Narcotics Anonymous Message Board

Dave R · Dave R

Our real value is in being ourselves. Basic Text, p. 105 = Over and over, we have tried to live up to the expectations of those around us. We may have been raised believing that we were okay if we earned good grades in school, cleaned our rooms, or dressed a certain way. Always wanting to belong and be l...

Dave R · Dave R

When we stop living in the here and now, our problems become magnified unreasonably. Basic Text, p. 99 = Just for today--it's a comforting thought. If we try to live in the past, we may find ourselves torn by painful, disquieting memories. The lessons of our using are not the teachers we seek for r...

Dave R · Dave R

Gradually, as we become more God-centered than self-centered, our despair turns to hope. Basic Text, p. 95 = As using addicts, despair was our relentless companion. It colored our every waking moment. Despair was born of our experience in active addiction: No matter what measures we tried to m...

Dave R · Dave R

There is something in our self-destructive personalities that cries for failure. Basic Text, p. 80 = Poor me; woe is me; look at me, my life is such a mess! I've fallen, and no matter how hard I try, I continue to fail. Many of us came to NA singing this sad refrain. Life isn't like that anymore. True,...

Dave R · Dave R

It will not make us better people to judge the faults of another. Basic Text, p. 38 = How easy it is to point out the faults of others! There's a reason for this: The defects we identify most easily in others are often the defects we are most familiar with in our own characters. We may notice our best f...

Dave R · Dave R

The only suggested guidelines are that this Power be loving, caring, and greater than ourselves. We don't have to be religious to accept this idea. The point is that we open our minds to believe. Basic Text, p. 24 = In a lifelong process of coming to believe, our understanding of God will change. T...

Dave R · Dave R

Life takes on a new meaning when we open ourselves to this gift. Basic Text, p. 102 = Neglecting our recovery is like neglecting any other gift we've been given. Suppose someone gave you a new car. Would you let it sit in the driveway until the tires rotted? Would you just drive it, ignoring routin...

Dave R · Dave R

In accordance with the principles of recovery, we try not to judge, stereotype, or moralize with each other. Basic Text, p. 11 = Let's face it: In Narcotics Anonymous, we live in a glass house of sorts. Our fellow members know more about our personal lives than anyone has ever known before. They k...

Dave R · Dave R

Prayer takes practice, and we should remind ourselves that skilled people were not born with their skills. Basic Text, p. 45 = Many of us came into recovery with no experience in prayer and worried about not knowing the right words. Some of us remembered the words we'd learned in childhood but were...

Dave R · Dave R

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. Serenity Prayer = Recovery involves change, and change means doing things differently. The problem is, many of us resist doing things differently; what...

Dave R · Dave R

In NA, our joys are multiplied by sharing good days; our sorrows are lessened by sharing the bad. For the first time in our lives, we dont have to experience anything alone. IP No. 16, For the Newcomer = When we practice using the steps and the other tools of our program to work through our hardships,...

Dave R · Dave R

One of the most profound changes in our lives is in the realm of personal relationships. Basic Text, p. 57 = Recovery gives many of us relationships that are closer and more intimate than any weve had before. As time passes, we find ourselves gravitating toward those who eventually become our fri...

jakethesnake · jakethesnake

I'm working hard at this, but its so hard. Overwhelming. Anything, advice, help, support...would be very much appreciated. !

Dave R · Dave R

We may think that we have done enough by writing about our past. We cannot afford this mistake. Basic Text, p. 32 = Some of us arent too keen on writing out our Fourth Step; others take it to an obsessive extreme. To our sponsors growing dismay, we inventory ourselves again and again. We discover ev...

Dave R · Dave R

Emotional balance is one of the first results of meditation, and our experience bears this out. Basic Text, p.47 = Though each of us defines emotional balance a little differently, all of us must find it. Emotional balance can mean finding and maintaining a positive outlook on life, regardless...

Dave R · Dave R

...we think that if we can just get enough food, enough sex, or enough money, well be satisfied and everything will be alright.Basic Text, p. 77=In our addiction, we could never get enough drugs, or money, or sex, or anything else. Even too much was never enough! There was a spiritual emptiness in...

Dave R · Dave R

Eventually we are shown that we must get honest, or we will use again. Basic Text, p. 85 = Everyone has secrets, right? Some of us have little secrets, items that would cause only minor embarrassment if found out. Some of us have big secrets, whole areas of our lives cloaked in thick, murky darkness...

Dave R · Dave R

We had to have something different, and we thought we had found it in drugs. Basic Text, p. 13 = Many of us have always felt different from other people. We know were not unique in feeling that way; we hear many addicts share the same thing. We searched all our lives for something to make us all right,...

