Spirit of Recovery

Addiction is a disease of disconnection. Recovery means establishing authentic, life-giving connections with oneself, one’s higher power, and other people. One of the greatest gifts of recovery is realizing that extending ourselves to others opens the channel for immense good to come to us. Connection is always a two-way street. As we give, so we receive. Special guest Roger Temme, M.Div., is the...

Finding a connection to higher values is essential to recovery. Whether we call those values God, Spirit, Nature, Beauty, Order, or any other name doesn’t matter. What does matter is that we make an opening for a life-giving connection that is beyond the level of fear and mere scrambling. Special guest Rev. Laurie Durgan, spiritual director at Caron Renaissance Treatment Center and associate minis...

Finding a relationship with a Power greater than ourselves is no easy matter. We may have old, negative experiences with religion that jump up to haunt us just at those moments when we are becoming more open and vulnerable. We are not doomed, however. With persistence, willingness to explore, openness to the constructive experiences of others in recovery, and the courage to listen to the loving vo...

Joyful long-term recovery happens when we choose over and over again to enlarge our spiritual life. We just cannot afford to pull up a rock and have a seat—even when life gets really tough! Special guest Brendan P. is a person in long-term recovery with 20 years of continuous sobriety and is also a stage 4 cancer stem cell transplant survivor. He attributes these overcomings to finally realizing w...

What does it mean to trust a power greater than ourselves? Is it possible that spiritual power can work miracles in our lives? Special guest C.J. is passionate about his experiences with the God of his understanding. With 29 years of continuous sobriety, C.J. credits his recovery from addiction to the 12-step program and a power greater than himself. He believes spiritual power helped him do what...

Spiritual development is the power that propels recovery. Special guest Pat McGuire, a professional in the recovery field since 1970, grounds all her work in a deep awareness of spirituality. Pat has worked nationally and internationally to train counselors and develop programs for addiction treatment, including programs dealing with co-occurring issues of eating disorders, sexuality issues, and f...

From significant advances in brain science to the reaffirmation of the healing power of support networks, 21st-century approaches to recovery have much to offer. Special guest Scott McMillan, principal at Recovery Systems Institute, shares how the treatment and recovery fields are evolving in policy and practice, and what this means for individuals and families seeking recovery. Scott has created...

The 1962 movie Days of Wine and Roses played an important part in the growing awareness of alcoholism as a disease and the availability of Alcoholics Anonymous. It’s portrayal of a young couple, whose love for each other dramatically spiraled down into an obsession with alcohol, revealed the depths of despair as well as the possibility of recovery. The movie was adapted from the original 1958 Play...

Want the power to flourish in recovery—to be yourself, fulfill your deepest purpose? Find your alignment with your innate spiritual power through engaging in life with passion and persisting even—and especially-- when the going gets rough. Special guest Richard C., a person in long-term recovery since 1974, shares how, by continuing to live his recovery, he has found fulfillment in his calling and...

Summer is a high-risk time for teens in early recovery. Staying connected to healthy action is the key to continued sobriety. Sober Summer, a program sponsored by Teen and Family Services (TAFS), provides peer, social, and recovery activities for teens. And it works! Special guest George Youngblood, LCDC, ADCIII, NCACI, CCS, founder and CEO of TAFS, counselor, and author with many years of innovat...

Our whole perspective on life changes when we wake up to the Presence of Spirit. We shift from fearful self-centered survival mode to peace and graciousness toward ourselves and all people. Special guest Scott L., a person in long-term recovery, shares how his life moved from addiction and incarceration to a deep commitment to spiritual practice.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone....

Addiction affects every member of a family—from the adult spouse or partner to the youngest child—even the family pet! Recovery, with the hope, healing, and help it brings, is for families. Transforming family relationships by using the tools of recovery gives each person dignity, self-respect, and new possibilities for a fulfilling life. Special guest Elizabeth Devine, M.Ed., LPC-S, director of t...

The disease of addiction is just that—a disease. The developing recovery advocacy movement is making strides in bringing addiction out of the shadows, reducing stigma, encouraging effective prevention and treatment, and community and family support resources. Special guest Holly Jespersen, communications manager for Shatterproof, a national organization committed to those goals, shares the power o...

