Tuesday Aug 13, 2024
ESSAY August 2024 - Worshiping Myself - Abd Alrahman M., Cairo, Egypt
ESSAY Magazine (An International Journal of Sexaholics Anonymous)
The mission of ESSAY is to serve as a source of information, experience, strength and hope to sexaholics, both inside and outside the rooms of Sexaholics Anonymous. Our vision is to provide a high-quality “meeting in print” that gathers together members from around the world. It can serve as a portable “extra meeting” especially for loners and for members who don’t have access to many meetings. In addition, Essay serves as an outreach tool to carry the message to those who have not yet found SA. We strive to include a mix of stories and shares from a wide variety of members, including men and women, prisoners, and international members. In addition, ESSAY provides Fellowship announcements and information on subjects such as new meetings, Fellowship events, and our service structure. We hope that all of the articles we publish will offer useful information and provide experience, strength, and hope to all who suffer from the disease of sexaholism. Fellowship actvities such as international conventions, regional events and local events appear in the Calendar section. Each issue has a theme and various sections to share sexaholic stories and practical tools. In addition to letters and group news, ESSAY offers short, edited articles written by members about recovery and our solution. The Practical Recovery Tools section features members sharing on the topic, “Exactly how I did it.” Submissions may also include meditations, poetry, and humor. ESSAY is guided by the principles of the Twelve Steps, Twelve Traditions and Twelve Concepts. Each issue contains the following statement:
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Episodes
Episodes
Tuesday Aug 13, 2024
Tuesday Aug 13, 2024
I love plants! I have plants in my living room, kitchen, bedroom…everywhere! All that greenery in the house makes me feel good, and since I'm in recovery, I can take good care of them, too. Before, all my plants were dying. I just wasn't able to give them what they needed, which isn’t surprising, considering I could barely keep myself alive.
Tuesday Aug 13, 2024
Tuesday Aug 13, 2024
Through the grace of God and this program, I've been sober since March 4, 2006. I believe that the best way to help “the sexaholic who still suffers” (Tradition 5) is through our sobriety definition. This is the SA message that we carry to the newcomer in our meetings. I believe there are many ways to achieve sobriety from sexual addiction, but there is only one way to achieve recovery from sexaholism — that is by working the SA program.
Tuesday Aug 13, 2024
Tuesday Aug 13, 2024
Thank God I have a program. I have come to believe that a power greater than myself can restore me to sanity.
I continue to have lustful thoughts. They come to me because I live in an environment where titillation of the senses is a commercial device that businesses use to sell their products. This device is used in all modern media. Unless I live in a cave, I can’t avoid temptation. Even in a cave, I can’t avoid euphoric recall of lustful thoughts. There is no way I can avoid lustful thoughts. I have to accept the fact that I am vulnerable to these thoughts.
Tuesday Aug 13, 2024
Tuesday Aug 13, 2024
Because of Step 1, I have come to accept that I am completely powerless over lust. I strive daily to apply this principle in all my affairs. I try often to remind myself that I am powerless over what life gives me, be it work, family, emotions, events, or anything else. When I used to relapse frequently, I would justify both my thoughts and behavior with the excuse of powerlessness: If I’m powerless, then I have no choice but to act out, right?
Tuesday Aug 13, 2024
Tuesday Aug 13, 2024
My name is Jon, and I’m a grateful, recovering sexaholic. I’ve been powerless over lust for as long as I can remember. Unfortunately, it took decades for me to finally acknowledge this fact. I am originally from the United States, but my wife and I currently reside in the Philippines.
Tuesday Aug 13, 2024
Tuesday Aug 13, 2024
Lust is ugliness disguised as grace.
Lust is disgust staring into my face.
Lust possesses my entire living space.
Lust takes all my hopes to erase.
Lust removes the beauty from life.
Lust fills the room with unbearable strife.
Tuesday Aug 13, 2024
Tuesday Aug 13, 2024
Being Called to Service
I love SA. I am really committed to my SA program and this fellowship. I have peace and serenity in my life because through SA I have found a way to live a sober life. I am grateful to my Higher Power, my sponsor, and our 12-Step program for this great gift. Upon receiving a great gift, it is very natural to want to give back. When I was asked if I would consider being nominated to serve as a Trustee, I said, “Yes.”
Tuesday Aug 13, 2024
Tuesday Aug 13, 2024
I am greatly honored to have been asked to write the foreword to this issue of the ESSAY on lust.
Soon after the death of Roy K. (the founder of Sexaholics Anonymous), I became very concerned that without Roy’s living presence, there would be no consistent voice telling the fellowship that lust is the problem. Therefore in 2009 I wrote a piece for the ESSAY called, “Lust Is the Problem.” I truly wanted the fellowship to remember that Roy’s primary emphasis was on lust. Unlike other fellowships, where the emphasis is on the powerlessness over acting out, Roy’s emphasis was on powerlessness over lusting. The SA version of Step One does not mention sexual behavior at all. But it certainly mentions the word lust.