A.R.T.S. Anonymous Format for Sunday Morning Phone Meeting  (Word version)

A.R.T.S. Sunday Morning Format            10AM Eastern Standard Time

712-432-3900   911906#  

[NOTE:  items in Italics are not to be read, just instructions for the leader]

Welcome to the Sunday Morning Literature Discussion Meeting of A.R.T.S. Anonymous.  My name is  . . . . . .       I am a . . . . . .     I will be your meeting secretary for today.

Would those of you who wish to, please join me silently while I say the Serenity Prayer:  God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things that I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

A.R.T.S. anonymous is a fellowship of artists who share their experience, strength and hope with each other so that they may recover from their common problem and to help others to surrender to their creativity.  We hope that you will find everything here that you need in order to make your A.R.T.S. experience rich and rewarding.

A.R.T.S. Vision:  A.R.T.S. Anonymous envisions a world where each individual’s creativity is cherished as innate, unique and divinely given.  The sacred responsibility of sharing our gifts inspires the best in people and is vital to a world of joy, abundance and love.

A.R.T.S. Mission:  Artists Recovering Through the Twelve Steps, A.R.T.S., is a diverse creative community that supports individuals in overcoming challenges blocking their artistic expression.  Through weekly meetings, ArtShares, artist-to-artist fellowship, an annual international convention, literature and a 12-step structure, we establish a safe haven in which to explore, take risks and celebrate the many facets of our creativity.

A.R.T.S. Attitudes:  These are the guidelines for sharing and meeting etiquette:

1. We follow the time structure of the meeting, restricting our sharing to the limits determined by the group conscience.

2. We do not name drop.  We are not here to impress, to compete or to compare.  We maintain the tradition of anonymity in all of our sharing.

3. In speaking, we share our own experience, strength and hope.  We do not judge, criticize or argue.

4. We foster an attitude of unconditional respect for each individual’s creativity.

At this time we will now go around the globe to introduce ourselves by pressing *7 to un-mute yourself and then giving us your first name, your geographic location and your artistic activity.  When you have finished introducing yourself, please press *6 to re-mute yourself.

Are there anymore introductions?

Would someone please read the Twelve Steps of A.R.T.S. Anonymous?

The 12 Steps of A.R.T.S. Anonymous:

1. We admitted that we were powerless over our creativity - that our lives had become unmanageable.

2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.

4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.

6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all of these defects of character.

7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.

8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.

9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.

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

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.

12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to artists, and to practice these principles in all of our affairs.

Would someone please read the tradition of the month and also the twelfth tradition?

The 12 Traditions of A.R.T.S. Anonymous:

1. Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon A.R.T.S. unity.

2. For our group purpose there is but one ultimate authority:  a loving god as He may express Himself in our group conscience. Our leaders are but trusted servants; they do not govern.

3. The only requirement for A.R.T.S. membership is a desire to identify and to express our creativity.

4. Each group should be autonomous except in matters affecting other groups or A.R.T.S. as a whole.

5. Each group has but one primary purpose:  to carry its message to the artist who still suffers.

6. An A.R.T.S. group ought never endorse, finance, or lend its name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property and prestige divert us from our primary purpose.

7. Every A.R.T.S. group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions.

8. A.R.T.S. should remain forever non-professional, but our service centers may employ special workers.

9. A.R.T.S., as such, ought never be organized: but we may create service boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve.

10. A.R.T.S. has no opinion on outside issues; hence the A.R.T.S. name ought never be drawn into public controversy.

11. Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we need always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio and film.

12. Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities.

[Please note that the 12 Steps and the 12 Traditions of Alcoholic Anonymous are copyrighted and are adapted expressly to A.R.T.S. Anonymous with the permission of Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.]

Would someone please read the A.R.T.S. Talents?

The Twelve Talents for a better life, recovery through A.R.T.S. Anonymous: (as written and copyrighted by A.R.T.S. Anonymous Inc.)

1. I grow in an atmosphere of affirmation and conviction that artistic expression is essential to my existence and is part of my unique contribution to the world.

2. I realize any given day is an opportunity to express my creativity, or to plan an artistic endeavor.

3. I turn my life and my art over to my Higher Power, recognizing that without the aid of that mystic force, I am lost.  I immerse myself in my art, refusing to be diverted from my creativity by any destructive compulsions, and invest myself in a lifestyle that nurtures my creativity.

4. Being true to my inner self, I strive to maintain a balance in the significant areas of my life, focusing on becoming physically fit, financially stable, socially fulfilled, lovingly engaged in relationships, and involved with my family, while growing spiritually and expressing myself creatively.

5. Seeing the tapes of societal myths that play in my head for what they are, I release them, realizing that I, as an individual, have something unique to contribute and that, with the help of my Higher Power, I have what it takes to express that something.

6. I rejoice in the success of other artists and find myself encouraged that I, too, will find fulfillment through my creativity.

