http://meetings.intherooms.com/locations/Lancaster/Hanstead-House/2216

Hanstead House, 44429 Hanstead Avenue, Lancaster, CA (2025)

12/26/2025

December 26, 2025
Never-Failing Power
Page 376

"As we learn to trust this Power, we begin to overcome our fear of life."

Basic Text, p. 25

We are people accustomed to placing all our eggs in one basket. Many of us had one particular drug of choice that was our favorite. We relied on it to get us through each day and make life bearable. We were faithful to that drug; in fact, we committed ourselves to it without reservation. And then it turned on us. We had been betrayed by the only thing we had ever depended on, and the betrayal left us floundering.

Now that we've stumbled into the rooms of recovery, we may be tempted to rely on another human being to meet our needs. We may expect this from our sponsor, our lover, or our best friend. But dependence on human beings is risky. They fall short of perfection. They may be on vacation, sleeping, or in a bad mood when we need them.

Our dependence must rest on a Power greater than ourselves. No human force can restore our sanity, care for our will and our lives, or be unconditionally available and loving whenever we are in need. We place our trust in the God of our understanding, for only that Power will never fail us.

Just for Today: I will place my trust in a Power greater than myself, for only that Power will never let me down.

Copyright (c) 2007-2023, NA World Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved

12/25/2025

December 25, 2025
Anonymity and Self-Will
Page 375

"The drive for personal gain... which brought so much pain in the past falls by the wayside if we adhere to the principle of anonymity."

Basic Text, p. 76

The word anonymity itself means namelessness, but there's a larger principle at work in the anonymity of the NA program: the principle of selflessness. When we admit our powerlessness to manage our own lives, we take our first step away from self-will and our first step toward selflessness. The less we try to run our lives on self-will, the more we find the power and direction once so sorely lacking in our lives.

But the principle of selflessness does a lot more than just make us feel better--it helps us live better. Our ideas of how the world should be run begin to lose their importance, and we stop trying to impose our will on everyone and everything around us. And when we abandon our "know-it-all" pretensions and start recognizing the value of other peoples' experience, we start treating them with respect. The interests of others become as important to us as our own; we start to think about what's best for the group, rather than just what's best for us. We start living a life that's bigger than we are, that's more than just us, our name, ourselves--we start living the principle of anonymity.

Just for Today: God, please free me from self-will. Help me understand the principle of anonymity; help me to live selflessly.

Copyright (c) 2007-2023, NA World Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved

12/24/2025

December 24, 2025
The Group
Page 374

"The Twelfth Step of our personal program also says that we carry the message to the addict who still suffers.... The group is the most powerful vehicle we have for carrying the message."

Basic Text, p. 68

When we first come to Narcotics Anonymous meetings, we meet recovering addicts. We know they are addicts because they talk about the same experiences and feelings we've had. We know they are recovering because of their serenity--they've got something we want. We feel hope when other addicts share their recovery with us in NA meetings.

The atmosphere of recovery attracts us to the meetings. That atmosphere is created when group members make a commitment to work together. We try to enhance the atmosphere of recovery by helping set up for meetings, greeting newcomers, and talking with other addicts after the meeting. These demonstrations of our commitment make our meetings attractive and help our groups share their recovery.

Sharing experience in meetings is one way in which we help one another, and it's often the foundation for our sense of belonging. We identify with other addicts, so we trust their message of hope. Many of us would not have stayed in Narcotics Anonymous without that sense of belonging and hope. When we share at group meetings, we support our personal recovery while helping others.

Just for Today: I will reach out to another addict in my group and share my recovery.

Copyright (c) 2007-2023, NA World Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved

12/23/2025

Sick & Tired of being Sivk & Tired..........

12/23/2025

December 23, 2025
New Ideas
Page 373

"We reevaluate our old ideas so we can become acquainted with the new ideas that lead to a new way of life."

Basic Text, p. 94

Learning to live a new way of life can be difficult. Sometimes, when the going gets especially hard, we're tempted to follow the path of least resistance and live by our old ideas again. We forget that our old ideas were killing us. To live a new way of life, we need to open our minds to new ideas.

