Welcome to the County Line Area
of Narcotics Anonymous
Serving: Agoura Hills, Moorpark, Newbury Park, Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks, and Westlake Village in Ventura County, California
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Serving: Agoura Hills, Moorpark, Newbury Park, Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks, and Westlake Village in Ventura County, California
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.
There are no strings attached to NA. We are not affiliated with any other organizations. We have no initiation fees or dues, no pledges to sign, no promises to make to anyone. We are not connected with any political, religious, or law enforcement groups, and are under no surveillance at any time. Anyone may join us regardless of age, race, sexual identity, creed, religion, or lack of religion.
We are not interested in what or how much you used or who your connections were, what you have done in the past, how much or how little you have, but only in what you want to do about your problem and how we can help. The newcomer is the most important person at any meeting, because we can only keep what we have by giving it away. We have learned from our group experience that those who keep coming to our meetings regularly stay clean.
For more information on Narcotics Anonymous,
please go to the: Narcotics Anonymous World Services Website
July 07, 2025 |
God in each other |
| Page 187 |
| "One aspect of our spiritual awakening comes through the new understanding of our Higher Power that we develop by sharing another addict's recovery." |
| Basic Text, p. 52 |
| We've heard it said that we often see God most clearly in one another. We see the truth of this when we practice our Twelfth Step. When we carry the recovery message to another addict, we sense the presence of a Power greater than ourselves. And as we watch the message take hold, we realize something else: It's the message that brings recovery, not the messenger. A Higher Power, not our own power, is the source of the change that begins when we carry the message to a still-suffering addict. As the message does its work, transforming the life of another addict, we see a Higher Power in action. We watch as acceptance and hope replace denial and despair. Before our very eyes, the first traces of honesty, open-mindedness, and willingness begin to appear. Something's happening inside this person, something bigger and more powerful than either of us. We're watching the God we've come to understand at work in someone's life. We see the Higher Power in them. And we know with greater certainty than ever that this Higher Power is in us, too, as the force driving our recovery. |
| Just for Today: As I carry the message of recovery to other addicts, I will try to pay attention to the Power behind the message. Today, as I watch other addicts recover, I will try to recognize the God in them so I can better recognize the God in myself. |
The gift of desperation doesn't look the same for all of us. One member quipped, "You can get off at any floor on the way down to hell." All of us were propelled into NA by despair, pain, and fear. And--over time--we're able to harness that energy to transform it into enough passion and excitement--even joy--to help us stay clean another day, grow spiritually, and live creatively and with purpose.
Living Clean reminds us: "Making the shift from desperation to passion is a First Step issue." In desperation, we surrender to being powerless over our addiction, and ultimately surrender to the first steps on our path of a new life and to the purpose of carrying the NA message. The member continued, "After my initial surrender, the changes I saw in myself fueled my passion for recovery! I was energized by the potential of what could come next." Like that initial surrender, this desperation-to-passion shift isn't a one-time deal. Despair still happens in recovery. But we can allow it to motivate us, driving us to make needed changes to our program and reigniting our passion to persevere with purpose.
Passion, like desperation, doesn't manifest in the same ways for all of us. Our personalities absolutely play a part in how our passion is revealed--and our mood also affects how we experience it. What is burning, purposeful, and creative passion on one day--excitement for sponsorship, motivation to serve, strongly held conviction--may look more like quiet fidelity to our program or begrudging perseverance on another. Although the fires may burn differently, they all propel us forward. Our passions don't always remain fixed, either. We may revisit ones long forgotten and discover new ones. We're free to passionately pursue the things that bring us joy and nurture our spirits--both in the rooms of NA and out in the world.