A2D - From Addict to Disciple

How many friends do you really have? I'm not talking about friends on Facebook or Instagram. I mean friends that will meet with you in person or talk to you on the phone for ten minutes everyday, out a few times a week, at least once a week. The key for me is: I'd rather hear your story than read about your story on social media.

Today's episode is a group session with our guys in recovery from the US, South Africa and Australia. I'm sure you will be encouraged by their one truth as they answer this question: "What's the one truth that you learned in childhood, or in addiction, or in recovery that has become a core value in who you are as a man? By core value, I mean it is stronger than just a belief. It defines who you ar...

For today's episode, I go on a walkabout with my friend Michael who has been struggling to establish a recovery for more than five years. On the walkabout we discuss these words by American author and historian Edward Everett Hale: "I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something, and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that...

This is a group episode with our guys in recovery from Australia, South Africa and the US. They share their journey in response to this question "If we can help you make sense of why you became an addict, can you make sense of the choice of recovery?"

Today's episode is a walkabout in Outside Looking In park. Join us as we reduce on this topic. What does it mean to be on the outside looking in? Do you feel like you've always been on the outside looking in? Where do you belong? Where do you fit in? Do you find out hard to even explain yourself to friends and family? How go you find the courage to risk rejection and get connected?

Today's episode is a group meeting where our guys in recovery in the US, Australia and South Africa trains to this quote "You can't do the next right thing, if you always ignore this moment's right thing." What are the thieves that steal your enjoyment of the present moment? How do we find the inner strength and courage to do the next right thing? Are you caught in a rut of neglecting today's impo...

Today's episode is a walkabout through Keep Walking park. How do we stay focused on self care and our recovery when our loved ones say things like "Don't try to convince me that you've changed." Or "Tell it to yourself as you walk out the door!" The key is to learn to walk in silence, not for others to see. Just keep walking.

This episode is a walkabout through A Desolate Place park. Many guys I work with have relapsed because of feeling the sadness of being abandoned or forsaken as a result of their addiction. Join me on this walkabout as we find encouragement and hope to leave the place of desolation and see each new road roll out like a welcome mat to a better place, even if we have no kinda plan.

Today's episode is a walkabout in The Older I Get park. No this is not just for pensioners or retired people! We are all getting older everyday. What have you learned or view differently at your present age than you did a few years ago? In this walkabout we react to quotes like this one by Karen Salmansohn "The older I get the more I realize the importance of walking away from people and situation...

Who are the mockers in your life? Those people who are always teasing you or showing contempt. What is a mocker in your life? The things that drain your energy or maybe dilute your hope. What are the things that you give in to them because you think it's no big deal. Then you find out they caused you to return to full blown addiction. Listen to this episode to see how to say no to mockers.

Today's episode is a group session. Our guys in recovery share their reactions to this quote by American humorist Will Rogers "Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment." I hope you can hear a nugget of good for you in their answers.

In this episode we look at the Japanese concept of Ikigai which translates as our reason to live. The four elements of Ikigai are: 1) your passion - what you love, 2) your vocation - what you're good at, 3) your mission - what the world needs and 4) your profession - what you can be paid for. We're not looking to have you develop a new five year plan, but how you can apply these concepts in your e...

This is a walkabout episode as we walk together in Glimmer of Hope Park. Many you asked for this topic after you listened to episode # 202. I hope you enjoy this look at how we find a Glimmer of Hope in the darkness that surrounds us and crushes our incentive to risk hoping again.

In today's group episode or guys in recovery discuss the quote by Desmond Tutu "There comes a point where we need to stop just pulling people out of the river. We need to go upstream and find out why they're taking in." Listen to our guys input about faith, connectedness, fellowship and relationship as well as their warning to not pull someone out too soon.

Today's episode is a walkabout. Join me as we walk through a park dedicated to the poetry of Pablo Neruda, Chilean who won the Nobel Prize for Literature. In this path we look at his poem entitled "You Start Slowly Dying." We'll use his poem to see ways that we may be slowly dying in our addiction and begin to uncover small steps of life that we can start taking today.

Do you know what glimmers are? Well, think of them as the opposite of triggers. In this episode we look at the importance of knowing our glimmers, seeking them out, gathering them and understanding how they are related to each of our five senses. I hope as you listen to this episode you will see how glimmers let you know that the world is okay!

In this walkabout episode we go on a walk on Flat Tire Trail. The trail has that name because many of us don't realize that we have attitudes in our life that have become a flat tire. Listen to this episode to understand what your flat tire may be and to find the encouragement to change that attitude, change that flat tire, so you can reach your destination in life.

Join us on celebrating 200 episodes as guys in recovery from the US, South Africa and Australia share their favourite memories from this podcast and why they like being part of it. If you're not in a group please feel free to contact me and I'll do my best to get you connected.

Today's episode is another walkabout as we look at emotional, social and existential loneliness. Being lonely is a physical state. Feeling lonely is an emotional state. Today we dig into the emotions of loneliness and being broken or brokenhearted. Two key quotes from this episode are: "The only thing keeping you from being happy is the belief that you are alone." by Anna Draper and "What a lovely...

This episode is a walkabout to reflect on the prison of addiction and things that made us feel like we were in chains. Here's two opening signs as we enter the park for this walkabout: 1) Addiction imprisons your mind, your body, your spirit, your soul. We put ourselves in that prison. We don't need to be arrested by the police. 2) A quote by Keith Richards "I've never had a problem with drugs. I'...

Let's take a walkabout together to look at addiction and where we or our loved ones fit in the spectrum of substance use disorder. On this walk we'll look at the 11 evaluation criteria of the DSM 5 as well as a variety of other definitions of addiction. Is it a disease? A brain disorder? Bondage? Or simply choosing to chase pleasure?

Have you ever said to yourself "I can get clean, I just can't seem to stay clean"? Does it seem like every door to recovery that you try is a revolving door, which only leads to relapse and return to rehab for another try at sobriety? Today we look at four stages of recovery: stability, strategy, security and freedom. These help us focus on the journey of recovery and how to get out of the revolvi...

Today we look at several acronyms for fear and how they apply in recovery. This is not another time of saying False Evidence Appearing Real. Fear is a real emotion. We need to look at our response to fear when it rises up. Maybe you're one who has always responded with Forget Everything And Run. Now is the time to develop the strength, courage and confidence to Face Everything And Rise!

Today is a group episode with our friends in recovery from the US and South Africa. Listen to their insight as they share their experience about the journey from wanting revenge to sitting still in patience. They share their wisdom in response to this quote "If you sit by the river for long enough, you will see the body of your enemy float by." As you listen remember that "The more anger you hold...

Do you struggle with negative thoughts and intrusive voices? Do you find yourself informed by these thoughts and reacting with poor choices? Then it's time to begin to develop Power Over Your Mind! Marcus Aurelius reminds us that we do have power over our mind and that helps us to avoid getting caught up in outside events. He also said "The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your t...