Narcotics Anonymous Message Board

Dave R · Dave R

"We examine our actions, reactions, and motives. We often find that weve been doing better than we've been feeling."Basic Text, p.43=The way we treat others often reveals our own state of being. When we are at peace, we're most likely to treat others with respect and compassion. However, when we...

Dave R · Dave R

"The steps offer a big change from a life dominated by guilt and remorse. Our futures are changed because we don't have to avoid those who we have harmed. As a result... we receive a new freedom that can end isolation." Basic Text, p. 39=Many of us come to Narcotics Anonymous full of regrets about our p...

Dave R · Dave R

"These defects grow in the dark and die in the light of exposure."Basic Text, p.32=The Fifth Step asks us to share our true nature with God, with ourselves, and with another human being. It doesn't encourage us to tell everyone every little secret about ourselves. It doesn't ask us to disclose to th...

Dave R · Dave R

"Change from self-destructive patterns of life became necessary."Basic Text, p. 15=Active addiction is a smoldering death-wish. Each of us courted death every time we used. Our lifestyles, too, put us at risk. The life of an addict is sold cheaply with every day and every dose.In recovery, the...

Dave R · Dave R

"We continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it."Step Ten=A daily Tenth Step keeps us on a sound spiritual footing. While each member asks different questions, some questions have been found to be helpful to almost everyone. Two key Tenth Step questions are,...

Dave R · Dave R

"We are achieving freedom from the wreckage of our past."Basic Text, p. 42=When we start the Ninth Step, we've reached an exciting stage in our recovery. The damage done in our lives is what led many of us to seek help in the first place. Now, we have a chance to clean up that wreckage, amend our past,...

Dave R · Dave R

"We learn to be careful of praying for specific things."Basic Text, p. 46=In our active addiction, we usually did not pray for knowledge of God's will for us and the power to carry it out. On the contrary, most of our prayers were for God to get us out of the mess we had made for ourselves. We expected mir...

Dave R · Dave R

"Before we got clean, most of our actions were guided by impulse. Today, we are not locked into this type of thinking."Basic Text, p. 90=Life is a series of decisions, actions, and consequences. When we were using, our decisions were usually driven by our disease, resulting in self-destruct...

Dave R · Dave R

"We recognize our spiritual growth when we are able to reach out and help others."Basic Text, p. 58=To make a difference in the world, to contribute something special, is perhaps the highest aspiration of the human heart. Each one of us, no matter what our personal makeup, has a unique quality to off...

Dave R · Dave R

"Our friendships become deep, and we experience the warmth and caring which results from addicts sharing recovery and a new life." IP No. 19, Self-Acceptance=Most of us come to Narcotics Anonymous with few genuine friends. And most of us arrive without the slightest understanding of what it tak...

Dave R · Dave R

"Often we have to face some type of crisis during our recovery, such as the death of a loved one..."Basic Text, p. 102=Every life has a beginning and an end. However, when someone we love a great deal reaches the end of their life, we may have a very hard time accepting their sudden, final absence. Our...

Dave R · Dave R

"We apply effort to our most obvious problems and let go of the rest. We do the job at hand and, as we progress, new opportunities for improvement present themselves."Basic Text, p. 56=It's been said that recovery is simple--all we've got to change is everything! That can seem a pretty tall order,...

kitty doyle · kitty doyle

It's been awhile but as I remember my life changing day (22 years ago today) I can't help but think of all of you and how much you all helped me when I needed it most! Your kindness, your tremendous listening skills and of of course your amazing insight! Excited to report that my son is also still sober sinc...

Dave R · Dave R

"The way to remain a productive, responsible member of society is to put our recovery first."Basic Text, p. 106=The meetings have been great! Each night we've attended, we've gathered with other addicts to share experience, strength, and hope. And each day, weve used what weve learned in the mee...

Dave R · Dave R

"A symptom of our disease is alienation, and honest sharing will free us to recover."Basic Text, p. 83=Truth connects us to life while fear, isolation, and dishonesty alienate us from it. As using addicts, we hid as much of the truth about ourselves from as much of the world as we possibly could. Our...

Dave R · Dave R

"We found that we do not recover physically, mentally, or spiritually overnight." Basic Text, p. 27 = Have you ever approached a recovery celebration with the feeling that you should be further along in your recovery than you are? Maybe you have listened to newcomers sharing in meeti...

Dave R · Dave R

"We don't have to settle for the limitations of the past. We can examine and reexamine our old ideas." Basic Text, p. 11 = Most of us come to the program with a multitude of self-imposed limitations that prevent us from realizing our full potential, limitations that impede our attempts...