Dave R · Dave R

My life is well-rounded and I am becoming a more comfortable version of myself, not the neurotic, boring person that I thought Id be without drugs. = Is there really life without drugs? Newcomers are sure that they are destined to lead a humdrum existence once they quit using. That fear is far...

Dave R · Dave R

We learn that a simple, loving hug can make all the difference in the world... Basic Text, p. 91 = Perhaps there have been times in our recovery when we were close to someone who was in great pain. We struggled with the question, What can I do to make them feel better? We felt anxious and inadequate to r...

Dave R · Dave R

One of the biggest stumbling blocks to recovery seems to be placing unrealistic expectations on... others. Basic Text, p. 82 = Many of us come into Narcotics Anonymous feeling pretty poorly about ourselves. By comparison, the recovering addicts we meet at meetings may seem almost superhumanl...

Dave R · Dave R

We need not lose faith when we become rebellious. Basic Text, p. 35 = Many of us have lived our entire lives in revolt. Our initial response to any type of direction is often negative. Automatic rejection of authority seems to be a troubling character defect for many addicts. A thorough self-exa...

Dave R · Dave R

Where there has been wrong, the program teaches us the spirit of forgiveness. Basic Text, p. 12 = In NA, we begin to interact with the world around us. We no longer live in isolation. But freedom from isolation has its price: The more we interact with people, the more often well find someone steppi...

Dave R · Dave R

We have learned from our group experience that those who keep coming to our meetings regularly stay clean. Basic Text, p. 9 = The NA program gives us a new pattern of living. One of the basic elements of that new pattern is regular meeting attendance. For the newcomer, living clean is a brand-new e...

Dave R · Dave R

We find that we suffer from a disease, not a moral dilemma. We were critically ill, not hopelessly bad. Basic Text, p. 16 = For many of us, Narcotics Anonymous was the answer to a personal puzzle of long standing. Why did we always feel alone, even in a crowd, we wondered? Why did we do so many crazy,...

Dave R · Dave R

We try to remember that when we make amends we are doing it for ourselves. Basic Text, p. 41 = As long as we still owe amends, our spirits are cluttered with things we dont need. Were carrying the extra load of an apology owed, a resentment held, or unexpressed remorse. Its like having a messy house. ...

Dave R · Dave R

Humility is a by-product that allows us to grow and develop in an atmosphere of freedom and removes the fear of becoming known by our employers, families, or friends as addicts. Basic Text, pp. 75-76 = Many of us may not have understood the idea that anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our t...

Dave R · Dave R

We become able to make wise and loving decisions based on principles and ideals that have real value in our lives. Basic Text, p. 105 = Addiction gave us a certain set of values, principles we applied in our lives. You pushed me, one of those values told us, so I pushed back, hard. Its minewas anoth...

Dave R · Dave R

We examine our actions, reactions, and motives. We often find that we've 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 w...

Dave R · Dave R

Hopeless living problems have become joyously changed. Our disease has been arrested, and now anything is possible. Basic Text, p. 106 = The NA program has given us more freedom than we ever dreamed possible. Sometimes, though, in the daily routine, we lose track of how much weve been given. Ho...

