The Sober Shaman

When someone is looking to make the leap from addiction into recovery, it’s normal for them to feel overwhelmed when exploring all of the “proven and effective” ways they should do it. I know, I listened to plenty of professionals and experts who told me what I should, needed and had to do. So, I did. And yet…something was still missing. For me back then, as well as with the people I work with now...

I am consistently updating and adding resources to The Program. Here’s the latest installment for Lesson 41: Your Capacity, which appears as part of the Metal Phase during Principle #2: Addiction is a Cycle. This one is all about feeling. And just like the feelings that drove us during active addiction, the ones that arise from digging into the roots of investigative recovery can be overwhelming....

There’s this slogan, “Relapse is part of recovery,” that has always kind of bugged me because I’ve known people to use it as an excuse for their latest slip back into addiction. And at the same time, I understand the other side, too. So, which is it? Is relapse a tool to be used in one’s recovery or is it a built-in justification for another trip around the cycle? In today’s episode of The Sober S...

This kind of choice is not built upon willpower, or “I’m going to try,” or “It’s a good idea if I stop doing [fill-in-the-blank].” No, this kind of choice is an immovable object. This kind of choice is an agreement with spirit, a covenant with God, and, if you’re an atheist, it’s a partnership with Truth itself.  Until you make this choice, the big problems in recovery will keep resurfacing, incre...

Shamanism, to me, is all about relationship. To enter into and maintain an ongoing right relationship with: * The people we love * The places we love * The invisible beings and forces that we love (however your belief system perceives them) In the West, right relationship has been decimated because we’ve lost our relationship to the sacred. Specifically, this appears in: * Language * Listening * A...

Psychology calls it synchronicity. Spirituality and shamanism may call it direct communication from the spirits. Either way, these events hold meaning, power, and a personal kind of magic in them. This is why, back in my days of active addiction, I chased them in pursuit of more. Now in recovery, “more” can happen through clean intention, sacred ritual, and right action.  In this episode of The So...

The Spirit of Should tells us that it’s not enough. Right here, right now, it’s just not good enough. This doesn’t always have to be a bad thing. But, for people struggling with addiction and anxiety, it can’t help but poke at the Wound.  And there’s more. Because the Spirit of Should uses this opening to remind us that right here, right now, “ I am not good enough.” This is the belief that keeps...

If someone’s engaged in active addiction, they’re also engaged in active lying. This includes lies they’ve told others as well as ones they’re telling themselves—untangling the two can get complicated. In today’s podcast episode, I discuss one method for freeing ourselves from The Web of Lies. Through the practice of shamanic journeying, it offers medicine in the form of awareness, experience, and...

You know the feeling…that moment when you say the lie out loud.  It’s as though one part of you is listening to another part tell it. You’re judging the words as they come out of your mouth. You’re evaluating how the person you’re telling receives it. When the lie is “successful,” you say to yourself, “Whew! Looks like they’re buying into it. Let’s keep this going.” What does that feel like?  What...

Addiction originates from a lie. It grows, solidifies, and then perpetuates itself through the creation, telling, and spreading of more and more lies. To keep this viscous cycle of untruth rolling, an active addiction must keep the light of awareness, honesty, and truth from entering into one’s consciousness and reality. This can leave someone feeling like they’re stuck in a fog. The path ahead is...

Have you rejected the religion of your youth? * What else might have been lost as a result? * Should you consider reclaiming what was lost? * How can this help with recovery? In this episode of The Sober Shaman Podcast, we dive into these questions and explore the subject of my recent post: Losing My Religion: What else is lost when you reject the religion of your youth? Feel free to share your qu...

Why is it… Why is it when people in recovery are told they’ll need to Surrender, they immediately default into thinking that they’re going to “lose?” But then, when they do the work and actually Surrender.. …they come out the other side feeling like they’ve won? How does this work? What changes? How can shamanism help make this happen? The Dig This is the audio and Podcast version of The Dig, whic...

