Podcasts about AA

  My guest this week is author Lisa Bennett.  After a career in marketing she ditched the booze in her early 50's, left her job and wrote a book about the joys of sobriety.  Her book is called “Unfurling” and emphasises how many aspects of our lives will change when we stop using alcohol to numb our feelings and our dreams. Lisa lives in Maryland with her husband, her mom, two cats and a dog.  She enjoys paddleboarding, yoga and dancing in the kitchen! In this Episode Lisa started drinking in her teens and says that her first 6 years of drinking created deep pathways in her brain. The heady combination of being away from home and having access to cheap alcohol together with the fact that she was a bit shy meant drinking was a great way to connect and fit in with the other students. On reflection Lisa realises she could have done so much better at college if she hadn't been partying so much! After college she went to live in the heart of New York City where the party continued! So easy to go out drinking and pour herself into a cab to get home. So she left NY at the age of 29 with a very well established drinking habit – 3 or 4 nights out a week was the norm and like many of us Lisa discovered she had no “off” switch She ended up in an AA meeting as research for a work related project – that experience simply confirmed to her that she was “not an alcoholic” as she didn't relate to the people there – so she had a drink on the way home to celebrate! This also happened to me and with hindsight we agreed that we shouldn't be comparing ourselves with the hard core alcoholics in AA – we should be comparing ourselves with the best version of ourselves that we could be – quite simply alcohol will prevent us from reaching our potential in life Going back to Lisa she of course tried to moderate – and set and broke “the rules” many times We talked about “rock bottom” and how crazy it is to wait for “rock bottom” – the trick is to get off that slippery slope the moment you realise you are on it! We talked about wake up calls – as she reached her 40's Lisa found she could no longer predict the effect that a few drinks was going to have on her – I also experienced that and now realise that it's a real warning sign of dependence She explained how a relatively modest amount of alcohol had led her to a blackout which ended in her throwing charcoal up to her bedroom window to wake up her husband in the early hours – as she puts in “she will never forget the disappointed look on her husband's face as he came downstairs to let her in!” We talked of the difficulty of being a woman who drinks – we mustn't “get drunk” because that's not cool but if we don't drink we are no fun! In fact Lisa's husband told her that he didn't think she had to give up drinking completely – this was a few months into sobriety so Lisa was able to remind him of all the things she had started doing that she never would have done had she still been drinking This attitude of well meaning friends and relatives is another reason why we need a sober community – they will just tell us to “cut down” – not realising that we've crossed the line into dependence and cutting down is not an option. Go to tribesober.com and hit “join our tribe” if you need a community who understands what its like to have tried (and failed) to cut down over and over One day Lisa very wisely realised that she was getting no “joy” from her drinking anymore – and that it was taking too much away from her For most of us it actually takes a period of sobriety before we recognise that we gain so much more than we lose when we ditch the booze – so well done to Lisa for having that insight when she was still drinking! Lisa's turning point was reading an essay by Laura McCowen called “Am I an Alcoholic” –  https://www.lauramckowen.com/blog/am-i-an-alcoholic We are great fans of Laura here at Tribe Sober and her book title “We are the Luckiest” just about sums up how we feel once we've ditched the booze and learnt to thrive in our sobriety Like all of us Lisa had to “do the work” in early sobriety – her husband and friends were still drinking so she would often go to bed early when the socialising got difficult She also had to work on “uncoupling” everyday experiences from alcohol – as she put it alcohol was so woven into her daily life she was not entirely sure whether she enjoyed various activities or if it was just the alcohol she was enjoying For example she thought she enjoyed cooking and it was part of her identity that she was a “good cook” but once she removed the wine from her cooking experience she realised it wasn't really her passion after all! This raises an interesting point about how we lose touch with what we really like doing when we drink – for example you may discover that your Drinking Buddies are not that fascinating after all and that you would rather be learning to do something creative instead of spending time with them Sobriety really is a journey of self discovery – bumpy at first and then full of joy – it's an “Unfurling” of who we really are Lisa explained that she has built a lot of emotional strength in sobriety – by pushing out of her comfort zone and engaging in new activities and just by learning how to socialise sober. She's gained so much confidence since being sober – confidence non drinkers would have built up at a much younger age! Alcohol saps our motivation to “Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway” to quote one of my favourite book titles. We stay trapped in our boozy little rut. Lisa's been trying so many new things since she got sober – aerial yoga, spinning classes and creative writing – and she's written and published a book. Her accomplishments are a reminder that we will never reach our potential in life if we are drinking – as she says “I'm so glad I gave myself a chance to see what I could do in sobriety” I asked her for some tips for newbies and she suggested journaling – obviously not everybody is a writer like Lisa but she recommended getting some journal prompts from people like Glennon Doyle Getting outside in nature is essential – it helps us to realise we are part of something so much bigger – and to be in the moment She also recommended doing a Challenge and finding Facebook Groups which means I'm going to give ours a plug We have a brand new Facebook Group called “Sober Sprinters” where we hosted our recent “5 day Sober Sprint” – that Sprint is over now but there is so much engagement on there we decided to keep it open as a home for all future Challenges.  Just search Sober Sprinters in FB and come join the conversation. Lisa's book is called “Unfurling” and describes how different aspects of her life “unfurled” as she quit drinking – it's available on Amazon and you can also find it on her website which is called www.lisamaybennett.com I loved Lisa's book which is a mixture of her story mixed with plenty of inspiration – her time in New York City as a twenty something made me think of all that cocktail drinking we used to watch in the Sex and the City series! We both agreed that stopping drinking was just the beginning and that's what makes the decision to quit such a gamechanger – it really alters the trajectory of your future More Info Subscription membership – you can join up HERE. To access our website, click HERE. If you would like a free copy of our “Annual Tracker” or our e-book 66 Days to Sobriety, please email janet@tribesober.com. If you would like to come to our Saturday afternoon Zoom Cafe as a guest and meet our community, just email janet@tribesober.com. Episode Sponsor This episode is sponsored by the Tribe Sober Membership Program.  If you want to change your relationship with alcohol then sign up today Read more about our program and subscribe HERE Help us to Spread the Word! We made this podcast so that we can reach more people who need our help.  Please subscribe and share. If you enjoyed the podcast, then please leave us a 5-star review on Apple podcasts. Take a screenshot of your review, and DM it to Tribe Sober's Instagram page – see PS below for instructions. We'll send you something special to say thank you! We release a podcast episode every Saturday morning. You can follow Tribe Sober on Facebook, Twitter, TikTok and Instagram. You can join our private Facebook group HERE.  

