Our Symbol     

“Simplicity is the key to our symbol; it imitates the simplicity of our Fellowship. All sorts of occult and esoteric connotations can be found in its simple outlines, but foremost in the minds of the Fellowship are easily understood meanings and relationships.

The outer circle denotes a universal and total program that has room within it for all manifestations of the recovering person.

The square, whose lines are defined, is easily seen and understood, but there are other unseen parts of the symbol. The square base denotes Good will, the ground of both the Fellowship and the members of our society. Good will is best exemplified in service; proper service is “Doing the right thing for the right reason.” When Good will supports and motivates both the individual and the Fellowship, we are fully whole and wholly free. Probably the last to be lost to freedom will be the stigma of being an addict.

It is the four pyramid sides that rise from the base in a three dimensional figure that represent Self, Society, Service, and God. All rise to the point of Freedom. All parts are closely related to the needs and aims of the addict who is seeking recovery, and to the purpose of the Fellowship which is to make recovery available to all. The greater the base, (as we grow in unity in numbers and in fellowship) the broader the sides of the pyramid, and the higher the point of freedom.”

Narcotics Anonymous Basic Text 6th Edition

Being of Service in NA

As stated in the chapter titled Our Symbol of the Narcotics Anonymous Sixth Edition Basic Text, “Good will is best exemplified in service; proper service is ‘Doing the right thing for the right reason’.” 

Our literature says that our primary purpose in Narcotics Anonymous is to carry the message to the addict who still suffers. We do this by being of service in many ways because we only keep what we have by giving it away.

The ultimate tool for carrying out our primary purpose is the NA group, and without any addicts being of service, the NA group would not survive. In the Basic Text, it says that ‘our survival is directly related to the survival of the group and the fellowship’. We have learned that service is a fundamental component of personal recovery and allows us to obtain the full benefits that this program has to offer. ‘The therapeutic value of one addict helping another is without parallel’.

NA Service can be carried out on many levels. Our service structure starts with the Group then reaches the World.

The Group​​

NA groups are local, informal associations of recovering addicts. They are the foundation of the NA service structure. Groups are formed for the primary purpose of carrying the NA message of recovery, and all their activities should reflect that purpose. Conducting Narcotics Anonymous meetings is the primary activity of an NA group. The group may conduct its own affairs in whatever way seems fit to its members, provided the group’s actions are consistent with NA’s Twelve Traditions, and do not adversely affect other groups or the entire NA Fellowship. In the conduct of the affairs of NA as a whole, the groups delegate to the rest of the service structure the responsibility for the fulfillment of NA services. Group service representatives (GSRs) are elected to participate on behalf of the groups in the area committee and the regional assembly. 

Area Service

The area committee is the primary means by which the services of a local NA community are administered. The area committee is composed of group service representatives, administrative officers (facilitator, co-facilitator, secretary, treasurer), subcommittee chairpersons, and the area’s regional committee members. The area committee elects its own officers, subcommittee chairpersons, and RCMs.

Regional Service

Regional service committees exist to pool the experience and resources of the areas and groups it serves. The RSC is composed of regional committee members (RCMs) elected by the region’s member-areas; these RCMs usually elect regional committee officers from among themselves. RSCs organize regional assemblies at which GSRs and RCMs discuss a wide range of service matters, including those likely to come before the World Service Conference, and may elect a regional delegate and alternate delegate to the WSC.

World Service

World services are those services that deal with the needs of NA as a whole, and which NA offers to its members, its groups, and to society. The basic purposes of our world services are communication, coordination, information, and guidance. We provide these services so that our groups and members can more successfully carry the message of recovery, and so that our program of recovery can be made more available to addicts everywhere.