Spirit of Recovery

Simplicity is the key to serenity. When life gets complicated, take a breath, let go, and let order into your day. Without the frenzy you will have plenty of power to create a fulfilling day. Special guest Peggy K. is a family member affected by the disease of addiction. She is in her own long-term recovery as a family member. She is a Unity minister, committed to her own spiritual growth and to facilitating the spiritual growth of others. Peggy shares spiritual insights and practices that ground us in serenity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Art is a powerful tool for self-expression, creating an avenue for feelings, intuition, and insight. Tapping into the healing power of art does not require “talent,” but simply a willingness to open to your inner life. Engaging in art can support strong, long-term recovery. Special guest Robin M. Gilliam has been in long-term recovery since February 6, 1991. She climbed her way out of the hole of the desperation of addiction and domestic violence to become a CPA, artist, and author. Her novel Gift of Desperation is a provocative story of hope and inspiration wound around Robin’s real artwork. Robin’s Recovery Art Studio offers many resources. She shares her journey and the ways art powerfully supports recovery. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Winter holidays are an invitation to find the light inside us. We don‘t have to get caught up in shopping frenzies, emotionally charged memories, family tensions, or gloomy weather. Keeping our focus on our spiritual program, self-care, and supportive connections nourishes and turns up the love light inside. Special guest Lonnie Vanderslice shares how her commitment to recovery principles and Unity wisdom keeps her inner light strong and glowing. Lonnie, an ordained Unity minister and a person in long-term recovery, is the senior minister at Unity of Spirit, bringing together the spiritual principles of recovery and Unity. She is also the co-owner and vice president of Weave Gotcha Covered, a “100 Jobs” program participant. Learn more about Lonnie’s work at unityofspirit.org and in "Beyond the Walls" and "Thrice Blessed." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Angels come in many forms—as deep intuition, as caring people, and sometimes as welcome yet unexpected visitors! Being receptive to our higher power’s love and guidance in whatever form it comes is a rich gift of recovery. Special Guest Billye Jones is an author, a licensed Unity teacher, and a family member with more than 40 years' experience living a program of family recovery. She shares from her deep experience with angels in all forms. She is the author of The Essence of Loving and Angel Power, Angel Love, and coauthor of Women Pioneers in 12 Step Recovery. From her rich immersion in spiritual writing, study, living, and service, and the fulfillment that is possible for families, Billye brings inspiration and hope. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gratitude opens our awareness to the awesome abundance of goodness. Gratitude makes room for Spirit’s action in our lives and creates space for grace. Special guest Rev. Melinda Wood Allen shares her life-changing encounters with gratitude and grace, and her powerful original music. Melinda is a spiritual speaker, teacher, workshop facilitator, and award-winning singer/songwriter with more than 29 years' experience in New Thought ministries. She combines her knowledge of spiritual principles with her love of music to present moving programs that can be life-changing. She speaks in Unity and CSL churches and community centers across the country as well as in prisons and to addiction recovery groups. Melinda completed her ministerial studies at One Spirit Interfaith Seminary and was ordained in June 2016. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With commitment and hard work, you can take your recovery with you wherever you travel or live. Even when you live in a country where there is little or no recovery community, you can still work the principles, maintain freedom from addictive behaviors, and grow. Special guest Kay D., a Unity student in long-term recovery from the serious disease of food addiction, has traveled the world, remained abstinent, and developed her spiritual life. Kay shares how she has kept the principles of recovery with her. She has made a conscious decision to tap into Unity principles while overseas, even though she had no face-to-face contact with Unity communities. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Military service takes a big toll on both the service members and their families. Project Sanctuary helps military families reconnect with each other and with their communities. Through a program of professionally led therapeutic retreats, this nonprofit organization “takes military families from battle ready to family ready.” Designed from feedback from the families themselves, Project Sanctuary helps them heal together and build skills to thrive and establish hope. Guest Scott Lee, MA, LPC, is the Lead Counselor and an ardent supporter of the work Project Sanctuary does with military families and PTSD. Scott has been working as an independent contractor with Project Sanctuary since 2011. He has master’s degrees in marriage and family therapy (MFT) and Counseling. Learn more at projectsanctuary.us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Finding Spirit within everyday experiences is what creates recovery. By being grounded in gratitude, love, and joy in life’s simplicity, we are energized to keep growing. Special guest Rev. Laurie Durgan, spiritual director at Caron Renaissance Treatment Center and associate minister at Unity of Delray Beach, Florida, as well as a person in long-term recovery, shares how she supports recovering people in making their personal connection with Spirit in their everyday lives. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Recovery podcasts are a powerful, easy-to-access resource. They bring experience, strength, and hope through inspiring personal stories, practical wisdom, and new insights. Special guest Omar is the host and founder of the SHAIR Podcast, and a person in long-term recovery. His passion for recovery and podcasting came together to create SHAIR. Omar’s weekly interviews with recovering alcoholics and addicts reach out around the world and touch lives. The stories of success make a positive impact on SHAIR’s listeners—and on Omar and his interviewee. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yoga, an ancient spiritual practice that integrates body, mind, and spirit, supports deep healing in recovery. Y12SR—Yoga of 12-Step Recovery was developed to “heal the issues that live in the tissues.” Special guest Gloria Uridel, a registered yoga teacher with the Yoga Alliance, a certified Y12SR yoga instructor, and a person in long-term recovery, has taught yoga since 2000. She shares why yoga is a part of her personal recovery journey and how the Y12SR group he leads enhances all who participate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One of the largest cities in America, Houston, Texas, decided that continuing to bury and lock up its young people was not an option. A wide spectrum of community leaders came together to build the world’s largest peer-driven youth and family recovery network. The new film Generation Found takes a look at how it works. Special guest Mario Diurno, outreach coordinator for Generation Found and a person in long-term recovery, shares how a community can come together to intervene early and provide a real and tested long-term alternative to the “War on Drugs.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Religious, cultural, and spiritual beliefs and faith communities can be a great source of comfort, strength, and inspiration for young people and adults. Unfortunately, religion can also carry an unrecognized shadow side, resulting in the harmful misuse of power. Oftentimes people in recovery must heal painful childhood experiences with religion in order to develop a genuinely nurturing spiritual life. Special guest Janet Heimlich is the founder of the Child-Friendly Faith Project, which partners with faith communities in their efforts to ensure that religious and cultural teachings and practices are nurturing for children and do not cause harm. Janet is an award-winning journalist and the author of Breaking Their Will: Shedding Light on Religious Child Maltreatment. She shares what child-friendly faith is and why it matters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Music is a natural expression of our deepest self. Finding the music in our own soul helps us heal and moves us into new connections with ourselves and others. Spcial guest Kathy Moser, an award-winning professional musician in long-term recovery, gives recovery performances and songwriting workshops for recovering people. Her workshops are not only fun—they develop practical recovery skills. Kathy has presented at The Meadows, Rutgers’ Summer Institute, Caron Texas, Father Martin’s Ashley, Alina Lodge, Gosnold on Cape Cod, and many more. She shares her newest recovery music and what is happening in her exciting creative work with recovering people. Learn more about Kathy’s work at sonicbids.com/band/musicforrecovery. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you into something else is the greatest accomplishment,” wrote Ralph Waldo Emerson. It takes great courage to take a stand with yourself—quieting old voices that would tell you that who you are is just not enough. Special guest Brent Uzell, licensed Unity teacher and spiritual leader, shares how authentic spirituality gives us the strength to live from our center. He discusses how shame can short-circuit that process. Brent tells how we can engage in healing shame by recognizing it and developing skills to create a nourishing relationship with ourselves and other people. Brent has been active in spiritual leadership for many years, has studied, lived, and taught the value of self-love, and creates bridges across faith and cultural differences. