors. When check-in time has ended, the moderator will bring everyone back to this main room, so that we can close the meeting together. Be patient for about 30 seconds as your room is being prepared.

Click the “join” button.

END OF BREAK-OUT SESSION

Welcome back, everyone! For next week’s meeting is anyone ready to schedule a Step or other abstinence and spiritual growth-related presentation?

Would someone who has frequented this meeting like to volunteer to lead next week’s meeting by following this script?

CLOSING

Remember, this is a closed meeting for sex addicts. What you hear here, who you see here, when you leave here, leave it here! (Unmute if you wish and say as a group:) (Here, here!)

Please join me in a moment of silence for those who still suffer, and then we will close the meeting with the WE and US version of the Serenity Prayer...

[The prayer together]

God, grant us the serenity to accept

the things we cannot change,

the courage to change

the things we can,

and the wisdom

to know the difference.

Keep coming back.
It works, if you work it,
because you're worth it.