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Sunday, May 23, 2004
Concept Six:
Group conscience is the
spiritual means by which we invite a loving God to influence our
decision.
Group
conscience is essential to effective committee work. A single
trusted servant’s lone voice, putting forth a "brilliant idea"
should bring that idea to the committee for discussion and
input. Sometimes our brilliant ideas must be amended in light of
past committee experiences or a broader understanding of NA’s
traditions. Committee members must remember that the group
process serves NA and the decisions of the group should be
respected and faithfully implemented.
Our own literature’s narrative chapter on Concept Six reminds us
that the word "group" in "group conscience" should be
interpreted as "collective" when it states, "Developing a
collective conscience provides us with the spiritual guidance we
need for making service decisions." The last paragraph of its
discussion begins, "Group conscience is the means by which we
collectively invite the ongoing guidance of a Higher Power in
making decisions." Thus, group conscience means the collective
conscience of those (trusted servants) participating in the
committee’s decisions.
What exactly,
then, is the individual conscience of each participant?
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It is an essentially spiritual
characteristic. It is our innate sense of right and wrong.
"Higher mental and emotional functions such as conscience and
the ability to love, were sharply affected by our drug use.
Living skills were reduced to the animal level. Our spirit was
broken. The capacity feel human was lost. This seems extreme,
but many of us have been in this state." [Narcotics Anonymous
Basic Text, 5th Edition, English, pages 101-102]. As we steadily
apply spiritual principles in our lives, our decisions and
actions increasingly become less motivated by self-interest, and
more motivated by what our conscience tells us is good and
right.
Another way to put it is to realize that when we practice the
development of a group conscience, we are applying the spiritual
principles of selflessness, honesty, and humility, all
byproducts of a personal spiritual awakening. Our own personal
sense of right and wrong contributes to the development of our
groups’ consciences and thus influences our committees’
direction and decisions.
The Sixth Concept’s idea that individual consciences combine and
interact to form a collective conscience is a very strong and
spiritually sound view of the phrase "group conscience."
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