dalin
02-20-2008, 07:43 PM
Chapter Nineteen
PHILADELPHIA LITERATURE CONFERENCE
The Philadelphia Literature Conference took place in spite of a serious snow storm.
In Ivyland, Pennsylvania, there is a big rambling farm house where Pete B. and Al R. were living. This house was the site for the last of the conferences dealing with the Basic Text. The main portion was already in the hands of the Fellowship.
Again, Roger did not attend. Page acted as chair and the Committee decided to acknowledge Page as chair in Roger's absence. Non-attendance and inability to perform the duties as chair were the reasons cited in a letter from the Committee to the Fellowship and recorded in the minutes of the WLC that in effect removed Roger from the position of service.
There may have been some who felt vindictive or angry. Bo and many others felt sadness for a friend and saw in him their own capacity to get so caught up in issues that service became impossible. At any rate, the WLC couldn't tolerate an inactive chair who might show up at the WSC antagonistic to the work and objectives of the Committee.
His total commitment and the excellent work he had done in service to the Fellowship was not to be forgotten. They were all addicts and as N.A. service workers, had to take care to love and be gentle with members. Bo had read in some spiritual material that a person has to learn to be firm and correct. The old games from active addiction no longer need to apply in the lives of clean addicts.
The criteria for story selection, editing and the distribution of stories to include all different types of addicts was established in the early sessions. There were lengthy discussions.
One crucial item had to be dealt with. Many stories mentioned that the member had sought help in A.A. and been unable to find it there. It seemed crass and ungrateful to have over half the stories in our Basic Text document that A.A. didn't work for drug addicts in general. We knew the increasing number of N.A. meetings would take care of this matter of carrying the message in time naturally. Did we want our Book to make an opinion on an outside issue, in this case, the one outside issue to whom we owed our existence? The Committee unanimously agreed to change any reference to A.A. or any other anonymous organization such as Overeaters Anonymous and Gamblers Anonymous to 'another 12 Step Fellowship'. Many readers of the Book might think that all these references were all to A.A. but it was decided to leave it general. To delete the item entirely would have been inaccurate and our guidelines told us to describe the reality. In this way, a prospective member who came to us after having had other experience with the Twelve Steps would feel welcome.
One of the dramatic things that happened during the Phila- delphia Literature Conference was the attempt to locate and obtain an Asian story of recovery. Through one of our members in Hawaii, we found a recovering addict in Tokyo named K.
Bo made the call for the Committee. It was his most humiliating moment in world services.
At the end of the long string of numbers he had to dial having faith they were the right numbers, a voice came on the line speaking Japanese. While this possibility had been considered, the reality of the situation was almost humorous. All Bo could do was ask if K. was there. The person who answered the phone called out for him and K. came on the line. Speaking only a little English, K. said that he would call Greg M. at fourteen hundred o'clock, Honolulu time. Greg was the member who had met him in Hawaii the year before. Bo tried to tell K. that the American Fellowship was glad they were there and loved them. He looked through an English/Japanese dictionary somebody had come up with, but it didn't do much good. It was Bo's most humble moment in world services. The story was eventually gathered but was not in time to be included in the Story Review Form that came out of the Philadelphia Literature Conference. At the end, all the stories had been lightly edited. Again, incredible attention had been focused on the writing and each word and meaning sifted for intent, meaning and possible difficulty. In view of this, it is remarkable how few changes were made.
*** *** *** ***
In the years which had gone by while the Basic Text, Narcotics Anonymous was being written, the Fellowship had grown in numbers and unity. It was now a much more mature Fellowship than had existed in the middle seventies. More had been written about the actual experience of addicts living clean lives through Twelve Step recovery than at any other time in the history of mankind. The process that had evolved through getting the job done was a dynamic mixture of common sense and inspiration. It took a good measure of each to get the work done.
There had been so many obstacles to the work that at first had not seemed possible except to a very few. And now the writing was complete, at least for a first edition. The WSO would grow. Services would proliferate throughout the world. The Fellowship would continue to grow. The individuals involved felt they had a better than average chance of ongoing recovery. The very process of writing had been like the original universities in Europe. Many universities began as groups of learned people discussing particular forms of knowledge. Cambridge was once no more than the name of a town.
