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NA members hold nearly 76,000 meetings weekly in 143 countries. We offer recovery from the effects of addiction through working a twelve-step program, including regular attendance at group meetings. The group atmosphere provides help from peers and offers an ongoing support network for addicts who wish to pursue and maintain a drug-free lifestyle.
Our name, Narcotics Anonymous, is not meant to imply a focus on any particular drug; NA’s approach makes no distinction between legal and illegal drugs including alcohol. Membership is free, and we have no affiliation with any organizations outside of NA including governments, religions, law enforcement groups, or medical and psychiatric associations. Through all of our service efforts and our cooperation with others seeking to help addicts, we strive to reach a day when every addict in the world has an opportunity to experience our message of recovery in their own language and culture. This website is the contribution by members living in Ventura County towards that worldwide effort.
We are not alone, you are not alone.
The Narcotics Anonymous message is “that an addict, any addict, can stop using drugs, lose the desire to use and find a new way to live.”
NA is a nonprofit fellowship or society of men and women for whom drugs had become a major problem. We are recovering addicts who meet regularly to help each other stay clean. This is a program of complete abstinence from all drugs. There is only one requirement for membership, the desire to stop using. We suggest that you keep an open mind and give yourself a break. Our program is a set of principles written so simply that we can follow them in our daily lives. The most important thing about them is that they work.
June 19, 2026 |
A sense of humor |
| Page 177 |
| "We find that when we lose self-obsession, we are able to understand what it means to be happy, joyous, and free." |
| Basic Text, p. 107 |
| The laughter in our meetings often surprises the newcomer. As a group, we appreciate the healing that healthy laughter brings. Even if we are deeply troubled, the joy that often fills the meeting rooms allows us, for a time, to have some fun with our recovery. Through humor, we can be temporarily relieved of our obsession with self. Life on life's terms is often anything but funny. But if we can keep a sense of humor about us, things that might overwhelm us can be made bearable. How often have we allowed ourselves to be upset by incidents that, taken with a bit of humor, are not all that intolerable? When we become annoyed with people and events, a search for the humor in the situation can put things in a brighter perspective. An ability to find humor in a difficult situation is a gift to develop. |
| Just for Today: I will look to find the humor in adversity. When I make mistakes, I will find a way to laugh at the humor of my imperfections. |
| Copyright (c) 2007-2026, NA World Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved |
June 19, 2026 |
Communicating Honestly in Service |
| Page 176 |
| "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 |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| Copyright (c) 2007-2026, NA World Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved |