Tag: recovery

What a Fellowship!

Fellowship

At almost every meeting I have ever attended I hear a reading called ‘What is the Narcotics Anonymous Program’ I feel like I’ve memorized some of the readings after hearing them so often. Early in my recovery, I thought I would get tired of hearing them. I understand now that we read them not just for me, but for people who are new. Sometimes I find a particular phrase from a reading is relevant to my life today. Recently, I heard the word Fellowship and I wondered what the word meant. Years ago, my sponsor had encouraged me to look up words in the dictionary rather than assume I understood the meaning. I’m surprised at how ignorant I am of the meaning of some words. This is my favorite use of ‘Fellowship’.  

Narcotics Anonymous is a non-profit fellowship or society of men and women for whom drugs had become a major problem. We are recovered addicts who meet regularly to help each other stay clean.

Narcotics Anonymous, Little White Book, published 1966.

Recovered Addict

The literature sold today by the NAWS Corporation says ‘recovering’ instead of recovered.  I prefer the older version that uses the word recovered. It doesn’t mean that I’m no longer an addict or that I’m better than anyone else. I found the idea of being recovered is about how I direct my actions and thoughts today. I like the word recovered and today I feel very much at peace with who I am and my place in the world. I know from the literature that ‘Dishonesty and self-deception’ can prevent me from enjoying complete recovery and acceptance within society. I remain vigilant about my honesty but it can be difficult some times. Self-deception seems to be much easier to spot when I am humble and invite people into my life. Narcotics Anonymous literature says that the wider the base, the higher the point of freedom.  I believe the freedom the Fellowship offers is from my own self-obsession. Ultimately the primary purpose of Narcotics Anonymous is to carry a message and that ensures my recovery is strong.

Early in my recovery I sought relationships in the true drug addict fashion by forcing myself into members’ lives. A using addict attracts addicts who are using and that was the case with many so-called friends. I have learned that not everyone continues to have a desire to stop using after they quit drugs. There are addicts in the Fellowship who continue to use. I learned about this when I was fourteen years clean and it resolved many deeply personal issues for me.  The disease goes much deeper than the use of drugs and those experiences have helped me a great deal.  The people in my life today offer an attractive lifestyle that invites me to be humble. The early days in recovery opened my mind to what kind of Fellowship is possible. What exactly does ‘Fellowship’ mean?

A Friendly Relationship Based in Traditions

My personal recovery depends on NA Unity.  The unity of the NA Fellowship has saved my life many times over the years I have been clean. True friends continue to be a source of joy but my relationships are not always with friends.

Britannica Dictionary definition of FELLOWSHIP

  • [noncount] : a friendly relationship among people

People came to the community dinner to share good food and good fellowship. [=company, companionship]

  • [noncount] : the relationship of people who share interests or feelings

traditions that bind us together in fellowship

  • [count] : a group of people who have similar interests

The Britannica Group Online Dictionary

Working with Other Addicts

Being a recovered addict means I can put all my energies into helping others. Ongoing awareness of my defects and the actions of those defects expressed in my shortcomings helps to keep me humble. When someone is recovering, I am sympathetic to their situation because I have been there myself and will be again. An early sponsor warned me that the most natural thing for an addict to do is use.

Some members are self-seekers and consumed with their own needs. Living clean can become a series of joyful events without much thought for the needs of others. I went through a lot of emotions when I understood how jealous I was and consumed with hatred for the self-seekers. When I finally was able to let go and see how I was powerless over others, I found acceptance and my own joy. Taking responsibility for my own happiness was critical to my recovery.

Members who are dishonest are difficult for me to deal with. I have finally learned that my contempt for others triggers self-loathing so I try and move past addicts who lie.  I also struggle with members ignorant of their own self-deception. Self-deception is a form of lying but lacks awareness of the actions.  I find that I am eager to believe the lies of another when it suits my own needs. I have believed many lies over the years because it suited my needs. My associations with other addicts can become exclusive rather than inclusive so I can become comfortable in the lies. My anonymity is lost as my personality takes over. Toxic cliques form and the Fellowship suffers.

