June 19: Spiritual Principle a Day, read by Sophie X.

Spiritual Principle a Day for June 19, read by Sophie X.

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June 19

Communicating Honestly in Service

"Open, honest, and straightforward communication nurtures the spirit of service in our fellowship, and poisons the impulse to govern."

—Twelve Concepts for NA Service, Twelfth Concept

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At its best, our service to NA is selfless—the right thing, done for the right reason. Selflessness may be a stretch for us at times. It requires us to keep our egos in check while communicating with each other honestly, directly, and respectfully. Committed as we may be, we can’t do this perfectly, but it’s something we aspire to. When we make an honest effort to fulfill our primary purpose—whether one-on-one, through a home group, or in some facet of our service system—we have the opportunity to reinforce the best aspects of ourselves. This is a benefit to us as individuals as well as to our common welfare.

Selfless service calls on us to apply everything we know about spiritual principles. The experience we gained from working the Steps and applying Traditions comes to bear big- time. We learn a lot about open-mindedness when we work Step Two, for example, and then as we serve, open-mindedness finds a new purpose as we exchange ideas in a business meeting. Likewise, the importance of inclusion that we first encountered in Tradition One reinforces our belief in a spirit of rotation, making it a little easier to end a commitment. We practiced honesty and gained clarity as we inventoried our lives, past and present. This practice proves invaluable in service as we strive to foster healthy, honest communication.

When we tend to our spiritual condition, it’s easier to come correct to service. We’ve done the work and can trust ourselves to act appropriately. We’re able to set aside the rigidity, ancient resentments, and impulse to control that can interfere with a spirit of service. Fortunately, we’re not all sick on the same day, and a spiritually fit majority has a way of keeping our worst impulses in check. At some point or other, we’ll probably get our turn to play the role of that difficult member. The good news is that honest communication has a way of neutralizing the countless forms that self-will can take.

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Spiritual Principle:

I will practice the spiritual principles of honesty and open-mindedness in my service to NA today. I will encourage open communication and unity by acknowledging others’ efforts to do the same.

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© NA World Services

This podcast is not affiliated with Narcotics Anonymous, and is an independent production of the Works of Wisdom

Episode Transcript

(00:03):
Welcome to the Voices of Recovery podcast.
This is your spiritual Principleof a Day episode featuring a
recovering addict. Hi, my name is Sophie X.

(00:24):
My clean date is December 28th, 2023.
You're listening to the Voices of Recovery podcast.
This is the Spiritual a Day passage for June 20th.
This is the spiritual principle,a day passage for Dune.
This is the spiritual principle,a day passage for June 20th.
Willingness to give it a go. Great or small, our awakening is

(00:48):
show in our willingness to practice the principles and
carry the message. Living Clean Chapter 3 Creative
Action of the Spirit We may havehoped for easy answers to our
drug problems We may have hoped for easy answers to our drug
problem. When we attended our first
meeting, we hoped for a quick fix, some simple formula to
provide relief from our troubledexistence.

(01:10):
With that, we could be on our way.
I was hoping you'd cast a spell on me and then send me off with
a reminder to take cold showers and sleep with a chicken bone
under my pillow. One attic joked our
disappointment. To our disappointment, no one
promised us instant liberation. Worse, it was clear that working
all 12 steps would be. Worse, it was clear that working

(01:31):
all 12 steps would take some time.
Although the simple equation we saw it proved elusive.
We warm up to the idea that recovery is less like math and
more like one of our grandma's unwritten recipes and more like
1 of grandma's unwritten recipes.
A little of this, some of that, and so on.
Our longing for respite or connection or awakening gets us

(01:53):
to Our longing for respite or connection or awakening gets us
to Our longing for respite or connection or awakening gets us
to meeting after meeting withoutfully recognizing it.
Willingness shows us the way. We hear members celebrating 30
days clean explain. We hear members celebrating 30

(02:18):
days clean explain. I went to meetings every day and
I didn't take anything in between.
Duly noted. Duly noted.
This could be the Could this be the formula we're looking for?
It seems almost too simple, and almost it seems almost too
simple and also impossible. But maybe it's a good start.

(02:38):
Hello, open mindedness. We're willing to give it a try.
As our heads start to clear, we awaken to the possibilities of a
better life. We gravitate towards another
formula that seems doable. We gravitate toward another
formula that seems doable. Go to meetings, get a sponsor,
read the literature, Check, check, check.

(02:58):
We willingly take these actions and practice humility and
practice humility by keeping things simple.
We're handed a pink card with the Just For Today reading.
As we read it out loud, another light comes on.
This seemed like a practical approach, and we were willing to
try it. Our experience at 30 Days
reveals the value of taking action.

(03:19):
We made it this far holding up our key tag we share.
I'm celebrating 30 days today because I went to meetings every
day and didn't take anything in between.
I picked up the basic text and got a sponsor and I'm finding
there and I'm finding that thereis life after drugs.
As much as I wanted to figure out this recovery thing I'm
learning, as much as I wanted tofigure out this recovery thing,

(03:47):
as much as as much as I wanted to figure out this recovery
thing I'm I'm learning to do.