Welcome to the Central Coast Area of Narcotics Anonymous
Serving: Paso Robles, Cambria, Atascadero, San Luis Obispo, Arroyo Grande, Santa Maria, Lompoc
Just for today daily meditation
When we first arrived in NA, we had all kinds of ideas of what we needed. Some of us set our sights on amassing personal possessions. We thought recovery equaled outward success. But recovery does not equal success. Today, we believe that our greatest need is for spiritual guidance and strength.
The greatest damage done to us by our addiction was the damage done to our spirituality. Our primary motivation was dictated by our disease: to get, to use, and to find ways and means to get more. Enslaved by our overwhelming need for drugs, our lives lacked purpose and connection. We were spiritually bankrupt.
Sooner or later, we realize that our greatest need in recovery is "for knowledge of God's will for us and the strength to carry that out." There, we find the direction and sense of purpose our addiction had hidden from us. In our God's will we find freedom from self-will. No longer driven only by our own needs, we are free to live with others on an equal footing.
There's nothing wrong with outward success. But without the spiritual connection offered by the NA program, our greatest need in recovery goes unmet, regardless of how "successful" we may be.
A Spiritual principle a day
No one comes to NA on a winning streak. Denial had helped us ignore the wreckage, but those days are long gone. Our minds no longer reassure us: You're living the dream, especially considering the lousy hand you've been dealt!
In early recovery we may experience rare glimpses of self-acceptance, but the mental beatings we give ourselves keep that optimism in check. We are undoubtedly our harshest critics. That's especially true when we make mistakes: not showing up for a friend in need, unintentionally making another member uncomfortable, blowing off a commitment, using again. Even for members in long-term recovery, our disease continues to urge us to judge ourselves. Not being real about our mistakes and overindulging in self-pity or self-destructiveness runs counter to accepting ourselves as works in progress.
One member recalled, "Through his steady encouragement in the face of my self-made disasters, my sponsor showed me unconditional love and helped me be open to how a Higher Power was expressing it in my life. As my recovery continued, the chaos lessened but the temptation to beat myself up remained. Sharing the exact nature of my wrongs in Step Five--and still being accepted unconditionally--helped me unclench my fists a little quicker."
Sponsors tell us the truth about ourselves. Inevitably, that truth is more loving, forgiving, and accepting than our version of things. Working the Steps with our sponsor teaches us to find that truth for ourselves. Through the practice of prayer and meditation, we can check in with a Higher Power to guide us toward what is real--about ourselves, our decisions, our mistakes--rather than relying on what our minds tell us.
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.
For more information on Narcotics Anonymous,
please go to the:
Narcotics Anonymous World Services Website,
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