7. I am committed to my art, and pursue avenues that may lead to my ability to earn a living by means of my creativity.  I explore methods of determining the monetary value of my art, recognizing that I am living in a world where money is an exchange of value necessary to my survival.

8. As my art becomes more and more real to me, I enthusiastically follow my dreams.  I feel entitled to my right work and deserving of the happiness that my right work will bring to me.

9. With the help of my Higher Power, I hold myself responsible for fully developing and realizing my talent, that god-given inspiration within me, which can give me the freedom and joy I deeply desire.

10. Being multi-talented, I explore each of my abilities, together or at different times, taking joy in the fluidity with which I move from one to the other.  Each ability is a facet of my true artistic visions, and each contributes to the whole.

11. I let go, aware that the process itself is a learning experience, and may well prove more fruitful than the results of the project.  Time and the outcome are in God’s hands, not mine, and I bless each day that I am given to pursue my art.

12. Trusting my intuition and artistic instinct, I am aware of myself as a channel for the infinite creative process.  Deeply grateful for my part in the expression of creative energy, I offer my art as a gift to be share.

Would someone please read the A.R.T.S. tools?

The A.R.T.S. Tools:

We use our tools to work the A.R.T.S. program and to bring our art into the realm of reality.  These positive disciplines are essential for us to live everyday as the artist we are.

AFFIRMATIONS:   We identify ourselves as the artists that we are, My name is . . . . . . . and I am a  . . . . . . .    This and other positive statements affirm our commitment and offset old invalidating tapes.

MEETINGS:  We attend meetings to learn how the program works.  We share our experience, strength and hope with each other.

STEPS:  We work the Twelve Steps of A.R.T.S. Anonymous.

ABSTINENCE:  We abstain from the compulsions which divert us from using our creative energy productively.

DAILY ACTION:  We find a way to express, or at least nurture, our creativity in every 24 hour time period, accepting what we can do now, beginning each new day where we are that day.

ART BUDDY:  An art buddy is a helpmate in recovery, someone we speak with daily in order to turn over what we have done or will do for our art today.  This is an important step for many newcomers and worth the effort.  Our art buddy may be someone in our field or in a different one.

TELEPHONE:  We use the phone to maintain contact and to share our feelings with members of the fellowship between meetings.  Talking on the phone helps both artists.

BOOKENDING:  We bookend by making calls before and after actions for our art.  Verbalizing our thought and feelings clarifies our course of action and allows us to move through the process.

ACTION GROUPS:  We form mutual support groups of fellowship members to help each other to develop an action plan and to follow it through.

ACTION PLAN:  This is our personal roadmap for recovery.  It includes specific actions to take for the development of our art and of ourselves as artists.  It may also include a plan for realizing our professional aspirations and for achieving balance in the significant areas of our lives.

Creative Inventory: We take a written inventory of our artistic efforts and accomplishments since childhood. We also make a list of our creative goals, what we want to do in our art.

Prayer and Meditation: We work out 11th. Step, seeking "through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, as we understand Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out." We ask to become channels for God's infinite creative process.

LITERAURE:  We use A.R.T.S. literature.  We use A.A. and other Twelve Step Program literature.  We use inspirational material from many sources.

SERVICE:  We give service to the fellowship through holding office and participating in committee work; by replacing chairs and doing cleanup detail.  Service expands our commitment to our A.R.T.S. recovery.  Putting the common welfare of the fellowship before our own needs helps us maintain a humble spirit and heals us from grandiosity, low self-esteem, isolation and self-indulgence.  It teaches us how to work with others, compromise, lead and work through problems.  A.R.T.S. could not exist without the service of its members.

ANONYMITY:  We practice anonymity by respecting the confidential nature of members’ sharing.  Who and what we see and hear at meetings is not repeated outside the meeting.  We also maintain anonymity on the level of press, radio and TV.

The format of this meeting is an A.R.T.S. literature study meeting.

Week #1 focus is a selected pamphlet from the A.R.T.S. literature.

Week #2 focus is on the A.R.T. S. Traits.

Week #3 focus is on the A.R.T.S. Tools.

Week #4 focus is the step of the month out of the 12 and 12 of A.A.

Week #5 is an Artist qualification.

There is a business meeting at 30 minutes after the hour until 50 minutes after the hour i.e. 20 minutes is allowed for the business meeting which occurs on the last week of the month.

This is Week #___ of the month so today our focus will be:___.

We will read 3 paragraphs of the selected pamphlet, trait, tool or step of the month and then 3 people will have the opportunity to share for 3 minutes each.

Do we have a spiritual timekeeper for today?

Please acknowledge the one minute warning by the spiritual timekeeper to wrap up and then please do wrap up your speaking so that you are completely done and ready to re-mute yourself by pressing *6 when the timekeeper calls time at 3 minutes.  If you are not the one acknowledged by the meeting leader to share, please press *6 to mute yourself from the line so that we can have a serene meeting.

