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JFT July 19, 2018 Fulfilling our dreams
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Fulfilling our dreamsPage 209 "Dreams that we gave up long ago can now become realities." Basic Text, p. 71 All things begin with a dream. But how many of us fulfilled our dreams while using? Even if we managed to complete something we had started, our addiction usually robbed us of any pride in our acco...
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JFT July 18, 2018 The gift of desperation
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The gift of desperationPage 208 "Our disease always resurfaced or continued to progress until, in desperation, we sought help from each other in Narcotics Anonymous." Basic Text, p. 13 When we think of being desperate, we envision an undesirable state: a poor, bedraggled soul frantically clawin...
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JFT July 17, 2018 Using our "using dreams"
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Using our "using dreams"Page 207 "Do we fully accept the fact that our every attempt to stop using or to control our using failed?" Basic Text, p. 19 The room is dark. Your forehead is bathed in cold sweat. Your heart is racing. You open your eyes, sure that you've just blown your clean time. You've had a "...
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JFT July 16, 2018 Self-esteem
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Self-esteemPage 206 "Deep inside, I had feelings of inadequacy and inferiority." Somewhere along the way, many of us developed strong feelings of inadequacy and inferiority. Deep inside was a voice that continually cried out, "You're worthless!" Many of us learn to recognize this characterist...
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JFT July 15, 2018 Relations with others
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Relations with othersPage 205 "We made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all." Step Eight All human beings struggle with self-centeredness. The chronic self-centeredness that lies at the very core of addiction makes that struggle doubly difficult for peo...
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JFT July 12, 2018 Patience
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PatiencePage 202 "We were trapped by our need for the instant gratification that drugs gave us." Basic Text, p. 25 "I want what I want, and I want it now!" That's about as patient as most of us ever got in our active addiction. The obsession and compulsion of our disease gave us a "one-track" way of think...
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Something Special JFT
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JUST FOR TODAY I will try to live through this day only, and not tackle all my problems at once. I can do something for 12 hours that would appall me if I felt that I had to keep it up for a lifetime. Just for today I will be happy. This assumes to be true what Abraham Lincoln said, that Most folks are as happy a...
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JFT July 11, 2018 Encouragement
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EncouragementPage 201 "We share comfort and encouragement with others." Basic Text, p. 99 Many of us have watched as babies take their first steps. The mother holds the child on its feet. The father kneels nearby with outstretched arms, encouraging the little one, his face flooded with devotion. T...
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JFT July 10, 2018 A positive attitude
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A positive attitudePage 200 "That old nest of negativism followed me everywhere I went." Basic Text, p. 137 A negative attitude is the trademark of active addiction. Everything that occurred in our lives was someone or something else's fault. We had blaming others for our shortcomings down to a fin...
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JFT July 09, 2018 We do recover!
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We do recover!Page 199 "...the time has come when that tired old lie, 'Once an addict, always an addict,' will no longer be tolerated by either society or the addict himself. We do recover." Basic Text, p. 89 From time to time, we hear speakers share that they don't really understand spiritual princip...
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JFT July 08, 2018 The "g" word
(Preview)
July 08, 2018The "g" wordPage 198 "It is important for you to know that you will hear God mentioned at NA meetings. What we are referring to is a Power greater than ourselves that makes possible what seems impossible." IP No. 22, Welcome to NA Most of us come to Narcotics Anonymous with a variety of prec...
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JFT July 06, 2018 "I'm sorry"
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Sorry I've been away, don't know how long i can keep posting... "I'm sorry"Page 196 "The main thing [the Eighth Step] does for us is to help build awareness that, little by little, we are gaining new attitudes about ourselves and how we deal with other people." Basic Text, p. 39 To say "I'm sorry" proba...
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JFT July 03, 2018 Quiet time
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Quiet timePage 193 "Many of us have found that setting aside quiet time for ourselves is helpful in making conscious contact with our Higher Power." Basic Text, p. 95 Most of us pay lip-service to the value of conscious contact with a Higher Power. Yet how many of us consistently take time to improve th...
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JFT July 02, 2018 Comparing
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ComparingPage 192 "Our personal stories may vary in individual pattern, but in the end we all have the same thing in common." Basic Text, p. 87 We addicts are a varied bunch, coming from different backgrounds, having used different drugs, and recalling different experiences. Our differences don'...
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JFT July 01, 2018 A simple program
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A simple programPage 191 "The program is simply sharing, working the Twelve Steps, attending meetings, and practicing the principles of the program." Our complicated lives can be made a lot less complicated if we concentrate on a few simple things - sharing our experience, strength, and hope with...
