Nar-Anon Family Groups

The twelve steps:

1. We admitted we were powerless over addiction - that our lives had become unmanageable.
2. Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity
3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood him.
4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
5. Admitted to God, to ourselves and another human being, the exact nature of our wrongs.
6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
7. Humbly asked him to remove our shortcomings.
8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all.
9. Make direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood him, praying only for knowledge of his will for us and the power to carry that out.
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to others and to practise these principles in all our affairs.

About the twelve traditions

The Twelve Traditions are as much a part of our spiritual foundations as the Twelve Steps. They serve as guidelines for the unity of Nar-Anon's ethical and financial values, Group membership, public relations and anonymity.

The Twelve Traditions are designed for the collective good of the Fellowship and can be interpreted for personal application in recovery.

The twelve traditions:

1. Our common welfare should come first; personal progress for the greatest number depends upon unity.
2. For our group purpose there is but one authority - a loving God as he may express himself in our group conscience. Our leaders are but trusted servants; they do not govern.
3. The relatives and friends of addicts, when gathered together for mutual aid, may call themselves a Nar-Anon Family Group, provided that, as a group, they have no other affiliation. The only requirement for membership is that there be a problem of addiction in a relative or friend.
4. Each group should be autonomous, except in matters affecting another group, Nar-Anon or Narcotics Anonymous as a whole.
5. Each Nar-Anon Family Group has but one purpose; to help families and friends of addicts. We do this by practising the twelve Steps, by encouraging and understanding the addict and by welcoming and giving comfort to families and friends of addicts.
6. Nar-Anon Family Groups ought never endorse, finance or lend our name to any outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property and prestige divert us from our primary spiritual aim. Although a separate entity, we should always co-operate with Narcotics Anonymous.
7. Every group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions Nar-Anon twelfth step work should remain forever non professional but our service centres may employ special workers.
8. Our groups, as such, ought never be organised but we may create service boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve.
9. Nar-Anon Family Groups have no opinion on outside issues; hence our name ought never be drawn into public controversy.
10. Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we need always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio, TV and films.
11. We need guard with special care the anonymity of all our addicted relatives and friends.
12. Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities.

Serenity Prayer

A note on the God-word!

Nar-Anon is not a religious program, but a spiritual way of life based on a Twelve Step/Twelve Tradition philosophy embracing all beliefs.  Throughout the literature and philosophy of Nar-Anon (and all 12-step programs), there are various references to  "a power greater than ourselves",   "a higher power", "God", "God as we understood him", and other similar expressions.  These terms are used fairly interchangeably, and refer only to the concept that there is a spiritual aspect to our lives which transcends our normal, everyday way of functioning.  In 12-step work it is the tapping into this spirituality that is one of the keys to recovery.

No particular religious beliefs are advocated by these programs.  At the same time, they do not conflict with any religious beliefs already held by individuals, but respect all beliefs.  At Nar-Anon meetings one is likely to find people of any and all religious backgrounds, including atheism.  All are equally welcome and able to participate.  Preaching, or the advocating of particular religious beliefs is not permitted at meetings.