Tradition Four States that Meetings/Groups are Autonomous and so these FAQ are Only Suggestions and Should Not Interfere with What Your Meeting/Group Already Does to Obtain a Group Conscience
“Each group should be autonomous except in matters affecting other groups or MA as a whole.” Tradition Four
MA World Service does not wish to interfere with the way that any group or meeting has been going about obtaining its group conscience, if the way it is doing so functions for the group/meeting. Tradition Four states that “every group has the right of self-government undertaken without outside control. . . [and] may adopt any format it likes.” (Life with Hope 3rd edt. pg 71-72)
This means that “MA has the courage and faith to allow each group to make its own decisions” and this faith translates into having trust in MA meetings to uphold its Traditions and not make decisions which would be detrimental to other MA groups or MA as a whole. (Life with Hope 3rd edt. pg 71-72).
So rather than providing specific requirements or rules for voting or obtaining a group conscience, the information in these FAQ is offered as a resource and to provide examples of how we have heard that other groups/meetings obtain a group conscience for groups/meetings that are seeking suggestions. However, listing all of the many ways we have heard of groups/meetings obtaining a group conscience would be impossible. Just because the way your group/meeting obtains its group conscience isn’t mentioned here doesn’t mean that the way your group/meeting does it is “incorrect.” Your group or meeting is encouraged to continue obtaining its group conscience, voting and otherwise operating the way it has been if it is functioning for your group/meeting because it is this diversity in how meetings/groups choose to operate and decision to run groups/meetings in different ways that helps our fellowship grow and learn.
“Each group should be autonomous except in matters affecting other groups or MA as a whole.”
Tradition Four is a specific application of the general principles outlined in Traditions One and Two. Tradition Four states that every group has the right of self- government undertaken without outside control. Every group can manage itself exactly as it pleases, except where MA as a whole is affected. This means that MA has the courage and faith to allow each group to make its own decisions. In essence, each group is its own individual entity, relying on the group conscience as guided by a loving God to direct its actions.
Groups have a right to make their own mistakes. There are only two boundaries that any group must not cross: 1) A group must not do anything that would affect other groups or MA as a whole; and 2) A group cannot affiliate itself with anything or anybody else. In all other respects the groups have complete autonomy.
The group may make any decisions or adopt any format it likes. No district service committee should challenge this privilege even though a group may act in complete opposition to the district’s desires. In other words, every group has the right to set its own course.
Healthy trial and error, guided by spiritual principles, often results in a newer and better way to do things. In many cases, allowing groups liberty and freedom helps keep MA from being stuck in the rut of practices and customs that have become obsolete.
A group should consult with other groups, the district service committee, or World Services if there is any question that their actions may affect another group or MA as a whole. Each group should take special care that its actions fall within the bounds of our traditions, and that they do not dictate or force anything upon other groups. The purpose of autonomy is to give each group the freedom to establish an atmosphere of recovery that will best serve its members, and to fulfill the primary purpose stated in Tradition Five.
Getting Additional Support from a “Service Sponsor,” Trusted Servant or another more Experienced Fellow
If you or your group/meeting is still feeling unsure about how to obtain a group conscience or run a business meeting, we encourage you to reach out first to other trusted servants and groups/meetings in your district, region, or another district for support, or to your district to see if they can assist you with finding someone who can serve as a “service sponsor” to guide you and your group/meeting through this process.
This “Service Sponsor” might be someone with some experience attending or facilitating business meetings who can answer some questions you may still have after reading these FAQ, can provide more specific examples of how other groups/meetings in your district or other districts run their group conscience business meetings, and explain anything else that they have personally learned from their own experiences in holding and/or attending business meetings for groups/meetings in your district specifically, since every district and every meeting/group has its own unique characteristics that you may find helpful to learn about in the context of holding a business meeting and seeking a group conscience.
A Service Sponsor with more experience holding business meetings can even step in and assist your group/meeting with holding or facilitating the actual business meeting if the trusted servants in your group/meeting are less familiar or comfortable with business meetings. Or you might sit in on another meeting/group in your district’s business meeting to learn how they operate before you help facilitate your meeting/group’s business meeting, if you’re aware of a meeting that has trusted servants knowledgeable about business meeting etiquette and protocol.
Regardless of what you might see in other meetings/groups, or hear from your district or read hear from MA World Services, the MA Fourth Tradition states that meetings are autonomous, which means that ultimately it is MA meetings and groups who get to decide how they want to function. So MA World Services does not want anything that is written in these FAQ to change how your meetings/groups already obtain a group conscience and hold business meetings if it is working well already for your group(s)!