The questions arise, what would have happened if the chain of events had been at some point broken? How many times had they been guided past various obstacles that arose in their path? How had they survived the various personal sacrifices along the way? What if they had lost momentum or simply given up in the way of addicts? What if another person had been Chair of the Board of Trustees and sent Bo home with the double edged saying, "Keep coming back!"
What if the politics that began about half way through had so concerned and interrupted the process that the effort had been diverted? What if those involved had not had exactly the right mixture of life experiences to prepare them for the work? What if they had lacked the crucial ability to value the experience and feelings of others as much or more than their own? All these questions have one answer: the work would have failed.
There are stronger forces than the law of the land. After the initial exhilaration of recovery wore off, many of us sought ways to grow beyond what N.A. had to offer, maybe some of us find it. They don't come back to say and we wish them well in their new lives. Those who do come back or never leave but merely look elsewhere for periods of time, affirm that they find in recovery all the things promised in the other places they have looked. This is our great freedom. Their experience only deepens their involvement with and commitment to Narcotics Anonymous. The year the Book came out, the law of the land was changed. The Rockefeller Act in New York City was repealed and N.A. members were allowed to meet in groups for the first time in decades. Changes in the way society looked at the addict and the way addicts looked at themselves had been set in motion that will never end.
Many not only participated in the writing but helped set the stage as part of their Twelfth Step. Addicts from all over the world sent in material or attended the Conferences. Together, they were able to share the rare and special truth in such a way that it could help others. These servants feel a special charge to honor and respect the work of the many who actually did the writing or contributed to the effort in some way.
Because of the way most books are written, appearances were misleading to unschooled observers. The truth shared was very rare and sacred. The courage and trust of those who did the work was incredible. In taking up for the work, it may appear that some of the stage setters are attached to the work as their own. The Basic Text was the result of a special spiritual process that is not likely to be repeated.
For an addict to dream is no big deal. It takes recovery and a Power greater than ourselves for these good dreams to become real.
The curious marker between special worker and trusted servant is difficult to discern and appears to move. A special worker may come with an idea that may be pertinent enough to move with a force of its own. It may become an ongoing part of our common welfare. Our trusted servants may be able to do jobs that would otherwise require massive amounts of money and the precise arrangement of academic and work skills to result in a productive group. There can be no greater example of this happening in our history than the Basic Text, Narcotics Anonymous.
With the sale of our Basic Text, our resources and support systems have grown to meet our growing needs. The moment of surrender we experience each time we sincerely pray is the key that keeps us clean and moving in positive directions. It feels like we can rise above ourselves and see people and events around us differently.
We know that the Book came to us through the basic desire of members to help secure for themselves both ongoing recovery and a way of helping all those who were out there: never seeing the hand that was squeezing the life out of them, never understanding that hand was connected to their own arm and they could not stop.
*** *** *** ***
The work was essentially finished. The stories were sent out to the Fellowship as had been the first ten chapters. Those who did the work stayed involved and helped to birth the Fellowship in the years that followed.
In time, it was forgotten who exactly had been involved but those who did the work remembered. They deepened what had been learned along the way. They utilized what they had learned in literature to further the other services which had so far gone waiting.
The material in the files from the Seven Conferences remains a resource to the Fellowship and is in the hands of all the attending members who were sent home with thousands of pages of draft material to share with their local literature committees.
Within God's eye, the material that was passed out in this manner, the working processes and those who did the work are still resources to N.A. The recovery process deepens and brings to light in ever greater clarity the exact paths the disease takes to work against our happiness and well being, even in recovery. As more is learned, more will be written.
We wish we could say all of us were still clean. We wish we could say all of us were still alive. Thank God we can say there is hope for the future. We know there will come a time when the Fellowship will gather it's forces together again and focus it's combined will to advance our cause. Many distractions can delay this. Money, property and prestige can overwhelm us.
The Basic Text came after the Californians had stopped fighting among themselves. Differences can always be found and made to appear unreconcilable. It is our similarities that join us as members. When our common needs take precedence over our personal preferences we will replicate the staging which lead to our Basic Text.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Return to Story of the Basic Text - Home Page
Go to Appendices
PHILADELPHIA LITERATURE CONFERENCE
The Philadelphia Literature Conference took place in spite of a serious snow storm.