Working the steps, attending meetings, sharing with others, trusting a sponsor--these suggestions may meet our resistance, even our rebellion. The NA program requires effort, but each step in the program brings us closer to becoming the kinds of people we truly want to be. We want to change, to grow, to become something more than we are today. To do that, we open our minds, try on the new ideas we've found in NA, and learn to live a new way of life.

Just for Today: I will open my mind to new ideas and learn to live my life in a new way.

Copyright (c) 2007-2023, NA World Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved

12/22/2025

December 22, 2025
Acceptance and Change
Page 372

"Freedom to change seems to come after acceptance of ourselves."

Basic Text, p. 58

Fear and denial are the opposites of acceptance. None of us are perfect, even in our own eyes; all of us have certain traits that, given the chance, we would like to change. We sometimes become overwhelmed when contemplating how far short we fall of our ideals, so overwhelmed that we fear there's no chance of becoming the people we'd like to be. That's when our defense mechanism of denial kicks in, taking us to the opposite extreme: nothing about ourselves needs changing, we tell ourselves, so why worry? Neither extreme gives us the freedom to change.

Whether we are longtime NA members or new to recovery, the freedom to change is acquired by working the Twelve Steps. When we admit our powerlessness and the unmanageability of our lives, we counteract the lie that says we don't have to change. In coming to believe that a Power greater than we are can help us, we lose our fear that we are damaged beyond repair; we come to believe we can change. We turn ourselves over to the care of the God of our understanding and tap the strength we need to make a thorough, honest examination of ourselves. We admit to God, to ourselves, and to another human being what we've found. We accept the good and the bad in ourselves; with this acceptance, we become free to change.

Just for Today: I want to change. By working the steps, I will counter fear and denial and find the acceptance needed to change.

Copyright (c) 2007-2023, NA World Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved

12/21/2025

December 21, 2025
A new way to live
Page 371

"When at the end of the road we find that we can no longer function as a human being, either with or without drugs, we all face the same dilemma.... Either go on as best we can to the bitter ends--jails, institutions, or death--or find a new way to live."

Basic Text, p. 87

What was the worst aspect of active addiction? For many of us, it wasn't the chance that we might die some day of our disease. The worst part was the living death we experienced every day, the never-ending meaninglessness of life. We felt like walking ghosts, not living, loving parts of the world around us.

In recovery, we've come to believe that we're here for a reason: to love ourselves and to love others. In working the Twelve Steps, we have learned to accept ourselves. With that self-acceptance has come self-respect. We have seen that everything we do has an effect on others; we are a part of the lives of those around us, and they of ours. We've begun to trust other people and to acknowledge our responsibility to them.

In recovery we've come back to life. We maintain our new lives by contributing to the welfare of others and seeking each day to do that better--that's where the Tenth, Eleventh, and Twelfth Steps come in. The days of living like a ghost are past, but only so long as we actively seek to be healthy, loving, contributing parts of our own lives and the lives of others around us.

Just for Today: I have found a new way to live. Today, I will seek to serve others with love and to love myself.

Copyright (c) 2007-2023, NA World Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved

12/20/2025

December 20, 2025
Overcoming self-obsession
Page 370

"In living the steps, we begin to let go of our self-obsession."

Basic Text, p. 97

Many of us came to the program convinced that our feelings, our wants, and our needs were of the utmost importance to everyone. We had practiced a lifetime of self-seeking, self-centered behavior and believed it was the only way to live.

That self-centeredness doesn't cease just because we stop using drugs. Perhaps we attend our first NA function and are positive that everyone in the room is watching us, judging us, and condemning us. We may demand that our sponsor be on call to listen to us whenever we want--and they, in turn, may gently suggest that the world does not revolve around us. The more we insist on being the center of the universe, the less satisfied we will be with our friends, our sponsor, and everything else.