- ရသေ့တောင်မှာ ရက္ခိုင့်တပ်တော် AA နဲ့ စစ်ကောင်စီတို့ တိုက်ပွဲပြင်းထန် - ရေစကြိုမြို ့ ရေလယ်ကျွန်းက ရွာလေးရွာကို စစ်ကောင်စီတပ် မီးရှို ့ - ပေါက်မြို ့နယ် ရွာနှစ်ရွာက နေအိမ် ၄၇ လုံး စစ်ကောင်စီတပ်ရဲ့ မီးရှို ့ခံရ - ပြည်နယ် တိုင်း အချို ့မှာ မိုးများပြီး ရေကြီး၊ အရေးပေါ် ကယ်ဆယ်ရေးတွေ လုပ်နေရ - မြန်မာ့အရေး နဲ့ အာဆီယံအကြောင်း စကားဝိုင်း....စတာတွေ ကြည့်ရှု နားဆင်ရမှာပါ။

Join us in this episode as Jason shares a segment of "Joe & Charlie: The Big Book Comes Alive".  Well known in the recovery communities, AA speakers Joe & Charlie have done many talks about the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous and how to go about working the Twelve Steps.   Links this episode (used for educational purposes): Joe & Charlie Big Book Comes Alive (section relevant to this episode): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-oIjg6UnkA https://www.wpaarea60.org/audio/big-book-studies/joe-and-charlie-the-big-book-comes-alive/   Be sure to reach us via email: feedback@sexaddictsrecoverypod.com If you are comfortable and interested in being a guest or panelist, please feel free to contact me. jason@sexaddictsrecoverypod.com Launching soon: https://sexaddictsrecoverypod.com/ SARPodcast YouTube Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLn0dcZg-Ou7giI4YkXGXsBWDHJgtymw9q   To find meetings in the San Francisco Bay Area, be sure to visit: https://www.bayareasaa.org/ To find meetings in the your local area or online, be sure to visit the main SAA website: https://saa-recovery.org/meetings/   The content of this podcast has not been approved by and may not reflect the opinions or policies of the ISO of SAA, Inc.  

