Posted by Democracy II on May 13, 19100 at 14:36:35:
In Reply to: Democracy posted by Bo Sewell on May 04, 19100 at 01:25:06:
NAWOL
Democracy is more to me than just voting. While the instance of personal expression is important in politics, in a spiritual program it can mean so much more. There is a unision of feeling that occurs when a group of people share a common conclusion based on common experiences. Where this involves life and death issues, it becomes intense. Combining the efforts o many to forge ahead for NA is where our progress. Nobody can claim to "control" this power, it is greater even than our sum, but it is there. Those who have personal experience with this power can share what it was like and what their feelings were.
Bonds of trust and mutual concern for our wellbeing is not our disease. Refined and enobled by the 12 Step recovery process, it becomes a way of life. Each NA recovery group has a spiritual center forged out of the relationships among the people who attend and keep alive that group. While all the elements are important, we have no trouble going on with the meeting if someone steals the basket or fails to show up with the coffee and literature. Very often, groups meet in the parking lot when someone fails to show up with the building key. Staying clean and helping others is our NA group purpose.
Many articles have been written relating to the concept of group conscience as the term is used in Narcotics Anonymous. There seem to be many members who are intuitively drawn to the idea of bringing together the best aspirations from the loving members of NA to formulate contributions to our common welfare and growth. There are others who may participate but don't think much about it. The side that goes unaddressed is the member who believes that majority rules and that the weak or vulnerable get what they deserve when time and again their efforts prove ineffectual in the face of crass political manipulation and power politics. It is sad that we have to put up with this and that somehow in our clean and relatively enlightened state, we are not supposed to know about these things. As if bringing them up were somehow inappropriately negative or less than spiritual. Well. Does that sound like healthy thinking to you?
Actually, the spiritual state is all about accumulating a healthy form of personal power that allows for maximum effectiveness and the ability to deal with the negative without falling into the negativity ourselves. Just because other people choose to call names and fall into old patterns, we simply step aside for them. They, uh, tend to take care of themselves. By side stepping the obstructionists, we are free to continue our work and remain is a positive position to help them. Our works require great attention to detail and continuity over the long term. We cannot allow ourselves to be confused by passion or distracted by the puny efforts of those who would control a free people.
Group conscience only works when the membership has a steady flow of factual information to base their positions on in voting or deciding how we should stand on issues as a Fellowship. If this information is cut off, the Fellowship is still protected by our Higher Power. The energy just re-routes itself. It takes other pathways. Interest and depth of involvement decreases in the manipulated materials or processes because they are not vital or interesting enough to hold our attention. The truth will not only set you free, it energizes and empowers you. It literally �feels' good and this attraction breeds more of the same. People want to be good for something and gravitate towards really meaning and purpose in their lives as they grow in 12 Step recovery.
Perhaps the greatest problem within the Fellowship is fear. When we are fearful, we can justify desperate acts. We can create issues to rouse people to action. We can develop crises and emergencies that are merely guises for abusive personal power. Coming out in the open, as we do, and generating positive expositions and writings sharing our recovery experience speaks for itself. We prefer to take to long way round because many people must change for this miracle to take place. Possibly, everyone involved must reach a personal threshold of pain and frustration to arouse the spirit within them. We prefer not to rabble rouse support for this writing. It should come from deeper levels of spiritual reality and should allow us to share our own inner being in a quiet setting and exemplify faith, not fear.
There are many, many sincere addicts in NA today. They stay clean, attend meetings and work their Steps with an NA sponsor. What they learn contributes to our common welfare and so we grow. We want to encourage members to share their recovery founded love and hope so that a bright light may shine to attract others to our way of life. By quietly doing our part, great miracles come to pass. And the greatest miracle is when we can step free of drugs in one form or another and take our places as awake, aware, loving, caring, effective human beings.
In Loving Service,
Bo S.