Addiction steals a lot from life. Sometimes, it takes life itself from those most special and dear to us and leaves behind a void where this relationship used to be. Waiting to be filled, it’s like a part of us is frozen, suspended in expectation for the Universe to supply another who will fit perfectly into our empty chasm. But they don’t come. Not in that way. This is because the one who’s depar...

When someone’s in active addiction, it can seem like they’re under a spell. They walk through life in a trance. They act as if they’re possessed. But what if this is a spell? What can we do to break it? Like many of the episodes of The Sober Shaman Podcast, this one is a companion piece to the written post of the same name. I love this arrangement because the podcast gives me a chance to riff on a...

As AI slams into the cultural zeitgeist, we’re getting an introduction to the bizarre and glimpses of the inevitable. We’re talking fake news dropping from politicians’ computer-generated mouths, your favorite famous person showing up in deep-fake porn, and viral images that seem real—but are they? This is all before the next wave, when neural links will blur the line even more. So, what’s real? A...

Here's the podcast that supplies commentary and additional details to the written Substack post entitled, "Shamanic Listening Begins With The Heart - turns out, the head and the heart hear things differently." In this episode, I'll take a deeper dive into the topic of "shamanic heart listening" - and how this differs from other methods, which focus more on thinking, introspection and mindfulness....

“Hi, my name is ____ and I’m an alcoholic and an addict.”  What is it about this statement that makes it so powerful? Powerful enough that it causes extreme reactions. Reactions that go in polarizing, opposing directions. Watch this episode here Regardless of one’s personal relationship with this statement, its power and the reactions it provokes are why I love it.  Why? Because—wherever you stand...

Welcome to The Sober Shaman Podcast, where we explore ways to make the spiritual practical and apply these medicines to recovery from addiction and trauma. Watch on YouTube Today’s guest is Dean Taraborelli—the owner and founder of The Sanctuary at Sedona, which is a truly holistic treatment center that helps people recover from addiction, PTSD, and trauma. Dean is a kindred spirit who has put in...

“Randy, is it a good idea to quit on January 1st?” My standard answer isn’t what everyone wants to hear: “I don’t know. It depends. What I do know is that a hard thing is going to be hard no matter when you do it.” And while I have plenty to say about the pros and cons of picking January 1st as your sobriety date, I’m approaching the question from a different, more personal angle this year. I’m co...

A little while back, I had the pleasure of speaking with Todd Hunt. In our talk, we discussed the power of hospitality—specifically, how it can be a kind of Medicine in sobriety. Todd shares some of his battles and subsequent victories as we discuss these topics and more: * Members of the food and beverage (FnB) industry are twice as likely to struggle with addiction. * What it’s like to keep your...

On this episode of The Sober Shaman podcast, I’m excited to speak with my long-time friend, Isa Gucciardi, Ph. D.  Isa is a gifted and compassionate healer, founding director and primary teacher of The Sacred Stream Foundation, and creator of Depth Hypnosis, “a groundbreaking therapeutic model that has won rave reviews from psychotherapeutic and spiritual counselors alike.” Isa teaches and speaks...

In this episode of The Sober Shaman podcast, we’re going to explore shamanic writing and, specifically, how our Medicine wRites exercise is used for addiction recovery. Click the pic above to watch on YouTube. I provide two important answers to the question, “What makes shamanic writing different than responding to a regular writing prompt?” Then, at the end of the episode, I guide you through a M...

On this episode of The Sober Shaman, I am honored and excited to speak with my longtime friend Beth Beurkens about her shamanic work with The Vision Quest. Watch on YouTube Beth has guided people from all backgrounds and stages of life in The Vision Quest. In today’s conversation, we explore: * The Vision Quest and how it works. * Why vision questing is red hot right now. * How The Vision Quest tr...

In this episode of The Sober Shaman Podcast, I’m excited to share my conversation with Ben Tuff.  “In 2012, Ben made the life-altering decision to break free of the hold that the addiction to alcohol had on him. Despite not knowing how to swim, the sport of triathlon arrived quickly in his life.” He went from not knowing how to swim to making a movie about his 24-mile swim—the length of Narraganse...