Have you noticed that you're drinking more coffee in sobriety? Recent surveys from the National Coffee Association have found that 70% of Americans drink coffee every week, and 62% drink it daily. Surveys on people in AA found that 90% drink coffee daily. That's a big difference. Lots of people recently have been mentioning that they drink way more coffee in recovery, so Gill thought she'd try to find out why we do that. In this episode you'll learn how caffeine affects the brain, how the brain adapts when we drink a lot of coffee regularly, and some really interesting information about caffeine and cravings for alcohol. She will also compare caffeine to alcohol for a few different factors like addictiveness, tolerance, and withdrawal. What to listen to next: E11: Why Alcohol Feels Good (Endorphins and Opioid Receptors) E22: Why You Think Alcohol Helps Your Anxiety E33: Why Do We Feel So Tired in Early Sobriety? E64: Anxiety and Alcohol (Part 2) E75: How Sleep Improves from Actively Drinking to Long Term Sobriety E108: Why You Feel Anxious, Depressed, and Empty After Drinking Alcohol Resources I offer: Free courses on YouTube. Each month is a new topic and videos are released every Tuesday at 12 pm EST. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeSyBTEFmsP49h2q_mxqMOw Membership: Living a Sober Powered Life is a monthly podcast where I answer your questions and there is an option to have monthly hang out zoom calls with me. https://soberpowered.supercast.com/ Weekly emails on Thursdays where I explain the latest episode in more detail, share images to help you understand the concepts, share announcements, interviews, writing, discount codes and more. https://view.flodesk.com/pages/6107260617e156c4839768b5 A free 3 day quit drinking challenge https://view.flodesk.com/pages/62f2cb3de5ea6b3d8aea4ab2 Sources are posted on my website Disclaimer: all of the information described in this podcast is my interpretation of the research combined with my opinion. This is not medical advice.

www.sarcasticbigbook.com

On today's episode of Locked On Pirates, host Ethan Smith talks about to continuous improvement we've seen from SP Mitch Keller this year and why the sky is limi for him moving forward. Keller isn't the only one performing well right now, as Endy Rodriguez keeps moving up prospect boards by the minute and had an impressive AA debut with Altoona. Finally, the Pirates are out of contention, but a focus on young talent and the minor leagues offers optimism for next season. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Monica was never a child, she was constantly full of fear, and first picked up a drink at only 9 years old. It took her a long time to find the rooms of AA, and many, many relapses, but today, Monica is happy, joyous and free in a way she's never experienced in this life. Quotes“Today I am full of hope, passion, energy, life, love . . . if I were to look in the mirror 6 yrs. ago, or even a year ago, I was a dead soul, my soul inside was dead from the disease of alcoholism.”“You're gonna have to get sober anyway, why not now?”

Continuing to do anything in our daily lives usually means getting better at it. And so it goes with Step Ten of AA Alcoholics Anonymous. Nobody ever really enjoys admitting to being wrong, it's much easier to blame others. Admitting when we are wrong and promptly being accountable for our side of the street is absolutely necessary in order for us to maintain our spiritual progress in recovery. The best part about practicing the Tenth Step of AA in our daily lives is that the more we exercise self-discovery, honesty, humility, and reflection, the fewer apologies, and amends we have to make! The exact wording of step 10 is: We continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it. Tonight, we talk about Step 10. http://recoveredcast.com 3:25 To skip the intro This week,  Todd, Betsy, Teresa, Becky, Kim, Shelly, Amanda, D&E, Christy, Lori Made their Sustaining Partner Donations http://recoveredcast.com/partner for more information This episode is sponsored by  Kurt, Teresa, Donald They used the donation button found on our website at recoveredcast.com/donation

Courtney's backstory is not dissimilar to those who grew up in tumultuous families in which alcoholism was present. The seeming frivolity and celebratory aspects of drinking cloaked the actual dysfunction that was occurring in the family. By the time she was drinking on a regular basis in her teenage years, Courtney's budding alcoholism had become yet another family secret to bear. Though she was mostly a binge drinker, the negative effects of the disease were happening more frequently when, at 21 years of age, Courtney checked herself into an inpatient treatment center in Canada. Ironically, despite her emotional gloom and desperate need for help, her family tried to dissuade her from going into treatment. Fortunately, Courtney's desire to get help prevailed over the family denial of her problem. She got the help she needed in treatment and actually stopped drinking, for a while. But, like many alcoholics who believe inpatient treatment and some aftercare are an all-sufficient solution, she failed to truly engage with AA. She found herself drinking again within months. It took Courtney many more years of living in alcoholic despair and emotional turmoil for her to hit bottom. By mid-2014, with a waning desire to even stay alive, she entered AA and found hope at last. She began regular attendance of meetings and found a dedicated sponsor with whom she worked the steps. Her daily surrender to a higher power, combined with a close fellowship of women and regular service work, moved her into the proverbial center of the Program where she resides one day at a time. The many gifts she has given and received are indicative of her active involvement in Alcoholics Anonymous. In all respects, they are proof-positive of the change the Program can create for those who are ready and willing to go to any lengths to stay sober. Courtney's willingness to share her story has been a fine gift to me and I'm thrilled to share it with you. It's a story that has enough similarities for everyone to identify with, yet enough differences to assure even the most skeptical listeners that the program of Alcoholics Anonymous is effective beyond any shadow of a doubt. As you listen to this episode of AA Recovery Interviews, I hope you'll find Courtney's story as intriguing as I have. So, please enjoy the next 60 minutes with my friend and AA sister, Courtney P. Check out Howard's Big Book Podcast, the complete unabridged audio version of the First and Second Editions of Alcoholics Anonymous. The Big Book Podcast is an engaging cover-to-cover, word-for-word reading of all 11 chapters and Personal Stories, many of which were left out of the Third and Fourth Editions. Follow us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Or listen on https://bigbookpodcast.com If you've enjoyed my AA Recovery Interviews series and my Big Book podcast, check out Lost Stories of the Big Book, 30 Original Stories Missing from the 3rd and 4th Editions of Alcoholics Anonymous. It's an engaging audiobook I narrated to bring these stories to life for AA members who've never seen them. These timeless testamonials were originally cut to make room for newer stories in the 3rd and 4th Editions. But their vitally important messages of hope are as meaningful today as when they were first published. Many listeners will hear these stories for the first time. Lost Stories of the Big Book is available on Audible, Amazon, and iTunes. It's also available as a Kindle book if you'd like to read along with the audio. [Disclaimer: AA Recovery Interviews podcast strictly adheres to AA's 12 Traditions and all General Service Office guidelines for safe-guarding anonymity on-line. I pay all podcast production costs and no one receives financial gain from the show. AA Recovery Interviews and my guests do not speak for or represent AA at-large. This podcast is simply my way of giving back to AA that which has been so freely given to me. -Howard L.]  

