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Do you have something to
contribute? Please send us
poetry, audio files, short
writing, A.R.T.S.-related
stories, images of your art
(in jpg.)! Email the editors
at
newsletter@artsanonymous.org
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In this Issue:
-
Announcements
-
Service and Event Calendars
-
Writings on the Steps
-
Step Ten – A Personal
Response
-
Poem – The Maze
-
Resources for Meetings
-
Poem – Tribute to the
Sharathon Committee
-
World Service Conference
Updates
-
Member Stories Announcement
-
A.R.T.S. Anonymous
Celebrates 40 years!
-
Seeking a Board Treasurer
-
Step Eight Study Workshops,
Sunday Step Four Study Workshop
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ANNOUNCEMENTS
SAVE
THE DATE!: A.R.T.S.
Anonymous turns 40 years old this
November! With gratitude to Abigail
B., a celebration is being organized
for November 3.
Please look for further information
on the website and by email.
Meeting
Contributions:
A.R.T.S. Anonymous is fully
self-supporting, declining outside
contributions. Thank you to the
following meetings for their
donations:
-
Silver Spring Friday
Phone Meeting: $18.00.
-
Sherman Oaks, CA: $31.20.
Financial Management Report:
The
Quarterly Financial Management
Report for July-August 2024 is
now posted on the website.
Deadline Extended:
Submitting Motions and Topics of
Discussion for the Conference.
Due no later than October 15.
Please use this form (also found
on the Conference page of the
A.R.T.S. website)
Step Eight Study Workshops:
Step
Eight Study Workshops will be held
on October 18 and 19. (The
workshop is held twice to
accommodate a variety of time
zones.) This is not a closed group;
you may participate at any time to
find out what the Step might do to
help. For more details and to
register:
A.R.T.S. Step 8 Study Workshop.
The link is also on the
News page of the website.
Sunday Step Study Workshop –
Step Four: Step Four
will be covered on Sunday,
October 27, 8 am GMT/9 am CET/7 pm
AEDT.
Click here to register.
(This is not a closed group; you
may participate to find out what the
Step might do to help.) The link is
also on the
News page of the website.
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For 2024: Writings on the
A.R.T.S. Steps
While the Twelve Traditions
guide us in the primary purpose
of A.R.T.S. Anonymous, the
Twelve Steps guide us to recover
our inspiration and joy in
expressing our creativity. What
better way to celebrate 2024
than with a focus on the Steps
that corresponds with each of
the twelve months. Below is one
member’s contribution on Step
Ten.
November’s Newsletter welcomes
your response to Step
11: Sought through prayer and
meditation to improve our
conscious contact with God
as we understood Him,
praying only for knowledge of
His will for us, and the power
to carry that out.
The following series of
questions are suggested as a
guide when writing a response.
What does Step 11 mean
to you?
How do you feel about
Step 11?
How might Step 11 free
your creative expression?
It will be wonderful to receive
your thoughts, feelings, and
application of Step 11. Please
send your response to the
editors at
newsletter@artsanonymous.org
for possible publication.
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Step Ten – A Personal
Response
Step 10: Continued to take
personal inventory and when we
were wrong promptly admitted it.
For several years, I have been
working with a tenth step
partner. We talk almost every
day at the same time, 6 pm. We
take turns calling each other
and answering five questions
which we change every once in a
while, but whatever we use helps
facilitate being accountable for
our days and allows us to follow
each other’s lives giving and
receiving feedback.
Currently the questions, culled
from different programs,
although we are both artists,
include; What did you do today?
Were you critical of yourself?
What did you do that was loving
for yourself today? Did you have
a spiritual experience? What
would you have done differently?
Did you do anything out of fear?
What are you grateful for?
Many times, art comes up in
these conversations in terms of
reporting what we did, and how
self-criticism might have gotten
in our way. Since we know we
will be reporting on this, our
awareness of the internal critic
that might raise its ugly voice
is contained and put away for
later so freeing us for
creativity in the day.
Creativity might be released by
the structure steering us clear
from spiraling self-doubt.
Answering what we were afraid of
may include discussing our fears
of getting into, succeeding at
or failing on a project. Or not
having success at a booth or a
show. What we are grateful for
may include gratitude for
positive feedback or sales of
our art.
Taking an inventory of my day,
every day, assures me the
benefit of tapping into the flow
as I live my life and make my
art. I hope you can find the
same.
-
Batya, Virginia USA
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the maze – karsten
there is this man in his maze.
he looks around, all he can see
is grey concrete-like walls
surrounding him.
(gladly there is even enough
light in the maze to see
anything at all ;)
to the left,
to the right,
behind him,
before him,
maze.
above – just a little light
coming from somewhere down thru
the endless walls.
he is not at all surprised,
he is used to it,
he feels familiar,
he feels at home in his maze.
"the maze is all i know!" he
thinks.
he walks around some random
corners and changes direction at
some crossroads as he gets more
familiar with touch and the
smell and the sight of the walls
surrounding himself.
he wanders around
and around
and around
and around
and around,
Endlessly.
To
view the complete poem, click
each page one by one in order
[page 1]
[page 2]
[page 3]
[page 4]
[page 5]
[page 6]
[page 7]
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Resources for A.R.T.S.