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Recovery means reclaiming that in us which is precious—our wholeness. It is about so much more than stopping the use of a substance, a behavior, or a distorted focus on another person’s problems. Recovery means finding our spirit and letting it sing! Special guest Anji Kat is an award-winning inspirational singer/songwriter and motivational speaker with more than 20 years' experience in health, wellness, yoga, and the arts. She weaves together these elements with insightful life lessons and divine inspiration to craft songs and messages that lead others to the wisdom and power within. Anji shares her inspiring music and how she lets her spirit sing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Recovery happens as we honestly share our lives. Special guest Kevin Hart writes, “If someone would have told me that someday I’d write a book sharing what it is like to be an alcoholic and drug addict, fully disclosing all my shortcomings in a very candid way, I probably would have laughed and downed another drink. But, that is just what has been done. Why? The real answer: I am not sure. Nonetheless, it took years to complete A Thousand Screaming Monkeys. It was written for all who seek a better way to live.” Kevin is a person in long-term recovery, an author, publisher, Unity student, and active in bringing the message of recovery to those who are incarcerated. He shares his true story and what has happened in his life since he began asking, “Can I allow myself to go beyond the smaller problems of life and be guided in a more fulfilling way than trying to control situations and outcomes?” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Recovery comes from within. Of course, we engage the support of mentors and resources—yet ultimately recovery from addiction comes from the willingness to shift our internal attitudes and outer behaviors. Recovery is our Higher Power’s invitation to love ourselves more fully. The same is true of recovery from other diseases. Special guest Richard C., a person in long-term recovery since 1974, is a Unity student and teacher of tai chi and chi qong, blogger, and spiritual retreat leader. Richard is a student of internationally-renowned expert Kevin Chen, Ph.D., an associate professor in the Center for Integrative Medicine and Department of Psychiatry at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Dr. Chen investigates the use of Chinese energy therapy for treating osteoarthritis, addiction, and cancer. Richard shares how the principles of self-care learned in addiction recovery are also the foundation of healing from cancer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Long-term recovery does not happen in a vacuum. Individuals make connections with themselves, higher spiritual values, other recovering people, and with healthy lifestyle actions more readily within a larger recovery affirmative environment. Communities that understand addiction, that have supportive norms, laws, ethics, and social and employment supports, are essential. Special guest David Houke, LMSW, LCDC, director of programs at Austin Recovery, shares how connections with self, spiritual values, other people, and in communities create the context for long-term recovery. With 25 years’ experience as a clinician and as a person in long-term recovery, David brings a wealth of experience in supporting individuals and the recovery community. Dedicated to helping clients embrace change, David is unequivocal when it comes to his philosophy on treatment. “I believe that 100 percent of the people who seek treatment can stay sober,” he says. “I do not believe that relapse is a requirement.” Learn more about David’s work at austinrecovery.org. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In recovery what was broken becomes our greatest gift. We realize that true strength is within us and in the genuine supportive connections we make with other people. Guest Davis S. is a person in long-term recovery from serious addiction to prescription opioid pain medication. He shares his journey to sustained recovery and how his amazing encounter with a monarch butterfly brought him the courage to embrace his life. At age 50, following a suggestion made by his treatment program counselor, he returned to graduate school and obtained two master’s degrees in counseling. He is now employed as a drug and alcohol counselor to bring some hope to those who suffer from addiction. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Marijuana Anonymous is a fellowship of people who share experience, strength, and hope that they may solve their common problem and help others recover from marijuana addiction. Based in the 12 Steps adapted from Alcoholics Anonymous, the MA program supports growth through a spiritual housecleaning. This cultivates self-awareness, a growing relationship with one’s higher power, and freedom from fear. Rick, an MA member in long-term recovery, shares his experience of addiction to marijuana and the process and gifts of his recovery. Learn more about the MA program at marijuana-anonymous.org. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Being in recovery opens us to a new understanding of success. We realize that comparing ourselves to others while striving to meet unrealistic outer demands robs us of peace of mind and self-worth. It can even derail our recovery. Special guest Chris Shea, M.A., CRAT, CAC-AD, addiction counselor, campus minister, life coach, nationally recognized speaker and author, shares what happens when we shift from an outer definition of success to one defined by our own values. Chris’ personal and professional philosophy focuses on two basic concepts that bring self-awareness and inner peace: keeping our thoughts on the present moment, and practicing some form of daily meditation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Musicians deal with intensified stress—exposure to public evaluation, extended time away from family, nonstable income, and constant pressure to creative excellence. When a young Austin musician lost his battle with depression in 1995, his grieving father and friends galvanized Austin’s close-knit music community to create a unique organization offering mental health services to local musicians. The SIMS Foundation continues to provide affordable lifesaving services to musicians and their families when they need them most. Special guest Jennifer Vocelka, assistant clinical director of SIMS, shares how this organization works and how it is supported by a broad cross-section of the community in the "Live Music Capital of the World." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Do you have to give up your intellect, intelligence, and rational thinking processes in order to live a spiritual life? Not so, says special guest Gudjon Bergmann. Actually living authentic spirituality demands that you explore and honor all of these aspects of yourself. Nonfiction author and novelist Gudjon Bergmann has a varied background. Prolific and industrious writer, professional speaker, mindful yoga teacher, devoted father, meditation practitioner, integral philosopher, loving husband, avid reader, instigator of dialogues, and a nature aficionado are all terms that describe this Icelandic-born United States citizen. Not content with presenting one-size-fits-all solutions, Gudjon promotes nuanced approaches to personal development and emphasizes self-reliance. His debut novel, The Meditating Psychiatrist Who Tried to Kill Himself, is now available. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Overeaters Anonymous program offers physical, emotional, and spiritual recovery for those who suffer from compulsive eating—which can show up as many different patterns of food behavior. The concept of abstinence, rather than dieting, is the basis of O.A.’s 12-step program—a set of principles that promote constructive inner change. O.A. is open to anyone who has a desire to stop eating compulsively. Special guest Jill T., a member of O.A., shares her own personal journey to recovery. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Addiction is a disease—not a disgrace. Current research strongly suggests that sexual or “love” addiction not only exists, but in fact manifests in the brain and in behavior in very similar ways to other recognized forms of addiction like alcoholism. Special guest Bridget Wilson, founder of Solutions Auckland, specializes in treating people with sex and love addiction. She shares what this addiction is and how one can recover. Bridget studied at the prestigious Hazelden Graduate School of Addiction Studies in Minnesota and is registered with the New Zealand Addiction Practitioners' Association. She is the author of the novel Addicted to Love, an inside, thought-provoking look at sex and love addiction. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Spirituality enters our life always through unexpected means. Often we wake up because we met a difficulty we cannot surmount through our usual external methods. What seemed like a failure turns out to be the opening for God’s call. Special guest Don Seiler, Unity spiritual leader and a person in long-term recovery, shares how he said yes, and why he keeps saying it. Rev. Seiler is a United States Army veteran pilot and has been a commercial pilot, a strength coach in the National Football League, corporate wellness consultant, hospital executive, an addictions counselor, and IT administrator. He serves as the spiritual leader of Unity of North Houston and is on the path to ordination as a Unity minister in the Field Licensing Program. Learn more about Rev. Seiler and read his blog at unitynorthhouston.org/. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Special guest Edward Tick, Ph.D., cofounder with his wife Kate Dalstedt, M.A., of Soldier’s Heart and author of War and the Soul, has worked with veterans for more than 30 years. He coleads powerful healing workshops for military veterans, family members, and healing professionals. These experiences integrate psychological, spiritual, and relational approaches that address the whole person and the fabric of the larger community. Dr. Tick also coleads journeys of healing and reconciliation to Vietnam and Greece. He shares how the power of spiritual healing helps veterans recover and rebuild a transformed sense of self, shrink trauma, and restore wounded dimensions of soul and world. Dr. Tick presented a post-traumatic stress disorder healing workshop at Unity Village on March 16. Learn more about his work at soldiersheart.net. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“They also serve who only stand and wait.” War creates trauma, wounding not only soldiers themselves, but also their families and communities. Both substance and process addictions are commonly part of the pain. The Soldier’s Heart model of healing, developed by special guest Kate Dahlstedt, M.A., and Edward Tick, Ph.D., is a spiritual, holistic, and community-based healing approach for veterans, families, and communities. Kate shares how this powerful recovery process helps families heal. Kate has a master’s degree in clinical psychology as well as postgraduate certification from the Hartford Family Institute and is a published writer. She founded Soldier’s Heart with her husband and partner Dr. Edward Tick after his book, War and the Soul, was published in 2005. Kate directs the Soldier’s Heart Military Families Project and Athena’s Shield for Women Project. Learn more about her work at soldiersheart.net. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Recovery opens the door to what matters most—living fearlessly and authentically, connecting with our soul, and engaging spirituality from connection with our full spectrum self. Special guest Rudy England shares his experience of the richness that comes from engaging with the Jungian concepts of shadow, wholeness, and soul. An ordained Unity minister, Rudy is an accomplished writer and speaker, and teaches classes on a variety of topics including spirituality, religion, ethics, and legislation. He has been a business trial attorney, political campaign manager, political media and campaign strategist, church minister, and radio station manager. Rudy is the chief of staff of Rep. Doug Miller of Texas and director and general counsel for the House Committee on Special Purpose Districts at the Texas House of Representatives. He teaches contract law in the Paralegal Certificate Program at the University of Texas at Austin Center for Professional Education. Rudy chairs the State Bar of Texas Public Affairs Committee and is president of the Capitol of Texas Rotary Club. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Recovery opens the door to energy, vitality, and creativity—in other words, to our spiritual life. Special guest Melinda Wood Allen, singer/songwriter/actress/choral director, shares her music and how she finds the connection between her vitality and her spirituality. Melinda considers recovery principles a vital spiritual path, right along with Unity and New Thought. She sings in Unity and other New Thought churches and shares her music with a variety of recovery groups. Melinda is an accomplished artist who performs in many genres, from musical theatre to classical to jazz to gospel to folk. She has appeared with Fort Worth Opera, Southwestern Opera Theatre, toured widely with the Fort Worth Symphony's Best of Broadway series, and joined the Texas tour of the Michael Martin Murphy Band, singing country music (and yodeling), and regularly performs at Dallas-Fort Worth musical theater venues. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Every one of us has a spiritual purpose. Willingness to fulfill it dissolves that old feeling of uselessness and self-pity. All that we learned in the midst of addictive disease prepares us, in recovery, to give from spiritual depth and meaning. Special guest Marilyn Davis shares her story of finding her purpose and where it has led her. She is a recovery curriculum author who advocates for and writes to the addicted population. Marilyn opened and ran an award-winning women’s recovery home for 21 years. She created the TIERS process, focusing on empowerment through healthy choices and constructive relationships. Marilyn recently celebrated 27 years of abstinence-based recovery. Her book Finding North: A Woman's Journey From Addict 2 Advocate will be published in 2016. Marilyn blogs at fromaddict2advocate.blogspot.com and twodropsofinkat.wordpress.com, which was named one of the 100 best sites for writers in 2016. Learn more about TIERS at tiersrecovery.net. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Recovery gives us the opportunity to live our real lives—from the inside out. There is a lot to learn—and unlearn—as we grow into and become our true selves. As we do, we discover that our life is filled with untold joy and meaning. Special guest Sandra Felt, LCSW, is the author of Beyond the Good Girl Jail: When You Dare to Live From Your True Self. A grateful recovering “good girl” herself, Sandra shares how any of us—women and men—can find and identify our true sense of self, become at home with ourselves, and rebuild our lives from our authentic center. Sandra shares helpful, concrete examples from her personal life, client stories from her more than 30 years of private practice treating courageous survivors of trauma and neglect, and through her original poetry. She is a Board Certified Diplomate in Clinical Social Work and a Certified Trauma-Informed Practitioner, and trains therapists at national conferences. Sandra also loves hikes in the foothills of the Rockies and playing bluegrass bass. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Research indicates that people who have the disease of addiction have experienced higher rates of childhood or adolescent trauma than the general population. The ability to live with joy and fulfillment and maintain long-term recovery grows when old traumas are faced and healed. Special guest Marilyn Van Derbur is the author of Miss America By Day—first-place winner of the prestigious Writer’s Digest Award as the "Most Inspirational Book" published in 2003, and a passionately effective advocate for the prevention of and recovery from childhood sexual abuse. Her exceptionally successful career began with being crowned Miss America 1958 and blossomed as a highly sought-after motivational speaker selected as “Outstanding Woman Speaker in America.” Marilyn’s life took a radical turn in 1991 when she came forward publicly as an incest survivor, an action that opened the door for tens of thousands of sexual abuse survivors to begin their healing. She shares why and how healing the wounds of abuse opens the way to fulfilled living. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Active addiction robs our ability to create the life we are meant to live. In recovery we reconnect with our innate spiritual power of creativity. By learning to use our minds, emotions, and actions constructively, we live fully and well. Special guest Greg Barrette shares practical spiritual principles and actions that help us create the lives we want to live. Greg has been practicing spiritual principles for most of his life; he has known and learned from many authentic spiritual teachers. He was born and raised in Unity and has been a Unity minister for 34 years. Formerly the director of the International Youth of Unity, he served as first vice president of the International New Thought Alliance, was elected president of four Unity regions, and has led some of our most successful churches. His audio CD, The Gift of Healing/Sleeping, is the Unity all-time best-seller. Greg is currently senior minister of Unity Northwest Church in Des Plaines, Illinois. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Recovery is a dance—we flow with changes, learning to keep our balance and partner with others. We learn to dance with life on life’s terms by putting into practice powerful spiritual tools that are open and available for everyone. Special guest Lonnie Vanderslice shares how her combination of recovery and Unity wisdom puts lots of tools in her tool kit, and how her committed use of them keeps her dancing with life! Lonnie, ordained Unity minister and a person in long-term recovery, is the senior minister at Unity of Spirit, bringing together the spiritual principles of recovery and Unity. She is also the co-owner and vice president of Weave Gotcha Covered, a 100 Jobs program participant. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The founding of Alcoholics Anonymous touches everyone—whether familiar with the disease of addiction or not. The experience of the cofounders and their wives speaks to the universal experience of human suffering and the spiritual growth that comes from finding a way through. The play Bill W. and Dr. Bob, cowritten by Steve Bergman and Janet Surrey, touches audiences with its message that people can indeed change their destiny. Special guest Steve Bergman shares what has happened since Bill W. and Dr. Bob debuted off Broadway in 2007. It is currently on an international bilingual—English and Spanish—tour. Steve Bergman is a novelist, essayist, playwright, and activist. A graduate of Harvard College and Medical School, and Oxford as a Rhodes scholar, he was on the Harvard faculty for 35 years. A world-renowned speaker, Steve Bergman is known for his humor and gift for inspiring audiences. Learn more about the play and about Steve Bergman at billwanddrbob.com and samuelshem.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Human beings are created connected—to ourselves, our higher power, and each other. If we lose awareness of our unity, our spirit sleeps within us and we become isolated, lonely, and susceptible to addiction and other problems. As we learn to walk in the WE, our spirit wakes up! This is one of the beautiful gifts of recovery. Special guest Grandmother Mary Lyons, Ojibwe Elder, Grandmothers Council member, and member of Women of Wellbriety, International, shares wisdom teachings on reclaiming our connection to the WE. Grandmother Mary is Niiah-Nibi-Ikwe “Second Water Woman,” Elder of Mitigwakk-Daywaygus-Giwstashskad “Water Drum Circle,” senior member of the “Top Hat Medicine Dress/Long Skirt Society,” spiritual advisor, storyteller, and wisdom teacher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Recovery brings the opportunity to learn new perspectives, new skills, and to engage deeply in healing old emotional wounds and patterns. This means healthy, uplifting relationships are not