The Los Angeles Angels take 2-in-a-row against the Oakland A's, thanks to Shohei Ohtani's historic night on the mound and at the plate! The Phenom, the Unicorn, the Sho-Stopper, whatever you want to call him earned his first-ever 10th win as a pitcher, joining Babe Ruth as the only starting pitchers to have double-digit home runs and wins in a single season, plus, he surpassed Ichiro on the all-time home runs list for Japanese-born players, putting him at 2nd! Mike and Jon will share all the details of Shohei's big win! Then, the Super Halo Bros. believe that the Brandon Marsh trade was the best move the Angels made. We'll break down why and look at the Halo's future with Logan O'Hoppe behind the dish! Plus, when it comes to talented prospects, the Angels' AA affiliate, the Rocket City Trash Pandas, is full of them! Get to know the names you're going to hear more about in the future, and, we ask the question; do we bring these guys up to see what they can do, or do we let them cook in the minors? GET IN OUR VOICEMAIL!  CALL US: (714) 409-6396 Tell us what's on your mind! Give us a follow @LockedOnAngels on Twitter and for the best Angels memes around, connect with us on Instagram and Twitter @SuperHaloBros! Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Built Bar Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you'll get 15% off your next order. BetOnline BetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts! Blue Nile Make your moment sparkle with jewelry from Bluenile.com. And, going on now is the Blue Nile Anniversary Sale… Save up to forty percent on classic fine jewelry pieces and twenty-five percent on engagement ring settings. Shop stress-free and find your forever piece. Go to BlueNile.com today.  LinkedIn LinkedIn Jobs helps you find the candidates you want to talk to, faster. Did you know every week, nearly 40 million job seekers visit LinkedIn? Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONMLB. Vroom With Vroom, you can buy a car entirely online, and have it delivered straight to you, so you never have to go to a dealership again. So, next time you need to buy a car, just grab your phone, go to Vroom.com and check out thousands of great cars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Is it possible AA and the entire addiction treatment industry is built on a cult? Learn some tips on how you can tell if you've joined a cult.

I'm on vacation, so I'm reposting episode #275, "Take the Big Book Quiz." My website and my Instagram. 

Blake Murphy is joined by Sportsnet.ca's Ben Nicholson-Smith to share his reaction on the Blue Jays signing Jackie Bradley Jr. and discusses his fit with the team (00:15). Then, Blake recaps the series opener against the Orioles and Yusei Kikuchi's struggles, before we hear post-game comments from interim manager John Schneider (07:10). Ricky Romero of MLB Network and the "Spin Rate" podcast jumps on to discuss the lack of depth starters with Kikuchi continuing to search for a good outing, ways to build off a rough start, and what he expects out of Alek Manoah in tonight's matchup (25:28). Former catcher and current Sportsnet analyst Caleb Joseph weighs in on how much a catcher can help a pitcher who's not finding his groove, their ability to read how batters are adjusting from behind the plate, and how hot it gets at Camden Yards (51:00). Afterward, we check in on the Blue Jays prospects with Doug Fox, author of the "Summer Ontario Baseball Broke the Colour Barrier" and writer for Future Blue Jays. He shares his thoughts on Ricky Tiedemann's AA debut, where he's at in his development, and if Yosver Zulueta & Hayden Juenger are candidates to help the main roster's bullpen in September (01:10:12). The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates.

My good friend Sam Brown breath, meditation and yoga facilitator and I will spend the next few Wednesday's covering some topics that are close to our hearts that go hand in hand with recovery and healing.  For the first episode of our Soul Talk Series we cover accepting, allowing and embracing change.  A lot of the time we resist change out of fear of the unknown and we can't imagine our lives being different even though we are sick of the same old patterns.  In this chat Sam and I talk about tuning into your body when it's sending you signals that it's time to change,  getting into  flow and how to stay there, letting the changes unfold in your life and embracing them with an open heart.  For more information on Sam and her somatic release breath course go to www.soulfullifestyle.com.au or contact her on insta at @thesoulfullifestyle For more resources go or to join the next HIQA challenge go towww.iquitalcohol.com.auFollow HIQA insta @howiquitalcohol Music for Monday Distillery ads by Ash Grunwaldwww.ashgrunwald.comMusic for Podcast intro and outro written by Danni Carr performed by Mr CassidyIf you are struggling with physical dependancy on alcohol consider contacting a local AA meeting or a drug and alcohol therapist.   Always consult a GP before stopping alcohol. 

