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.
“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.
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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
Daily Meditations
Just for Today
November 05, 2024 |
God’s guidance |
Page 323 |
“Our Higher power is accessible to us at all times. We receive guidance when we ask for knowledge of God’s will for us.“ |
Basic Text, p. 95 |
It’s not always easy to make the right decision. This is especially true for addicts learning to live by spiritual principles for the first time. In addiction, we developed self-destructive, anti-social impulses. When conflict arose, we took our cues from those negative impulses. Our disease didn’t prepare us to make sound decisions. Today, to find the direction we need, we ask our Higher Power. We stop; we pray; and, quietly, we listen within for guidance. We’ve come to believe that we can rely on a Power greater than ourselves. That Power is accessible to us whenever we need it. All we need do is pray for knowledge of our God’s will for us and the power to carry it out. Each time we do this, each time we find direction amidst our confusion, our faith grows. The more we rely on our Higher Power, the easier it becomes to ask for direction: We’ve found the Power we were lacking in our addiction, a Power that available to us at all times. To find the direction we need to live fully and grow spiritually, all we have to do is maintain contact with the God of our understanding. |
Just for Today: My Higher Power is a source of spiritual guidance within me that I can always draw upon. When I lack direction today. I will ask for knowledge of my Higher Power’s will. |
A Spiritual Principle a Day
November 05, 2024 |
Caring and Listening |
Page 320 |
“Even with many years clean, separating and reconciling what’s in our heart and what’s in our head doesn’t come automatically. We need another set of eyes; we need a caring, attentive listener to help us sort things out.“ |
Living Clean, Chapter 5, “Romantic Relationships” |
Our relationships with other addicts in NA can teach us a lot about how to practice care in the way we relate to the people in our lives. Most of us have distorted ideas about exercising love, kindness, or concern for others when we get here. No matter what habits or hang-ups we come in with, recovery improves our ability to give and receive care. Having a sponsor teaches us about letting others care for us. When we find a sponsor who’s right for us, we soon get the chance to experience the genuineness and generosity described in the quotation above. Sponsors are often able to balance compassion with honesty as they help us to reconcile what’s in our head with what’s in our heart. We get to know what it feels like not to be in control of how another person demonstrates their care for us, which can be surprisingly freeing. Accepting help others offer, each in their own way, is a practice we can bring to all of our relationships. Similarly, showing our concern for newcomers or sponsees teaches us how to practice care as a spiritual principle. Deep down, we know we truly want others to feel the hope and experience the freedom we’ve received in NA. Our care for newer members helps us listen deeply and then share our relevant experience. We learn to do our part and leave the results to a power greater than ourselves. Instead of filling every conversation break with our opinions, we practice our skills as caring, attentive listeners. These lessons profoundly enhance our ability to develop and sustain loving relationships. We allow people to be there for us, and we’re there right back. |
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Giving and receiving care is a skill I can constantly improve upon. I will practice being a caring and attentive listener in my relationships. |
Do you need help with a drug problem?
“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…”
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