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
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 first pattern we change is the pattern of using. Staying clean is the start of our journey into life. But our self-destructive behavior usually went far deeper than just our using. Even in recovery, we may still treat ourselves as if we are worthless. When we treat ourselves badly, we feel badly. And when we feel badly, we seek relief--maybe even in our old solution, drugs.
Choosing recovery means choosing life. We decide each day that we want to live and be free. Each time we avoid self-destructive behavior, we choose recovery.
A Spiritual principle a day
Many of us could accurately describe our active addiction as "suicide on the installment plan." Thankfully, when we stop using drugs, we eliminate a main catalyst of our self-destructive behavior. Without the compulsion to get high, it's easier to avoid the degradation and criminality that brought us to new lows again and again.
Abstinence is one clear marker of our restoration to sanity, and it's certainly a good place to start. Being clean allows us to think more clearly, and that clarity enables us to consider who we've been and who we want to be. The Steps offer guidance as we examine our lives, our motivations, and our choices. We learn from the experience of other recovering addicts, and it gives us the courage we need to strip away the guilt, remorse, and shame.
Taking care of our whole selves--body, mind, and spirit--is part of the amends we make to ourselves. Addiction touches all areas of our lives, and so must our recovery. Many of us seek professional help to find specific healing. One addict shared, "My first sponsor explained that doctors, dentists, and therapists can also be powers greater than myself."
Still, many of us struggle with the urge to undermine our success or to sabotage healthy impulses. Progress is often two steps forward, one step back--but that's progress, nonetheless. As with using, we become aware of harmful habits before we're willing or able to make a change for the better. Our tolerance for self-deception lessens as we gain self-respect. With the help of our Higher Power, we're quicker to learn the lessons, to stop unhealthy habits, or to take up new practices that honor our body, mind, and spirit.
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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