There are endless possibilities as opinions and personalities all come together in the Narcotics Anonymous Groups when decisions are made. I like to see the Fellowship of Narcotics Anonymous as a plural, not singular noun. A struggling group might suffer from egos or perhaps I am the ego that prevents the group from growing. Each group is tasked with the primary purpose of carrying the message. The success of a Group’s efforts grows our Fellowship even if a newcomer joins another group. Each group survives based on the ‘group conscience’.

What is a ‘group conscience’?

“Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps,” Narcotics Anonymous’ Twelfth Step says, “we tried… to practice these principles in all our affairs.” When we collectively apply the insight received from that spiritual awakening to our group’s problems, we call that group conscience. Common sense, open minds, calm discussion, accurate information, mutual respect, and healthy personal recovery enables a group to deal effectively with almost anything that comes its way.”

Narcotics Anonymous, The Group booklet, page 11, Copyright © 1997

I like when the groups I have been a member of try to support the application of the Twelve Traditions as best they can. A group in a prison might not be able to pay rent, but maybe they can print and distribute Narcotics Anonymous literature or mop and clean the meeting space to be self supporting. How the Traditions are applied can affect my participation in a group, and changing groups is always an option.

Each group bears the responsibility of governing itself but can utilize service bodies to work with other groups to combine their efforts. Narcotics Anonymous is full of evidence of this. A very cheap and widely distributed Basic Text in Brazil became a very expensive and produced in small numbers when the NAWS Corporation imposed their copyrights on the distribution. Now the profits of that effort benefit a few members rather than the efforts of the groups to carry the message.

Tradition Four says that “Each Group should be autonomous, except in matters affecting other Groups, or N.A., as a whole.” My understanding of this is that each Group bears the responsibility of considering other Groups or NA, as a whole in their decision-making process. This ensures that the Group is truly autonomous.

Tradition Nine says that ‘N.A., as such, ought never be organized; but we may create service boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve.’ Service bodies bear the weight of responsibility to the groups they serve. Tradition Seven says that The Fellowship of Narcotics Anonymous may never be organized, but what service body could function without structure and form? Groups are accountable to the collective spiritual awareness of the members who meet regularly.

The Narcotics Anonymous Literature Says

“We believe that the sooner we face our problems within our society, in everyday living, just that much faster do we become acceptable, responsible, and productive members of that society.”

Narcotics Anonymous Grey Book, Chapter 4, ‘How it Works’

When I arrived at Narcotics Anonymous I slowly came to believe that self-obsession is the core of the disease. It was evident in every aspect of my life. I am easily distracted from recovery back to self-obsession. The Fellowship of a group opened my mind to the possibilities of a life without using. I no longer see growth as something I choose for myself, but have accepted that growth of Fellowship is the greatest weapon against the disease of addiction.  The greatest weapon against self-obsession is ‘enjoying complete recovery and acceptance within society’ (Narcotics Anonymous Literature quote). The tools that I learned in the Fellowship of a Narcotics Anonymous group made the life I live today a possibility.

Paper Empires

What is a Narcotics Anonymous Group?

I believe that the critical component of the success of a twelve-step program is the message heard in the rooms. The twelve steps, which originated in Alcoholics Anonymous, have been adopted and adapted by Narcotics Anonymous. Twelve step groups usually hold meetings regularly and publicly so new members can find them.  The support of group members is the basis of the recovery process.  This has improved the lives of millions of people. The messages that have affected me the most were very clear, and I believe I will remember them for the rest of my life. We all carry a message at meetings.  Members of a group work together to create the best environment to carry a message.  That atmosphere of recovery in a meeting could be the most important message for a newcomer.  Sometimes groups come together to create service structures that provide services and literature. The messages members commit to paper are powerful. Even a simple meeting list handed out by a local doctor can transform lives. A Narcotics Anonymous meeting list transformed my life and gave me access to the best of all the experience, strength and hope of a Fellowship. I found a group and supported that group as a part of my recovery. I have always had a group I called my home group. In Narcotics Anonymous I learned that self-obsession is the core of the disease, so working as part of a group, helping other addicts gave me a recovery path to follow. The Twelve Traditions protect each group and provide a simple structure for them to follow.

