"Each group has but one primary purpose, to carry its message to the sex and love addict who still suffers."
"We knew that in accordance with these Traditions, no one who needed S.L.A.A. could, or should, be denied access to the Fellowship. However we also knew, especially in the beginning, that if we were not very circumspect about tending to business as a meeting / fellowship devoted to recovery from sex and love addiction, we might have many difficulties. That is, if we were to go out and proclaim our Fellowship's existence wholesale we could be overrun by vicarious thrill-seekers, contented voyeurs, and those who might be addicted, but were primarily looking for action. If we were overrun by those who were not serious about recovery, our original group purpose, which according to our tradtions was to be maintained through the exercise of "group conscience," would be irrevocably altered. With the undermining of a group conscience committed to individual recovery, we would be destroyed.
If we were really to adhere to the principle of group conscience, we had to go about 'carrying the message' prudently and selectively. While S.L.A.A. could not be denied to any sex and love addict in search of recovery, we could not trump up a national manifesto or vision for S.L.A.A. at the expense of neglecting to tend to our own back yard. We could not stress getting great numbers of people to attend our meetings at the expense of diluting the quality of our message of recovery. There could be no short-cuts.
...We needed to be constantly on guard that what happened within our Fellowship was consistent with our Fifth Tradition: 'Each group has but one primary purpose--to carry its message to the sex and love addict who still suffers.'"
--pp 122-123 Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous 1st ed. Boston 1986.
"Each group has but one primary purpose, to carry its message to the sex and love addict who still suffers."
"We knew that in accordance with these Traditions, no one who needed S.L.A.A. could, or should, be denied access to the Fellowship. However we also knew, especially in the beginning, that if we were not very circumspect about tending to business as a meeting / fellowship devoted to recovery from sex and love addiction, we might have many difficulties. That is, if we were to go out and proclaim our Fellowship's existence wholesale we could be overrun by vicarious thrill-seekers, contented voyeurs, and those who might be addicted, but were primarily looking for action. If we were overrun by those who were not serious about recovery, our original group purpose, which according to our tradtions was to be maintained through the exercise of "group conscience," would be irrevocably altered. With the undermining of a group conscience committed to individual recovery, we would be destroyed.
If we were really to adhere to the principle of group conscience, we had to go about 'carrying the message' prudently and selectively. While S.L.A.A. could not be denied to any sex and love addict in search of recovery, we could not trump up a national manifesto or vision for S.L.A.A. at the expense of neglecting to tend to our own back yard. We could not stress getting great numbers of people to attend our meetings at the expense of diluting the quality of our message of recovery. There could be no short-cuts.
...We needed to be constantly on guard that what happened within our Fellowship was consistent with our Fifth Tradition: 'Each group has but one primary purpose--to carry its message to the sex and love addict who still suffers.'"
--pp 122-123 Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous 1st ed. Boston 1986.