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
August 06, 2026 |
The joy within |
| Page 228 |
| "Since the beginning of our recovery, we have found that joy doesn't come from material things but from within ourselves." |
| Basic Text, p. 107 |
| Some of us came to Narcotics Anonymous impoverished by our disease. Everything we'd owned had been lost to our addiction. Once we got clean, we put all our energy into recovering our material possessions, only to feel even more dissatisfied with our lives than before. Other members have sought to ease their emotional pain with material things. A potential date has rejected us? Let's buy something. The dog has died? Let's go to the mall. Problem is, emotional fulfillment can't be bought, not even on an easy installment plan. There's nothing inherently wrong with material things. They can make life more convenient or more luxurious, but they can't fix us. Where, then, can true joy be found? We know; the answer is within ourselves. When have we found joy? When we've offered ourselves in service to others, without expectation of reward. We've found true warmth in the fellowship of others--not only in NA, but in our families, our relationships, and our communities. And we've found the surest source of satisfaction in our conscious contact with our God. Inner peace, a sure sense of direction, and emotional security do not come from material things, but from within. |
| Just for Today: True joy can't be bought. I will seek my joy in service, in fellowship, in my Higher Power--I will seek within. |
"My parents sacrificed to send me away to school when I was a kid. They were at their wits' end and hoped that this school could drill some discipline into me," a member shared. "They said it would build character. It toughened me up, all right, and made me even more rebellious. It would be a long time before I'd see discipline and character in a positive light again. But here I am, grateful that my rebelliousness landed me here. NA gave me what my upbringing and education could not. You showed me the value of a different kind of discipline, a spiritual discipline, and through it I've become a person of good character. That matters to me today."
Many of us have negative associations with the word discipline. It conjures up memories of the principal's office or worse. We understand discipline to mean punishment--and it does--but other definitions are better suited to us in recovery.
As a spiritual principle, discipline refers both to the good habits that support our recovery and the composure and serenity resulting from that work. As with athletes and musicians, our performance in real life reflects the effort put into disciplined practice. When we're disciplined about our spiritual maintenance, we're less distracted by our impulses, our defects may not call us as often, and we're more apt to listen to the quiet, steady assurances of our conscience or Higher Power. As we improve our conscious contact, we find it easier to curb our excesses and strengthen our character. As one member wrote, "I have a daily spiritual routine that puts me at ease with my emotions. I can practice restraint when it's called for because I'm no longer governed by impulse."