Voices of Recovery

The Works of Wisdom

Daily readings of the “Just for Today” and "Spiritual Principle a Day" passages of Narcotics Anonymous literature by members of our fellowship. The story of each reader is released, the Voice of Recovery, three times a month, centered around a monthly theme. Monthly themes include: -Recovery and Relapse -Incarceration and Recovery -Our predecessors -Addiction and Dual Diagnosis This podcast is an independent production of the Works of Wisdom and is not affiliated with Narcotics Anonymous .

  1. 19H AGO

    March 1: Just for Today meditation, read by Rob M.

    Just for Today meditation for March 1, read by Rob M. Donations via PayPal and questions may be directed to: voicesofrecoverypod@gmail.com March 1 Anxiety attack? "[The] Power that brought us to this program is still with us and will continue to guide us if we allow it." Basic Text, p. 26 ––––=–––– Ever had a panic attack? Everywhere we turn, life's demands overwhelm us. We're paralyzed, and we don't know what to do about it. How do we break an anxiety attack? First, we stop. We can't deal with everything at once, so we stop for a moment to let things settle. Then we take a "spot inventory" of the things that are bothering us. We examine each item, asking ourselves this question: "How important is it, really?" In most cases, we'll find that most of our fears and concerns don't need our immediate attention. We can put those aside, and focus on the issues that really need to be resolved right away. Then we stop again and ask ourselves, "Who's in control here, anyway?" This helps remind us that our Higher Power is in control. We seek our Higher Power's will for the situation, whatever it is. We can do this in any number of ways: through prayer, talks with our sponsor or NA friends, or by attending a meeting and asking others to share their experience. When our Higher Power's will becomes clear to us, we pray for the ability to carry it out. Finally, we take action. Anxiety attacks need not paralyze us. We can utilize the resources of the NA program to deal with anything that comes our way. ––––=–––– Just for today: My Higher Power has not brought me all this way in recovery only to abandon me! When anxiety strikes, I will take specific steps to seek God's continuing care and guidance. pg. 63 ––––=–––– © NA World Services This podcast is not affiliated with Narcotics Anonymous, and is an independent production of the Works of Wisdom

    4 min
  2. 19H AGO

    March 1: Spiritual Principle a Day, read by Rob M.

    Spiritual Principle a Day for March 1, read by Rob M. Donations via PayPal and questions may be directed to: voicesofrecoverypod@gmail.com March 1 Self-Acceptance and Our Sense of Belonging "We learn to accept and love who we are whether or not we feel like we “match” the people around us." —Living Clean, Chapter 2, “Connection to Others” ––––=–––– For so long, we wanted to be anyone else because we were uncomfortable in our own skin. Many of us felt like we didn’t fit in anywhere. And it’s no different when we first get to NA. We compared our insides to the outward appearances of others and drew the usual conclusions. All we could see were the differences—and no one looked like we felt. Not that we had a firm grip on who we were or even how we felt. As we observe in Living Clean, “. . . our identity was built on fantasy: who we could be, would be, should be, or even who we used to be.” With precious little self-knowledge, it was difficult to build the bonds of human connections. Our ability to share with or relate to others was limited at best. We justified keeping other members at arm’s length with assumptions based on old thinking and outward appearances. The outsides were what seemed to matter most. One member shared, “I shielded the scared little girl inside with spikes and leather. I looked for others with similar armor, thinking maybe we could be alone together.” In recovery, we learn to act our way into better thinking. We begin by emulating people we admire and picking up new behaviors that seem to fit. We do the next right thing, knowing that we don’t have to feel okay to be okay. We learn to practice love as a spiritual principle by simply listening to our fellow members. Sometimes, we learn to love and accept others as they confront their greatest challenges— the new member, the recent widow, the cancer survivor, the parents fighting for custody of their children. We relate to their insides: their grief, their struggle, their vulnerability as they share their pain. Moments like these bring us back to humanity. The conditions of our own brokenness may have been vastly different, but we connect based on feelings. We let go of our old ideas about fitting in or “matching” those around us. The basis for our connections shifts to higher ground. Who needs to fit in when we belong? We learn to practice love and acceptance of ourselves and others a little more fully in this safe harbor of belonging. ––––=–––– Spiritual Principle: I will examine my ideas about fitting in and discard some old thinking. Today I will practice the principle of love by looking for opportunities to connect with other members. ––––=–––– © NA World Services This podcast is not affiliated with Narcotics Anonymous, and is an independent production of the Works of Wisdom