Episode 390  - The Secret to Change   Today we have Jess.   She is 37, from Ontario, and has been sober since May 7, 2022.   Ditch the Booze Mindfulness Course starts 9/20.:  https://www.recoveryelevator.com/cafere/   Recovery Fit – Paul Lapine.  Lapine Fitness Center.  https://Lapinefit.com/recoveryfit Insta:Paul_Lapine_   Highlights from Paul   YOU ARE GOING TO MAKE IT! Anyone who doesn't quit quitting eventually creates distance from alcohol. “The secret of change is to focus all your energy, not fighting the old, but building the new.” Socrates. This journey is about transformation. It's an invitation to create a life where alcohol isn't needed. It's about letting part of you go. It's about saying goodbye to the aspects of your life that aren't working,   Paul suggests fighting the old is a waste, and addiction is a messenger letting you know your life is out of balance. Desperation leads to surrender, which leads to openness and willingness.   Don't resist change as it is one constant you can count on.   Music Submissions - email edited versions to: info@recoveryelevator.com   Better Help:  www.betterhelp.com/elevator - 10% off your first month. #sponsored                                                                               [11:31]  Jess has been sober for two months. She is an accountant for a rehab hospital and enjoys reading, camping, cooking, and paddleboarding with her dog. She lives in Ontario, Canada, and has two children.   Jess came from a family of drinkers. Her Dad was a heavy drinker. She started experimenting with alcohol in her early teens. At age 14, her Dad died suddenly, and her Mom's mental health deteriorated as a result.    Jess hosted parties and smoked pot. Since her family didn't talk about things, drinking was an escape. All her friends drank and smoked, so it seemed commonplace. At one point, she started skipping school, and her sister intervened. Jess slowed down and appreciated the attention from her sister.    After high school, she took some random jobs and habitually stopped working, excusing her behavior with feigned sicknesses. She made lots of excuses but never addressed the root problem. She quit her jobs before she got fired.   Her temper flared when her drinking hit a certain point, and she became a monster.   Jess moved back in with her Mom to curb expenses, and her drinking slowed slightly. Six months later, she moved in with her boyfriend, and they were drinking buddies.    Jess got pregnant and abstained throughout her pregnancy but picked up again as soon as the baby was born. She bought into the “mommy wine culture .”Her Mom had dementia. Being around someone with dementia was difficult, and Jess' drinking escalated. Eventually, she went to an online AA meeting and cried. She felt so welcomed. She counted minutes to hours, and finally, it got easier. She is now grateful to be present with her kids and is learning to like herself.    Kris's Summary   Kris is looking forward to Recovery Elevator's sober retreat. Kris has learned to listen to others, be present, and hold space for them. He has fun with his sober people. Kris encourages listeners to find their way to go deeper and have some fun. Challenge yourself to take the next step.   Upcoming events, retreats, and courses: You can find more information about our events   Resources Connect with Cafe RE - Use the promo code OPPORTUNITY to waive the set-up fee. Recovery Elevator YouTube - Subscribe here! Sobriety Tracker iTunes    Recovery Elevator- It all starts from the inside out. I love you guys.

The AA's Motoring Services Technical Advisor Allister Wade talks to Jesse about how to keep your car on the road as economically as possible.

Michael J., Don and Sam share laughs about handling criticism, anger, and dealing with life's hardships in sobriety. In a "Blast from the Past" Bill W. speaks about AA and criticism, from a talk from 1965. While we provide the podcast at no charge, it is not free to produce. To support the AA Grapevine Podcast, please subscribe to the magazine or purchase books or other items at store.aagrapevine.org.