These are suggestions being offered to those meetings/groups seeking suggestions, or asking questions, or who may not even know where to begin. If you and/or your meeting/group still have questions after reading these FAQ, and after hopefully seeking support from other meetings/groups and other trusted servants in your district (or in another district, if your meeting is not part of a district) MA World Services remains available as a resource and to answer any questions that you may have about holding a business meeting, how to obtain a group conscience, what this Motion or vote is about, or anything else. We are here to help! [email protected]
As Your Groups/Meetings Begin the Process of Discussing and Voting on this Motion, Remember the Following:
Remember Groups/Meetings Have Six Months to Submit their Ballot Responses, so Discussion and Voting Should Not Be Rushed and Can Occur Over Multiple Business Meetings if Needed
Unlike many issues we are faced with voting on, our founders had the wisdom to provide MA groups/meetings with six months to consider and come to a group conscience on these types of changes. Which means that groups and meetings do not need to make any decisions overnight, and do not need to be hasty. Meetings/groups can discuss these issues in a business meeting, and if a consensus is not reached, or not all voices are heard, table further discussion for a future business meeting. This can be discussed over multiple business meetings to allow everyone to have a voice, especially minority opinions. This time also allows everyone ample opportunity to read the material and think about the proposed changes as well.
Remember the Concepts of Open-Mindedness and Willingness to Listen to All Voices, Especially the Minority View, in Your Group/Meetings’ Discussions
Much as the concepts of open-mindedness and willingness are key to working our own programs and getting and staying sober from marijuana, so too are these same concepts key to holding an effective group conscience business meeting. To reach an informed group conscience involves being open minded and having a willingness to be mindful of hearing all opinions, especially minority opinions, and not just the loudest voices in the room.
Remember to “pause, when agitated or doubtful…” and Take Breaks in the Discussion or Voting If Your Meeting/Group Needs It
As the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous cautions on page 87 to, “pause, when agitated or doubtful, and ask for the right thought or action”. us marijuana addicts too can benefit from this advice, particularly in these potentially heated discussions over whether or not to make these proposed changes.
We can remember to pause if the business meeting is causing members to become agitated, whether it be for a minute to all raise our hands to recite “The Serenity Prayer” together to remember why we’re debating this issue in the first place (to help us determine how to best fulfill our primary purpose and carry the message to the addict who still suffers), or a 5-10 minute break to pray, meditate, get up to stretch our legs or grab a drink of water, or a week long break to table the business meeting until the following week so members can calm down, sleep, and think on the points raised during the discussion. If anyone’s minds are going to change, they’ll be more likely to do so if given the time to step away, reflect on the discussion, and let any emotions cool, and not while still swept up in the heat of the moment.
Decisions made when members of the group/meeting are feeling “agitated or doubtful” are not as likely to be grounded in spirituality, nor are they as likely to be a product of members’ best thinking, or that next “right thought or action” so many of us in recovery are working towards. If members are feeling “agitated or doubtful” as a group during these discussions, then it is wise for all to “pause” and “seek the next indicated right thought or action” as the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous suggests. p. 87. Better decision making can usually then occur after allowing everyone in the meeting some time to pause and do whatever each member needs to do in order to reset.
Remember, if Discussions Become Heated it is Usually due to a Shared Passion for Helping Carry the Message to the Fellow Marijuana Addict with Differences in Opinion Over How to Best Fulfill MA’s Primary Purpose, and Whether or Not the Motion Would Do That if it Passed
Usually if we are in a heated debate amongst fellow MA members about issues such as whether or not to make these proposed changes, it’s because we disagree about how to best carry the message to the marijuana addict who still suffers. But the common ground that is shared between MA members is that common desire to help the marijuana addict who still suffers, by determining how to best fulfill the MA primary purpose and carry the message to our fellow marijuana addicts. We just do not always agree on specifically what is the best way to fulfill the MA primary purpose and help our fellow addicts, and accomplish what are typically shared goals of helping newcomers find MA, keep coming back to MA, and work the Twelve Steps of MA, so that they can get and stay sober from marijuana. So, when in a heated discussion with our fellows over issues such as the proposed changes in this Motion, it can help to remember that the passion we share for helping our fellow marijuana addicts is far greater than the differences in opinion we may have over how to best accomplish this, and whether or not these proposed changes to the Steps and Traditions are in furtherance of our primary purpose and the MA Fifth Tradition.
When the group/meeting takes a break, whether for 5-10 minutes or for one or more weeks, the actual process of voting to obtain the group conscience can then occur after everyone has had a chance to think, pray, meditate, sleep, or do whatever else it is that the group/meeting’s members find supportive for their serenity, both as individuals and as a meeting/group. If in doubt, turn to and be guided by our Twelve Traditions, and remember to place principles before personalities. And not to forget to work together – this is a “we” program!
If you still have questions contact [email protected]