Dave R · Dave R

"By giving unconditional love...we become more loving, and by sharing spiritual growth we become more spiritual." Basic Text, p.103=Most of us have one or two exceptionally difficult people in our lives. How do we deal with such a person in our recovery?First, we take our own inventory. Have we w...

Dave R · Dave R

"Through active listening, we hear things that work for us." Basic Text, pp. 106-107=Most of us arrived in Narcotics Anonymous with a very poor ability to listen. But to take full advantage of the therapeutic value of one addict helping another, we must learn to listen actively.What is active list...

Dave R · Dave R

Most of us pray when we are hurting. We learn that if we pray regularly, we wont be hurting as often or as intensely. Basic Text, p. 44 = Regular prayer and meditation are two more key elements in our new pattern of living. Our active addiction was more than just a bad habit waiting to be broken by force...

Dave R · Dave R

August 9 The Power of love "We begin to see that God's love has been present all the time, just waiting for us to accept it." Basic Text, p. 46 = God's love is the transforming power that drives our recovery. With that love, we find freedom from the hopeless, desperate cycle of using, self-ha...

Dave R · Dave R

August 8 Responsible recovery...we accept responsibility for our problems and see that were equally responsible for our solutions. Basic Text, p. 94 = Some of us, well accustomed to leaving our personal responsibilities to others, may attempt the same behavior in recovery. We quickly find out i...

Dave R · Dave R

August 7 The gratitude listWe focus on anything that isnt going our way and ignore all the beauty in our lives. Basic Text, p. 77 = Its easy to be grateful when everything runs smoothly. If we get a raise at work, were grateful. If we get married, were grateful. If someone surprises us with a nice prese...

Dave R · Dave R

"Since the beginning of our recovery, we have found that joy doesn't come from material things but from within ourselves."Basic Text, p. 107=Some of us came to Narcotics Anonymous impoverished by our disease. Everything we'd owned had been lost to our addiction. Once we got clean, we put all our e...

Dave R · Dave R

"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 people like us. Many of us have l...

Dean · Dean

Another trip around the sun, very blessed and grateful to be here and be clean. Thanks for keeping the light on for me.

Dave R · Dave R

By shaping our thoughts with spiritual ideals, we are freed to become who we want to be.Basic Text, p. 105=Addiction shaped our thoughts in its own way. Whatever their shape may once have been, they became misshapen once our disease took full sway over our lives. Our obsession with drugs and self...

Dave R · Dave R

"Addicts tend to live secret lives...It is a great relief to get rid of all our secrets and to share the burden of our past."Basic Text, p. 33 = We've heard it said that "were as sick as our secrets." What do we keep secret, and why? We keep secret those things that cause us shame. We may hold onto s...

Dave R · Dave R

"When we feel trapped or pressured, it takes great spiritual and emotional strength to be honest." Basic Text, p. 81 = Many of us try to wiggle out of a difficult spot by being dishonest, only to have to humble ourselves later and tell the truth. Some of us twist our stories as a matter of co...

Dave R · Dave R

"Our addiction enslaved us. We were prisoners of our own mind and were condemned by our own guilt."Basic Text, p. 7=Guilt is one of the most commonly encountered stumbling blocks in recovery. One of the more notorious forms of guilt is the self-loathing that results when we try to forgive ourselve...

