October 2008 A publication of the Central Intergroup Office of the Desert serving the Coachella Valley. Central Intergroup Office of the Desert 35-325 Date Palm Drive Suite 134 Cathedral City CA 92234 Open 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Mon.-Fri. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Sat. & Sun.

Step Ten

West Valley 760·324·4880 East Valley 760·568·4004 Fax 760·324·4851 Web site: www.AAintheDesert.org

Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.

[email protected]

Intergroup Meeting 1st Thursday of the month, 7 p.m. Board of Directors Meeting 3rd Thursday of the month, 6 p.m. General Service, District 9 1st Sunday of the month, 4PM Fellowship Hall 45940 Portola Ave. Palm Desert Mailing Address: P O Box 3684 Palm Desert 92261-3684

Tradition Ten Alcoholics Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues; hence the A.A. name ought never be drawn into public controversy.

Concept Ten Every service responsibility should be matched by an equal service authority, with the scope of such authority well defined.

Hospitals & Institutions Last Wednesday of the month, 6:30 p.m. Fellowship Hall 45940 Portola Ave. Palm Desert Mailing Address: P O Box 1843 Palm Desert 92261 Mid Southern California Area (MSCA) P O Box, 51446, Irvine CA 92619-1446 Web site: www.msca09aa.org The General Service Office, P O Box 459, Grand Central Station NY 10163 Web site: www.alcoholics-anonymous.org

Vigilance - Watchfulness in respect of danger; care; caution; circumspection; the process of paying close and continuous attention.

Desert Lifeline, October 2008

Central Office Activity We are Responsible! August

Meeting Info 12 Step Calls

292 8

Visitors Literature Sales Al-Anon Other 12 Step Misc. / NA Business

152 162 16 28 39 42

Central Intergroup Office of the Desert Board of Directors Chairman: SherAli J. Vice Chairman: John E. Treasurer: Open Secretary: Wendy B. Directors Jim D. Paul A. Rebecca K. Mike B. Open Desert Lifeline Editor: Katrina B.

Answering Service

Office Manager: Jim K.

12 Step Meeting Info Other TOTAL:

1 14 8 762

Letters to the Editor or Articles for the Desert Lifeline must be received by the 15th of the month for consideration of publication in the following month’s issue. Please submit your material for The Desert Lifeline to: Central Intergroup Office of the Desert 35-325 Date Palm Drive, Suite 134, Cathedral City, CA 92234. E-mail: [email protected]

Birthday Celebrations Donnie W Joey Patty H Cynthia Joel L Skye Tristan T Carol H Ron D Lee Sue B Linda L Frank P Mary Margaret McG

1 1 2 3 4 5 5 7 9 10 11 13 20 20

Gene S Fran G Marvin T Kathleen B

Linda J Jan B Tom S Ronnie

21 24 30 37

We thank all of the birthday celebrants for their contributions to the Central Office Birthday Club. 2

1 19 29 50

Desert Lifeline, January 2007 Desert Lifeline , October 2008

NEW MEETINGS & MEETING CHANGES Name & Location change:

All 6:30 AM meetings at Rancho Mirage AA (41750 Rancho Las Palmas Dr, Bldg F ) changed to 6:00 AM – Monday through Friday Change is inevitable

August Website Usage Highest # of sessions in a day: 822 Highest # of hits in one day: 24,341 Avg. sessions/day: 124.65 Avg. hits/day: 4,327.13 Total sessions: 3,864 Total hits: 134,141 .

Please visit us at: www.AAintheDesert.org Maps now available for most meetings …..Check it out!

August Web Site Hits

Sponsor to Sponsee: "Be yourself. Everyone else is taken.” ———————————————————————————————————After all the experience I have, I still sometimes forget that God has my best interests at heart. ———————————————————————————————————I've noticed that I don't compare my insides to your outsides when I'm feeling good about myself. 3

Desert Lifeline, October 2008

AUGUST VOLUNTEERS – Central Office Ann T. Brenda F. Cody K. Dave O. Dennis H. Don P. Dorit R.

Eric McD. Gene S. Jay A. Jerry G Jill J. Jim D. Mike B.

Paul A. Peggy M Steve C. Stuart H. Suzy & Bob A. Tony M. Tracy M.

Please mail the Subscription form with your annual subscription fee of $20 to the address on the front of the Desert Lifeline for your Central Intergroup Office.

