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When It Works: 12 Basics
Twelve Principles of NA
PRINCIPLE FIVE - OPEN-MINDEDNESS
Note:
All edits are done in this green color and are to be thrown into the
spirit well-God will handle the rest.
Note:
The yellow highlighted areas are the areas to be omitted
and the red areas are paragraphs
that should be connected.
Note:
Our Middletown, Connecticut NAWOL group is honored to be part of the
process. We have no expectations
other than staying in the process and possibly helping other addicts.
OPEN-MINDEDNESS
"Open-mindedness is our bridge to the experience of
others.
It is the passage way out of loneliness into the life of the
Spirit."
Fear
and guilt keep us from doing what we can do today. Fear is concern over future
pain. Guilt is an echo of knowing we could have done better. Both limit us and
prevent us from re-experiencing past pain. Our pain has taught us to avoid
situations where we have failed. Are the limitations of the past really
protecting us? Or are they merely carry-overs from our active addiction and
early recovery? Recovery allows us to lose the defects that cause us pain and
gain the principles that make us happy, joyous, and free.
Open-mindedness
becomes a key principle in recovery because it is something we can do on a daily
basis. It can provide both
the opportunity and break we need to grow at the same time. It
turns negative situations into
positive ones. Open mindedness
allows us to move from the problem to the solution.
When we become willing to look at our part in the problem, we get to the
solution quicker. Many times when
our part it taken away, the problem doesn�t even exist.
A problem is only a problem is we are not willing to experience a
solution. Open mindedness opens the
doors that have closed our spiritual growth.
Once we are able to view the world through other�s eyes, we begin to
see more clearly. As a result, we
spend less time angry and more time enjoying the beauty that life has to offer. We
literally give ourselves a break when we check our past limitations by
attempting to do things that we have rightfully associated with failure. in the past.
Not always, but sometimes the impossible has become possible.
The
only time we�re living in the limited past is when we make the decision to be
miserable. By choosing to be open-minded, we can exert our willingness to try
and see what happens. Sometimes, the failure will set in immediately and we will
need to draw back. If we find ourselves on thin ice, it is no time to put our
foot down. Practice and repetition will surprise us often enough to reward our
efforts. We are not the people we once were. Our minds are clearing.
Our memories begin to function properly and our ability to act
meaningfully increases. This process never stops � this is what it means to be
alive. If our range of action doesn't increase as time goes by, we will be one
of those who say, "Recovery isn't paying off. I'm not changing!" This
very dissatisfaction can be used for positive change. We can snap out of it, and say to ourselves, "OK, I'm going to get with the program
and change a few things today,. I am going to change my negative attitude!" Admission of our
disease, coming to believe in a Higher Power, and turning ourselves over to the
care of a Loving God is a damn good start! The negativity of our self-assessment
is gone in the moment of real surrender.
Well,
guess who is in charge of your recovery? If we are not willing to step out on
faith occasionally, we have no way of changing unless we�re hit with dumb luck
or good fortune. Fortunately, we even get a little of that occasionally. With
open-mindedness, we can sit and think about something without feeling
the urgency to jump to conclusions or apply narrow limitations to
situations placed on our minds. on what we is
surfaced in our minds.
The
underlying fear that if we don't keep our thoughts and feelings in strict
control we will relapse or go out of control ceases to apply. We mind our own
business. We transfer control of our wills and lives to the care of a loving God
of our understanding. How else can we experience the miraculous nature of
recovery? If we have come this far without consciously realizing the miracles we
are given, we are living under a cloud. Pray for its removal. A great part of
our freedom is in our increasing ability to just listen, just read, and just
observe. We all get to choose whether we want to add something to our living and
thinking, wait a while, or simply decline the matter at hand for the present.
It
is our freedom of spirit to be able to
do this
Making good decisions
based upon principal driven thinking allows us a freedom of spirit we only
dreamed was possible. This
freedom of spirit is a
great treasure in itself. How
They are different
from the old pathways grown
up laden
with past pain and despair, pathways that got smaller and
more confining as our addiction progressed.
Open mindedness
allows us to move from life�s restraints and into today�s possibilities. Today, We can entertain new viewpoints and ideas when they come up. We can
search for new information and apply it to help make our spirit happier.