    5 min
  3. 1D AGO

    February 28: Just for Today meditation, read by Chris M.

    Just for Today meditation for February 28, read by Chris M. Donations via PayPal and questions may be directed to: voicesofrecoverypod@gmail.com February 28 The greatest gift "Our newly found faith serves as a firm foundation for courage in the future." Basic Text, p.93 ––––=–––– When we begin coming to meetings, we hear other addicts talking about the gifts they have received as a result of the program, things we never thought of as "gifts" before. One such "gift" is the renewed ability to feel the emotions we had deadened so long with drugs. It's not difficult to think of love, joy, and happiness as gifts, even if it's been a long time since we've felt them. But what about "bad" feelings like anger, sadness, fear, and loneliness? Such emotions can't be seen as gifts, we tell ourselves. After all, how can we be thankful for things we want to run from? We can become grateful for these emotions in our lives if we place them in their proper perspective. We need to remember that we've come to believe in a loving Higher Power, and we've asked that Power to care for us-and our Higher Power doesn't make mistakes. The feelings we're given, "good" or "bad", are given to us for a reason. With this in mind, we come to realize there are no "bad" feelings, only lessons to be learned. Our faith and our Higher Power's care give us the courage we need to face whatever feelings may come up on a daily basis. As we heard early in recovery, "Your Higher Power won't give you more than you can handle in just one day." And the ability to feel our emotions is one of the greatest gifts of recovery. ––––=–––– Just for today: I will try to welcome my feelings, firm in the belief that I have the courage to face whatever emotions may come up in my life. ––––=–––– © NA World Services This podcast is not affiliated with Narcotics Anonymous, and is an independent production of the Works of Wisdom

    3 min
  4. 1D AGO

    February 28: Spiritual Principle a Day, read by Chris M.

    Spiritual Principle a Day for February 28, read by Chris M. Donations via PayPal and questions may be directed to: voicesofrecoverypod@gmail.com February 28 Reliability Matters "We keep our commitments, and that matters to the people around us." —Guiding Principles, Tradition One, “For Groups” ––––=–––– For some of us, being a member of an NA group gives us our first taste of what it feels like to be reliable. When we are new, members urge us to come to the next meeting and come back clean. Group members remember us, seem happy to see us, ask us to share or take a commitment. We keep coming back—and whether we like it or not, people begin to rely on us. “I was excited to be trusted by group members to carry on the work,” a member shared. “My end of the bargain was to do the work and serve the entire term.” Even when we don’t complete our service as reliably as we would expect of ourselves, serving in NA helps us get better, especially because we start to see the value of our contributions. “Our group created some service positions for newer members to get them involved,” a group wrote. “When people miss the meeting, it’s not a big deal. All the tasks get done. But the meeting feels so much more complete when everyone is there, doing their part. It’s like music . . . you might not notice one or two voices missing from a choir, but when they’re all there, it just sounds so much better.” Our families and friends might feel a little skeptical or surprised about our developing reliability. It’s discouraging when people don’t believe in us the way our fellow members do, but it’s our actions that matter. One member wrote, “I heard someone say that 90 percent of recovery is showing up—bring the body and the mind will follow. That helped me show up for my commitment, and I used it to help me be there for my family and my job, too. People started to count on me. I began to feel like I mattered.” Keeping our commitments changes the way people see us, but more importantly, it changes the way we see ourselves. ––––=–––– Spiritual Principle: Reliability begins with showing up. I will show up for my life today, secure in the knowledge that I matter to others and to myself. ––––=–––– © NA World Services This podcast is not affiliated with Narcotics Anonymous, and is an independent production of the Works of Wisdom

    4 min
  5. 2D AGO

    February 27: Just for Today meditation, read by Chris M.

