Spirit of Recovery

Young people in recovery are making waves—of energy, optimism, and commitment to long-term sobriety. They are leading the way in building support for sustained high quality of life and constructive participation in society—and they express authentic spirituality. Guest Sarah Nerad, a young person in long-term recovery since 2007, a founding member of Young People in Recovery, and cofounder of PTR Associates shares the great gifts young people are bringing to the recovery community. Learn more at www.youngpeopleinrecovery.org and www.ptrassociates.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Creativity is a powerful spiritual connection. Tapping into our innate creative Source smoothes the changes faced in recovery, speaks of Higher Power’s Presence, and connects to life. Singer/songwriter Doe Marasa tells how she reclaimed her childhood love of music and uses it to build bridges into full living. She will share several of her songs, sure to touch the heart! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A sound track makes the recovery journey a little easier and a lot more joyful. Music by and for recovering people is a celebration and a road map. Guest Kathy Moser shares her passion for music and recovery and the gifts that come from creating your own songs. Kathy is a nationally touring songwriter, performer, teacher, and social artist, bringing positive change to the world through music. Her songwriting workshops for recovering people are not only fun—they develop practical recovery skills. Learn more about Kathy’s work at www.kathymoser.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Wellbriety Movement grounds recovery in the Native American values of family, community, unity across generations, spirituality, and ceremony. Bringing these values to bear in intergenerational healing creates powerful well-being in Native American communities. Don Coyhis, founder and president of White Bison, and member of the Mohican Nation, tells how a vision led him into a new depth of living and his commitment to bring healing to Native American communities. Don is a recipient of the 2009 Purpose Prize given to Social Innovators over 60 who use their passion and experience to take on society’s biggest challenges. Visit www.whitebison.org to learn more about the Wellbriety Movement. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Animals can’t be fooled—they tune in at the nonverbal level. That makes animal-assisted therapy a powerful tool to help all kinds of people get out of their heads and into their hearts. Guest Carol Browne and her Golden Retriever Elbie are members of The Hairy Angel Foundation, Inc,™ a charitable foundation in Sedona, Arizona, that raises Golden Retrievers to be service dogs for autistic children. Elbie participates in Carol’s counseling practice providing affection, empathy, and a very special energy. Carol has been a substance abuse counselor for more than 30 years, working to help people advance and enhance their recoveries. Her focus is on helping clients take the healthiest and best possible care of themselves, freeing them to live more fulfilling and joyful lives. Learn more about Carol’s work at www.carolbrowneabetterway.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Christmas story, a celebration of spiritual birth, speaks in a special way to people in recovery. It is the story of the journey from darkness to light, from despair to hope, from bondage to freedom, and the joy of a whole new way of living. Special guest Allen Liles, Unity minister, shares the metaphysical spiritual interpretation of the Christmas story and the unique way it informs recovery. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Holidays are an emotionally charged time—old family tapes blare. Whether we’re celebrating the holidays alone, with friends, or with family, our expectations that we must have the “perfect” holiday can ambush us. But we have powerful recovery tools. Special guest Sherry Gaugler-Stewart, Family and Spiritual Development Coordinator at The Retreat Family Program, Wayzata, Minnesota, shares how planning ahead emotionally and spiritually can set us up for serenity! Learn more about Sherry’s work at http://www.theretreat.org/family-program.php. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Moral injury results from having to make difficult moral choices under extreme conditions, witnessing immoral acts, or behaving in ways that deeply challenge moral conscience and values. It calls for deep recovery of one’s sense of goodness and value. It calls for repairing the soul. Special guests Rita Nakashima Brock, Ph.D., and Col. Herman Keizer, retired army chaplain, codirectors of the Soul Repair Center at Brite Divinity School, discuss the profound importance of soul repair for war veterans and the essential role spiritual communities play. Dr. Brock is coauthor of Soul Repair: Recovering From Moral Injury After War. Visit www.brite.tcu.edu. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Peer to peer support, in addition to what is found in 12 Step fellowships, promotes high-level wellness, reduces relapse, and heals the soul. Getting connected with others living a recovery lifestyle creates a whole new world. Joe Powell, the executive director and a founding member of the Association of Persons Affected by Addiction, and a board member of Faces and Voices of Recovery, is a pioneer in championing peer-driven, peer-led recovery support. He shares how peer to peer programs work and how they create a network of strength for people in recovery. Learn more about Joe’s work at www.apaarecovery.org. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gratitude gets us focused on what is working well in our lives and in the world. Gratitude gets us out of fear and into love, out of the “if only’s” and into the “I can’s.” Gratitude energizes us—getting us off the sidelines and into life. With his characteristic wit and keen observations, Rev. Leo Booth shares his insights into the power of gratitude. Rev. Booth is a Unity minister and internationally acclaimed author, lecturer and trainer on all aspects of spirituality and recovery. Learn more about his work at www.fatherleo.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Eating disorders have devastating consequences for health, relationships and even finances. Recovery opens the way to deep nourishment—to receiving spiritual food that brings life, health and a loving life. Guest Heidi Voet Smith shares how as a young woman she contended with a long-time eating disorder and overcame it through devotion to a 12-step program. She has an abundance of inspiration, hope and practical steps to discuss. Heidi, a licensed professional counselor, is the clinical director at Burning Tree Recovery Ranch (www.burningtree.com), where she also co-created and co-facilitates the Family Program Workshop. She has been featured on A&E’s Intervention as well as the upcoming National Geographic series How Drugs Work, and blogs for Addiction Professional magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Spirituality is about waking up to yourself at ever deeper levels—and discovering that you are connected to a loving, nurturing Power. Awakening means willingness to face and resolve the hurts and defenses that keep you asleep, so you can encourage your precious, creative self. Special guest Carol Browne shares what it takes to find and nurture your authentic self. Carol has been a substance abuse counselor for more than 30 years, working to help people advance and enhance their recoveries. Her focus is on helping clients take the healthiest and best possible care of themselves, freeing them to live more fulfilling and joyful lives. Carol also uses service dogs in her work with clients. These dogs are trained to work with autistic children. Learn more about Carol’s work at www.carolbrowneabetterway.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The New Recovery Advocacy Movement works to remove the cultural stigma attached to addiction and recovery. It opens doors for recovering people—those with the disease of addiction and family members—to share the gifts of wisdom, resilience and awareness with the larger community. Not only does this benefit the community, it brings those affected by addiction truly back home. Guest Bill White is a senior research consultant at Chestnut Health Systems/Lighthouse Institute and has served as a volunteer consultant to Faces and Voices of Recovery since its inception. He holds an M.A. in Addiction Studies, has worked in the addictions field since 1969, counseling, training, and writing. Bill has authored or co-authored numerous articles and books, including Let's Go Make Some History: Chronicles of the New Addition Recovery Advocacy Movement. Learn more at www.williamwhitepapers.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The word recover means to regain, reclaim, retrieve or revive something of value that has been lost. In active addiction or obsession, what is lost is our sense of self—of our own goodness and connection to our spiritual nature. Guest Doug Bottorff, author of Native Soul: Unlocking Your Life’s Potential shares how no matter what we have done, we cannot diminish our spiritual identity—it is whole and complete. And he explains what brings us to deep awareness of our spiritual essence. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The 12-Step Program grew out of desperation—men and women were dying from their thirst for alcohol. Their “gift of despair” made them willing to search for a life-giving drink—a relationship with a Power Greater than themselves. Early AA’s were remarkable for their dedication to their direct relationship with Spirit. It was that which brought them sobriety and healing. Guest Dick B. is a recovering person, speaker, counselor and the author of more than 46 published titles on the history and spiritual roots—including New Thought teachings—of Alcoholics Anonymous. He hosts The A.A. History Show on www.take12radio.com and weekly interviews on www.ChristianRecoveryRadio.com. Visit www.dickb.com to learn more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Recovery requires