Narcotics Anonymous Basic Text 6th - Coastal Carolina

453 Pages·2008·2.98 MB·English

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NARCOTICS
ANONYMOUS
Other Publications Available from NA World Services
It Works: How and Why
Just for Today, Revised—Daily Meditations for Recovering Addicts
The NA Step Working Guides
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An Introductory Guide to NA, Revised
NA White Booklet
The Group Booklet, Revised
Behind the Walls
In Times of Illness
Twelve Concepts for NA Service
NA: A Resource in Your Community
Who, What, How, and Why (IP #1)
The Group (IP #2)
Another Look (IP #5)
Recovery and Relapse (IP #6)
Am I an Addict? (IP #7)
Just for Today (IP #8)
Living the Program (IP #9)
Working Step Four in NA (IP #10)
Sponsorship, Revised (IP #11)
The Triangle of Self-Obsession (IP #12)
By Young Addicts, For Young Addicts (IP #13)
One Addict’s Experience… (IP #14)
PI and the NA Member (IP #15)
For the Newcomer (IP #16)
For Those in Treatment (IP #17)
Self-Acceptance (IP #19)
Hospitals & Institutions Service and the NA Member (IP #20)
The Loner—Staying Clean in Isolation (IP #21)
Welcome to Narcotics Anonymous (IP #22)
Staying Clean on the Outside (IP #23)
“Hey! What’s the Basket For?” (IP #24)
Self-Support: Principle and Practice (IP #25)
Accessibility for Those with Additional Needs (IP #26)
For the Parents or Guardians of Young People in NA (IP #27)
For a complete list of NA literature in all languages, visit our website at www.na.org.
NARCOTICS
ANONYMOUS
Sixth Edition
FELLOWSHIP
APPROVED
Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
Chatsworth, California
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
reprinted for adaptation by permission of AA World Services, Inc.
Copyright © 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, 2008 by
Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
All rights reserved.
World Service Offi ce
PO Box 9999
Van Nuys, CA 91409, USA
Tel [phone] Fax [phone]
Website: www.na.org
World Service Offi ce–EUROPE
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World Service Offi ce–CANADA
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Mississauga, Ontario, L4Z 2A4, Canada
Tel [phone] Fax [phone]
Published 1983. Second Edition 1983. Third Edition 1984.
Third Edition (Revised) 1986. Fourth Edition 1987. Fifth Edition 1988.
Sixth Edition 2008.
25th Anniversary Commemorative Sixth Edition published 2008.
Printed in China.
09 08 4 3 2 1
ISBN 9781557767349 (Hardcover) WSO Catalog Item No. EN-1101
ISBN 9781557767356 (Softcover) WSO Catalog Item No. EN-1102
ISBN 9781557767486 (Commemorative Edition) WSO Catalog Item No. EN-1103
FELLOWSHIP
APPROVED
This is NA Fellowship-approved literature.
Narcotics Anonymous, and The NA Way
are registered trademarks of Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Incorporated.
Table of Contents
Our Symbol xv
Preface to the Sixth Edition xvii
Preface to the First Edition xxi
Introduction xxv
Our Program: Narcotics Anonymous
Chapter One
Who Is an Addict? .............................................................................3
Chapter Two
What Is the Narcotics Anonymous Program? ..............................9
Chapter Three
Why Are We Here? .........................................................................13
Chapter Four
How It Works ...................................................................................17
Chapter Five
What Can I Do? ...............................................................................54
Chapter Six
The Twelve Traditions of Narcotics Anonymous .......................60
Chapter Seven
Recovery and Relapse .....................................................................77
Chapter Eight
We Do Recover ................................................................................87
Chapter Nine
Just for Today—Living the Program ............................................93
Chapter Ten
More Will Be Revealed .................................................................101
v
Our Members Share
Introduction to Our Members Share ..........................................111
Beginnings
Reflections ......................................................................................117
The short passages that begin this section are excerpted from sto-
ries in previous editions of the Basic Text.
I Found the Only NA Meeting in the World .............................121
When he was using he went from one “mother” to another—from
his mother’s house to the military to marriage—until his wife
tired of the insanity and found the only NA meeting in the world.
In his story from our First Edition, this addict admits that it took
him time but finally he learned to take action and be responsible
for himself.
Mid-Pacific Serenity ......................................................................128
He lived in a place that many call paradise, but in his story from
our First Edition, this beachcomber shares that for an addict, “skid
row is in the mind.” Through NA, he has found a sense of peace
and a new way of life.
If You Want What We Have .........................................................135
After a lifetime of using, this “southern gentleman” learned that
the most gracious thing he could do was open the doors to an NA
meeting. In this story from our First Edition, he recalls that the
first time a man told him he loved him was in Narcotics Anony-
mous.