Commitment to recovery leads us to find ourselves spiritually. While there are universal spiritual values, we each live them in a totally unique way. Special guest Roxanne Graves, a person in long-term recovery of 30 years, and a soon-to-be licensed Unity minister, shares her spiritual path and how she lives her unique combination of Unity and recovery principles.  Learn more about your ad choices...

Music has the power to heal—to bring us through tears of identification with human suffering into the joy of deepened living. Special guest, singer and songwriter Sandra Knight, shares with us how making music is a part of her spiritual growth and how she uses music to bring light into the world. Her song “There Is A Hope” was written and recorded a few months after September 11, 2001, and has jus...

Continuing to grow emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually enriches long-term sobriety. Inviting challenge rather than settling for comfortableness generates the joy that attracts others to recovery. One woman in long-term sobriety, Joyce E. first engaged recovery as a family member and through that came to face her own addiction. Her willingness to develop herself on ever-deeper levels bring...

Communities and families are learning new ways to create resources for recovery. Science has verified that addiction is a brain disease and impairs the ability to make good decisions. When an individual is in the throes of addiction, the actions of the family and community are key to supporting that person getting effective treatment and hopefully entering long-term recovery. Special guest Sharon...

Recovery opens the door to living the life we have always aspired to—the one we cherish as an expression of our deepest, truest self. Making this our reality means facing passivity—the attitude that holds us hostage to old ways of doing things—and finding solutions leading to creativity and real fulfillment. Special guest John Lee is a pioneer in the fields of self-help, anger, codependency, creat...

Young people in or seeking recovery face strong cultural headwinds. Young People in Recovery (YPR), a grassroots advocacy organization, is focused on creating a national network of young people in recovery. Special guest Justin Luke Riley, president and CEO and a founding member of YPR, is 27 years old and has been in long-term recovery for seven years. As a natural leader and gifted public speake...

The human brain and body are amazingly sensitive and resilient. Recovery opens the pathway to physiological health and well-being by supporting a new perspective on living and new behaviors that sustain it. Special guest Pete Katz, B.A., LCDC, ADC Level III Diplomate, ICADC, is a nationally recognized addiction counselor and educator in addiction theory and pharmacology, human brain and body healt...

Spirit is the power that moves us from defeat into lives of purpose. Learning to put spiritual principles into practical action creates needed changes in recovery. Special guest Lonnie Vanderslice shares how her ministry empowers recovering homeless women by providing practical applications of Unity and recovery principles. Lonnie, a third-year student in the M.Div. program at Unity Institute® and...

Our desire to live deeply calls us to heal deeply. Special guest Nikki Myers shares what moved her to develop Yoga of 12-Step Recovery (Y12SR) and how it works to provide a rich and powerful framework for ongoing recovery. Guided by its theme, ‘The Issues Live in the Tissues,” Y12SR meetings are now available all over the country and the curriculum is quickly becoming a feature of addiction recove...

Recovery is a continuous process of opening ourselves to deeper healing and greater freedom. We find freedom by healing the hurts that have, in our best effort at self-protection, kept us hiding out from life. Special guest Richard C., a person in long-term recovery since 1974, shares how, by continuing to live his recovery, he has found a trust of people and life he didn’t know was possible. Rich...

Entering the new year with spiritual intention rather than unrealistic expectations is the key to deepening recovery. As we  focus on discovering our wholeness, we find our year holds delightful surprises. Special guest Chris Shea, M.A., CRAT, CAC-AD, is an addiction counselor, campus minister, trainer, and author. He shares how shifting from expectations to intention brings powerful growth in rec...

Recovery is about fulfilling our life’s purpose—finding freedom from the chains of addictive behavior so we can soar! Special guest Alan Peterson, New Thought singer/songwriter, poet, and life coach, believes we can follow our calling of our heart and soul—and even that we must. Alan shares his life experiences in going for it and his music and poetry. Learn about Alan’s work at www.alanpetersonmu...