Tradition 12 - "Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our Traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities."

A dictionary definition of anonymity is 'a state of bearing no name'. In keeping with Tradition Twelve, the 'I' becomes 'we'. The spiritual foundation becomes more important than any one group or individual. As we find ourselves growing closer together, the awakening of humility occurs. Humility is a by-product that allows us to grow and develop in an atmosphere of freedom, and removes the fear of becoming known by our employers, families or friends as addicts. therefore, we attempt to rigorously adhere to the principle that "what is said in meeting stays in meetings".

Throughout our Traditions, we speak in terms of "we" and "our" rather than "me" and "mine". By working together for our common welfare, we achieve the true spirit of anonymity....."

(NA Basic text:72/3 Narcotics Anonymous World services Inc. 1988)

Anonimity has many functions in NA. The first one is to allow addicts to attend meetings without fear of legal or social reprisals. Our meeting are not monitored by any authority or goernment bodies, no registers of attendance are kept, and we introduce ourselves by first name only.

Those who attend meetings do not announce their NA membership to society. This aspect of anonimity helps members to avoid positive or negative discrimination and allows us to face life on the same terms as everybody else in society. This is a vital part of any addicts recovery.