Tradition 11 - Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we need always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio, films and TV. We need guard with special care the anonymity of all AA members.
I have so much ESH on this specific tradition. I'll start with attraction rather than promotion. When I came to Al Anon I was very hard on myself for how I had parented my kids. Today those kids are grown adults. I am so grateful that I am able to share the program with them without promoting the program. They both believe Al Anon takes too much of my time. So when either of them tell me of a problem they have with another person, I like to say "as adults we all get to make our own decisions and deserve the respect to make them" Today, my girls will actually ask me if that phrase applies to a specific situation. YES!!!! That's attraction versus promotion.
Personal anonymity - I try so hard to use my first name only. When adding my name to a phone list, I provide a first name only. When on a zoom meeting, I use a first name only. Here on these boards, I use a first name only. It's my way of protecting my own anonymity.
Protecting the anonymity of those in AA. This is where I am probably the most careful. When I share I often say "my loved one" Of if I need to use a pronoun, I often say "they" versus him/her. It truly doesn't matter who the alcoholic is, what matters is I became sick too and I need Al Anon for me.
So who else has a share from tradition 11?
DavidG said
Nov 5, 2020
Thanks Audrey...
10 or 12 years ago we had a visit, to this part of the world, from the CEO of Alanon. At that time this person was Rick B.
Rick shared as the C in C of Alanon... and also as a member. His own ESH. He gave a very clear boundary between the two roles.
His visit was recorded in a small town newsletter. A town of 400 people. Which mentioned his visit to the town. This was in his CEO role.
A city group south of there called a conscience meeting and questioned this.
it was a great time. he was warm and approachable. This small town met him in a damp old hall- a place where the local Alanon meeting was. The figurehead behind his visit was our oldest old-timer who came from a smaller rural town about 40 km distance.
I think sometimes that some of us are too passive aggressive about talking about Alanon. Me in particular. There mere fact that I went to meetings saved my relationship with my daughter.
Beside that my plan is to demonstrate the ESH that I have learned from Alanon. I had to create and build boundaries in my world- to give good parental guidelines. When I see boundary setting demonstrated in the programme- this gives me the chance to learn.
To sum up: I use Alanon Concept 4 as a guide: "participation is the key to harmony".
It means that we don't have to be perfect. We can make mistakes.
Just getting involved is enough. ...
Audrey said
Nov 8, 2020
Thank you both so much for your shares. I love hearing how others understand our steps and our traditions and how they apply to them to all of their affairs.
Tradition 11 - Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we need always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio, films and TV. We need guard with special care the anonymity of all AA members.
I have so much ESH on this specific tradition. I'll start with attraction rather than promotion. When I came to Al Anon I was very hard on myself for how I had parented my kids. Today those kids are grown adults. I am so grateful that I am able to share the program with them without promoting the program. They both believe Al Anon takes too much of my time. So when either of them tell me of a problem they have with another person, I like to say "as adults we all get to make our own decisions and deserve the respect to make them" Today, my girls will actually ask me if that phrase applies to a specific situation. YES!!!! That's attraction versus promotion.
Personal anonymity - I try so hard to use my first name only. When adding my name to a phone list, I provide a first name only. When on a zoom meeting, I use a first name only. Here on these boards, I use a first name only. It's my way of protecting my own anonymity.
Protecting the anonymity of those in AA. This is where I am probably the most careful. When I share I often say "my loved one" Of if I need to use a pronoun, I often say "they" versus him/her. It truly doesn't matter who the alcoholic is, what matters is I became sick too and I need Al Anon for me.
So who else has a share from tradition 11?
10 or 12 years ago we had a visit, to this part of the world, from the CEO of Alanon. At that time this person was Rick B.
Rick shared as the C in C of Alanon... and also as a member. His own ESH. He gave a very clear boundary between the two roles.
His visit was recorded in a small town newsletter. A town of 400 people. Which mentioned his visit to the town. This was in his CEO role.
A city group south of there called a conscience meeting and questioned this.
it was a great time. he was warm and approachable. This small town met him in a damp old hall- a place where the local Alanon meeting was. The figurehead behind his visit was our oldest old-timer who came from a smaller rural town about 40 km distance.
I think sometimes that some of us are too passive aggressive about talking about Alanon. Me in particular. There mere fact that I went to meetings saved my relationship with my daughter.
Beside that my plan is to demonstrate the ESH that I have learned from Alanon. I had to create and build boundaries in my world- to give good parental guidelines. When I see boundary setting demonstrated in the programme- this gives me the chance to learn.
To sum up: I use Alanon Concept 4 as a guide: "participation is the key to harmony".
It means that we don't have to be perfect. We can make mistakes.
Just getting involved is enough.
...
Thank you both so much for your shares. I love hearing how others understand our steps and our traditions and how they apply to them to all of their affairs.