Week 1
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Zoom Link for the Stones 23 Workshop
Hi All,
Feel free to forward this message to anyone you think may be interested in the workshop. Use the link above to sign up for the mailing list if you want to participate.
Week 1 Recording:
https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/EC2b9AVioh70G6kN5jrgRUJ729CbZmxbUPgjnGOI8QBCTU5DWKR_o1X7SgNEXD3z.TGTGF9wP95rU0w5r Instruction for Week 1:
Prayer for This Week:
God, please enable me to set aside everything I think I know for an open mind, and a new experience.
Make two lists:
1. Things I am trying to stop doing, but can't stop.
2. Things I am trying to do that I cannot do.
Simple list, not a lot of writing. 10 or 20 things at most. This is ongoing, you can keep adding to these lists as you are going through the first step.
Get in a small group. Join a small group or host a small group. The following google doc has contact information in it (and there is more info below that was in earlier emails being copied here again for people who didn't get those emails):
Small Group Google DOC
Join Stones 23 Signal Group
Read Preface and Forewords from the Big Book (up to Doctors Opinion)
Marked up Preface and Forwards PDF:
These are the questions that came to me from what the book was saying, this is what stood out to me and what I wanted to share (this is copied from the last workshop). These are not the only questions, and certainly not the right questions to ask, but they are what was coming up for me. See what comes up for you, and please feel free to consider what I am sharing if you like.
#^https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nRS6kLtgtCvpCLorpKxHxvdObJTefxqi/view?usp=sharing Why do we use the Big Book? PDF:
#^https://drive.google.com/file/d/1THfWpoML2QEJY9BdGL3-fKlgoY6CXOjw/view?usp=sharing PDF Files Open to Be Marked Up:
Open PDF file of the preface and forwards:
#^https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cRi1nfo6QDXPzxcYBBSSW1MNlGpIrRql/view?usp=sharing Open PDF file of the Doctor's Opinion:
#^https://drive.google.com/file/d/1c7SofRllBSbPcVqhNQfiOkPM_e_RADB9/view?usp=sharing Open PDF file of Chapter 1 (Bill’s Story):
#^https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oZkcVIAnGTzEZgjgq7QapTJfx1EvH-Mr/view?usp=sharing Open PDF file of Chapter 2 (There is a Solution) Includes page 18 read at first meeting:
#^https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cXcIiE4eirEifXRhFWIqJ1JGEMcpL51W/view?usp=sharing PREVIOUS WORKSHOP INFO AND RECORDINGS:
#^https://docs.google.com/document/d/1g803YVKnUzYVPdzjpu4zyfVjzwVbSqB5TqPzZbEuRxE/edit?usp=share_link I am including the below information again for the people who have signed up since I sent the last email.
[EVERYTHING BELOW HERE IS REPEATED FROM PREVIOUS EMAIL]
Venmo and Wise:
We do have some expenses for this workshop, especially since it looks like we are going to be over 100 people in the large meetings again. My Venmo is @
Michael McKinsey. As always, the workshop is free for everyone, but if you can help with expenses/donations, please do.
#^https://www.venmo.com/u/mmc1800 I also set up a wise account for people with other currencies or in other countries where I have heard venmo is not so common:
#^https://wise.com/share/michaelfloydm Feel free to forward this email to anyone who you think might want to sign up, and if you know someone who is planning on coming to the workshop but isn't getting these emails, please help them get on this mailing list. The links to join the mailing list and the flyer are at the bottom of this message.
HOW LONG WILL THE WORKSHOP BE?
The last workshop lasted 27 weeks. We will see how this goes, and I do not have a set schedule. That is probably a good estimate. If all goes well, what we start here will continue for the rest of your life. Most of the small groups are likely going to continue to meet after the workshop ends, but that will be up to them.
CAN I MISS MEETINGS/JOIN LATE?
The large Sunday meetings will be recorded, so feel free to watch the recording to keep up if you need to miss a meeting. I would suggest doing your absolute best to pick a small group with a meeting time you can make, those meetings will be harder to make up for.
Please feel free to catch up with the recordings or invite people to join at any point. All of these workshops in the past had people joining all along and adding in. I am sure small groups of people joining late will keep forming. Don't let your schedule or availability stop you from participating.
SMALL GROUP FORMAT
For this workshop, everyone is going to be part of a small group, as well as attending the large workshop meetings on Sunday morning. The Sunday meetings are 1 hour instead of the 1.5 hour meetings in the past, and the small group will meet for an hour sometime during the week, whenever the small group decides. The Sunday morning meetings will be recorded, and the recordings will be available, so attendance at the Sunday meeting will be more optional, while the small group meeting is going to be live and interactive, so please try to attend that every week if you can.
The small group is suggested to be 6-10 people, but if your group ends up being smaller or larger than that, and the group is happy with the size, so be it. Each small group is independent, and I am only going to be making suggestions about how the small groups conduct themselves.
I am going to ask that workshop members commit to the groups they join, however, you are always free to leave a group if you are not comfortable with it for some reason and join another one or start another one. Several groups have been formed already, some are meeting in person, and some are meeting on Zoom or other online video format, some are hybrid.
PLEASE VOLUNTEER TO HOST A SMALL GROUP
If you are so inclined, please volunteer to host a group. Groups are forming from people who know each other in local areas, friends from meetings, people who all share a sponsor, etc. It might make sense for some people to be in small groups with people who are members of the same 12 step programs (CODA, AA, Alanon etc.), some groups have gender preferences, but none of that is a requirement. Please consider working out an in person live group in your area if that makes sense for you. If you are willing to host an online Zoom or Google meet group, please add it to the doc.
Google meet can have up to 100 people for an hour for free, and Zoom has free meetings up to 40 minutes. If you prefer some other format, that is fine, just include what people will need to be part of the group. I know some people will also be hosting hybrid small groups.
If you are willing to host a small group, please contact me, or just add your information to the Google doc below (anyone with the link can edit that document).
FIND A SMALL GROUP
The included Google sheets document will have a list of people you can contact who are hosting groups, it will be updated as people are willing to host groups. Many people will show up to the first workshop meeting and not be part of a group yet, so do not worry about that, we will get everyone in a group, but I wanted to let people know early, so they can get groups formed if they want to.
Join our Signal group. Signal is a messaging app which is free and works well for international texting. It is a good way to keep in touch with me also. Please join the signal group if you are willing/able to do so. It is not required for participation in the workshop.
Join Stones 23 Signal Group
HOW TO CONTACT ME
Michael McKinsey
realanswer18@gmail.com
760-475-2959
If someone is forwarding you this email, and you are not on the mailing list for the workshop, please click the link below to add your email to the list.
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Zoom Link for the Stones 23 Workshop