Service Structures

Both AA and NA are similar in structure since the groups are the top, and all the service bodies are directly responsible to the groups. While it is not a requirement to create service committees, there can be benefits. Tradition 9 in Narcotics Anonymous says “NA, as such, ought never be organized, but we may create service boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve.”  Twelve Step Groups apply the Twelve Traditions to their efforts to provide structure and unity to the group. Creating service structures has benefited groups. The funding of services has the potential to create problems as well.  At the bottom of the service structures are world service offices. Alcoholics Anonymous is comprised of three corporations, and Narcotics Anonymous has one. Here are some numbers from their respective websites, for comparison.  

  • Alcoholics Anonymous World Services (2015) 117,248 Groups registered, contributed $7,154,146.
  • Narcotics Anonymous World Services (2015) approximately 63,000 Groups contributed $1,038,626.

Iranian NA groups account for approximately 18,000 groups as of 2015. Iran has a huge fellowship that exploded into life in the 1990’s and was not well connected to the rest of the fellowship until after the millennium.  Due to sanctions, Iran cannot contribute financially.

To Be Incorporated or Not, that is the Question.

The relationship between spiritual organizations and the service structures created in both AA and NA have been discussed a great deal since the inception of the Twelve Step program. As Alcoholics Anonymous grew, the discussion about incorporating came up. These were the recommendations of an advisory group in 1953.

(CONFERENCE ADVISORY ACTIONS 1953 pg 32)

REPORT of the COMMITTEE on

CONGRESSIONAL INCORPORATION of AA

We have reviewed all of the arguments pro and con on this subject, have discussed it with many members of AA within the Conference and outside of it and have come to these conclusions:

  1. The evils which caused the question to arise have largely abated.
  2. It would create by law a power to govern which would be contrary to, and violative of, our Traditions.
  3. It would implement the spiritual force of AA with a legal power, which we believe would tend to weaken its spiritual strength.
  4. When we ask for legal rights, enforceable in Courts of Law, we by
    the same act subject ourselves to possible legal regulation.
  5. We might well become endlessly entangled in litigation which, together with the incident expense and publicity, could seriously threaten our very existence.
  6. Incorporation could conceivably become the opening wedge that might
    engender politics and a struggle for power within our own ranks.
  7. Continuously since its beginning and today, AA has been a fellowship and not an organization. Incorporation necessarily makes it an organization.
  8. We believe that “spiritual faith” and a “way of life” cannot be incorporated.
  9. AA can and will survive so long as it remains a spiritual faith and
    a way of life to all men and women who suffer from alcoholism.

Charles Bishop, Jr. full-time Antiquarian Bookseller-Appraiser specializing in the Literature of Alcoholics Anonymous and Alcoholism. He wrote an article on this subject and documented many of the abuses of incorporation over the history of AA. His comments in his article are poignant.

Those 9 points above are a wonderful spiritual precedent.  They stand in stark contrast to the current New York office service corporations and their legal actions…

It is important to remember the General Service Conference of A.A. is unincorporated, a service body and not a government for A.A.  The Charter is a voluntary compact and also unincorporated.   It is not a grant from a state or other jurisdiction.  Nor is it a legal contract document.  The World Service Meeting also is unincorporated.