Fearful Mother ...............................................................................142
In this story originally published in our Little White Book and
added to the Basic Text at the Second Edition, a mother learns
that she can come out of the paralyzing fear of addiction and turn
her whole life around. She claims her seat as a woman in NA and
hopes that one day more women will find recovery.
Jails, Institutions, and Recovery .................................................147
This addict found freedom behind bars through the Fellowship of
Narcotics Anonymous. This is a story from our First Edition.
vi
I Was Different ..............................................................................151
Not all addicts reach jails or institutions in order to hit their bot-
tom. In his story, originally published in the Little White Book and
later included in our Second Edition, this “different” addict ex-
plains that his disease kept him confined to a life of fear and loneli-
ness. He found serenity in a simple life in Narcotics Anonymous.
Coming Home
Reflections ......................................................................................157
These snapshots of our members’ experiences finding NA are
meant to be similar to the sharing at a topic meeting.
Start a Meeting, They Will Come ...............................................161
He checked himself into treatment to avoid prison, but while
he was there he found hope in the pages of a Basic Text. There was
no NA in his part of rural Illinois, so he started a meeting and
he’s stayed clean through his own growing pains and those of the
fellowship.
The Point .........................................................................................165
This addict from the “wrong side” of Chicago’s south side lost his
best friend and his marriage to the disease of addiction. Recovery
hasn’t restored the things he’s lost, but it has helped him make
amends.
Carrying the Message ..................................................................171
They used together and got clean together, but this addict got ac-
tive in the program and his brother did not. This Saudi Arabian
member found in the loss of his brother a powerful drive to carry
the message.
Young Addict, Young NA Fellowship
Grow Up Together .......................................................................176
She found NA when she was only fifteen. From her very first meet-
ing, she knew NA was where she needed to be. Now, more than
twenty years later, she’s gone from a hostile, wasted teenager to a
grateful member of the program.
vii
A Quiet Satisfaction .....................................................................179
At the end of his using even the other street boys and the dealers
didn’t want him around, but NA felt like home from his very first
meeting. Sometimes he is the only person in the room, but that
only renews this Kenyan addict’s commitment to recovery.
The Only Requirement .................................................................184
When he got to NA he was also in a drug-replacement program.
He wanted what he saw in the rooms of Narcotics Anonymous,
but was afraid of returning to his old life if he quit methadone.
For ten months he went to meetings every day—and finally he
got clean.
Restored to Dignity ......................................................................187
She walked into NA—literally—and was treated with more love
and respect than she ever had been. For this Mexican woman,
a chance encounter on the beach opened the door to hope and
freedom.
Second Chance .............................................................................192
A host of bad choices ultimately led to relapse for this addict with
thirteen years clean. It was a hard road back to recovery, but NA
loved her until she could love herself.
Sowing the Seed ............................................................................198
NA helped this Israeli addict rediscover his love of life. He had al-
ways felt like an outsider before he got clean. Now he has a home
group and understands fellowshipping to be a spiritual principle.
Sandwich .......................................................................................203
A simple act of kindness showed this Dutch addict that he be-
longed in Narcotics Anonymous. He worked through his fears that
a relationship with God would be barred to him because he is gay
and learned to trust the power of love.
The Spirit of Service ......................................................................208
This addict from Iran was “the most important person in the
room” for two years before he got clean. Now he devotes himself to
NA—sponsorship, the steps, and service.
viii
A Brazilian Full of It! ....................................................................214
As an entertainer she traveled the world, but found herself in the
isolation of addiction wherever she went. This dancer found grace
out of the spotlight, in the rooms of NA.
Another Chance to Live ...............................................................220
When he reached the point where he couldn’t live with or with-
out drugs, this Australian addict attempted suicide. He survived
through grace, and now he’s been clean more than sixteen years.
At the End of the Road ................................................................224
She thought she was a traveler, but it was really a need to escape
herself. This addict from Norway found her way home on a Medi-
terranean island.
Regardless of …
Reflections ......................................................................................231
These members share briefly about finding recovery in NA “re-
gardless of age, race, sexual identity, creed, religion, or lack of
religion.”
Finally Connected ........................................................................235
After a lifetime of feeling different, this lesbian addict found the
key to connection in a common needs workshop.
One Third Step for Me,
One Giant Leap for My Recovery ..............................................240
Addiction took him away from his Orthodox Jewish roots, but
recovery helped him forge a new relationship with a God of his
understanding.
Kia Ora Koutou ............................................................................245
NA’s message got through to this Maori addict. She got clean out
of spite, but she stayed clean because of hope.
Growing Up in NA ......................................................................250
When she got clean at sixteen in Chicago, she had no way of know-
ing that more than twenty years later she would wind up in Italy,
feeling how service connects us all.
ix