Topic		Started By	Replies	Views	Last Post
	JFT September 30 Being ourselves (Preview) Our real value is in being ourselves. Basic Text, p. 105 = Over and over, we have tried to live up to the expectations of those around us. We may have been raised believing that we were okay if we earned good grades in school, cleaned our rooms, or dressed a certain way. Always wanting to belong and be l...	Dave R	1	243	Oct 1, 2014 by cdbuckberry
	JFT September 29 Just for today (Preview) When we stop living in the here and now, our problems become magnified unreasonably. Basic Text, p. 99 = Just for today--it's a comforting thought. If we try to live in the past, we may find ourselves torn by painful, disquieting memories. The lessons of our using are not the teachers we seek for r...	Dave R	1	251	Sep 30, 2014 by cdbuckberry
	JFT September 28 Hope (Preview) Gradually, as we become more God-centered than self-centered, our despair turns to hope. Basic Text, p. 95 = As using addicts, despair was our relentless companion. It colored our every waking moment. Despair was born of our experience in active addiction: No matter what measures we tried to m...	Dave R	1	277	Sep 28, 2014 by cdbuckberry
	JFT September 27 Right back up (Preview) There is something in our self-destructive personalities that cries for failure. Basic Text, p. 80 = Poor me; woe is me; look at me, my life is such a mess! I've fallen, and no matter how hard I try, I continue to fail. Many of us came to NA singing this sad refrain. Life isn't like that anymore. True,...	Dave R	1	260	Sep 27, 2014 by cdbuckberry
	JFT September 26 Seeing ourselves in others (Preview) It will not make us better people to judge the faults of another. Basic Text, p. 38 = How easy it is to point out the faults of others! There's a reason for this: The defects we identify most easily in others are often the defects we are most familiar with in our own characters. We may notice our best f...	Dave R	1	196	Sep 26, 2014 by cdbuckberry
	JFT September 24 A growing concept of God (Preview) The only suggested guidelines are that this Power be loving, caring, and greater than ourselves. We don't have to be religious to accept this idea. The point is that we open our minds to believe. Basic Text, p. 24 = In a lifelong process of coming to believe, our understanding of God will change. T...	Dave R	1	277	Sep 26, 2014 by cdbuckberry
	JFT September 22 Keeping the gift (Preview) Life takes on a new meaning when we open ourselves to this gift. Basic Text, p. 102 = Neglecting our recovery is like neglecting any other gift we've been given. Suppose someone gave you a new car. Would you let it sit in the driveway until the tires rotted? Would you just drive it, ignoring routin...	Dave R	1	283	Sep 24, 2014 by cdbuckberry
	JFT September 23 Dealing with gossip (Preview) In accordance with the principles of recovery, we try not to judge, stereotype, or moralize with each other. Basic Text, p. 11 = Let's face it: In Narcotics Anonymous, we live in a glass house of sorts. Our fellow members know more about our personal lives than anyone has ever known before. They k...	Dave R	1	281	Sep 24, 2014 by cdbuckberry
	JFT September 21 Prayer (Preview) Prayer takes practice, and we should remind ourselves that skilled people were not born with their skills. Basic Text, p. 45 = Many of us came into recovery with no experience in prayer and worried about not knowing the right words. Some of us remembered the words we'd learned in childhood but were...	Dave R	1	319	Sep 22, 2014 by cdbuckberry
	JFT September 20 Courage to change (Preview) 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. Serenity Prayer = Recovery involves change, and change means doing things differently. The problem is, many of us resist doing things differently; what...	Dave R	1	288	Sep 22, 2014 by cdbuckberry
	JFT September 19 Fellowship (Preview) In NA, our joys are multiplied by sharing good days; our sorrows are lessened by sharing the bad. For the first time in our lives, we dont have to experience anything alone. IP No. 16, For the Newcomer = When we practice using the steps and the other tools of our program to work through our hardships,...	Dave R	1	366	Sep 19, 2014 by cdbuckberry
	JFT September 18 Honest relationships (Preview) One of the most profound changes in our lives is in the realm of personal relationships. Basic Text, p. 57 = Recovery gives many of us relationships that are closer and more intimate than any weve had before. As time passes, we find ourselves gravitating toward those who eventually become our fri...	Dave R	1	288	Sep 19, 2014 by cdbuckberry
	new to this. 43 days clean but feeling very fragile. (Preview) I'm working hard at this, but its so hard. Overwhelming. Anything, advice, help, support...would be very much appreciated. !	jakethesnake	5	637	Sep 19, 2014 by AniMIa
	JFT September 17 Going beyond Step Five (Preview) We may think that we have done enough by writing about our past. We cannot afford this mistake. Basic Text, p. 32 = Some of us arent too keen on writing out our Fourth Step; others take it to an obsessive extreme. To our sponsors growing dismay, we inventory ourselves again and again. We discover ev...	Dave R	1	288	Sep 17, 2014 by cdbuckberry
	JFT September 16 Emotional balance (Preview) Emotional balance is one of the first results of meditation, and our experience bears this out. Basic Text, p.47 = Though each of us defines emotional balance a little differently, all of us must find it. Emotional balance can mean finding and maintaining a positive outlook on life, regardless...	Dave R	1	454	Sep 17, 2014 by cdbuckberry
