Looking for Engaging AA Meeting Topics?
Discussion meetings are a crucial component of Alcoholics Anonymous. The core purpose of these sessions is to share our experiences with one another, both to reinforce our own sobriety and to help others recover. The moderation of meetings can either contribute to or detract from this goal. One of the biggest mistakes that an AA moderator can make is to declare that the meeting will center around a very basic and broad topic, like “relationships” or “honesty.” By choosing a more specific subject for your next group conversation, you will see increased participation, deeper discussion and greater growth. Here are five of our most highly recommended and engaging AA meeting topics.
9th Step Promises
Anyone who has worked the program knows that the 9th Step is a challenging one. It is the point at which we must begin to repair what we have done to others in active addiction. For some, this involved lying, cheating or stealing. Step 9 calls us to radically repair our relationships with others.
However, the 9th Step Promises are particularly appealing. The Big Book says that “if we are painstaking about this phase of our development, we will be amazed.” It promises that we will not regret the past, that we will know peace and that our feelings of self-pity will disappear. These are just a few of the positive outcomes promised in Step 9.
AA meeting topics surrounding 9th Step Promises are limitless. Here are just a few of the questions you could use to inspire discussion:
- How have they come to fruition in your life?
- Which ones took the longest?
- Did this step come quickly or slowly?
The 9th Step Promises also say that “fear of people and of economic insecurity will leave us.” For many people, this takes a long time to materialize. Addiction is a disease that takes everything from you – including your freedom and your financial stability. Consider using this opportunity to talk about the topic of financial insecurity and addiction.
“We Ceased Fighting Everyone and Everything”
In Step 10, the Big Book uses the phrase “we ceased fighting everyone and everything” to describe the new approach to life we will enjoy in sobriety. Ask meeting participants how true this is for them today. Have they truly ceased fighting everyone and everything?
What was it like during active addiction, and what is it like now? What contributed to that change? Was it the spiritual component of their recovery, addressing resentments, pausing before reacting? Exploring this subject can help AA meeting participants to learn ways of coping from others in the group.
Beginner Meetings: Should Those with Time Go?
The age-old question – should I go to a beginner meeting? This is a great topic to unpack together in your next AA meeting. Explain that choosing to attend beginner meetings benefits both the newly sober and the experienced attendees. Yes, newcomers are inspired. And yes, those with many years of sobriety should go as an act of 12th Step service. However, there’s another hidden benefit.
Beginner meetings remind those with time of what the early days of recovery looked and felt like. It’s a great opportunity to get back to basics, no matter how many years of sobriety they have behind them.
Popular AA Meeting Topics
Higher Power Definition
Your Higher Power is a very personal motivator in recovery. Begin by reading from the Big Book and exploring its version of a Higher Power.
How was this concept explained to you by your sponsor? How do you explain it to sponsees? Were you resistant to it, and how long did it take you to embrace your Higher Power?
What is a Spiritual Experience?
The Big Book defines spiritual experiences with asterisks several times. What was this moment for your AA meeting attendees? It can be something as small as a personal change – deciding to react to things differently than they once did. Or it can be a huge, all-powerful, white-light moment. Or something in between! There is no right or wrong way to define a spiritual experience, but for most members of AA, it is understood as a deep personal change.
12 Step Immersion in Tennessee
We hope you enjoyed this list of AA meeting topics. At Still Waters, we offer a unique approach to 12 Step programming. Our gender-specific treatment programs provide the structure and accountability needed for lifelong recovery. To learn more about 12 Step healing in Tennessee, contact our admissions team.
