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Cluttered Spirits

Just for Today - September 4

"We try to remember that when we make amends we are doing it for ourselves."

Basic Text p.40

Humility Expressed By Anonymity

Just for Today - September 3

"Humility is a by-product that allows us to grow and develop in an atmosphere of freedom and removes the fear of becoming known by our employers, families, or friends as addicts." Basic Text p.72-23

Many of us may not have understood the idea that "anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our traditions." We wondered how this could be. What does anonymity have to do with our spiritual life?

Higher Powered

Just for Today - September 2

"Daily practice of our Twelve Step program enables us to change from what we were to people guided by a Higher Power"

Basic Text p.83

Who have we been, and who have we become? There are a couple of ways to answer this question. One is very simple:

We came to Narcotics Anonymous as addicts, our addiction killing us. In NA, we've been freed from our obsession with drugs and our compulsion to use. And our lives have changed.

Real Values

Just for Today - September 1

"We become able to make wise and loving decisions based on principles and ideals that have real value in our lives."

Basic Text, pg. 101

Gratitude

Just for Today - August 31

"Hopeless living problems have become joyously changed. Our disease has been arrested, and now anything is possible."

Basic Text p.102

The NA program has given us more freedom than we ever dreamed possible. Sometimes, though, in the daily routine, we lose track of how much we've been given. How, exactly, have our lives changed in Narcotics Anonymous?

Doing Good, Feeling Good

Just for Today - August 30

"We examine our actions, reactions, and motives. We often find that we've been doing better than we've been feeling."

Basic Text p.42

Don't Look Back

Just for Today - August 29

"The steps offer a big change from a life dominated by guilt and remorse. Our futures are changed because we don't have to avoid those who we have harmed. As a result... we receive a new freedom that can end isolation." Basic Text p.31

The Light of Exposure

Just for Today - August 28

"These defects grow in the dark and die in the light of exposure."

Basic Text p.31

The Fifth Step asks us to share our true nature with God, with ourselves, and with another human being. It doesn't encourage us to tell everyone every little secret about ourselves. It doesn't ask us to disclose to the whole world every shameful or frightening thought we've ever had. Step Five simply suggests that our secrets cause us more harm than good when we keep them completely to ourselves.

Choosing Life

Just for Today - August 27

"Change from self-destructive patterns of life became necessary" Basic Text p.16

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.

Tenth Step Inventory

Just for Today - August 26

"We continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it." Step Ten

The Ninth Step - Reclaiming Life

Just for Today - August 25

"We are achieving freedom from the wreckage of our past."

Basic Text p. 45

When we start the Ninth Step, we've reached an exciting stage in our recovery. The damage done in our lives is what led many of us to seek help in the first place. Now, we have a chance to clean up that wreckage, amend our past, and reclaim our lives.

Seeking God's Will

Just for Today - August 24

"We learn to be careful of praying for specific things." Basic Text p. 45

Decision Making

Just for Today - August 23

"Before we got clean, most of our actions were guided by impulse. Today, we are not locked into this type of thinking." Basic Text p. 87

Life is a series of decisions, actions, and consequences. When we were using, our decisions were usually driven by our disease, resulting in self-destructive actions and dire consequences. We came to see decision making as a rigged game, one we should play as little as possible.

Contribution

Just for Today - August 22

"We recognize our spiritual growth when we are able to reach out and help others."

Basic Text p. 56

To make a difference in the world, to contribute something special, is perhaps the highest aspiration of the human heart, Each one of us, no matter what our personal makeup, has a unique quality to offer.

Friendships

Just for Today - August 21

"Our friendships become deep, and we experience the warmth and caring which results from addicts sharing recovery and a new life."

IP No.19, "Self-Acceptance"

Facing Death

Just for Today - August 20

"Often we have to face some type of crisis during our recovery, such as the death of a loved one..."

Basic Text, p. 98

Every life has a beginning and an end. However, when someone we love a great deal reaches the end of their life, we may have a very hard time accepting their sudden, final absence. Our grief may be so powerful that we fear it will completely overwhelm us - but it will not. Our sorrow may hurt more than anything we can remember, but it will pass.

First Things First

Just for Today - August 19

"We apply effort to our most obvious problems and let go of the rest. We do the job at hand and, as we progress, new opportunities for improvement present themselves."

Basic Text, p. 54

How Long Do I Have To Go?

Just for Today - August 18

"The way to remain a productive, responsible member of society is to put our recovery first."Basic Text, p. 102

The meetings have been great! Each night we've attended, we've gathered with other addicts to share experience, strength, and hope. And each day, we've used what we've learned in the meetings to continue in our recovery.

Tell the Truth

Just for Today - August 17

"A symptom of our disease is alienation, and honest sharing will free us to recover."

Basic Text, p. 80

Up Or Down

Just for Today - August 16

"This is our road to spiritual growth. We change every day.... This growth is not the result of wishing but of action and prayer."

Basic Text, p. 35-36

Over Time, Not Overnight

Just for Today - August 15

"We found that we do not recover physically, mentally, or spiritually overnight." Basic Text, p.27

Have you ever approached a recovery celebration with the feeling that you should be further along in your recovery than you are? Maybe you have listened to newcomers sharing in meetings, members with much less clean time, and thought, "But I'm just barely beginning to understand what they're talking about!"

Letting Go Of Our Limitations

Just for Today - August 14

"We don't have to settle for the limitations of the past. We can examine and reexamine our old ideas."

Basic Text, p.11

Difficult People

Just for Today - August 13

"By giving unconditional love...we become more loving, and by sharing spiritual growth we become more spiritual."

Basic Text, p.99

Enough!

Just for Today - August 12

"Something inside cries out, 'Enough, enough, I've had enough; and then they are ready to take that first and often most difficult step toward dealing with their disease."

Basic Text, p.203

Active Listening

Just for Today - August 11

"Through active listening, we hear things that work for us." Basic Text, p.102

Most of us arrived in Narcotics Anonymous with a very poor ability to listen. But to take full advantage of "the therapeutic value of one addict helping another" we must learn to listen actively.

Regular Prayer and Meditation

Just for Today - August 10

"Most of us pray when we are hurting. We learn that if we pray regularly, we won't be hurting as often or as intensely."

Basic Text, p.44

The Power of Love

Just for Today - August 9

"We begin to see that God's love has been present all the time, just waiting for us to accept it."

Basic Text, p.46

Responsible Recovery

Just for Today - August 8

"We accept responsibility for our problems and see that we're equally responsible for our solutions." Basic Text, p.94

Some of us, well accustomed to leaving our personal responsibilities to others, may attempt the same behavior in recovery. We quickly find out it doesn't work.

The Gratitude List

Just for Today - August 7

"We focus on anything that isn't going our way and ignore all the beauty in our lives." Basic Text, p.77

The Joy Within

Just for Today - August 6

"Since the beginning of our recovery, we have found that joy doesn't come from material things but from within ourselves."

Basic Text, p.103

Some of us came to Narcotics Anonymous impoverished by our disease. Everything we'd owned had been lost to our addiction. Once we got clean, we put all our energy into recovering our material possessions, only to feel even more dissatisfied with our lives than before.

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