What is the policy about closing a CEA-HOW meeting early if there are not enough members with 7 or more days of abstinence and letting those who do not meet the abstinence requirement share?Do you have suggestions for alternatives to this practice?
People come into CEA-HOW because of the structure. When we deviate from the structure, we are sending members, especially newcomers, a mixed message.
CEA-HOW experience has shown that the program works as it is written. One bottom-line promise that CEA-HOW should always be able to fulfill is that when you attend a CEA-HOW meeting anywhere in the world, you will hear an abstinent share. This is a distinguishing feature of CEA-HOW.
When a meeting registers with CEA-HOW, it affirms that it complies with the CEA-HOW guidelines, Note particularly the following guidelines:
- To promote recovery from compulsive eating, CEA-HOW meetings employ a 30-day CEA-HOW abstinence requirement in order to share at a meeting or 7 days if a person has discussed their sharing with their CEA-HOW sponsor. (emphasis added)
- Adherence to abstinence requirements to pitch, per the 7 Tools of CEA-HOW
CEA-HOW is an inclusive program — our meetings include recovery. Recovery is in sharing the solution, not in sharing the problem. We all know about the problem, that’s why we come to CEA-HOW. “There is a solution;” and members at meetings want to hear it.
The CEA-HOW program is designed specifically for the purpose of finding fellowship and recovery and to give all members, including the struggling compulsive eater, every possible opportunity to share the pain and to hear recovery. In order to work the program, abstinent or not, we are required to share as set forth in our 7 Tools:
- We go to three meetings a week where we hear about recovery and solutions to our problems; then,
- We share our personal struggles with:
- Our sponsor
- Three outreach calls a day,
- Fellowship before and after our three meetings a week.
Further, the practice of “closing” a meeting to allow non-abstinent shares is outside the parameters of Tradition 4 because it affects CEA-HOW as a whole. If a meeting is a registered CEA-HOW meeting, it is affirming it is following the CEA-HOW guidelines. If a member needs a CEA-HOW meeting and attends a registered meeting that has “closed” early and hears only non-abstinent sharing, CEA-HOW as a whole is affected because members cannot trust registered meetings to be CEA-HOW meetings.
The best solution to the dilemma is of course for people to get abstinent! Until they do, other options a meeting could choose are:
- Listen to a taped speaker;
- Read conference-approved literature such as the AA Big Book;
- Have a 5-minute quiet reflection followed by 5 minutes of writing with anyone meeting the abstinent requirement sharing their writings
Recovery is found when the CEA-HOW program is followed as written and the voice of recovery is heard in the meetings. CEA-HOW is unified by the CEA-HOW Concept, 12 Steps, 12 Traditions, and 7 Tools. We find strength and unity in knowing that the CEA-HOW program is constant throughout the world.