Wednesday 4pm - Technical Information

For the Secretary/Chair to read before leading a phone bridge meeting

 As the Secretary/Chair for this meeting you will be given a “leader code” that will give you more features on the key pad than other members.

          Here is some information that will help before dialing into the meeting once you have been given the leader code.

1. Dial the phone number and then use the regular pin number followed by the # sign that everyone else uses.

2. There will be a voice prompt after entering the regular pin # that says “IF YOU ARE THE MODERATOR PLEASE PRESS 1.”

3. Follow the prompt and Press 1. The word “moderator” and “leader” mean the same thing.

4. The voice prompt will again say “PLEASE ENTER THE MODERATOR PIN (Leader Code) number FOLLOWED BY THE # SIGN”.

5. You will join the phone meeting muted after entering the leader code and # sign.  Press *1 to unmute yourself and then introduce yourself as the Secretary/Chair of the meeting. Press *0 for a menu of all features.

Probably one of the most important services you can give as the Secretary/Chair is to have the highest sound quality on the phone bridge system.  This means without background noise and weak sound quality. “Sound” is all we have for the phone meeting to work.

Background noise can be taken as disrespectful or interruptive while members are speaking.  As a trusted servant you can guide the meeting without background noise or interruptions to the best of your ability.

Along with your own skills; here are a few tips and a few pieces of information to help you: 

1. Technically the phone bridge system is built for “only” one person to be unmuted at a time.  This of course would include, You (the Secretary/Chair) as well as the Timekeeper to stay muted by using the *1 keys.  The timekeeper only unmutes to say “time”. The Secretary/Chair unmutes a few seconds before the member is done sharing to welcome the next share.  You can remind the timekeeper to please stay muted except to say “time”. (Only one line unmuted at a time).

2. As the Secretary/Chair (with the leader code) you are encouraged to use the *5   to clear the line to address the noise.  This ensures that members will be able to speak so their share can be heard.  Then the member can press the *1 keys to continue sharing without the previous background noise.  We call this “Cycling Through”. (Most of the time people forget to mute and don’t know they are not muted). This can be done by saying “Excuse the interruption, I’m going to clear the line” and then press *5 keys. You then could say, “Whoever was sharing please press *1 and begin again,” or “Whoever would now like to share please press *1 to unmute yourself.”

3. Some meetings have multiple readers. The extra unmuted lines will cause the reading to be heard by some but not by other members.

Here are some suggestions.

1. Organize the readers so they know the order they will be reading.

2. Then tell the rest of the readers to mute until a few seconds before it is their turn to read.

3. After each member reads remind them to mute again.

4. (AS A Rule of Thumb), just because you can hear does not mean that other members can.  These phones meetings have global coverage. Not all phones have equal sound. Only one line unmuted at a time will keep a clear worldwide phone line for everyone during the meeting.

These 4 technical points can promote safety, warmth and recovery similar to face to face meetings. This was written to assist you to know and understand the phone bridge technical features.

Thank you for taking the time to read these suggestions. If you need help, just ask.   Congratulations on doing service and beginning the flow that opens our heart to what it already knows---that we all need each other. 

Sincerely,

Your Web Coordinator

The Meeting Format Starts Now

(This is the part you read out loud)

FORMAT:

11^th Step Literature, Meditation and Discussion Meeting

INTRODUCTION:

Hi, my name is ____________________, a grateful Al-Anon member and your secretary/chair for this meeting

1. This meeting will stop at the top of the hour for members to share their telephone numbers.  Members can stay on the line until 25 minutes after for fellowship.

2. PHONE ETIQUETTE

a. Prior to joining the meeting, we ask members to temporarily disable their call waiting by dialing *70 before calling the number to the phone bridge (example *70-1-712-432-8733). If a member does not disable their call waiting, we may hear your conversation or beeping.

b. When you dial in, you will start the conference being muted.

c. Stay muted at all times unless you are sharing. You can un-mute by pressing your *1 keys. You will hear a voice saying “you are now un-muted”.  Some phones do not have a long enough beep for the muting and un-muting to happen. You may have to press *1 several times for this function to work. When the voice comes on, you will know that the *1 keys have worked. 

d. We ask members to use the *1 keys to mute even if they have a mute function on their individual phones. The *1 keys ensures the greatest sound strength for the entire phone line and provides the greatest service to all members of the phone bridge during the meeting.

e. Please do not use a speaker phone for sharing or we will all hear an echo.  Some speaker phones will not mute even when pressing your *1 keys.

f. To hear a menu of all the features--such as volume control or member count--simply press * by itself.

READINGS: Secretary/Chair reads:

SUGGESTED AL-ANON WELCOME

We welcome you to this 11th Step Literature,  Meditation and Discussion Meeting of the Al-Anon Family Group and hope you will find in this fellowship the help and friendship we have been privileged to enjoy.

We who live or have lived with the problem of alcoholism understand as perhaps few others can. We, too, were lonely and frustrated, but in Al-Anon we discover that no situation is really hopeless and that it is possible for us to find contentment, and even happiness, whether the alcoholic is still drinking or not.

We urge you to try our program. It has helped many of us find solutions that lead to serenity. So much depends on our own attitudes, and as we learn to place our problem in its true perspective, we find it loses its power to dominate our thoughts and our lives.

The family situation is bound to improve as we apply the Al-Anon ideas. Without such spiritual help, living with an alcoholic is too much for most of us. Our thinking becomes distorted by trying to force solutions, and we become irritable and unreasonable without knowing it.

The Al-Anon program is based on the Twelve Steps (adapted from Alcoholics Anonymous), which we try, little by little, one day at a time, to apply to our lives, along with our slogans and the Serenity Prayer. The loving interchange of help among members and daily reading of Al-Anon literature thus makes us ready to receive the priceless gift of serenity.

Anonymity is an important principle of the Al-Anon program. Everything that is said here, in the group meeting and member to member, must be held in confidence. Only in this way can we feel free to say what is in our minds and hearts, for this is how we help one another in Al-Anon. (Al-Anon/Ala-teen Service Manual pgs.10-11)

WE NOW NEED A VOLUNTEER TO READ:

Preamble to Al-Anon’s 12 Steps: 2 pages before Jan.1st in all 3 meditation books

7th Tradition: Al-Anon is fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions. Please send your contributions to World Service Office stating it’s from the Wednesday 4pm Meditation Meeting WSO ID 30536827 or donate at your face to face meetings. Also at the close of the meeting, we will ask for Al-Anon sponsors and state the meeting schedule. 

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Are there any Al-Anon related announcements? 

Do we have any Al-Anon newcomers today, either newcomer to Al-Anon or to this phone bridge? Please give us your first name so we may greet you!

Do we have a volunteer on the line today that can stay after the phone meeting and greet newcomers and provide information on the phone etiquette or on Al-Anon?

Meeting Schedule will be read at the end of the meeting after the phone numbers are given out.

Business Meeting for this meeting will be held the first Wednesday of every month.

Let’s go around the globe and introduce ourselves. Hi, I am ______(Name)_____ from (_______State/Country/Planet___)

And now we will do the Serenity Prayer. Please press * 1 to un-mute. (Give a few seconds pause to let everyone un-mute)

I’m going to cycle us through and we will start the meeting (Secretary/Chair press *5 to clear the conference of noise)

This is an 11th Step Literature,  Meditation and Individual’s Experiences Discussion Meeting. 

We will be using Alanon literature on the 11th step in Part One. In Part Two the chair reads a short selection from Alanon literature on the 11th step or on meditation. This will be  followed by a period of silence. After, we will share our experiences and our own techniques at working this step for the benefit of others. In following traditions, we will not mention specific religions or deities, so everyone can feel included to the beautiful spirit you share with us.

ANONYMITY STATEMENT: In Al-Anon, this is a gentle reminder that we speak from our own experience and ours is derived from living with the effects of alcoholism. We ask those who are members of other anonymous programs not to break their anonymity and to try and identify with the Al-Anon approach for the family illness. Ours is a different experience and calls for a different interpretation.


 (PART ONE)

Secretary/Chair says: Each week there is a different Reading and Meditation. Today we will be reading:  

WEEK ONE :    Paths to Recovery : page 110, the 11th Step reading the first section approximately 4 pages from page 110 to the top of page 114.

Can we get 4 readers to volunteer?

Thank you. Let’s read in the order we volunteered with only one person un-muted at a time. When you are done reading please re-mute.

Thank you for all that read….
WEEK TWO:      Paths to Recovery  :  page 114, the 11th step under “Members share their Experience, Strength and Hope” approximately 3 and ½ pages from page 114 to the first 1/3 of page 117.  

Can we get 3 readers to volunteer?

Thank you. Let’s read in the order we volunteered with only one person un-muted at a time. When you are done reading please re-mute.

Thank you for all that read….

WEEK THREE: 12&12 which includes “Thinking It Over.”

We will need three readers. It is about three pages long, could someone volunteers to read?

Thank you for reading...

WEEK FOUR:   One Day at a Time,    Courage to Change,    Hope for Today

We will be using the three  alanon daily readers this week. We will be looking in the back index for a topic on the 11th step or on meditation.


Can we get  3 readers to volunteer?

Thank you, let's read in the order of One Day at a Time followed by Courage to Change, and ending with  Hope for Today... with only one person unmuted at a time.  

Thank you to all that read.



WEEK FIVE: How Al-Anon Works , starting at the bottom of Page 90 to the middle of page 91)

we  will need one  reader. It is two pages long, could someone volunteer to read?

Thank you for reading...

Sec./chair says: Now we will continue on with the Second Part of the Meeting. This will include a  reading of Alanon literature followed by about ten minutes of silence.

(PART TWO)

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

There are many, many ways to work the 11th step. Writing, prayer, meditation, contemplation, walking, running, even doing the dishes can be considered a way by some. Seeking connection to our HP has  much to do with our intention, as well as our actions. We hope you take this opportunity to try to connect to your Higher Power in whatever way feels best to you today.

(pause... Begin reading sentences slowly and gently. After each sentence and paragraph pause briefly...)

WEEK ONE  

Reading from Courage to Change p165

In Step Eleven I seek to improve my conscious contact with God through prayer and meditation.  How I do this is completely up to me. Perhaps I become more conscious of a Higher Power when I look for signs of guidance in the people around me, or in the events and unexplained coincidences of my life. Or perhaps I seek this Power further away from the world of logic and reason: I might look for answers through my feelings, or my instincts, or my dreams. Maybe I pursue a more traditional spiritual path.  Or I can decide to keep myself open to all of these possibilities. Whatever path I choose, I know I must keep trying as often as I can to follow the course offered to me by my Higher Power. Only in this way can I be confident of my actions; only in this way can I find the courage to change. 

Today's Reminder

I will take time to clear my mind of unnecessary, hurried thoughts.  There seems to be a limited amount of space in my mind until I do.  But when I clear this clutter away, the space becomes limitless and the guidance I am truly willing to accept comes through.

"The spiritual exercise suggested by the Eleventh Step is a powerful force for good in our lives.  Let me not ever think I have no time for it."

The Dilemma of the Alcoholic Marriage

WEEK TWO   

Reading from Courage to Change p338:

What is meditation?  Al-Anon leaves that question open for each of us to answer in our own way.  Drawing upon the experiences of other Al-Anon members can help us find our own path.  Here are only a few of the ways members of the fellowship have shared:

To me, meditation is a higher spiritual awareness. I practice remembering that every action can serve a spiritual purpose.

I go to a quiet place, close my eyes, and repeat the words of the Serenity Prayer to myself in a gentle voice.

I need to get beyond my thoughts, so I concentrate on my breathing, counting from one to ten over and over as I breathe in and out. 
I simply step back and watch my thoughts as if I were watching a play. I try to keep my attention on the present day only, leaving the past and the future alone.

I focus on a flower, when my thoughts stray, I accept that my mind is just doing its job—thinking—and then gently return to my subject.

In my mind, I picture my Higher Power’s hands. One by one, I place my problems and worries, my joy and my gratitude, into those hands, and finally I climb in too.

WEEK THREE 

Reading from One Day at a Time p315:

Here is another Al-Anon prescription for that frantic state of tension we call being "tied in knots." 

Just for the moment, empty your mind of all thought. Then admit to it one single idea, and concentrate on it for a whole minute. Let it be a simple thing you can make a picture of in your mind—a rose of a specific color, an empty bowl you imagine yourself filling with bright fruit; a tiny sliver of a new moon. Think of nothing else but that one thing and don’t let anything else intrude. The minute will seem like an hour, but at the end of this concentrated thought, the tension and confusion will have drained away, and you’ll be better able to come to grips with the present problem.

Today’s Reminder:

Troubles grow bigger as we spend more and more time thinking about them. I will interrupt such thoughts with a meditation whenever their weight is too much for me. It will calm my thinking and put my difficulty into proper focus

"Meditation is the spiritual way to turn my thoughts away from whatever is troubling me.  It is a lift, a refreshment."

WEEK FOUR 

Reading from Courage to Change p173

What exactly is meditation?  Is it something hypnotic, strange, and beyond my capabilities?  The dictionary tells me it means, "to think contemplatively."  When I look up "contemplate" it says, "to view thoughtfully."

In every quiet moment I can find to calm my mind and think through the day ahead of me, I am meditating. During these moments, by clearing my mind and asking my Higher Power to guide me, I find answers to my concerns. I don’t always expect or enjoy the answers I get, but to turn away from them causes even greater turmoil.

I have spent too much of the past working against my better instincts.  God gave me instincts as a help, not a hindrance.  The more I am quiet enough to discover and follow these instincts, the stronger they become.

Today's Reminder:

I will take time to clear my mind and focus on what is essential for today.  I will release any unimportant thoughts.  I will then allow myself to be guided toward the best action I can take for today.  Regardless of how simple the answers may seem, I will listen without judgment.  I will not take my thoughts for granted, for they may be my only guide.

"Go to your bosom:

Knock there, and ask you heart what it doth know." 

William Shakespeare

WEEK FIVE

Reading One Day at a Time p291 

The Twelve Steps make up a body of spiritual wisdom that unfolds and expands our understanding as we study them, one after another.  There is one Step, however, that could be studied from the very outset, every day, for its extraordinary power to throw light on the others.  This is the Eleventh, which speaks of prayer and meditation.

Meditation is the quiet and sustained application of the mind to the contemplation of a spiritual truth. It’s purpose is to deflect our minds form the problems we are experiencing, to raise our thoughts above the grievance and discontent that color our thinking. 

Today's Reminder  

I will set aside at least five minutes, morning and night, for spiritual concentration, excluding from my mind all but one spiritual idea.  I will begin and end each meditation with a conscious awareness of God.

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

(Step Eleven of the Twelve)         

(CHAIR SAYS:) It is now time for the quiet period,  we invite you to continue your 11th step work on your own in silence, aware that you are connected with the other members of this room seeking to improve their conscious contact with their HP.  The quiet period will be followed by sharing.  Please wait until that time, I will indicate when it is time for fellowship to begin. (CHAIR ABOUT TIMES TEN MINUTES OF SILENCE)

(...silence... )

(if someone comes on during the silence, chair tells them this is a meditation meeting and this is the quiet period  and they can join the meeting to share in a few minutes.)

(After about  10 minutes of silence (at 15 minutes to the hour), chair says softly..)...OK ... gently... come back to the present... Thank you all  again for joining us. May you become increasingly aware of your Higher Power's love for you.  It is now time to open up for sharing with others on the reading or on how you work your 11th step and what experiences have brought you comfort and joy. 

SPIRITUAL TIMEKEEPER: Can we have a volunteer to be our spiritual timekeeper? We will have 3 minute shares. We ask that our spiritual timekeeper stay muted at all times unless to say time and that our members acknowledge our spiritual timekeepers prompt by saying “Thank-you I heard you” or “I’ll wrap up.” 

Would the spiritual timekeeper like to start the sharing?

SHARING: Who would like to begin their 3 minute share?


Thank you all that shared and read.

TELEPHONE NUMBERS: Does anyone want a telephone number of a member that shared? Please call out their name and after the closing we will get the phone numbers.

CLOSING: Suggested Al-Anon Closing (5 minutes before the top of the hour): In closing, I would like to say that the opinions expressed here were strictly those of the person who gave them. Take what you liked and leave the rest. The things you heard were spoken in confidence and should be treated as confidential.
Keep them within the walls of this room and the confines of your mind. A few special words to those of you who haven’t been with us long: Whatever your problems, there are those among us who have had them too. If you try to keep an open mind you will find help. You will come to realize that there is no situation too difficult to be bettered and no unhappiness too great to be lessened. We aren’t perfect. The welcome we give you may not show the warmth we have in our hearts for you. After a while, you’ll discover that though you may not like all of us, you’ll love us in a very special way, the same way we already love you.
Talk to each other, reason things out with someone else, but let there be no gossip or criticism of one another. Instead, let the understanding, love and peace of the program grow in you one day at a time. (Al-Anon/Alateen Service Manual pg.22)

For all those who want to join us in the Al-Anon Declaration found on page roman numeral V in paths to recovery, please push *1 to mute yourselves 

(Pause a moment for them to do this) 

Let It Begin With Me
When anyone, anywhere, reaches out for help,
Let the hand of Al-Anon and Alateen
always be there, and---Let It Begin With Me.
(Al-Anon/Alateen Service Manual pg.22)

PHONE NUMBERS: Okay is ___________ on the line? (If someone called out a name)

REGULAR MEETING SCHEDULE
All Eastern Time Zones, same phone and pin number as dialed for this meeting:

8am Saturday and Sunday
9am Weekdays (Monday ----- Friday)

11am Sunday
Noon Monday ----- Saturday
2pm Sunday
4pm 7 days a week
8pm 7 days a week
10pm Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday
12 midnight Thursday


Meeting schedule and phone bridge information for the phone number you called in on can be accessed on the web at www.alanonphonemeetings.org. Format changes, determined by the group conscience of each autonomous meeting, can be emailed to alanonphonemeetings@yahoo.com. As per group conscience, proposals for new meetings and format drafts ideas need to be brought to the Group Conscious Meeting on the 4th Saturday of every month at 1:30 EST Secretary/Chair turns the meeting over to the member who is staying on the line to answer questions about the Al-Anon phone meetings or to explain the phone etiquette.
Thank you, have a great day