	JFT September 15 Filling the emptiness (Preview) ...we think that if we can just get enough food, enough sex, or enough money, well be satisfied and everything will be alright.Basic Text, p. 77=In our addiction, we could never get enough drugs, or money, or sex, or anything else. Even too much was never enough! There was a spiritual emptiness in...	Dave R	1	311	Sep 15, 2014 by cdbuckberry
	JFT September 14 Secrets are reservations (Preview) Eventually we are shown that we must get honest, or we will use again. Basic Text, p. 85 = Everyone has secrets, right? Some of us have little secrets, items that would cause only minor embarrassment if found out. Some of us have big secrets, whole areas of our lives cloaked in thick, murky darkness...	Dave R	1	194	Sep 14, 2014 by cdbuckberry
	JFT September 13 Something different (Preview) We had to have something different, and we thought we had found it in drugs. Basic Text, p. 13 = Many of us have always felt different from other people. We know were not unique in feeling that way; we hear many addicts share the same thing. We searched all our lives for something to make us all right,...	Dave R	1	271	Sep 13, 2014 by cdbuckberry
	JFT September 12 New horizons (Preview) My life is well-rounded and I am becoming a more comfortable version of myself, not the neurotic, boring person that I thought Id be without drugs. = Is there really life without drugs? Newcomers are sure that they are destined to lead a humdrum existence once they quit using. That fear is far...	Dave R	1	259	Sep 13, 2014 by cdbuckberry
	JFT September 10 More powerful than words (Preview) We learn that a simple, loving hug can make all the difference in the world... Basic Text, p. 91 = Perhaps there have been times in our recovery when we were close to someone who was in great pain. We struggled with the question, What can I do to make them feel better? We felt anxious and inadequate to r...	Dave R	1	268	Sep 10, 2014 by cdbuckberry
	JFT September 9 Feet of clay (Preview) One of the biggest stumbling blocks to recovery seems to be placing unrealistic expectations on... others. Basic Text, p. 82 = Many of us come into Narcotics Anonymous feeling pretty poorly about ourselves. By comparison, the recovering addicts we meet at meetings may seem almost superhumanl...	Dave R	1	257	Sep 9, 2014 by cdbuckberry
	JFT September 8 Rebellion (Preview) We need not lose faith when we become rebellious. Basic Text, p. 35 = Many of us have lived our entire lives in revolt. Our initial response to any type of direction is often negative. Automatic rejection of authority seems to be a troubling character defect for many addicts. A thorough self-exa...	Dave R	2	350	Sep 9, 2014 by mikah
	JFT September 7 Resentment and forgiveness (Preview) Where there has been wrong, the program teaches us the spirit of forgiveness. Basic Text, p. 12 = In NA, we begin to interact with the world around us. We no longer live in isolation. But freedom from isolation has its price: The more we interact with people, the more often well find someone steppi...	Dave R	1	258	Sep 7, 2014 by cdbuckberry
	JFT September 6 Regular meeting attendance (Preview) We have learned from our group experience that those who keep coming to our meetings regularly stay clean. Basic Text, p. 9 = The NA program gives us a new pattern of living. One of the basic elements of that new pattern is regular meeting attendance. For the newcomer, living clean is a brand-new e...	Dave R	1	278	Sep 6, 2014 by cdbuckberry
	JFT September 5 Not hopelessly bad (Preview) We find that we suffer from a disease, not a moral dilemma. We were critically ill, not hopelessly bad. Basic Text, p. 16 = For many of us, Narcotics Anonymous was the answer to a personal puzzle of long standing. Why did we always feel alone, even in a crowd, we wondered? Why did we do so many crazy,...	Dave R	1	322	Sep 6, 2014 by cdbuckberry
	JFT September 4 Cluttered spirits (Preview) We try to remember that when we make amends we are doing it for ourselves. Basic Text, p. 41 = As long as we still owe amends, our spirits are cluttered with things we dont need. Were carrying the extra load of an apology owed, a resentment held, or unexpressed remorse. Its like having a messy house. ...	Dave R	1	428	Sep 4, 2014 by cdbuckberry
	JFT September 3 Humility expressed by anonymity (Preview) Humility is a by-product that allows us to grow and develop in an atmosphere of freedom and removes the fear of becoming known by our employers, families, or friends as addicts. Basic Text, pp. 75-76 = Many of us may not have understood the idea that anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our t...	Dave R	1	222	Sep 3, 2014 by cdbuckberry
	JFT September 1 Real values (Preview) We become able to make wise and loving decisions based on principles and ideals that have real value in our lives. Basic Text, p. 105 = Addiction gave us a certain set of values, principles we applied in our lives. You pushed me, one of those values told us, so I pushed back, hard. Its minewas anoth...	Dave R	1	280	Sep 1, 2014 by cdbuckberry
	JFT August 30 Doing good, feeling good (Preview) We examine our actions, reactions, and motives. We often find that we've 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 w...	Dave R	1	283	Aug 31, 2014 by cdbuckberry
	JFT August 31 Gratitude (Preview) Hopeless living problems have become joyously changed. Our disease has been arrested, and now anything is possible. Basic Text, p. 106 = The NA program has given us more freedom than we ever dreamed possible. Sometimes, though, in the daily routine, we lose track of how much weve been given. Ho...	Dave R	1	249	Aug 31, 2014 by cdbuckberry
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