Buddhism and the 12 Steps - CT

Buddhism and the 12 Steps meets at 7:00 pm every Wednesday on the first
floor of the Yogasoul Bhakti Center. Free parking is available on the street or in the parking lot (ignore the signs asking for payment -- the owners have cleared it for Wednesday nights).

Meetings are free, peer-led and open to anyone seeking recovery from any type of addiction. We are not affiliated with any organization or fellowship such as Alcoholics Anonymous or Recovery Dharma, although many of us also belong to those fellowships.

Like other 12-step fellowships, the only requirement for membership is a desire to stay sober and to help other addicts to achieve sobriety. There will be no dues or fees, nor will we accept donations from outside sources — except for the space, which YogaSoul has kindly offered to let us use free of charge. All members are welcome to attend monthly business meetings where we decide democratically on service positions, changes to the format, etc.

Format: Meetings start with a round of introductions, followed by readings from a book on Buddhist approaches to recovery (usually One Breath at a Time by Kevin Griffin), after which we take turns sharing recovery-related experiences that the reading brings to mind. About once a month we have a speaker meeting where anyone celebrating an anniversary tells their story, and we present them with a special mala or charm from our friends in Nepal. The last 15 minutes are devoted to a guided meditation. Before the meetings we meet at a nearby restaurant for dinner and fellowship. Occasionally we also organize screenings of films related to Buddhism or recovery, or meet on the weekends for activities such as hiking.