Welcome to the Central Coast Area of Narcotics Anonymous
Serving: Paso Robles, Atascadero, San Luis Obispo, Arroyo Grande, Santa Maria, Lompoc
" The therapeutic value of one addict helping another is without parallel "
Just for today daily meditation
May 18, 2024 |
Friends and amends--keeping it simple |
| Page 144 |
| "We made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others." |
| Step Nine |
| In every relationship, we don't always handle things the way we would have hoped. But friendships don't have to end when we make mistakes; instead, we can make amends. If we are sincerely willing to accept the responsibilities involved in friendship and make the amends we owe, those friendships can become stronger and richer than ever. Making amends is simple. We approach the person we have harmed and say, "I was wrong." Sometimes we avoid getting to the point, evading an admission of our own part in the affair. But that frustrates the intent of the Ninth Step. To make effective amends, we have to keep it simple: we admit our part, and leave it at that. There will be times when our friends won't accept our amends. Perhaps they need time to process what has happened. If that is the case, we must give them that time. After all, we were the ones in the wrong, not them. We have done our part; the rest is out of our hands. |
| Just for Today: I want to be a responsible friend. I will strive to keep it simple when making amends. |
| Copyright (c) 2007-2023, NA World Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved |
A Spiritual principle a day
May 18, 2024 |
Connecting to Our Conscience |
| Page 143 |
| "We learn to listen to our conscience—that still, small voice within that tells us if we're heading in the right direction." |
| Living Clean, Chapter 3, "Spirituality Is Practical" |
| Some of us might argue that the solutions to our problems, the answers to our moment-to-moment decisions and our big life choices, have always been within our reach. We just haven't been listening to our conscience. We've been unable to hear it because of the competing, confusing cacophony of noise in our heads, a squeaky hamster wheel of thoughts that we can't get off of. Others of us feel as if we never had a conscience and that it's something we develop only once we become abstinent and start to work a program. We come to the opinion that our disease speaks to us—in our own voice, no less!—and is the sole influence for our bad decision making. Conversely, our conscience, as an expression of our Higher Power, is the source of positive influence. Whatever our opinions are about the origin story of our conscience, we can probably all agree that we can do a lot to cultivate our sensitivity to the voice of our higher self. We get clean and become humble enough to ask for help. We listen to each other's experiences of recovery. The work we do on ourselves through the Steps and for others through service awakens us enough to experience our conscience. Many of us would say our conscience has become clearer, more distinct, and more dependable as we've grown in recovery. It becomes easier to access because we're able to turn down the static brought on by its evil twin, our disease. We learn to quiet our minds and, through prayer and meditation, we gain a lot of practice in not just being able to hear it but in listening to what it has to say. "My conscience is my inner guide," wrote a member. "It's a driving force that gives me what I need to make an honest decision. I still can't control outcomes just because I'm choosing wisely, but I come to my decisions with integrity." |
| ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— |
| I will practice staying conscious of my conscience. It's there for me when I listen, helping me to stay connected to living this new way of life. |
| Copyright (c) 2007-2023, NA World Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved |
WHAT IS THE NARCOTICS ANONYMOUS PROGRAM?
NA is a nonprofit fellowship or society of men and women for whom drugs had become a major problem. We are recovering addicts who meet regularly to help each other stay clean. This is a program of complete abstinence from all drugs. There is only one requirement for membership, the desire to stop using. We suggest that you keep an open mind and give yourself a break. Our program is a set of principles written so simply that we can follow them in our daily lives. The most important thing about them is that they work.
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Narcotics Anonymous World Services Website,
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