    Just for Today meditation for February 27, read by Chris M. Donations via PayPal and questions may be directed to: voicesofrecoverypod@gmail.com February 27 "Pure" motives "We examine our actions, reactions, and motives. We often find that we've been doing better than we've been feeling." Basic Text, p.42 ––––=–––– Imagine a daily meditation book with this kind of message: "When you wake up in the morning, before you rise from your bed, take a moment for reflection. Lie back, gather your thoughts, and consider your plans for the day. One by one, review the motives behind those plans. If your motives are not entirely pure, roll over and go back to sleep." Nonsense, isn't it? No matter how long we've been clean, almost all of us have mixed motives behind almost everything we do. However, that's no reason to put our lives on hold. We don't have to wait for our motives to become perfectly pure before we can start living our recovery. As the program works it's way into our lives, we begin acting less frequently on our more questionable motives. We regularly examine ourselves, and we talk with our sponsor about what we find. We pray for knowledge of our Higher Power's will for us, and we seek the power to act on the knowledge we're given. We've begun working a spiritual program. We won't ever become spiritual giants. But if we look at ourselves realistically, we'll probably realize that we've been doing better than we've been feeling. ––––=–––– Just for today: I will examine myself realistically. I will seek the power to act on my best motives, and not to act on my worst. ––––=–––– © NA World Services This podcast is not affiliated with Narcotics Anonymous, and is an independent production of the Works of Wisdom

    3 min
  6. 2D AGO

    February 27: Spiritual Principle a Day, read by Chris M.

    Spiritual Principle a Day for February 27, read by Chris M. Donations via PayPal and questions may be directed to: voicesofrecoverypod@gmail.com February 27 Powerlessness Opens the Door "When we admit our powerlessness and our inability to manage our own lives, we open the door to recovery." —Basic Text, Chapter 4, “Step One” ––––=–––– Practicing powerlessness as a spiritual principle may seem far-fetched to many of us. Admitting defeat is a concept we’re very uncomfortable with. But what’s ironic is that we’re already practicing powerlessness to some extent by attending our first NA meeting. And, even before that, very likely we’ve had our moments of crying out to something to stop this madness, this pain, begging to get well, pleading to finally get to sleep, fearing the sun coming up or going down again, promising and bargaining another time, the last time, we swear it! The surrender of Step One is often terrifying for us because it’s a threshold we can’t easily back away from once we make ourselves truly vulnerable to it. Try as some of us might, we can’t put the toothpaste back in the tube: We can’t return to using and just forget that people like us are staying clean in NA. We admit that we’re addicts, that we’re powerless over our addiction, and that we cannot manage our own lives. We need power to survive, and we gain it with the help of other recovering addicts, a program, and a Higher Power. Practicing powerlessness is not a one-time occurrence; we are faced with embracing it over and over again. “No, we get to do it over and over,” a member reminds us from the podium. “I used to feel so defeated by my powerlessness. But now that I have experienced some relief from active addiction and the benefits of getting this honest about my life, I see it as a source of strength and possibility: the possibility of recovery and a better life.” Yes, we open the door to recovery. On some days, that door is flung wide open because we are wide open. On other days we can only muster a crack to let a bit of willingness flow out and our Higher Power flow in. ––––=–––– Spiritual Principle: It’s a relief to admit I’m powerless over my addiction—in whatever form it takes. I’ll ask for help because my real power comes when I surrender. ––––=–––– © NA World Services This podcast is not affiliated with Narcotics Anonymous, and is an independent production of the Works of Wisdom

    4 min
  7. The story of Chris M: Service in Recovery

    3D AGO · BONUS

    The story of Chris M: Service in Recovery

    Closing out our February, “Service in Recovery” series is the story of Chris M—a man with 45 years clean whose life has been shaped by devotion to service, innovation, and spiritual principle. Born in Nigeria in 1962, Chris spent his early childhood moving between Nigeria, Uganda, and Morocco before coming to the United States at twelve years old. Struggling with intense anger and impulsivity, he began using drugs early, and by thirteen he was not only setting fires but experimenting with explosives—behavior that led to his arrest by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. By eighteen, addiction had hollowed him out, and he found himself in a mental institution, where he first heard the fledgling message of Narcotics Anonymous as it was just beginning in Baltimore. He joined immediately and threw himself into service—selling 50/50 raffles at his home group, speaking in Hospitals and Institutions, and carrying a message focused squarely on drug addiction at a time when many recovery spaces centered primarily on alcohol. Service became the backbone of his recovery. After moving to Washington, D.C., he continued serving, sponsoring others, and deepening his love for the Traditions. In the early 2000s, recognizing how difficult it was to find reliable meeting information while traveling, Chris began developing what would become the Basic Meeting List Toolbox (BMLT). At a time when meeting lists were handwritten and fragmented, he envisioned a standardized, decentralized system that could make meeting information accessible anywhere in the world. Originally called the Common Meeting Data Exchange Format (COMDEF), the project introduced a shared API and aggregation system that allowed regions to maintain their own data while displaying it in a common, accessible format. Though early collaboration with NA World Services did not continue, the idea was too powerful to fade. Today, Chris has stepped back from active involvement, and a new generation of highly capable developers has taken the BMLT far beyond its original scope—expanding, refining, and maintaining it as a global resource that quietly serves millions seeking meetings. For Chris, this is the essence of true service: building something that outlives you and continues helping addicts long after you step aside. With 45 years clean, Chris still attends meetings regularly, sponsors others, and views the Steps as a practical recipe for living life on spiritual principles. His story is proof that service is not just what we do—it is who we become when we stay clean long enough to give back.

    40 min
  8. 3D AGO

    February 26: Just for Today meditation, read by Chris M.

    Just for Today meditation for February 26, read by Chris M. Donations via PayPal and questions may be directed to: voicesofrecoverypod@gmail.com February 26 Remorse "The Eighth Step offers a big change from a life dominated by guilt and remorse." Basic Text, p.38 ––––=–––– Remorse was one of the feelings that kept us using. We had stumbled our way through active addiction, leaving a trail of heartbreak and devastation too painful to consider. Our remorse was often intensified by our perception that we couldn't do anything about the damage we had caused; there was no way to make it right. We remove some of the power of remorse when we face it squarely. We begin the Eighth Step by actually making a list of all the people we have harmed. We own our part in our painful past. But the Eighth Step does not ask us to make right all of our mistakes, merely to become willing to make amends to all those people. As we become willing to clean up the damage we've caused, we acknowledge our readiness to change. We affirm the healing process of recovery. Remorse is no longer an instrument we use to torture ourselves. Remorse has become a tool we can use to achieve self-forgiveness. ––––=–––– Just for today: I will use any feelings of remorse I may have as a stepping-stone to healing through the Twelve Steps. ––––=–––– © NA World Services This podcast is not affiliated with Narcotics Anonymous, and is an independent production of the Works of Wisdom

    3 min

Trailer

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

Daily readings of the “Just for Today” and "Spiritual Principle a Day" passages of Narcotics Anonymous literature by members of our fellowship. The story of each reader is released, the Voice of Recovery, three times a month, centered around a monthly theme. Monthly themes include: -Recovery and Relapse -Incarceration and Recovery -Our predecessors -Addiction and Dual Diagnosis This podcast is an independent production of the Works of Wisdom and is not affiliated with Narcotics Anonymous .