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Help make it better! What we learn here will benefit all.NA FOUNDATION GROUP NEWLETTERS
N. A. W. O. L.
NEWS
Vol.
I, Ed. 6, June, 2008
Lester O. � [email protected]--
Phone # (321) 684-5572
(Please Pass this Newsletter on to
your friends in recovery and have them contact me if they would like to be on
our mailing list.)
My Sponsor tells me that writing will
change your life forever, more so if your are involved with a project as
grand as one such as writing new Recovery Literature that is written by the
addict and for the addict, such as
The NA Way of Life; TRADITIONS
WAR: a pathway to peace; NA Twenty Plus
and The Spirit of NA.
I was
get to participate in the writing of our Basic Text and they all talk about how
being apart of its making was a life-changing event for them. They talk of the
unity that came about in working together on one giant Twelfth
The
Spirit of Writing
(A Healing Process)
(Excerpted from the Spirit of Narcotics )
While still in the healing process following a
decade that consisted of a marriage and divorce coupled with the deaths of my
daughter and step-daughter the God of my understanding opened some doors for me
that allowed me to go to OCNA XIX in July 1991 to participate in a workshop on
dealing with Grief in Recovery.
While at the convention another door was opened when I was given the privilege
of meeting Roy Drum (now deceased) from PA. Having seen archives of our history
I recognized the name and knew a little about his involvement with the writing
of our Basic Text. His name appears on all of the attendance sheets for the
workshops that produced our Basic Text and his story (Why Me, Why Not ME) can be
found in Chapter 19 our Basic Text, 3rd Edition.
Over the course of the weekend I was given several opportunities to converse
with Roy and on one of these occasions he told me about an NA meeting in
Youngstown, Ohio that was a writing meeting. He went on to explain the meeting
format to me.
At the beginning of the meeting, the chairperson names a topic and then for the
next 15 minutes everyone present writes down whatever there thoughts on the
topic may be and then they go around the room and everyone reads what they
wrote. Next, if time permits they will discuss what was read and at the end of
the meeting everyone is given the opportunity to either submit their writings of
not. Submitted writings are then forwarded to another writing group to add to
their stockpile of topics or directly to World Services to add to their archives
of future lit. Material. From talking to Roy I was left with the impression that
some of the material became our Basic Text was generated in this matter.
I have since come to believe that the true Spirit of N.A. can be found in the
writings of Addicts in Recovery as they travel along this journey called Life.
Our Experience, Strength and Hope are reflected our testimonials and what we
write down leaving behind a legacy of recovery that will continue to carry the
massage to addicts not yet born long after our individual demise.
While I am still on the topic of writing, I am reminded of another one of our
members; Greg Pierce (also deceased) who wrote a good part of our Basic Text.
About two years prior to his death I was allowed the privilege of hearing him
speak a t Western State�s Learning Day in Portland, OR. One of the things that
stand out the most in my mind today is how much he stressed the importance of
committing our Recovery Journey to Paper so that our legacy as a Recovering
Addict may live on long after we are gone still carrying a message of hope that
no addict, anywhere, need die from the horrors of addiction.
Lester O.
What
little involvement that I have had with participating in Projects of the NA Way
of Life Foundation has already enriched my life immensely. It has opened
doorways for my own personal recovery form addiction. Most of all it has
literally allowed my life to be touched by 100�s of recovering addicts from
around the world and I thank my Higher Power today for the experience, strength,
and hope that each and every one of you has given me making my life more
rewarding than I could have ever dreamed possible.
Lester O.
As
mentioned in our previous newsletter, �Our dream is to hold a week long
super-conference to include hundreds of addicts supporting this book and the
others we are working on. It will be designed to evaluate and hopefully complete
the work.� We feel that the Way
of Life Book in and of itself is about as complete as we can get it and is now
ready for the prep stage in which it can be reviewed with corrections in grammar
and punctuation being made so as to ready the book for this final workshop
hopefully one in which we can gather as many of our fellowship as possible to
review our work for approval. This will open the door for us to begin work on
our other projects, Tradition War: A
Pathway to Peace, NA
Twenty Plus, and The Spirit of NA.
In order
to accomplish this task we need volunteers to review and edit either by the
chapter or by section. Some of you have already volunteered but have not yet let
me know what chapter or section you are going to do so that I can keep track of
who is doing what. I do know that we have a group in Connecticut that has
volunteered to do the entire section on our principals.
Below is a
copy of the Index. If you wish to
be apart of this review, please pick a chapter or section and let me know what
you picked so that I can keep track.
We don't
need money or permission to do this work. Our Fellowship stresses our complete,
creative freedom. We don't need outside guidance - God gives us plenty. What we
need is you, as a willing NA member, to show your concern in positive ways by
sending in your input and showing up at our conferences to help process all the
input. Only members can do this well.
Section One: Orientation
Section Two: Issues
Section Three: Applications
|
|
Section Four: Evidence
|
I will be
doing Ch. # 25
Lester |
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|
Group
in Connecticut is doing this Section |
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Narcotics Anonymous Way of Life
2008 FORM
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Funds beyond prudent reserve passed along to ASC or WSO. - Ed)
The magic of NA unity is clear when we see our desire for recovery reflected in others. When this occurs - we see, we understand, and we are one. This is the strength of our unity.
hits since July 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.