In Ivyland, Pennsylvania, there is a big rambling farm house where Pete B. and Al R. were living. This house was the site for the last of the conferences dealing with the Basic Text. The main portion was already in the hands of the Fellowship.
Again, Roger did not attend. Page acted as chair and the Committee decided to acknowledge Page as chair in Roger's absence. Non-attendance and inability to perform the duties as chair were the reasons cited in a letter from the Committee to the Fellowship and recorded in the minutes of the WLC that in effect removed Roger from the position of service.
There may have been some who felt vindictive or angry. Bo and many others felt sadness for a friend and saw in him their own capacity to get so caught up in issues that service became impossible. At any rate, the WLC couldn't tolerate an inactive chair who might show up at the WSC antagonistic to the work and objectives of the Committee.
His total commitment and the excellent work he had done in service to the Fellowship was not to be forgotten. They were all addicts and as N.A. service workers, had to take care to love and be gentle with members. Bo had read in some spiritual material that a person has to learn to be firm and correct. The old games from active addiction no longer need to apply in the lives of clean addicts.
The criteria for story selection, editing and the distribution of stories to include all different types of addicts was established in the early sessions. There were lengthy discussions.
One crucial item had to be dealt with. Many stories mentioned that the member had sought help in A.A. and been unable to find it there. It seemed crass and ungrateful to have over half the stories in our Basic Text document that A.A. didn't work for drug addicts in general. We knew the increasing number of N.A. meetings would take care of this matter of carrying the message in time naturally. Did we want our Book to make an opinion on an outside issue, in this case, the one outside issue to whom we owed our existence? The Committee unanimously agreed to change any reference to A.A. or any other anonymous organization such as Overeaters Anonymous and Gamblers Anonymous to 'another 12 Step Fellowship'. Many readers of the Book might think that all these references were all to A.A. but it was decided to leave it general. To delete the item entirely would have been inaccurate and our guidelines told us to describe the reality. In this way, a prospective member who came to us after having had other experience with the Twelve Steps would feel welcome.
One of the dramatic things that happened during the Phila- delphia Literature Conference was the attempt to locate and obtain an Asian story of recovery. Through one of our members in Hawaii, we found a recovering addict in Tokyo named K.
Bo made the call for the Committee. It was his most humiliating moment in world services.
At the end of the long string of numbers he had to dial having faith they were the right numbers, a voice came on the line speaking Japanese. While this possibility had been considered, the reality of the situation was almost humorous. All Bo could do was ask if K. was there. The person who answered the phone called out for him and K. came on the line. Speaking only a little English, K. said that he would call Greg M. at fourteen hundred o'clock, Honolulu time. Greg was the member who had met him in Hawaii the year before. Bo tried to tell K. that the American Fellowship was glad they were there and loved them. He looked through an English/Japanese dictionary somebody had come up with, but it didn't do much good. It was Bo's most humble moment in world services. The story was eventually gathered but was not in time to be included in the Story Review Form that came out of the Philadelphia Literature Conference. At the end, all the stories had been lightly edited. Again, incredible attention had been focused on the writing and each word and meaning sifted for intent, meaning and possible difficulty. In view of this, it is remarkable how few changes were made.
*** *** *** ***
In the years which had gone by while the Basic Text, Narcotics Anonymous was being written, the Fellowship had grown in numbers and unity. It was now a much more mature Fellowship than had existed in the middle seventies. More had been written about the actual experience of addicts living clean lives through Twelve Step recovery than at any other time in the history of mankind. The process that had evolved through getting the job done was a dynamic mixture of common sense and inspiration. It took a good measure of each to get the work done.
There had been so many obstacles to the work that at first had not seemed possible except to a very few. And now the writing was complete, at least for a first edition. The WSO would grow. Services would proliferate throughout the world. The Fellowship would continue to grow. The individuals involved felt they had a better than average chance of ongoing recovery. The very process of writing had been like the original universities in Europe. Many universities began as groups of learned people discussing particular forms of knowledge. Cambridge was once no more than the name of a town.