Freedom from self-obsession can be found through concentrating more on the needs of others and less on our own. When others have problems, we can offer help. When newcomers need rides to meetings, we can pick them up. When friends are lonely, we can spend time with them. When we find ourselves feeling unloved or ignored, we can offer the love and attention we need to someone else. In giving, we receive much more in return--and that's a promise we can trust.

Just for Today: I will share the world with others, knowing they are just as important as I am. I will nourish my spirit by giving of myself.

Copyright (c) 2007-2023, NA World Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved

12/19/2025

December 19, 2025
Walking the way we talk
Page 369

"Words mean nothing until we put them into action."

Basic Text, p. 58

The Twelfth Step reminds us "to practice these principles in all our affairs." In NA, we see living examples of this suggestion all around us. The more experienced members, who seem to have an aura of peace surrounding them, demonstrate the rewards of applying this bit of wisdom in their lives.

To receive the rewards of the Twelfth Step, it is vital that we practice the spiritual principles of recovery even when no one is looking. If we talk about recovery at meetings but continue to live as we did in active addiction, our fellow members may suspect that we are doing nothing more than quoting bumper stickers.

What we pass on to newer members comes more from how we live than what we say. If we advise someone to "turn it over" without having experienced the miracle of the Third Step, chances are the message will fail to reach the ears of the newcomer for whom it's intended. On the other hand, if we "walk what we talk" and share our genuine experience in recovery, the message will surely be evident to all.

Just for Today: I will practice the principles of recovery, even when I'm the only one who knows.

Copyright (c) 2007-2023, NA World Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved

12/18/2025

December 18, 2025
The message of our meetings
Page 368

"The fact that we, each and every group, focus on carrying the message provides consistency; addicts can count on us."

Basic Text, p. 68

Tales of our antics in active addiction may be funny. Stories of our old bizarre reactions to life when using may be interesting. But they tend to carry the mess more than the message. Philosophical arguments on the nature of God are fascinating. Discussions of current controversies have their place--however, it's not at an NA meeting.

Those times when we grow disgusted with meetings and find ourselves complaining that "they don't know how to share" or "it was another whining session" are probably indications that we need to take a good, hard look at how we share.

What we share about how we got into recovery and how we stayed here through practicing the Twelve Steps is the real message of recovery. That's what we are all looking for when we go to a meeting. Our primary purpose is to carry the message to the still-suffering addict, and what we share at meetings can either contribute significantly to this effort or detract greatly. The choice, and the responsibility, is ours.

Just for Today: I will share my recovery at an NA meeting.

Copyright (c) 2007-2023, NA World Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved

12/17/2025

December 17, 2025
Service motives
Page 367

"Everything that occurs in the course of NA service must be motivated by the desire to more successfully carry the message of recovery to the addict who still suffers."

Basic Text, p. xxvi

Our motives are often a surprise to us. In our early days of recovery, they were almost always a surprise! We've learned to check our motives through prayer, meditation, the steps, and talking to our sponsor or other addicts. When we find ourselves with an especially strong urge to do or have something, it's particularly important to check our motives to find out what we really want.

In early recovery, many of us throw ourselves into service with great fervor before we have started the regular practice of motive-checking. It takes awhile before we become aware of the real reasons for our zeal. We may want to impress others, show off our talents, or be recognized and important. Now, these desires may not be harmful in another setting, expressed through another outlet. In NA service, however, they can do serious damage.

When we decide to serve NA, we make a decision to help addicts find and maintain recovery. We have to carefully check our motives in service, remembering that it's much easier to frighten away using addicts than to convince them to stay. When we show them game-playing, manipulation, or pomposity, we present an unattractive picture of recovery. However, the unselfish desire to serve others creates an atmosphere that is attractive to the addict who still suffers.

Just for Today: I will check my motives for the true spirit of service.

Copyright (c) 2007-2023, NA World Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Hanstead House

12/26/2025

12/25/2025

12/24/2025

12/23/2025

12/23/2025

12/22/2025

12/21/2025

12/20/2025

12/19/2025

12/18/2025

12/17/2025

Address

Telephone

Website

Alerts

Shortcuts

Featured

Share

Category