venturing deep inside ourselves to find and touch our soul. Only then can our sense of self shift from fear-based survival to life-giving relationship with a loving Higher Power. Mystics from all spiritual paths have described this journey as an intense descent into death as the false self breaks apart. The journey is completed as the true self—the spiritual soul, is revealed and life in profound fullness is born. Guest Fr. Bill W., celebrates 40 years of recovery and is Chair of Recovery Ministries for the Episcopal Diocese of Texas. He places emphasis on prayer, meditation, and Quiet Time. Fr. Bill is a recovery and family therapist and recently retired as the President and CEO of Austin Recovery. He writes a monthly column for Recovery Today, a publication of the Institute of Chemical Dependency Studies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pathological gambling has devastating effects on finances, families, communities and lives. It can be even more thoroughly destructive than substance addictions. Problem gambling often goes unrecognized and hides as “just recreation.” Guest Denise Quirk, LMFT, clinical director and CEO of the nonprofit Reno Problem Gambling Center, will share the difference between responsible and pathological gambling, the signs of pathological gambling, early intervention strategies, and treatment processes for problem gamblers and their families. Visit www.renopgc.org to learn more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We humans tend to go to extremes where sex is concerned—our culture has swung from Victorian prohibitions to overexposure and exploitation. Understanding sexuality as a God-given power that is good, not to be used lightly or selfishly, nor to be hidden from in shame or fear, is an essential aspect of full recovery. Special guest Dr. Robert Hemfelt, psychotherapist specializing in relationships, addictive disorders and spiritual recovery, author, and professor, joins us to discuss what sacred sexuality is. He will explain how we can re-embrace and cherish our sexuality as a means of healing addictive dynamics and toxic shame. Read about Dr. Hemfelt’s work at www.lifeworkscc.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Everyone caught up in the tornado of addiction is living in dishonesty. Insides don’t match outsides; actions don’t match words. Even our interpretations of facts are unreliable. The spiritual life of recovery invites us into radical honesty. Guest Arthur Messenger, author of Living the 12 Steps of Recovery, shares about the importance of honesty and what he’s learned about it from the history of the 12 Step program and from in-depth conversations with longtimers. Read more about Arthur’s work at www.livingtwelvestepsrecovery.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Teens with the disease of addiction need support and plenty of it. However, teens are not little adults. Twelve-Step programs, originally developed for adults, can be immensely helpful to teens—if they are adapted to the particular needs of adolescents. Supporting teens to see how recovery can empower them and connecting them with safe adult mentors open life-giving doors. Our guest is Dr. Steven Jaffe, M.D., professor emeritus of psychiatry at Emory University, and clinical professor of psychiatry at Morehouse School of Medicine, in Atlanta. Dr. Jaffe has spent the past 25 years working to modify Twelve-Step programs to make them developmentally meaningful for teens. He is the author of the Adolescent Substance Abuse Intervention Workbook: Taking a First Step (5 Pack) and The Step Workbook for Adolescent Chemical Dependency. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Spiritual transformation is the gateway out of addiction and into constructive living. Authentic spirituality requires that we experience the Divine mystery while also “chopping wood and carrying water.” Special guest Dr. Robert Hemfelt, psychotherapist specializing in relationships and addictive disorders, author and professor, joins us again this week. He shares additional insights about the difference between religious addiction and healthy spirituality, and how recovering people can develop a grounded spiritual life. Read about Dr. Hemfelt’s work at www.lifeworkscc.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How do you know if your spiritual path is opening you to an authentic experience of God’s presence or entwining you in an addictive cycle of dependence? Healthy spirituality leads us into greater love for ourselves and respectful connection with others. Religious addiction, however, traps us in absolutist thinking and ever-growing dependence on a person or institution. Special guest Dr. Robert Hemfelt, psychotherapist specializing in relationships and addictive disorders, author and professor, discusses how to tell the difference, how to disengage from an addictive religious situation, and how to develop life-giving spirituality. Read about Dr. Hemfelt’s work at www.lifeworkscc.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Music is naturally healing, living in us as the everyday rhythms of heartbeat and breath and the tones in our voice. Music-making, enjoyed playfully without the pressure to perform or entertain, is a profound way to facilitate well-being and connect with the joy of life. And that‘s what recovery is all about. Guest Christine Stevens, MSW, MA, MT-BC, author of Music Medicine: The Science and Spirit of Healing Yourself With Sound, founder of UpBeat Drum Circles, and music therapist, is committed to drumming and music-making as a way of achieving change in individuals, teams and communities. Her programs are aimed at creating a musically accessible culture, where musical expression is seen as a tool for personal transformation and development. Christine has facilitated drumming circles across the United States and the world, most notably bringing this healing modality to people who have been traumatized by wars and weather disasters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Human beings are deeply connected to each other. We long for the best for those we love—but we can’t give it to them. We want their well-being—but we can’t force them to do the right things. Paradoxically, the wisest way to love others is to keep the focus on ourselves. Specializing in working with those who chronically relapse and their families, guest Heidi Voet Smith shares how essential it is that families look to their own recovery and shares practical ways they can do that. Heidi, a Licensed Professional Counselor, is the clinical director at Burning Tree Recovery Ranch (www.burningtree.com), where she also co-created and co-facilitates the Family Program Workshop. She has been featured in A&E’s Intervention as well as the upcoming National Geographic series “How Drugs Work,” and blogs for Addiction Professional magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What is that feeling of profound emptiness lurking underneath active addiction and over focus on others? It’s the sense of self gone missing. Our sense of self is that authentic voice within that draws us into fulfilled living based on self-awareness and self-respect. Even if we missed developing that as children, in recovery, we have a second chance. Guest Sandra Felt, Licensed Clinical Social Worker, with many years of experience with clients in recovery from addiction and childhood trauma, shares profound and practical insights on how adults can go back through missed opportunities to find and develop a solid sense of self. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Recovery is the same for men and women—or is it? Addiction affects women differently in some ways. And while the foundation of recovery is the same, when treatment and recovery address women's unique needs, their well-being blossoms. Guest Beverly B. shares about her own long-term recovery and her work as a board member of a women's treatment facility that has a great track record of supporting women and their families. Visit www.nexusrecovery.org to learn about a unique program for women. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Young adults are naturally resilient and have the ability to get their lives on track. But in a culture that glorifies addictive behavior as a rite of passage, it is difficult to create the supportive, sober peer community essential for long-term recovery. Exciting cutting-edge treatment programs, coupled with aftercare in an innovative Collegiate Recovery Community, give new hope for young adults. Daniel Krasner, Clinical Solutions Provider of The Ranch at Dove Tree, shares how a unique partnership with the Center for the Study of Addiction and Recovery at Texas Tech University is opening new doors. Visit http://www.depts.ttu.edu/hs/csa/ and www.ranchatdovetree.com to learn more about recovery support for young adults. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Are people pushed into recovery by overwhelmingly negative life circumstances—or are they drawn by their spiritual hunger? Are these the same thing? Guest Deanna Lowell, treatment center chaplain, discusses the spirituality of recovery, what draws us in and what it takes to keep growing. Rev. Lowell has years of rich experience in companioning recovering people as they deepen their spiritual walk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Maintaining long-term recovery is so much more than just not using. It requires a spiritually awakened life based in accountability, responsibility and consistency. Treatment that blends 12 Step spiritual principles with evidence-based medical and psychological approaches can help break the relapse cycle. Guest Michael Smith, director of multimedia marketing at Burning Tree, a long-term residential treatment program, shares what it takes to create a fulfilling, sober life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Spiritual health is a vital component of mental and physical health. When we find ourselves stuck with chronic problems, we may need to dig deep to find what’s blocking our connection with a loving spiritual power. Past trauma, negative messages or spiritual neglect may be blocking the sunlight of the Spirit. My guest this week, Dr. Leslie Ahlers, a physician who has experience in addiction medicine, chronic illness and hospice care, shares how the body-mind-spirit connection is the key to full well-being. Learn more about Dr. Ahlers at www.truepeacenow.