"Autonomy" allows group concience to adapt whatever meeting format they feel comfortable with, even if it includes reading the "Clarity statement."
"Tradition 3" allows me the right to stay in that meeting even if I want to refer to myself as addict/alcoholic.
The "clarity statement" is not a RULE but rather a suggested format for sharing.
HOWEVER, there are some NA Nazis who may raise an eyebrow or two if they hear the clarity statement being ignored.
The important question here is: What should I do that is best for my own recovery and for the overall good of the group ?
Do I try to conform to the "clarity statement" or do I call a group concience meeting to try and have it removed because I feel it is a violation of the Spiritual Principles of NA ?
Will I be content with the final ruling of the "Group concience ?"
We all have choices to make as a member of NA and if I make the crucial mistake of engaging in a power struggle with individuals at the meeting because my ego won't allow me to accept the way things are done then I may be signing my own death warrant.
As addicts we have a tendency to complicate the hell out of everything when the truth is we need to get with our Higher Power and ask for guidance so that we will make the right decisions.
Only three things can result from the continued debate over the "Clarity statement."
1) Call a group concience meeting and gracefully accept their rulings.
2) Move on. Find a meeting that more suits your needs.
3) Stay and continue to be a disruptive factor in the fellowship.
The "Clarity statement" "Disease or not" " Identification of Higher Power" These are all longstanding NA issues that I feel will be with us for a long time and I have been an outspoken candidate on all of these councils.........every single one of these debates will end in a split decision.
Today I choose to take a back seat and allow NA to evolve in it's own way. Today my role in NA is to stay clean and help to be a unifying factor in the meetings.
Recovery is about change and if I cannot allow my ego to accept the decisions of the group concience then I am only wasting my time.