Topic		Started By	Replies	Views	Last Post
	JFT August 30 Doing good, feeling good (Preview) "We examine our actions, reactions, and motives. We often find that weve been doing better than we've been feeling."Basic Text, p.43=The way we treat others often reveals our own state of being. When we are at peace, we're most likely to treat others with respect and compassion. However, when we...	Dave R	1	637	Aug 30, 2017 by Dave R
	JFT August 29 Don't look back (Preview) "The steps offer a big change from a life dominated by guilt and remorse. Our futures are changed because we don't have to avoid those who we have harmed. As a result... we receive a new freedom that can end isolation." Basic Text, p. 39=Many of us come to Narcotics Anonymous full of regrets about our p...	Dave R	1	584	Aug 29, 2017 by Dave R
	JFT August 28 The light of exposure (Preview) "These defects grow in the dark and die in the light of exposure."Basic Text, p.32=The Fifth Step asks us to share our true nature with God, with ourselves, and with another human being. It doesn't encourage us to tell everyone every little secret about ourselves. It doesn't ask us to disclose to th...	Dave R	1	616	Aug 28, 2017 by Dave R
	JFT August 27 Choosing life (Preview) "Change from self-destructive patterns of life became necessary."Basic Text, p. 15=Active addiction is a smoldering death-wish. Each of us courted death every time we used. Our lifestyles, too, put us at risk. The life of an addict is sold cheaply with every day and every dose.In recovery, the...	Dave R	1	635	Aug 27, 2017 by Dave R
	JFT August 26 Tenth Step inventory (Preview) "We continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it."Step Ten=A daily Tenth Step keeps us on a sound spiritual footing. While each member asks different questions, some questions have been found to be helpful to almost everyone. Two key Tenth Step questions are,...	Dave R	1	509	Aug 26, 2017 by Dave R
	JFT August 25 The Ninth Step--reclaiming life (Preview) "We are achieving freedom from the wreckage of our past."Basic Text, p. 42=When we start the Ninth Step, we've reached an exciting stage in our recovery. The damage done in our lives is what led many of us to seek help in the first place. Now, we have a chance to clean up that wreckage, amend our past,...	Dave R	1	522	Aug 25, 2017 by Dave R
	JFT August 24 Seeking God's will (Preview) "We learn to be careful of praying for specific things."Basic Text, p. 46=In our active addiction, we usually did not pray for knowledge of God's will for us and the power to carry it out. On the contrary, most of our prayers were for God to get us out of the mess we had made for ourselves. We expected mir...	Dave R	1	2341	Aug 24, 2017 by Dave R
	JFT August 23 Decision-making (Preview) "Before we got clean, most of our actions were guided by impulse. Today, we are not locked into this type of thinking."Basic Text, p. 90=Life is a series of decisions, actions, and consequences. When we were using, our decisions were usually driven by our disease, resulting in self-destruct...	Dave R	1	595	Aug 23, 2017 by Dave R
	JFT August 22 Contribution (Preview) "We recognize our spiritual growth when we are able to reach out and help others."Basic Text, p. 58=To make a difference in the world, to contribute something special, is perhaps the highest aspiration of the human heart. Each one of us, no matter what our personal makeup, has a unique quality to off...	Dave R	1	3086	Aug 22, 2017 by Dave R
	JFT August 21 Friendship (Preview) "Our friendships become deep, and we experience the warmth and caring which results from addicts sharing recovery and a new life." IP No. 19, Self-Acceptance=Most of us come to Narcotics Anonymous with few genuine friends. And most of us arrive without the slightest understanding of what it tak...	Dave R	1	2596	Aug 21, 2017 by Dave R
	JFT August 20 Facing death (Preview) "Often we have to face some type of crisis during our recovery, such as the death of a loved one..."Basic Text, p. 102=Every life has a beginning and an end. However, when someone we love a great deal reaches the end of their life, we may have a very hard time accepting their sudden, final absence. Our...	Dave R	1	2753	Aug 20, 2017 by Dave R
	JFT August 19 First things first (Preview) "We apply effort to our most obvious problems and let go of the rest. We do the job at hand and, as we progress, new opportunities for improvement present themselves."Basic Text, p. 56=It's been said that recovery is simple--all we've got to change is everything! That can seem a pretty tall order,...	Dave R	1	3370	Aug 19, 2017 by Dave R
	Hello Again Everyone! (Preview) It's been awhile but as I remember my life changing day (22 years ago today) I can't help but think of all of you and how much you all helped me when I needed it most! Your kindness, your tremendous listening skills and of of course your amazing insight! Excited to report that my son is also still sober sinc...	kitty doyle	2	1967	Aug 18, 2017 by MIKEF
	JFT August 18 How long do I have to go? (Preview) "The way to remain a productive, responsible member of society is to put our recovery first."Basic Text, p. 106=The meetings have been great! Each night we've attended, we've gathered with other addicts to share experience, strength, and hope. And each day, weve used what weve learned in the mee...	Dave R	1	538	Aug 18, 2017 by Dave R