Episode 650: Brice Paterik discusses key pitching performances by Glenn Otto and Dane Dunning, what the plan should have been for Kumar Rocker and why Jack Leiter might need to stay in AA next year. He also breaks down why Aaron Zavala impressed him so much in Frisco. Subscribe to Locked On Rangers on YouTube.   Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Built Bar Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you'll get 15% off your next order. BetOnline BetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts! Blue Nile Make your moment sparkle with jewelry from Bluenile.com. And, going on now is the Blue Nile Anniversary Sale … Save up to forty percent on classic fine jewelry pieces and twenty-five percent on engagement ring settings. Shop stress free and find your forever piece. Go to BlueNile.com today. LinkedIn LinkedIn Jobs helps you find the candidates you want to talk to, faster. Did you know every week, nearly 40 million job seekers visit LinkedIn? Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONMLB. Vroom With Vroom, you can buy a car entirely online, and have it delivered straight to you, so you never have to go to a dealership again. So, next time you need to buy a car, just grab your phone, go to Vroom.com and check out thousands of great cars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A good discussion of verse 22 of the Tao Te Ching from a Zen perspective with Sensei Elliston. “If you want to be given everything, give everything up”. TTC Verse 22 Don't forget to use the resources mentioned below for tools to stay sober any time during the year. You can find a much longer list of resources at https://buddyc.org/recovery-resources/ 30 Tools to Stay Sober Before, During, and After the Holidays; https://buddyc.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/30-Tools-to-Stay-Sober120921.pdf Info on the new book, Powerless But Not Helpless, the free daily Tao Recovery Email, Sensei Elliston's new book, list of podcasts, and much more; www.BuddyC.org Zen Home Meditation Training https://www.aszc.org/sitting-with-sensei Join our private Facebook group and continue the conversation! Here is the link; https://www.facebook.com/groups/TaoPodcast/ or search Tao of Our understanding Podcast. 9 pm EDT Nightly 7 Days a Week - Direct Link; www.ZoomAAMeetings.com (You must log in to a free zoom.us account for authentication to attend this meeting) Would you like to receive a free daily topic email with the most popular AA resources, accompanied by a secret Facebook group for discussion? Go to www.DailyAAEmails.com for more information! Thought for the Day; https://calendar.google.com/calendar?cid=M203cHZkbXQ0ZjRzOHRmNnI4ZjJpdmt2YmdAZ3JvdXAuY2FsZW5kYXIuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbQ ACIM; https://calendar.google.com/calendar?cid=aTZuc2x0cnV2Z2I1YzhrOXJ0aG80MXUwYmtAZ3JvdXAuY2FsZW5kYXIuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbQ&authuser=0

We're back in 1982 after a hiatus covering the seaborne operations and an update from the SA Air Force which had had a busy May as you heard in Episode 64. Things on the ground in SWA showed that SWAPO was almost fully recovered from the hammering they took during Operation Protea – their own Operation had killed three farmers and 8 security force personnel. 32 Battalion continued to carry out a number of projects – and in particular the long-term Operation Spiderweb hearts and minds initiative in the Kavango which I spoke about last episode. A number of other ops were planned to take place back to back and code named Operation Meebos which had actually started in March, aimed at the area around Xangona-Humbe-Ongiva. The aim of Operation Meebos was to keep FAPLA out of the two main southern Angolan towns Xangongo and Ongiva which had been seized during Operation Protea– in an area the Angolans called the Fifty Military Region. It's ironic that the biggest loss in the upcoming op was actually caused by a SWAPO team armed with AA guns.

AA rocks. It's the bomb

Agent X and RGB discuss page 71 in How It Works, out of the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous.  AA, 12 Steps, Recovery, Sobriety, Quit Drinking, Speaker Talks, Speaker Tapes

I am on vacation, so I'm reposting episode #267, "God Gave Us Brains to Use." My website and Instagram. 

Because Jes is getting married this week

In this episode I catch up with one of the HIQA Grads, Matt from Perth.  Matt has been sober for just over 12 months after joining the HIQA 3 month challenge back in July 21.  Matt always said he could never imagine a life without alcohol but is now thriving in sobriety and life is better than he ever imagined.   As a heavy binge drinker, Matt would often have blackouts that leave him feeling shame, embarrassment, guilt and anxiety the next day.  We talk about blackouts, imaging a life without alcohol, what books he has found helpful, the tools that have kept him going, the importance of a gratitude practice, playing the tape backward to your last worst binge to keep you on track and how cultivating self awareness has been so transformative.The books mentioned in this episode are:The Untethered Soul - Michael SingerLiving Untethered - Michael SingerLoving What Is - Byron KatieThe Power Of Now - Ekhart TolleFor more resources go or to join the next HIQA challenge go towww.iquitalcohol.com.auFollow HIQA insta @howiquitalcohol Music for Monday Distillery ads by Ash Grunwaldwww.ashgrunwald.comMusic for Podcast intro and outro written by Danni Carr performed by Mr CassidyIf you are struggling with physical dependancy on alcohol consider contacting a local AA meeting or a drug and alcohol therapist.   Always consult a GP before stopping alcohol. 

