Uncategorized • Volunteer Region of NA

What Is the Narcotics Anonymous Program?

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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.

There are no strings attached to NA. We are not affiliated with any other organizations. We have no initiation fees or dues, no pledges to sign, no promises to make to anyone. We are not connected with any political, religious, or law enforcement groups, and are under no surveillance at any time. Anyone may join us regardless of age, race, sexual identity, creed, religion, or lack of religion.

We are not interested in what or how much you used or who your connections were, what you have done in the past, how much or how little you have, but only in what you want to do about your problem and how we can help. The newcomer is the most important person at any meeting, because we can only keep what we have by giving it away. We have learned from our group experience that those who keep coming to our meetings regularly stay clean. -Basic Text

Spiritual Principle a Day

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March 31, 2025

Striking a Spiritual Balance

Page 93

"We remember to put our program first, and to respect our own limits. We strive every day to keep ourselves spiritually balanced."

Living Clean, Chapter 3, "Conscious Contact"

Addicts, in and out of recovery, are subject to thinking and acting in extremes. Many of us discover a need for personal limits by overdoing things. Even in recovery, sometimes too much of a good thing is just too much. One member shared, "I spent twelve hours volunteering in our convention's merchandise room. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but it was every bit as stressful as my most hectic work days. Looking back, I realized that I had misunderstood what it meant to put my program first."

The common advice to put our program first isn't meant to shame us into giving and giving and giving some more. Maybe we take one shift in the merchandise room, perhaps even two, but we certainly do not need to take on six shifts at the expense of our sanity. While service is a key component of our recovery, balance requires us to pay attention to so much more. Spiritual maintenance takes time and commitment.

Many of us develop routines that help keep us spiritually centered. They become the heart of our personal recovery and the wellspring for our spiritual balance. We commune with a Higher Power in whatever ways work for us. We "listen" by quieting our mind in meditation, by taking a motorcycle out on a winding road, or by listening to newcomers at a chai shop before the meeting. We share our hopes and our pain with other members, in a journal, or with the universe.

When we keep a balanced program at the center of our lives, we're better equipped to navigate life on life's terms. Practicing balance doesn't mean we're spiritually attuned at all times; rather, it means we notice when we're out of tune, and we take action to correct our course.

I will listen to my body, mind, and spirit to establish my own limits and explore how I tune in to spiritual balance in my recovery.