only possible—they are probable. Special guest Mark Sanders, LCSW, CADC, shares how to detox from old destructive patterns and build new, positive ways of relating. Mark is an international speaker in the behavioral health field whose presentations have reached thousands throughout the United States, Europe, Canada, and the Caribbean Islands. He is coauthor of Recovery Management with William White and Ernie Kurtz and author of Relationship Detox: How to Have Healthy Relationships in Recovery. He is the editor of Substance Use Disorders in African American Communities: Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery, and author of Counseling Chemically Dependent African American Women. He has had two stories published in the New York Times best-selling book series Chicken Soup for the Soul. He is also a lecturer at the University of Chicago. Learn more about his work a onthemarkconsulting25.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Faith in the probability of good makes us strong and keeps us growing. No obstacle has the power to stop us when we are willing to turn on our faith. Special guest Rev. Leslie Wilson is a person in long-term recovery who radiates faith and shines with joy. Her powerful spirit lifts up everyone around her and keeps opening new doors for her in recovery. Rev. Leslie is the associate minister at God Land Unity Church in Detroit, Michigan, and a member of the staff of the Unity Urban Ministerial School. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The grassroots wellbriety movement is grounded in the healing power of Native American cultural values. Through recovery trainings and support groups that incorporate the teachings of the Medicine Wheel, the Cycle of Life, and the Four Laws of Change, the White Bison organization supports indigenous communities in reestablishing strong foundations for well-being. Special guest J. Carlos Rivera, CADC-II, ICADC, executive director of White Bison, Inc., shares what makes the wellbriety approach so successful and how it is expanding into urban Indian communities. Carlos is an enrolled tribal member with the Sherwood Valley Band of Pomo Indians from Northern California. He has experience in the substance abuse field as well as participation as a board member for the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency State Committee in California, appointed by Governor Jerry Brown. Carlos has been a trainer for the Wellbriety Training Institute since 2010 and Keeper of the International Wellbriety Drum since 2012. Learn more at whitebison.org. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Recovery is not an end—it is a beginning. Recovery opens the door to ever-deepening spiritual growth. Life still happens. What’s different is that we meet it with an attitude of gratitude, grace, and openness. Special guest Bob A. has continued to experience the power of recovery in the one-and-a-half years since he shared his amazing journey with us on Spirit of Recovery. Bob shares how spiritually facing changes he didn’t really want has led to abundance of love and rich experiences he never imagined. Bob is a former colleague and a current friend who amongst other things is in recovery, has a heart for helping others, and is always open to a new adventure. Bob tells me he has never been so happy in his life and is grateful God woke him up this morning, woke him up sober, and woke him up next to his amazing wife JoAnn. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ever worry that you won’t have enough—time, money, energy, sanity (you name it!) to make it through? Recovery invites us to let go of fretting and fussing and make conscious contact with a loving, gracious Power greater than ourselves. And, one day at a time with gratitude, learn to trust and live in relationship with that Power. Special guest Greg Barrette shares from his great wealth of practicing spiritual principles for most of his life and his years of knowing and learning from many authentic spiritual teachers. Greg was born and raised in Unity and has been a Unity minister for 34 years. Formerly the director of the International Youth of Unity, he served as first vice president of the International New Thought Alliance, was elected president of four Unity regions, and has led some of our most successful churches. His audio CD, The Gift of Healing/Sleeping, is the Unity all-time best-seller. Greg is currently senior minister of Unity Northwest Church in Des Plaines, Illinois. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Recovery thrives as we awaken to the present moment. Being aware of our breath, physical senses, and the activity in our mind leads to greater acceptance of ourselves, space to process our experience, and to make wise choices. Special guest Therissa Libby, Ph.D., assistant professor and coordinator of the Alcohol and Drug Counseling M.S. Program at Metropolitan State University, shares the research behind why and how mindfulness practice is so important to long-term recovery. Professor Libby, a neuroscientist, addictions counselor, recovery advocate, and researcher, has authored numerous publications on the neurobiological mechanisms of addictive drugs, making this complex topic easy to understand. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Recovery means change—and not just the initial change of letting go of a substance or behavior. Recovery means change as a way of life as we continually choose to live from integrity and wholeness, shedding old ideas in the process. Special guest Marilyn Davis is a recovery curriculum author who advocates for and writes to the addicted population. She opened and ran an award-winning women’s recovery home for 21 years. Marilyn created the TIERS process, focusing on empowerment through healthy choices and constructive relationships. She recently celebrated 27 years of abstinence-based recovery. Marilyn’s book Finding North: A Woman's Journey From Addict to Advocate will be published in 2016. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our life’s divine purpose becomes our daily reality as we let go of addiction and embrace our deep identity. The journey is arduous, yet help is all along the way. Special guest LaBet Pritchard, a person in long-term recovery and a mind-body fitness instructor, developed a yoga and 12-step program she teaches at recovery centers and retreats in western North Carolina. Her experience with mindfulness practice, humor as the best medicine, a spiritual "12 After 12" program, and a passionate belief in miracles make for a serendipitous synchronicity in her life. LaBet shares how she lives her journey to becoming who she always envisioned she would be. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Get out of your head and into your life. Writing practices are a powerful way to move energy from swirling chaos and confusion to clarity, serenity, and constructive action. Special guest Mark Dennis Anderson is the creator and director of Writing in Recovery, a workshop/lecture series and online resource designed to show how writing practices can benefit any program of recovery. Mark combines his personal recovery experience with his background in writing instruction. Anderson has an Master of Fine Arts degree from Hamline University where he studied poetry, creative nonfiction, and writing instruction. He currently teaches writing at Normandale Community College in Bloomington, Minnesota. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When families are affected by active addiction, they lose their sense of connection with spiritual power. Chaos and anxiety cast a cloud over the family, and problems mount. Recovery for families means taking the focus off the person with addiction and placing it on oneself. Family members learn that they do have power—spiritual power to change their lives whether the member with addiction recovers or not. Special guest Billye J. is a family member with more than 40 years' experience living a program of family recovery. She shares from her rich immersion in spiritual study, living, and service, the fulfillment that is possible for families. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We cooperate in creating our miracles—as we take the steps, a higher power brings the results. Special guest Royce Sherrick, a person in long-term recovery, is the director of The Step House, LLC, a one-year program that focuses on troubled men who have lost their sense of themselves in alcohol and other substance abuse. Spiritual healing, growth, and self-worth are encouraged through working a 12-step program and being a responsible member of a residential community. Royce shares how his experiences help him support others to create their miracles on the road to recovery. Learn more about The Step House at thestephouse.org. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Conscious contact with life-giving power is the essence of recovery. It’s the only thing that can replace the pull of the addictive process—whether the addiction is to substances or behaviors. The 11th Step of the 12-Step wisdom path clearly calls us to what may seem daunting—the practice of prayer and meditation. Our special guest, author Tom Catton, in long-term recovery since 1971 and a meditator since 1966, explains a simple, effective approach he uses and shares with people around the world. His book May I Sit With You? A Simple Approach to Meditation is now available. Tom is also the author of The Mindful Addict. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

All people seek to connect with the energy that takes us from the mundane to the Divine. On our way, we may, as Carl Jung wrote, “knock at the wrong address.” Those who make their living as writers, actors, artists, and all of us, as we seek to express creatively, find that recovery shows us the way to the “right address”—our true connection with spirituality. Special guest Leonard Buschel, CADCA, publisher and substance abuse counselor, is the founder of Writers in Treatment, the Reel Recovery Film Festival, and Recovery/Addiction eBulletin. He shares what it means to find the divine connection. Learn more about Leonard’s work at writersintreatment.org. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices