What to expect at an Al-Anon Meeting

• Al-Anon is a mutual support group. Everyone at the meeting shares as an equal. No one is in a position to give advice or direction to anyone else. Everyone at the meeting has experienced a problem with someone else's drinking.
• NO CROSS-TALKING ALLOWED During meetings.
  Crosstalk means we do not interrupt during shares, (when someone has been given the floor by the chairperson) give advise, or directly refer to or comment on the details of another member's share, either in our own shares or in our response to theirs. We share only our own personal experience, strength and hope related to the topic . 
• You are free to ask questions or to talk about your situation at your first meeting. If you'd rather just listen, you can say "I pass," or explain that you'd just like to listen if called on to share.
• Every meeting is different. Each meeting has the autonomy to be run as its members choose, within guidelines designed to promote Al-Anon unity. Al-Anon recommends that you try at least six different meetings before you decide if Al-Anon will be helpful to you.
• Al-Anon is not a religious program. Even when the meeting is held in a religious center, the local Al-Anon group pays rent to that center and is not affiliated in any way with any religious group. Your religious beliefs -- or lack of them -- are not a subject for discussion at Al-Anon meetings, which focus solely on coping with the effects of someone's drinking. It is suggested that each person find a Higher Power of their own understanding that they can utilize as a part of their recovery effort. No one will try to promote theirs upon you. A person can share what theirs did for them, but they cannot share what theirs would do for you. Your spiritual development is a personal journey and we respect that.
• It will take some time to fully understand the significance of anonymity to the Al-Anon program. But at its simplest level, anonymity means that the people in the room will respect the confidentiality of what you say and won't approach you outside the room in a way that compromises your privacy or the privacy of anyone who attended an Al-Anon meeting.
• The meeting will likely begin with a reading of the Twelve Steps of Al-Anon. It will take some time to fully understand how the Twelve Steps can be a helpful tool in recovering from the effects of someone's drinking. But Al-Anon gives you the opportunity to grow at your own pace.

What to expect at the Al-Anon MIP Online Meeting

• Please enter a unusual nickname for yourself in the box above the "connect" button on the room entrance page. (Replace the mib_### with your nickname) before you click "connect". This will give us a name to get to know you by as you establish yourself in the group and return for support frequently. (example of a nickname; Hope42day, Lost&Found, WhisperingPeace.) These are just examples, pick a nickname for yourself that you will remember and use when you join us. Thanks!
• MIP Al-Anon meetings are open discussion Topic meetings. Please keep shares to 5-7 minutes, stick to the selected topics and refrain from *cross-talk* while another is sharing.
• To share on the topic or introduce yourself and ask a question at the beginnning of the meeting, please indicate that you would like to do so in the text box by using a exclaimation mark (!) to raise your hand and the meeting chairperson will call on you in the order your hand was raised.
• Please don't forget that our text chatroom (#alanonchat) is on IRC, accessible using this site or an IRC client program such as mIRC.  The server we are on is irc.chat4all.org, port 6667. mIRC users will need to add our server to their mirc server list, and our room to their mirc channels list.

What to expect at the Al-Anon MIP Group Message Board

• Our message board is a great place to ask questions, share your situation with others, and obtain their experience, strength and hope, with the solutions that worked for them. It also gives you a place to share your experience, strength and hope with others.
• The material presented here is not Al-Anon Conference Approved Literature. It is a method to exchange information, ideas, feelings, problems and solutions on a personal level. When responding please consider asking yourself the question:" do my words support an alanon principle or philosophy?."
• In addition You may find that you may not like all of us the same way we already love you. You may come to love us in a special way the same way we already love you" talk to each other reason things out with each other 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.
• The views expressed by members of this forum are their own and do not reflect the position of the administrator or other members. Each member is responsible for the content of his/her own posts. This forum is intended to provide an atmosphere of open communication, where each member can share his or her own insights and opinions.
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