Open-mindedness is willingness put into action.
It is a way of growing.
Part
of the miracle of personality change comes clear to us when in the midst of
learning how to do something new,. We find ourselves
snapping out of some unpleasant feeling carried over from our using days. New
understandings help us see past these painful memories and allow
us to explore the present.
Another important thing about genuine open-mindedness is being able to hold
ourselves in check when we need time to think something through. We keep doing
whatever works for us until the new idea proves itself on some feeling level. We
can progress steadily. We no longer need to flee the present. Some
of our members sit quietly, pray, and meditate.
Through meditation, answers to seemingly unfixable problems have been
presented to members who are open minded enough to believe in our literature.
An The old NA
saying, "If it ain't practical, it ain't spiritual," reminds us to
keep our recovery real. As we have less guilt about ourselves, we have less need
for elaborate efforts to make up for our past wrongs. We can avail ourselves of
use common good
judgment and check out our ideas with our sponsor. In matters of real concern to
us, we can seek help through NA in many ways.
If
we are upset, emotional, or overly concerned about anything, we learn to suspend
action, pray, and seek out a member who understands our situation and has
personal experience to share with us. It is through our surrender, our faith,
and our inventory, that we are able to grow. At many points in recovery, we need
to remember these things because we are going to gain the appearance of power
over our lives and the lives of others. When we start feeling like we have all the answers, we
limit our ability to stay open minded thus restraining our ability to grow
spiritually. We must practice
surrender on a daily basis.
Ongoing surrender is ongoing recovery.
If
we cannot remain open-minded and teachable, we will find ourselves stagnating
and reverting to the games of manipulation and control. There is a difference
between discipline and control. Control deadens because ift offers no choice.
and The lack of flexibility
in our lives has us giving the same negative response to every
situation we experience. Our
lack of ability to experience new situations as a result of staying open minded
turns our dreams into reality quicker than the one track robotic approach that
has been limiting new opportunities in life and killing our spirits.
having a say in our lives is killing to our spirits.
Discipline
allows us to cultivate our lives by exploring the meanings of words like: Ttraining,
moderation, restraint, concentration, caution and forbearance. We are free to
avoid the excesses that lead to much of our pain and guilt. We can develop
habits of conduct and methods of preparing ourselves before we get into
something instead of floundering from one crisis to another. Caution and
discretion will become functional parts of our living rather than elaborate
over-reactions to the ordinary events of life. Taking care of our body, helps
our mind to settle down and function properly. When the mind takes care of the
body, the body chemistry works. When the body is working, it helps the mind.
As
order and balance replace the desperation that gave us the desire for recovery
in the first place, open-mindedness takes on another important function. We use
openness as a form of enlivening our daily awareness. There is always something
happening and yet if we are not open to happiness, we'll walk out the door on
some sunny day and see nothing but rain clouds. Our addiction will stell
us that our hard won ease and comfort is boring and uneventful! Many of us never
think of going to the library, walking in the park, taking a nice drive, or visiting the
sick or going to see relatives - just to say
hi! Sometimes we have to make a written list to remind ourselves of new things
we can do. Then, we have to overcome all the 'important' reasons to put off
doing them! God,
it's enough to make you call your sponsor!
If
we forget some of the things we should do to stay open-minded, we can always
seek our sponsor�s help. We need
to remember to look at the way our sponsor is living and do the things they do
if we want to have the things they have.
[7.25.08]
persons have visited this site since January 3, 2008
Reprinted from the
N.A. FELLOWSHIP USE ONLY
Copyright � December 1998
Victor Hugo Sewell, Jr.
NA Foundation Group
6685 Bobby John Road Atlanta, GA 30349 USA
404.312.5166
[email protected]
All rights reserved. This draft may be copied by members of Narcotics Anonymous for the purpose of writing input for future drafts, enhancing the recovery of NA members and for the general welfare of the Narcotics Anonymous Fellowship as a whole. The use of an individual name is simply a registration requirement of the Library of Congress and not a departure from the spirit or letter of the Pledge, Preface or Introduction of this book. Any reproduction by individuals or organizations outside the Fellowship of Narcotics Anonymous is prohibited. Any reproduction of this document for personal or corporate monetary gain is prohibited.