Pre-registration for FSRCNA XXXI “Keys to Freedom” is open!
FREESTATE REGIONAL CONVENTION XXXI “KEYS TO FREEDOM!” NOVEMBER 28 – 30, 2025Hyatt-Regency Inner Harbor300 Light Street | Baltimore, Maryland ALL
Welcome to the Northwest Area of Narcotics Anonymous! We are a community of individuals who have come together to support one another in our journey of recovery from addiction. Our doors are open to anyone seeking a safe and supportive environment to begin or continue their path of recovery. We invite you to explore our website and learn more about the resources and events we offer. Together, we can overcome the challenges of addiction and find the strength to live a fulfilling, drug-free life.
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. What is there left to do? There seems to be this alternative: either go on as best we can to the bitter ends—jails, institutions, or death—or find a new way to live. In years gone by, very few addicts ever had this last choice. Those who are addicted today are more fortunate. For the first time in man’s entire history, a simple way has been proving itself in the lives of many addicts. It is available to us all. This is a simple spiritual—not religious—program, known as Narcotics Anonymous.
Narcotics Anonymous (N.A.) 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. We have learned from our group experience that those who keep coming to our meetings regularly stay clean.
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) 2007-2025, NA World Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved |
December 20, 2025 |
Willingness to Serve |
| Page 366 |
| "We go from simply showing up and reporting for duty each day to a willingness to serve the greater good in the best way we can." |
| Living Clean, Chapter 3, "Creative Action of the Spirit" |
| A lot of us describe ourselves as having been spiritually asleep, bankrupt, or even dead before coming to NA. Some of us find immediate relief when we hear NA described as a spiritual program. We may not be fully willing to let go and dive into a new spiritual journey--or continue the one that we had been on before our addiction darkened the path--but the spark is there. Others of us do not take comfort in NA being a spiritual program. We may not know what the word "spiritual" means, especially as it relates to "religious" or "not religious." It may not feel authentic to describe ourselves as being on a spiritual path or even interested in pursuing one. No matter what our beliefs are, or how open-minded we are to challenging them, we're all willing--to some degree--to show up for ourselves. At the start, we report for recovery duty because we're following suggestions made by other members and because it's making us better: meetings, Steps, sponsorship, a service commitment or two. We build a support system in NA, and we work on developing a relationship with a Higher Power. Our understanding of spiritual principles--and how we're already applying them to our recovery--expands. Our willingness becomes more expansive, too. We continue to show up for our own healing and because we've made commitments. But our motivation to serve broadens when we follow suggestions to do so. A desire to contribute to NA and help other addicts slowly blooms within us, and we express it through service. This progress includes sharing about our awakening to the spiritual aspects of NA and our budding spiritual life. Most of us become willing to let go of our ambivalent or negative preconceived feelings and ideas about spirituality. Though we don't fully understand our transformation, many of us eventually can describe ourselves as spiritually awake, enriched, or alive--in no small part because of our willingness to serve. |
| I'm willing to show up for my own well-being. Am I also willing to do that for the greater good of NA? How will I demonstrate that today? |
| Copyright (c) 2007-2025, NA World Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved |
FREESTATE REGIONAL CONVENTION XXXI “KEYS TO FREEDOM!” NOVEMBER 28 – 30, 2025Hyatt-Regency Inner Harbor300 Light Street | Baltimore, Maryland ALL
Join us Saturday, November 1, 2025 at 7pm as Northwest Area Special Events hosts a free event! Please bring a