	JFT August 17 Tell the truth (Preview) "A symptom of our disease is alienation, and honest sharing will free us to recover."Basic Text, p. 83=Truth connects us to life while fear, isolation, and dishonesty alienate us from it. As using addicts, we hid as much of the truth about ourselves from as much of the world as we possibly could. Our...	Dave R	1	2307	Aug 17, 2017 by Dave R
	JFT August 15 Over time, not overnight (Preview) "We found that we do not recover physically, mentally, or spiritually overnight." Basic Text, p. 27 = Have you ever approached a recovery celebration with the feeling that you should be further along in your recovery than you are? Maybe you have listened to newcomers sharing in meeti...	Dave R	3	1460	Aug 15, 2017 by Dave R
	JFT August 14 Letting go of our limitations (Preview) "We don't have to settle for the limitations of the past. We can examine and reexamine our old ideas." Basic Text, p. 11 = Most of us come to the program with a multitude of self-imposed limitations that prevent us from realizing our full potential, limitations that impede our attempts...	Dave R	2	2695	Aug 14, 2017 by Dave R
	JFT August 13 Difficult people (Preview) "By giving unconditional love...we become more loving, and by sharing spiritual growth we become more spiritual." Basic Text, p.103=Most of us have one or two exceptionally difficult people in our lives. How do we deal with such a person in our recovery?First, we take our own inventory. Have we w...	Dave R	1	2606	Aug 13, 2017 by Dave R
	JFT August 11 Active listening (Preview) "Through active listening, we hear things that work for us." Basic Text, pp. 106-107=Most of us arrived in Narcotics Anonymous with a very poor ability to listen. But to take full advantage of the therapeutic value of one addict helping another, we must learn to listen actively.What is active list...	Dave R	2	2397	Aug 11, 2017 by Dave R
	JFT August 10 Regular prayer and meditation (Preview) Most of us pray when we are hurting. We learn that if we pray regularly, we wont be hurting as often or as intensely. Basic Text, p. 44 = Regular prayer and meditation are two more key elements in our new pattern of living. Our active addiction was more than just a bad habit waiting to be broken by force...	Dave R	2	3157	Aug 10, 2017 by Dave R
	JFT August 9 The power of love (Preview) August 9 The Power of love "We begin to see that God's love has been present all the time, just waiting for us to accept it." Basic Text, p. 46 = God's love is the transforming power that drives our recovery. With that love, we find freedom from the hopeless, desperate cycle of using, self-ha...	Dave R	2	3169	Aug 9, 2017 by Dave R
	JFT August 8 Responsible recovery (Preview) August 8 Responsible recovery...we accept responsibility for our problems and see that were equally responsible for our solutions. Basic Text, p. 94 = Some of us, well accustomed to leaving our personal responsibilities to others, may attempt the same behavior in recovery. We quickly find out i...	Dave R	3	2545	Aug 8, 2017 by Dave R
	JFT August 7 The gratitude list (Preview) August 7 The gratitude listWe focus on anything that isnt going our way and ignore all the beauty in our lives. Basic Text, p. 77 = Its easy to be grateful when everything runs smoothly. If we get a raise at work, were grateful. If we get married, were grateful. If someone surprises us with a nice prese...	Dave R	3	3381	Aug 7, 2017 by Dave R
	JFT August 6 The joy within (Preview) "Since the beginning of our recovery, we have found that joy doesn't come from material things but from within ourselves."Basic Text, p. 107=Some of us came to Narcotics Anonymous impoverished by our disease. Everything we'd owned had been lost to our addiction. Once we got clean, we put all our e...	Dave R	1	639	Aug 6, 2017 by Dave R
	JFT July 15 Relations with others (Preview) "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 people like us. Many of us have l...	Dave R	2	3286	Aug 5, 2017 by Gsis
	Clean B-day (Preview) Another trip around the sun, very blessed and grateful to be here and be clean. Thanks for keeping the light on for me.	Dean	3	390	Aug 5, 2017 by Dave R
	JFT August 5 The shape of our thoughts (Preview) By shaping our thoughts with spiritual ideals, we are freed to become who we want to be.Basic Text, p. 105=Addiction shaped our thoughts in its own way. Whatever their shape may once have been, they became misshapen once our disease took full sway over our lives. Our obsession with drugs and self...	Dave R	1	3842	Aug 5, 2017 by Dave R
	JFT August 4 When is a secret not a secret? (Preview) "Addicts tend to live secret lives...It is a great relief to get rid of all our secrets and to share the burden of our past."Basic Text, p. 33 = We've heard it said that "were as sick as our secrets." What do we keep secret, and why? We keep secret those things that cause us shame. We may hold onto s...	Dave R	1	2424	Aug 4, 2017 by Dave R
	JFT August 2 Practicing honesty (Preview) "When we feel trapped or pressured, it takes great spiritual and emotional strength to be honest." Basic Text, p. 81 = Many of us try to wiggle out of a difficult spot by being dishonest, only to have to humble ourselves later and tell the truth. Some of us twist our stories as a matter of co...	Dave R	2	3337	Aug 2, 2017 by Dave R
	JFT August 1 Freedom from guilt (Preview) "Our addiction enslaved us. We were prisoners of our own mind and were condemned by our own guilt."Basic Text, p. 7=Guilt is one of the most commonly encountered stumbling blocks in recovery. One of the more notorious forms of guilt is the self-loathing that results when we try to forgive ourselve...	Dave R	1	2280	Aug 1, 2017 by Dave R
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