"We Agnostics of SAA" Telemeeting - Readings

Who We Are [Adapted from Sex Addicts Anonymous pages 1-2]

Sex Addicts Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength and hope with each other so they may overcome their sexual addiction and help others recover from sexual addiction and dependency.

 

Membership is open to all who share a desire to stop addictive sexual behavior. There is no other requirement.

We are sex addicts. Our addiction nearly destroyed our lives, but we found freedom through the recovery program of Sex Addicts Anonymous. In the fellowship of SAA, we discovered that we are not alone and that meeting regularly together to share experience, strength, and hope gives us the choice to live a new life.

 

Our addictive sexual behavior was causing pain—to ourselves, our friends, and our loved ones. Our lives were out of control. We may have wanted to quit, making promises and many attempts to stop, yet we repeatedly failed to do so. For each of us, there came a moment of crisis. When we finally reached out for help, we found recovery through the program of SAA.

 

In our groups, there is a collective wisdom that has grown and been handed down over the years. We learn many new solutions to old problems. Central to these are the Twelve Steps, a spiritual program of recovery. Following these steps leads to freedom from addictive sexual behaviors and to the healing of our minds, bodies, spirits, relationships, and sexuality.

Twelve Steps of SAA      [From Sex Addicts Anonymous pages 20-22]

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.

 

These steps are the heart of our program. They contain a depth that we could hardly have guessed when we started. As we work them, we experience a spiritual transformation. Over time, we establish a relationship with a Power greater than ourselves, each of us coming to an understanding of a Higher Power that is personal for us. Although the steps use the word “God” to indicate this Power, SAA is not affiliated with any religion, creed, or dogma. The program offers a spiritual solution to our addiction, without requiring adherence to any specific set of beliefs or practices. The path is wide enough for everyone who wishes to walk it.

Abstinence in SAA      [From Sex Addicts Anonymous pages 14-15]

Our goal when entering the SAA program is abstinence from one or more specific sexual behaviors. But unlike programs for recovering alcoholics or drug addicts, Sex Addicts Anonymous does not have a universal definition of abstinence.
Most of us have no desire to stop being sexual altogether. It is not sex in and of itself that causes us problems, but the addiction to certain sexual behaviors. In SAA we will be better able to determine what behavior is addictive and what is healthy. However, the fellowship does not dictate to its members what is and isn’t addictive sexual behavior. Instead we have found that it is necessary for each member to define his or her own
abstinence.
We are individuals, and our addictive behaviors, while similar, are unique to us. What may be healthy for one member would be clearly addictive for another. We simply cannot predict every possible way of acting out and define them all for everyone. We wouldn’t want to deny that any particular behavior might be acting out for a member. Nor would we want to restrict behaviors that are healthy for some of us. Since different addicts suffer from different behaviors, and since our sexuality is experienced in so many different ways, it is necessary that SAA members define for themselves, with the help of their sponsors or others in recovery, which of their sexual behaviors they consider to be “acting out.”

A Spiritual Awakening      [Adapted from Sex Addicts Anonymous pages 58,59]

Working this program leads to a spiritual awakening. ... For some of us, this awakening may be a sudden and dramatic gain in awareness. For others, it may be slow and gradual, and we may not even realize we've had one until we reflect upon the changes that have occurred. Although our experiences are different, certain aspects are common to many. We notice in ourselves a deepening humility that allows us to ask for help and receive help when we need it. We find ourselves being less judgmental, more ready to let go of resentments and admit when we are wrong. We make the effort to repair relationships that we have damaged. We choose to keep the company of people who respect us, care for us, and treat us well. We start to see life in terms of growth, change, and transformation. We have a greater sense of belonging, intimacy, and true friendship...

The Unity Prayer

I put my hand in yours and together we can do

what we could never do alone.

No longer is there a sense of hopelessness.

No longer must we each depend upon

our own unsteady willpower.

We are all together now, reaching out our hands

for a power and strength greater than ours,

and as we join hands,

we find love and understanding

beyond our wildest dreams.

-----------
Last update 30 June 2010