Flyout Menu

Welcome to Narcotics Anonymous

What is our message? The message is that an addict, any addict, can stop using drugs, lose the desire to use, and find a new way to live. Our message is hope and the promise is freedom.

Learn More
Find NA Near You
PSA Overlay

“When new members come to meetings, our sole interest is in their desire for freedom from active addiction and how we can be of help.”

It Works: How and Why, “Third Tradition”

Is NA for me?

This is a question every potential member must answer for themselves. Here are some recommended resources that may be helpful:

Need help for family or a friend?

NA meetings are run by and for addicts. If you're looking for help for a loved one, you can contact Narcotics Anonymous near you. 

Find NA Near You

Subscribe to NAWS Emails

Sign up to receive Just for Today and SPAD daily meditation emails, as well as NAWS News, NAWS Updates, and more.

Click Here

Never before have so many clean addicts, of their own choice and in free society, been able to meet where they please, to maintain their recovery in complete creative freedom.

Basic Text, “We Do Recover”

Recovery Quicklinks:

Service Quicklinks:

Narcotics Anonymous sprang from the Alcoholics Anonymous Program of the late 1940s, with meetings first emerging in the Los Angeles area of California, USA, in the early Fifties. The NA program started as a small US movement that has grown into one of the world's oldest and largest organizations of its type.

Today, Narcotics Anonymous is well established throughout much of the Americas, Western Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. Newly formed groups and NA communities are now scattered throughout the Indian subcontinent, Africa, East Asia, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe. Narcotics Anonymous books and information pamphlets are currently available in 49 languages.

Information About NA

Learn More about NA

Daily Meditations

Just for Today

April 12, 2025

The big picture
Page 106
“All spiritual awakenings have some things in common. Common elements include an end to loneliness and a sense of direction in our lives.“
Basic Text, p. 50
Some kinds of spiritual experiences take place when we confront something larger than we are. We suspect that forces beyond our understanding are operating. We see a fleeting glimpse of the big picture and find humility in that moment.

Our journey through the Twelve Steps will bring about a spiritual experience of the same nature, only more profound and lasting. We undergo a continual process of ego-deflation, while at the same time we become more conscious of the larger perspective. Our view of the world expands to the point where we no longer possess an exaggerated sense of our own importance.

Through our new awareness, we no longer feel isolated from the rest of the human race. We may not understand why the world is the way it is or why people sometimes treat one another so savagely. But we do understand suffering and, in recovery, we can do our best to alleviate it. When our individual contribution is combined with others, we become an essential part of a grand design. We are connected at last.
Just for Today: I am but one person in the entire scheme of things. I humbly accept my place in the big picture.

A Spiritual Principle a Day

April 12, 2025

Practicality and the “God Thing”
Page 106
“Sometimes it's enough just to know that other NA members believe and that their belief helps keep them clean.“
Just for Today, “A God of our own understanding,” April 23
We approach the “God Thing”–as some refer to spirituality in recovery–from different places. It can be a major obstacle, a great relief, or something we consistently grapple with. Many of us struggle to identify a set of beliefs–or any belief–that sits right with us, while others find the exploration itself to be profound and rewarding. Some of us have always considered ourselves to be people of faith and find that recovery helps us walk our talk.

Some of us have no spiritual belief or practice to speak of when we begin our recovery journey. But we adapt easily to the idea of a power greater than ourselves. We're told that it can be anything as long as it's loving. The group? Nature? An aspirational “higher self”? No problem! Praying to one or more of these powers makes practical sense for many members. Others of us share about our experience staying clean without getting hung up on defining a Higher Power. “When a longtime member spoke of their failed attempt to create a best friend with super powers, it dawned on me that belief in a deity or supreme being wasn't required,” one member shared. “What a relief! Atheists stay clean in NA, too.”

Then there are those of us who struggle with it all. We don't believe, but we don't not believe. Infinite choices confound and frustrate us. We bristle at “loving,” obsess about contradictions in NA literature, or feel pressure to invent something innovative. We're challenged by one member's belief that we are relapse-bound without capital-G God and another member's flippant attitude about needing one at all. We feel we have to believe. What if we never get there?

“You're actually doing better than you're feeling,” a member whose recovery we respect offers. “There may not be a place to ‘get to.' Why not do the next right thing and stay in the struggle?” In practical terms, that means taking actions that align with our values or beliefs–even when we're still figuring those out.

“In a pinch, you can borrow my Higher Power,” another member offers. “Maybe it's enough that I believe in something that helps me stay clean.” Why not? We'll try it–because we have choices in NA. Plus, we need a break from the struggle.
———     ———     ———     ———     ———
My belief, whatever it is, is practical for me today–so I'll practice it. If I'm struggling, I'll embrace that. No pressure. Recovery is a process, and it's working.

Do you need help with a drug problem?

Find NA Near You

“If you’re new to NA or planning to go to a Narcotics Anonymous meeting for the first time, it might be nice to know a little bit about what happens in our meetings. The information here is meant to give you an understanding of what we do when we come together to share recovery…” 

An Introduction to NA Meetings

Subscribe to NAWS Emails

Sign up to receive NAWS Updates and NAWS News emails as well as Just for Today and SPAD daily emails. 

Subscribe

Get the app:

Apple Android

Follow us:

Instagram Facebook Soundcloud Youtube
Copyright 2025 NA World Services, Inc. All rights reserved.