Wednesday, August 8, 2007

Sharing Format during meetings

We follow the CLA Meeting Code of Conduct, to protect the safety, respect and anonymity of all present. The words you hear today are spoken in confidence and should be treated as confidential. This is a place to share our feelings, experience and recovery without fear of gossip, retaliation, or our anonymity being broken. If you don’t get a chance to share, please talk with someone after the meeting.

Timing: We time shares (at 3 or 4 minutes depending on attendance) to give everyone equal opportunity to share if they choose.

Content: We open with “My name is _________ and I am a compulsive clutterer.

My recovery action last week was to ___________

My results_______________

My commitment for next week is ____________

We keep the focus on ourselves using “I” statements rather than “you” or “they” statements.

We encourage “positive pitches” which are about an experience that has helped you to grow, given you a new level of awareness, and a sense of recovery rather than your backstory or history.

We do NOT cross-talk which we define as speaking during another’s share, asking questions, interrupting, side conversations, criticisms, giving advice or referencing another person’s share. Please refrain from promoting or discussing any other approaches to the problems of cluttering during the meeting to keep the focus on YOUR experience, strength and hope.

THE MEETING IS NOW OPEN FOR SHARING. Sharing is voluntary and optional. Please let the secretary know when you are moved to share.

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Berkeley Clutterers Anonymous

You are cordially invited to join us in person!
North Berkeley Clutterers Anonymous Meeting

Monday evening 7:15-8:30 PM

Tuesday morning
10:00 AM sharp until 11:15 AM

Epworth United Methodist Church
1953 Hopkins Street
Berkeley, Ca 94707

Directions to Epworth:
Epworth United Methodist Church is located at 1953 Hopkins Street at Napa Avenue, near the south portal of the Solano Avenue tunnel.

By Public Transit:

AC Transit local routes 43, 9, and 7 stop at the corner of Hopkins and Sutter (Shattuck Avenue), near the south portal of the Solano Avenue tunnel. (Route FS provides TransBay service, weekday commute hours only.)

From there, it's a one-block downhill walk to the church. Route
15 stops at the corner of Hopkins and The Alameda (MLK Jr. Way), near the North Berkeley Branch Library. Walk uphill on Hopkins past Milvia - the church will be on your left.

Transfer to the 43, 9, and 7 buses at the Berkeley BART station. (Route 9 no longer stops at North Berkeley BART.)

On Your Bike:

The northern end of the Milvia Street Bicycle Boulevard intersects Hopkins Street, just a block from the church.

From Major Highways:

From the Eastshore Freeway (I-80) take the Gilman Street exit and continue eastward until Gilman intersects with Hopkins. Turn left and proceed uphill on Hopkins. You'll pass Monterey Foods, MLK Middle School, and the North Berkeley Branch Library on the way.

From Highway 24, take the Tunnel Road exit, and proceed west on Ashby Avenue to Martin Luther King, Jr. Way. Turn right on MLK, drive north for about two miles, then right again on Hopkins.

First Tuesday of the Month: Business Meeting
Second Tuesday: Speaker Meeting
Third, Fourth, Fifth Tuesdays: CLA Literature

Our blog at http://berkcla.blogspot.com/ exists to achieve the goal of the 5th Traditon: "Each group has but one primary purpose; to carry its message to the person who still suffers."

We have a Google Group for email discussions!
Group email

Google Group
http://groups.google.com/group/berkeley-clutterers-anonymous

Isolation and shame are two major factors from which many clutterers suffer. Sometimes it takes a long time to really see improvements in our physical clutter and our thinking. We welcome you! You are taking a bold step forward and you are not alone! Remember: Progress, not perfection! The information posted here, the tools, readings, phone meetings and resources support us all in our process to recovering from cluttering.