The questions arise, what would have happened if the chain of events had been at some point broken? How many times had they been guided past various obstacles that arose in their path? How had they survived the various personal sacrifices along the way? What if they had lost momentum or simply given up in the way of addicts? What if another person had been Chair of the Board of Trustees and sent Bo home with the double edged saying, "Keep coming back!"
What if the politics that began about half way through had so concerned and interrupted the process that the effort had been diverted? What if those involved had not had exactly the right mixture of life experiences to prepare them for the work? What if they had lacked the crucial ability to value the experience and feelings of others as much or more than their own? All these questions have one answer: the work would have failed.
There are stronger forces than the law of the land. After the initial exhilaration of recovery wore off, many of us sought ways to grow beyond what N.A. had to offer, maybe some of us find it. They don't come back to say and we wish them well in their new lives. Those who do come back or never leave but merely look elsewhere for periods of time, affirm that they find in recovery all the things promised in the other places they have looked. This is our great freedom. Their experience only deepens their involvement with and commitment to Narcotics Anonymous. The year the Book came out, the law of the land was changed. The Rockefeller Act in New York City was repealed and N.A. members were allowed to meet in groups for the first time in decades. Changes in the way society looked at the addict and the way addicts looked at themselves had been set in motion that will never end.
Many not only participated in the writing but helped set the stage as part of their Twelfth Step. Addicts from all over the world sent in material or attended the Conferences. Together, they were able to share the rare and special truth in such a way that it could help others. These servants feel a special charge to honor and respect the work of the many who actually did the writing or contributed to the effort in some way.
Because of the way most books are written, appearances were misleading to unschooled observers. The truth shared was very rare and sacred. The courage and trust of those who did the work was incredible. In taking up for the work, it may appear that some of the stage setters are attached to the work as their own. The Basic Text was the result of a special spiritual process that is not likely to be repeated.
For an addict to dream is no big deal. It takes recovery and a Power greater than ourselves for these good dreams to become real.
The curious marker between special worker and trusted servant is difficult to discern and appears to move. A special worker may come with an idea that may be pertinent enough to move with a force of its own. It may become an ongoing part of our common welfare. Our trusted servants may be able to do jobs that would otherwise require massive amounts of money and the precise arrangement of academic and work skills to result in a productive group. There can be no greater example of this happening in our history than the Basic Text, Narcotics Anonymous.
With the sale of our Basic Text, our resources and support systems have grown to meet our growing needs. The moment of surrender we experience each time we sincerely pray is the key that keeps us clean and moving in positive directions. It feels like we can rise above ourselves and see people and events around us differently.
We know that the Book came to us through the basic desire of members to help secure for themselves both ongoing recovery and a way of helping all those who were out there: never seeing the hand that was squeezing the life out of them, never understanding that hand was connected to their own arm and they could not stop.
*** *** *** ***
The work was essentially finished. The stories were sent out to the Fellowship as had been the first ten chapters. Those who did the work stayed involved and helped to birth the Fellowship in the years that followed.
In time, it was forgotten who exactly had been involved but those who did the work remembered. They deepened what had been learned along the way. They utilized what they had learned in literature to further the other services which had so far gone waiting.
The material in the files from the Seven Conferences remains a resource to the Fellowship and is in the hands of all the attending members who were sent home with thousands of pages of draft material to share with their local literature committees.
Within God's eye, the material that was passed out in this manner, the working processes and those who did the work are still resources to N.A. The recovery process deepens and brings to light in ever greater clarity the exact paths the disease takes to work against our happiness and well being, even in recovery. As more is learned, more will be written.
We wish we could say all of us were still clean. We wish we could say all of us were still alive. Thank God we can say there is hope for the future. We know there will come a time when the Fellowship will gather it's forces together again and focus it's combined will to advance our cause. Many distractions can delay this. Money, property and prestige can overwhelm us.
The Basic Text came after the Californians had stopped fighting among themselves. Differences can always be found and made to appear unreconcilable. It is our similarities that join us as members. When our common needs take precedence over our personal preferences we will replicate the staging which lead to our Basic Text.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Return to Story of the Basic Text - Home Page
Go to Appendices