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Palm Springs Cornfield Group Council Chamber Friday Night, 7 p.m. 10/3

- Rick M. - Palm Desert

10/10 - Linda J. - Palm Desert 10/17 10/24 - Carol D. - Rancho Mirage 4

Desert Lifeline, October 2008

Book of the month! Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers Normally $8.50 — this month $7.50

Step Ten Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it. I remember when I first read Step 10 – Continued to take personal inventory, and when we were wrong promptly admitted it – I didn’t really think much about it. I always promptly admitted when I was wrong when I was out there drinking. I had no problem saying I was sorry…time after time, I would say, “I’m so sorry, I was drunk.” In fact, that one sentence seemed to be my stock apology to many, many people. What I realized after I got sober and had begun working the steps, was that Step 10 wasn’t just about saying I was sorry after I had done something wrong or if I had hurt someone, but rather changing the behavior so I wouldn’t have to apologize. This is where a continuous personal inventory became so important in my sobriety. Step 10 is a two-fold, maintenance step; just as it says on page 85 of The Big Book, “What we really have is a daily reprieve contingent on the maintenance of our spiritual condition.” Step 10 allows me to keep my side of the street clean and all I can really do is strive to keep it clean on a daily basis. When old behavior creeps in (because it does), doing a daily inventory affords me an invaluable opportunity to find out why it’s rearing its ugly head and to deal with it accordingly. Additionally, my daily inventory acts as a kind of spiritual barometer for me. If I snap at someone at work, then that is when my spot-check inventory comes in handy. When I give myself that brief moment to “pause when agitated or doubtful,” then I’ll know I must make amends promptly…not allowing the potential negative situation to get worse. Step 10 is an important and essential tool in my sobriety…one of the many that AA has laid at my feet. Lee F. Step Sisters, Joslyn Senior Center, Monday night

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September Puzzle Solution

Copyright © The AA Grapevine, Inc. (August, 2006). Reprinted with permission

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October Puzzle

Puzzle answers will appear in next month’s Desert Lifeline. You can also find them on our web site — www.aainthedesert.org 7

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Concept Ten Every service responsibility should be matched by an equal service authority, with the scope of such authority well defined. Defining concept ten basically defines how there is an ultimate authority. However equally distributed to the service committed either by the A.A. groups, the conference, or the Trustees. Equally meaning there is always an ending to a decision by equal means, not by preference of choice. The service committed by AA Groups, the conference, the Trustees, etc. are matched by certain authorization matched by responsibility and no further authority. This can only by changed by appropriate decisions on the situation. How does authority distribution work in our every day life one may ask? And how a process like this works? By taking control of ones actions through understanding and adequate judgment. Homer A. Men’s Stag, Sloan’s Restaurant, Indio, Wednesday Night

Tradition Ten Alcoholics Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues; hence the A.A. name ought never be drawn into public controversy. Tradition Ten, like all our traditions, is an important tradition and concentrates on the purity of A.A. As long as we respect these traditions, Alcoholics Anonymous can remain intact and pure to its primary purpose and continue to have a message carried to alcoholics who suffer in and out of the fellowship. We should be proud that we (A.A. as a whole) have never allowed ourselves to be divided by any major issue that the world has presented. In doing some research for this project, I learned more about a group called the Washingtonians. Their first vision was to be an organization of alcoholics who helped one another stay sober. And they were just that for a while. Their membership grew to over one hundred thousand members in the early 1900's. But, they allowed influential people, who weren't all alcoholic, to use their society for their own reasons. Because of this, they basically got sidetracked and their attention was diverted from staying in the solution to the disease of alcoholism. Fortunately for us, people in early A.A. history, learned from the Washingtonians. They decided, and have taken the appropriate action, to stay out of public controversy by creating our tenth tradition. Because A.A. continues to be the number one most effective influence on my life and keeping me sober, I take personal responsibility to make sure I leave my opinion on outside issues away from sponsorship and the rooms of Alcoholics Anonymous and pray that all others do too. This has to do with tradition one and our common welfare. Our recovery depends on us sticking together with the same vision in keeping A.A. pure. Garrett D. Serenity Group, Cinemas Palme D'Or, Theater 4, Palm Desert, Sunday 9

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When I was new I'd call my sponsor with a problem and I'd pour out this terrible tale of woe and she'd say, "So what?" Excuse ME!?!?!? So WHAT!?!?!!? With time I came to see the wisdom of her response . . . most of my terrible tales of woe really are "so whats"! Today I know that with many things, I don't have to fix it or change it. I can just say 'so what' and go on about my day. Most of those things seem to take care of themselves. ———————————————————————————————————————Sponsor to Sponsee: The problem is that half of your brain manufactures BS and the other half believes it! 11

Desert Lifeline, October 2008

I'm from the kind of family, that when you shake our family tree, bottles fall out. —–—————————————————————————————————————— My experience has been that expectations are the filter through which I interpret my circumstances. If I was told that I'm staying in a penthouse suite at a hotel, and I got there and the hotel only had two floors and the only difference between my room and the others was that I had HBO, I would probably be disappointed. BUT, if I was told I was going to prison and was taken to the SAME room at the SAME hotel, I would be overjoyed! Same room. Different expectations! ———————————————————————————————————————"I always hear something that I need to hear when I come to this meeting. I don't know about the rest of you, but you will just have to listen to what is being said, because I need to hear it!" 12