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JFT June 29, 2018 Keeping recovery fresh
(Preview)
Keeping recovery freshPage 187 "Complacency is the enemy of members with substantial clean time. If we remain complacent for long, the recovery process ceases." Basic Text, p. 84 After the first couple of years in recovery, most of us start to feel like there are no more big deals. If we've been dilig...
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JFT June 28, 2018 Group conscience
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Group consciencePage 186 "Working with others is only the beginning of service work." Basic Text, p. 59 Service work calls for a selfless devotion to carrying the message to the still-suffering addict. But our attitude of service cannot stop there. Service also requires that we look at ourselves a...
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JFT June 27, 2018 Change and growth
(Preview)
Change and growthPage 185 "When someone points out a shortcoming, our first reaction may be defensive. There will always be room for growth." Basic Text, p. 36 Recovery is a process that brings about change in our lives. We need that change if we are to continue our growth toward freedom. It's importa...
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JFT June 26, 2018 Surrendering self-will
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Surrendering self-will Page 184"Our fears are lessened and faith begins to grow as we learn the true meaning of surrender. We are no longer fighting fear, anger, guilt, self-pity, or depression."Basic Text, p. 27Surrender is the beginning of a new way of life. When driven primarily by self-will, w...
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JFT June 25, 2018 Not just lucky
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Not just lucky Page 183"The process of coming to believe restores us to sanity. The strength to move into action comes from this belief."Basic Text, p. 25Coming to believe is a process that stems from personal experience. Each of us has this experience; all addicts who find recovery in NA have solid e...
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JFT June 24, 2018 Tolerance
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TolerancePage 182 "...ever reminding us to place principles before personalities." Tradition Twelve Sometimes it's hard to accept others' character defects. As we recover together, we not only listen to others talk in meetings, we also watch how they walk through their recovery. The more we get...
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Is there a guideline about this? Or, am I being used by others?
(Preview)
I am the treasurer for a meeting that currently does not have a GSR. My sponsor who is also the literature person for this same meeting says that since the group has no GSR that I am 'next in line' as far as going to Area meetings, buying more literature, as well as other supplies. Or, does it sound to you li...
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JFT June 22, 2018 Accepting life as it is
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Accepting life as it isPage 180 "In our recovery, we find it essential to accept reality. Once we can do this, we do not find it necessary to use drugs in an attempt to change our perceptions." Basic Text, p. 90 Drugs used to buffer us from the full force of life. When we stop using drugs and enter recovery,...
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JFT June 21, 2018 New levels of honesty
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New levels of honestyPage 179 "We have been experts at self-deception and rationalization." Basic Text, p. 28 When we come to our first meeting and hear that we must be honest, we may think, "Well now, that shouldn't be too difficult. All I have to do is stop lying." To some of us, this comes easily. We no...
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JFT June 20, 2018 Meditation for beginners
(Preview)
Meditation for beginnersPage 178 "For some, prayer is asking for God's help; meditation is listening for God's answer...Quieting the mind through meditation brings an inner peace that brings us into contact with the God within us." Basic Text, pp. 46-47 "Be patient when you're learning to medita...
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JFT June 19, 2018 A sense of humor
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A sense of humorPage 177 "We find that when we lose self-obsession, we are able to understand what it means to be happy, joyous, and free." Basic Text, p. 107 The laughter in our meetings often surprises the newcomer. As a group, we appreciate the healing that healthy laughter brings. Even if we are dee...
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JFT June 18, 2018 Indirect amends
(Preview)
Indirect amendsPage 176 "Indirect amends may be necessary where direct ones would be unsafe or endanger other people." Basic Text, p. 41 When we used, we allowed nothing to stand in the way of that next high. As a result, many of us didn't always know precisely whom we had injured, either financially o...
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JFT June 17, 2018 Walls
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WallsPage 175 "Reaching out is the beginning of the struggle that will set us free. It will break down the walls that imprison us." Basic Text, p. 83 Many of us came to NA emotionally shattered. Years of using people and allowing them to use us had taken their toll on our ability to trust anyone, ourselve...
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JFT June 15, 2018 Resistance to change
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Resistance to changePage 173 "Many of us cling to our fears, doubts, self-loathing, or hatred because there is a certain distorted security in familiar pain. It seems safer to embrace what we know than to let go of it for the unknown." Basic Text, p. 34 We have often heard it said that "when the pain of re...
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JFT June 14, 2018 Maintaining our faith
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Page 172 "If we maintain our spiritual condition daily, we find it easier to deal with the pain and confusion." Basic Text, p. 95 When we first began searching for a Power greater than ourselves, many of us got stuck in old beliefs or ideas. These ranged from the fear of a punishing or vengeful God to no be...
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