[Note: Announce the reading for the meeting and begin reading the first 3 paragraphs after which 3 persons can share for 3 minutes each.  Continue this process until 10 minutes to the top of the hour (50 minutes past the beginning hour) and then STOP for announcements.]

Based on a group conscience, if you have shared in past week, please allow others to share first. Who would like to share first?

[At 10 minutes to the top of the hour]:  That is all the time that we have for sharing.  The announcements, etc. should take no more than 5 minutes so that there is 5 minutes left for commitments and goals to be stated by participants prior to reading the closing statement.

Announcements:  We are self supporting through our own contributions.  Please send your donations to:  A.R.T.S. Anonymous, PO box 230175, New York, N.Y.  10023

For anyone desiring to order A.R.T.S. literature, please check the website:  www.artsanonymous.org or call 212-873-7075.

Are there any other announcements pertaining to A.R.T.S. Anonymous?

Will the Business Meeting Secretary/Recorder announce any vacant service positions?

If you would like to get the telephone number of someone in the meeting, you may call out the name of that person now so that this person may consider staying on the phone line after the serenity prayer.

I want to thank the readers: . . . . . . . . . Thank the spiritual timekeeper: . . . . . 

I would like to welcome any newcomers to the meeting.  Is there anyone new to A.R.T.S.?  Please stay around for fellowship after the meeting.

[At 5 minutes to the top of the hour (at 55 minutes past the hour)]:

It is now time for all on the phone line who wish to speak to state your gratitude or to state your request to your Higher Power in one BRIEF statement.  The time remaining is a total of 4.5 minutes.

Closing:

In closing, I would like to say that no matter how distanced we feel from our art, no matter how long it has been since we were in touch with our creative spirit, no matter how feeble may seem our creative impulses, they are reawakening in our Higher Power’s time, through this program and through our actions, one day at a time.  I may not be able to see my own growth or even to see my creations as beautiful but I am able to see yours as inspiring and enriching my emotional, spiritual and physical world.  We are not recovering merely to hide our light under a bushel; our creative gifts are a gift.  To celebrate them we humbly apply ourselves, sometimes to the work of art, sometimes to play.  May A.R.T.S. Anonymous teach us that our art, celebrated, will benefit our own souls first, and the world’s second, for the world hungers as much for this beauty as for food.  We meet here together to feed this deeper hunger.

Please now join me silently while I say the Serenity Prayer:

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

Updated: 7 March 2010
The 12 Traits of an unmanageable life before recovery through A.R.T.S. Anonymous:

1. We grew up in an atmosphere of emotional invalidation which resulted in ambivalence about our artistic expression.

2. In any given twenty-four hour period we find ways, consciously or unconsciously, to avoid doing that which gives us the most joy – expressing our creativity.

3. We have withdrawn from our art by investing ourselves in lifestyles, relationships and work activities incompatible with our artistic purpose.  Our creative energy has often been diverted into destructive compulsions toward alcohol, food, sex, money, drugs, gambling and preoccupation with the past.

4. We have made needless sacrifices for our art and yet are afraid to make the necessary sacrifices.  We are unable to balance the significant areas of our live – physical, financial, social, love, family, spiritual and creative.

5. Self-defeating thoughts and societal myths turn in our heads:  It’s too late - - I’m too old - - I’m not ready - - I am not enough - - Art is not practical - - Artists are neurotic - - You’ll starve.  We have accepted these as true when, in fact, they are not.

6. We have felt intimidated by other artists’ successes.  Jealousy, envy, fear, self-pity, perfectionism, resentment and other character defects block our creative expression.

7. We stand always on the edge of a beginning, afraid of commitment.  Fearful of pursuing our creativity as a means of earning a living, we get caught in the avoidant syndrome.  The concept of supporting ourselves through our art has seemed overwhelming.  We are unable to determine the monetary market value of our art.

8. We have thought of our art as divorced from reality, denying ourselves the right to follow our dream.  We forget that artists are entitled to their right work and deserve the happiness and success that right work brings.

9. We deny our responsibility to fully develop and realize our talent.  We do not feel worthy of the success we achieve or desire.  We feel like a fraud.

10. Being multi-talented, we have difficulty discerning our true artistic vision, making a commitment to it and establishing the priorities to fulfill it.

11. We have difficulty following through on projects and frequently sabotage our efforts.  We want to work at our art but do not know how.  We become impatient with the process, forgetting that the results come in God’s time, not ours.  Our time is unmanageable.

12. We have been afraid of our creative energy and have mistrusted our creative instincts.  Lacking spiritual awareness, we have not seen ourselves as channels for the infinite creative process.  Our art is a gift to be shared.

Please note that all A.R.T.S. Anonymous readings are under copyright and can not be duplicated or translated or altered in anyway without the express permission of A.R.T.S. Anonymous, Inc.