Dear Recovery Dharma Members:
With the formation of our new organization, one of the first ideas was about how to set standards for how our global sangha operates. There was a call to community members to come together to discuss these issues. This led to the creation of the Core Intentions Circle. These were written to be followed by every part of the Recovery Dharma community – local groups, inter-sanghas, regions, and the staff and Board of Directors of the nonprofit organization.
The Core Intentions Circle started meeting regularly in August 2019 to develop the Core Intentions. Nine community meetings were held to elicit feedback and editing. In an early part of the process, members of the Inclusion Circle reviewed drafts to ensure that the language and tone were welcoming to all. The Core Intentions Circle continued to meet for countless hours to bring the document to where it is now, relying on the feedback of our community and the generosity of the members of the Circle.
Please find attached the draft version of the Core Intentions. The Board has adopted this document to guide our work. We encourage the Recovery Dharma community (sanghas, Circles etc.) to review and consider adopting these Intentions.
At this time, we do not have a ratification process for Recovery Dharma-wide literature. In the spirit of keeping group autonomy, we are releasing the Core Intentions to the entire community, with hopes that the Recovery Dharma community will come up with a process for ratification as they are written. Our hope is that after a year of living with the document, the community will be able to have a deeper, more informed discussion at the 2021 Recovery Dharma Summit.
Thank you for all you do in making our community a beautiful home for recovery.