The following are all CORPORATIONS: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.; the General Service Board of Alcoholics Anonymous, Inc.; and the Alcoholics Anonymous Grapevine, Inc.   They are NOT Alcoholics Anonymous.  They are service organizations and corporations whose purpose and existence is to serve the Fellowship.  In effect, they are temporary, albeit long-lived, committees that could all be thrown away and Alcoholics Anonymous would still exist.

Charles Bishop, “Spiritualty Versus Legalism in Alcoholics Anonymous”

You can read his article here where he documents some significant abuses of power by the corporations of AA.

“Spirituality Versus Legalism In Alcoholics Anonymous” By Charlie Bishop, Jr.

Narcotics Anonymous members had arrived at the same conclusions when creating the Narcotics Anonymous Basic Text. The first Basic Text included the following phrases.

Tradition 4         “Narcotics Anonymous is a Fellowship of men and women, addicts, meeting together in groups, and using a given set of spiritual principles to find freedom from addiction and a new way to live. All else is not N.A.”

Tradition 9         “This is the basis of our service structure, but keep in mind that although these entities are created to serve our Fellowship they are not, in fact, a part of Narcotics Anonymous.”

This was the language included in the Basic Text, and Fellowship Approved in 1981. Unfortunately, the Leadership felt differently and amended the text before publication. The phrases were inserted again after protest and were removed again. The World Service Conference and the World Service Office (eventually becoming the NAWS Corporation) never recovered the support of the fellowship. This is seen in the dismally low contributions from groups that exist today when compared to AA. NAWS Corporation is supported by heavily marking up the literature and producing a steady stream of new literature for consumption by a small loyal following of members. As both the AA and NA Corporations grow, so will the need to control literature production and profits. A significant difference between the AA Corporations and NAWS Corporation is that AA Groups are listed as members of the Corporations, but NA Groups are not listed in Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Inc (NAWS Inc) Articles of Incorporation.

Abuses of Power

Section Mexicana was created by 2000 AA Groups in Mexico in the 1980’s.  This service structure was independently tasked to produce and distribute literature at a low cost. Alcoholics Anonymous World Services quietly modified Article II of the Conference Charter, which then allowed them to control publishing rights and assigning publishing to the Central Mexican Service Structure. They raided the offices of Section Mexicana, seized literature, and jailed an organizer.

The NAWS Corporation has introduced changes to the Fellowship Intellectual Property Trust which will tighten their control on the production of profitable literature.  These changes will be approved by a very weak World Service Conference that represents a small segment of the existing Narcotics Anonymous Groups.  

A Solution

The NAWS Corporation has been plagued by independent service structures that ignore the corporation. These independent organizations are largely unrecognized by the NAWS Corporation. The Basic Meeting List Toolbox (BMLT) is an independent organization of volunteers who provide a method of registering and providing access to meetings worldwide. Virtual NA provides information on virtual meetings for over a decade and saved countless addicts during the recent COVID pandemic. Neither service structure is part of the larger Corporate structure and both organizations are accountable to the groups they serve. Independent action is critical to the success of healthy AA and NA Groups.

The Gideon’s is a Christian fellowship of three hundred thousand people worldwide (according to their website). They are dedicated to putting their literature into the hands of people in need of salvation, and every hotel room in the world seems to have a bible because of them. Their annual budget is about one hundred and fifteen million dollars, of which one hundred million is for literature that they give away. The cost works out to about $400 annually to each member.

Personally, I have spent a tremendous amount of money and time printing and distributing meeting lists. I’m not looking for a pat on the back or acknowledgement of any sort. I am happy to work independently of diseased service structures. Taking responsibility for my recovery and Tradition One (‘Personal Recovery depends on NA Unity) drives my passion for meeting list distribution. Often the worst examples of the Narcotics Anonymous Fellowship become parasites feeding on the manipulation and control that service structures seem to create. Power and corruption seem to walk hand in hand so my efforts to be a part of continue but so does my independent spirit. I am a member of Narcotics Anonymous and you will not silence me.