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Advances in neurobiology, psychology, medicine and even electronics—through the creation of social media—offer new approaches to recovery. Do these spell the end of 12-Step programs? My guest this week, Dr. Dan Frigo, dean of Hazelden Graduate School of Addiction Studies, discusses how new methods integrated with the 12-Step model create the possibility of higher quality long-term sobriety, and how counselors are trained for the 21st century. Visit www.hazelden.org/web/public/education.page to learn more about Dr. Frigo. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Full mental health means spiritual health. Healthy spirituality is being in touch with a love that cares about you and is bigger than whatever has harmed you. Becoming conscious of the fullness of Spirit is the key to constructive participation in life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The beauty of recovery is that we find we are not terminally unique. There are others like us today, and those who have gone before us, who light our way. We alone can do it, but we cannot do it alone. Guest Ray Nelson, Unity minister with 17 years living a recovery program, shares how seeking ways to serve others is the surest way to find solutions when he is struggling. His favorite saying is, "When in doubt, focus out." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Recovery is all about second chances. The brittle outer shell cracks open to reveal real life inside. It’s a lot like resurrection. Rev. Mark Fuss shares what happens when what breaks apart becomes the joy of what’s breaking through. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Spiritual growth calls us to participate fully in life. Recovery gives us the energy and clarity to connect productively. Guest Nell Hurley, executive director of the Minnesota Recovery Connection, shares how a united commitment to peer-to-peer support, public education and advocacy offers recovering people a way to give back, strengthen their own recovery, and support others who are seeking recovery—and make a powerful impact in their local communities. Learn more about Nell’s work at www.minnesotarecovery.org. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What happens when you pursue the spiritual path with all you've got? A life that works! Join me and my guest as we discuss what it means to want spiritual growth so much that you're willing to go to any lengths. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What’s so powerful about the Twelve Steps, and how do they mesh with other forms of spiritual practice? First published in 1939 in the book Alcoholics Anonymous: The Big Book, the Steps offer practical actions that lead to spiritual awakening. They work, not only for people recovering from the disease of alcoholism, but for anyone with “the human condition.” When incorporated as a way of life, the Steps bring continual spiritual growth. Family member Beth A. tells how she keeps her long-term recovery vitalized by making the Steps a priority. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When outer circumstances fall apart, it’s often a sign that our inner life is coming together. Change is unsettling, but our own spiritual self has called it forth because we are ready for a larger life. Chris Castaldi, a longtime member of the recovery community, started her college program with a burning interest in the change process. In the midst of creating her capstone project, she found herself not just writing about change—but living it! Chris shares what she’s learning about change—and why she now calls it transformation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Who wants to interact with a God who is negative, judgmental, cold and uncaring? Probably nobody! Guest Ron Scott shares how he came to understand his Higher Power in a completely new way. Through an amazingly simple and effective process that his minister shared with him years ago, Ron has come to know God as a loving Divine Friend. This close relationship has led to a fulfilling, abundant, love-filled life. Ron is a Unity minister, recovering person, and author. In his book, Making Life Work for You: A Jesus Approach, he tells in practical ways how trusting God helps us reclaim our lives. Learn more about Ron at http://slctroy.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Many thousands of children have received the help they need to recover from the pain and loss of growing up in a family impacted by the disease of addiction. When children get help, they can grow up with a sense of self-respect, a connection to positive spirituality, and the ability to participate constructively in life. Guest Jerry Moe is vice president and national director of Children’s Programs at the Betty Ford Center and an internationally active trainer, author and lecturer. Jerry is known for his insightful, joyful and clear advocacy for children. Learn more about Jerry’s innovative programs at www.bettyfordcenter.org. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What helps women fully recover—finding freedom from addiction and meaningful spirituality? Recovery services that respond to the realities of womens' lives—that understand the need to address trauma, empowerment, and self-worth issues. Guest Carol Ackley, executive director of River Ridge Treatment Center in Minnesota, and a pioneer in implementing womens' recovery services, shares the transformation that happens with gender-responsive services. Carol blogs about womens' treatment issues on the Addiction Professional website, www.addictionpro.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The most fundamental addiction is the addiction to our own defenses—our patterns of thinking and living. "Stinking Thinking" keeps us running on the hamster wheel of fear. And it keeps us at odds with just about everybody. Guest Richard Rohr, prolific author, speaker and founding director of the Center for Action and Contemplation in Albuquerque, New Mexico, shares his thoughts on detaching from this universal addiction and living a meaningful life in the midst of an addicted world. Learn more about Richard at www.cacradicalgrace.org. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Where do we find the power to live constructively? We strive to find it by achieving and doing. But that has its limits. My guest, Rev. Dennis, shares how the powerlessness of Step 1 of the 12 Steps leads to connecting with our inner spiritual Twelve Powers—and how, when grounded in spiritual power, we can create meaningful lives. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Active addiction or obsession with another robs us of the ability to live in reality. Spiritual growth in recovery allows us to see life clearly, powers our thinking with wisdom, and motivates our actions from love. Guest Jerry J., who has more than 30 years experience working a program of recovery, shares how spirituality gets us into reality. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What Was, What Is—the Foundation for What Will Be—Taking a look at how we responded to life in 2011 is a great way to appreciate our growth. It also gives us guidance from our Higher Power for what new directions we can choose to take in 2012. My 12-Step guest shares practical ways to use our past to springboard into our future. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Compassion for ourselves and others paves the way for authentic fulfillment. Compassion invites us to reach into our depths and call into action powerful values. It leads us to actions we might never have considered. Multi award-winning independent singer-songwriters, wisdom teachers and compassionate spiritual guides Jan Garrett and J.D. Martin share with us through their music and in conversation what it takes to live from our souls. Learn more about them at www.garrett-martin.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Christmas story is a powerful one for recovering people. It’s a story of possibility, of hope and of promise. It’s filled with spiritual awakenings, surrender and faith. It shows how trusting God, even when the path seems nonsensical and out of the mainstream, leads to an amazingly good outcome. Pat Williamson, a Unity minister deeply committed to living and teaching spiritual principles, and with 25 years of personal recovery, shares the powerful recovery message of the Christmas story. Read more about Pat at www.unitychristchurch.org. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is it possible to actually enjoy the holidays!? To have peaceful celebrations with family and friends? Yes, it is—if we choose serenity first. Counselor Nancy Little, Ph.D., gives practical spiritual techniques to release behavior patterns that block holiday joy. She shows how to create new ways of seeing and being so we feel calm and connected to God, ourselves and our loved ones. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Seeing ourselves through the lens of humor helps us put life in perspective. Our goofy quirks are what make us human—and okay, they are also what get us into trouble. When we have a laugh—at ourselves—we see that we are indeed simply a human among humans. And that means there is definitely hope. Singer/songwriter and humorist Greg Tamblyn shares his music and original perspectives on the ego-in-denial, beer commercials, terminal seriousness, love-sickness and recovery karma. Read more about Greg at www.gregtamblyn.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Talk, talk, talk—will get you nowhere. Our lives get better when we actually live our spirituality. Guest and author Arthur Messenger helps us put the power of Spirit into action each day. His book Living the 12 Steps of Recovery wakes up a new sense of what is possible in recovery. Find out more about Arthur at www.livingtwelvestepsrecovery.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices