Chastity Office 173

A total stranger came up to me yesterday while I was standing at the street corner with my empty baby carriage headed to pick up my son at preschool.

She opened up the conversation with “You are one of the only two people I have seen going to pick up their children each day”.

Then she went into a long diatribe about the restaurant she worked at and how they made the best cheese burgers and shakes and that I should try them.

Absolutely no intrigue… Just safe, uninitiated conversation.

I felt a little shocked… So I said “I’m sure my wife would like the cheeseburgers”.

That’s the thing to do when you’re in a potentially dubious conversation… Mention your wife by the second sentence.

Chastity Office 174

My wife is beginning to trust that I really mean “No sex except to create children”.

She came home sick today and felt safe to just lounge around the house in bed knowing she would not be “hit on”.

Chastity is happiness. Chastity is peace.

Chastity Office 175

We proceed with the belief that only 9% of sex addicts have one addiction:

With one of the guys with whom I am practicing Lectio Divina, we discussed what other addictions he may have.

Codependency was obviously his second one, but he proffered forth workaholism as his  third addiction.

On page 62 of the Big Book it says “Selfishness, self-centeredness that we believe is the root of our problem”.

Workaholism is selfish. Why? 

Because you abandon your wife and your children while you’re high on work.

Children don’t need massive amounts of money…they need massive amounts of “Love  and belonging” and massive amounts of “ Esteem of others”, of which, parents are the initial, primary and principal providers.

If they don’t get those needs met, they, too , become needy…and perfectly defenseless targets for addiction.

Is that what you want for your children?

Chastity Office 176

Higher Power, 

I have prayed earnestly for “knowledge of your will for me and the power to carry it out”, for 42 years.

I have earnestly put on the cloak of  “Repent and live”, as the Jewish prophet Ezekiel admonished.

In all humility, I have repented of everything I know of, honestly.

The second part of that slogan…is really 98% of the message.

Who knows what life will be like now?

Just following your cue, HP…happily.

Chastity Office 177

When I met LA Dave three years ago he was running a telephone meeting for people to meditate, for 20 minutes, on the phone, in complete silence.

There was absolutely nobody there…but, him.

I was able to convince him that, perhaps, this might not be the best format for newcomers.

I taught him how to do written step work, on all 12  of the Steps, at a group level, something All Addictions Anonymous had never seen before.

The meeting grew to nearly 20 people.

Tonight we implemented the same process at ActWithCourage.com…With a slight variation.

AAA, like AA, focuses on doing the 12 steps on one addiction at a time. 

Tonight, Saroshe premiered written work on all  22 potential addictions that we address.

As only 9% of sex addicts have one addiction… This was a much more real world approach.

It was a splendid maiden voyage and two people, having witnessed it, have expressed an interest in writing on multiple addictions and how it affects their lives.

We are called, on page 49 of the Big Book, to be “Intelligent agents, spearheads of God's ever advancing Creation”.

That is what we are doing… Three hours at a time.