Anonymous Meetings
Many of us are aware that the
primary purpose of any group,
meeting or service entity in
A.R.T.S. Anonymous is stated in
Tradition 5: Our
primary purpose is to carry the
message to the artist who still
struggles. The
artist who still struggles can
include those in meetings as
well as those who are yet to
find that which has helped so
many of us discover and express
our creativity.
Although groups are autonomous,
they are only so “except
in matters affecting other
groups or A.R.T.S. as a whole”
(Tradition 4). Over the
decades, and up to recently,
materials and resources have
been developed in response to
the needs of the meetings to
provide a message that is
consistent with the whole of
A.R.T.S. Anonymous. As far as
can be determined at this time,
many of these materials have
been approved by the Fellowship
through the annual meeting of
the World Service Conference.
In
1985, Alcoholics Anonymous, the
originating Fellowship of the
Twelve Steps and Twelve
Traditions, permitted A.R.T.S.
Anonymous to adapt them for its
own use. Unless a change is
approved by the meetings, they
remain the same.
The Twelve Steps and Twelve
Traditions of A.R.T.S. Anonymous
can be found on the
website here..
They are also found in the
Basic Pamphlet
on
the website. (Both are
downloadable).
In
2022, a Conference Charter and
Concepts of Service were
approved by the World Service
Conference. Recently, a set of
the A.R.T.S. Tools was updated
and approved by the 2023 World
Service Conference. This coming
2025 World Service Conference
will see recommended updates to
the Twelve Traits and the Twelve
Talents. Using any other
“versions” of the Steps,
Traditions, Traits, Talents and
Tools risks affecting other
groups or A.R.T.S as a whole.
At one point a wise member put
together a publication called,
“A.R.T.S.
Meeting Basics”
which gives meetings many other
resources. These include a
generic meeting format, a
cross-talk statement to help
create safety in the meetings,
an A.R.T.S. Preamble and the
A.R.T.S. Closing Prayer. This
manual was recently updated and
can be found on the
Meeting page of the website
at
the bottom, or as a download
using
this link.
How
is your meeting doing? Might it
benefit from using the materials
and resources available to the
wider Fellowship? Is your
meeting using A.R.T.S.’ Steps,
Traditions and Tools?
One last thought:
There are several
meetings that have chosen to
have meeting formats posted on
the website. By including a link
to your group’s meeting format,
access can be provided to anyone
in your meeting and shared with
other meetings around the world.
Perhaps your meeting can
consider having its format
posted on the A.R.T.S. website?
If so, please email it to
officemanager@artsaonymous.org.
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Tribute to the Sharathon
Committee
Oh Oh Oh Oh
Hold your breath
In a few seconds.
It's going to happen
Are you ready?
We are all waiting here
behind the screen
Restless on our chairs
To be heard and seen
Who wants to come first?
Today we won't hide
Our fan club encourage us
by stating loudly, these words
coming from deep down
"Hurray" "Hurray"
"Please stay"
The floor is open
It's your turn
Step forward and we promise
You will get one day your award
Look at us
We creative souls
How we share our best
With you and you and you
Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh
don't miss the show
stay and bow
so we can grow
in this Marathon
of a Sharathon
- Anonymous A.R.T.S member
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World Service Conference
Updates
Most of the Information provided
below is also on the
Conference page of the
A.R.T.S. Website!
Dates of the next World
Service Conference: January 10,
11, 17 and 18, 2025.
Start and end times are still to
be determined.
Submitting Motions and
Topics of Discussion for the
Conference: (Deadline Extended).
If there is something that needs
to be brought or discussed at
the Conference,
please use this form to submit
it.
It
is due no later than
October 15 in order to
give the Motions and Topics
Review Committee time to make
sure it is ready for the
Conference. There are guidelines
included on the form.
Conference Planning
Meetings: Saturday, October 19
and Saturday November 16.
Decisions need to be
made about what happens at the
next World Service Conference in
January 2025.
Register for the Zoom here for
October 19.
Beginning at: 12noon
PT/1 pm MT/3 pm ET/20.00 BST/21.00
CEST/22.00 MSK/6 am AEDT (the
next day). All
interested members are welcome
to attend, Meeting Delegates
and/or alternates are
particularly needed, as
Delegates have a vote and a
quorum is needed.
Here is the Agenda for
October 19th
Service Needed in
Support of the Conference as it
is happening: Zoom Technical
Support People, “Scribes”,
Security Service. Two
to three volunteers for each
position is ideal so that this
can be done around people’s
schedules and time zones. Please
see [insert link here once the
post is created on the website]
for job descriptions. Email
conference@artsanonymous.org
to
sign up, ask questions, or
schedule a training.
Conference Chair and
Conference Vice Chair:
A willing and able
Trusted Servant is needed to
Chair the World Service
Conference after this upcoming
Conference. Rotation of
Service is a valued principle of
service in order for all to have
the benefit of growth and
creative recovery. After January
2025 Matt B. will have served as
Conference Chair for three
consecutive Conferences. It is
time for him to pass it on.
The Vice Chair position
is newly created, for one-year
terms. Elections will
be held at the end of the
Conference in January. More
information can be found here on
the website [insert link here
once the post is created on the
website], or by emailing
conference@artsanonymous.org.
Please email
officemanager@artsanonymous.org,
chair@artsanonymous.org
or
board@artsanonymous.org
to
find out more about any of these
service opportunities.
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