In This Episode: The importance of having a specific recovery goal Why you need a recovery goal in order to gain traction with OCD and other anxiety disorders  What does your “recovery dream” look like?  What is getting in the way of your recovery goal?  Learn to live your life “as if” you had already reached your recovery goal.  Links To Things I Talk About: https://www.cbtschool.com/overcominganxiety ERP School: https://www.cbtschool.com/erp-school-lp Episode Sponsor: This episode of Your Anxiety Toolkit is brought to you by CBTschool.com.  CBTschool.com is a psychoeducation platform that provides courses and other online resources for people with anxiety, OCD, and Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors.  Go to cbtschool.com to learn more.  Spread the love! Everyone needs tools for anxiety... If you like Your Anxiety Toolkit Podcast, visit YOUR ANXIETY TOOLKIT PODCAST to subscribe free and you'll never miss an episode. And if you really like Your Anxiety Toolkit, I'd appreciate you telling a friend (maybe even two). EPISODE TRANSCRIPTION  This is Your Anxiety Toolkit - Episode 296.  Welcome back, everybody. I am so fired up for this episode. Oh, I just love this stuff. I love it. I love it. I love it.  Okay. Let's get started. First of all, let's do an “I did a hard thing.” This one is epic. This one is from Fisher and they said:  “I have OCD, health anxiety, and panic disorder. And last year, I was diagnosed with POTS,” which is postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome. That is the chronic illness that I have also. And they've said: “This was very overwhelming for me. I was petrified of exercising because of the exercise intolerance that comes with POTS and worrying that it was a life-threatening cardiac issue.” Oh, I am with you, Fisher. So, for those of you who don't know what exercise intolerance is, it's like it's almost impossible to do exercise. When you stand up, you pass out. And when I've been triggered by POTS, it's hard to even do a block around, walk around the block of my house.  “My doctor did all the cardiac tests to rule out any underlying issues before diagnosing me with POTS and recommended cardiac reconditioning to help me get started with recovery. My first barrier to overcome this was to trust in my physician and their diagnosis and follow their recommendation for exercise therapy. My second barrier was facing my fear of exercising. I can now say that I'm in my last week of the program after going twice a week for three months, along with exercising on my own at home. It's been a struggle. There are some days where I flare up.” I hear you, Fisher. I totally get you. “And it seems impossible, but accessing self-compassion, budgeting spoon usage for the day, and moving things around to allow myself to rest have been invaluable tools to help me with the experience. A wise person told me after my diagnosis, the only predictable thing about living with a chronic illness is that it is unpredictable. So, I try to accept that uncertainty as a part of my life, living with anxiety and POTS.” Fisher, I just love you. You're killing it here. “I have a lot of work to do in learning to live with my chronic illness and my OCD and health anxiety recovery, but I make a little progress each and every day. P.S. Would you consider doing an episode on coping with chronic illness that mirror anxiety symptoms like POTS? I'd love to hear the skills that have helped you and some of you recommend coping strategies. Thanks for all the hard work that you do on this podcast.” Fisher, I would love to have you on the podcast. I am going to write it in my notes to reach out to you because I think this is such an important topic, one that I myself have gone through, and thank you for writing this. You are doing badass, amazing hard work. So, yay. Thank you. You will hear from me. If you don't hear from me, reach out, because I think that would be wonderful.  Okay. Let's take a breath because that brought up a lot for me. I just feel such deep compassion for Fisher and all of you who are just doing the hard thing. So, so cool.  All right. Quickly, review of the week from Mosley23. They said: “I've been listening for several years and can say that this podcast has helped immensely to understand my OCD and anxiety. Kim and her guests have provided very helpful ideas, strategies, and encouragement that have been so key in helping me to get to a good place with my mental health. Could not recommend it more highly if you or someone you love have an anxiety disorder.” Thank you so much, Mosley23. Your reviews mean the world to me. The world really. Really, it's so helpful. And again, if you give a review, and I know specifically what episode you're talking about or what specific thing, it means then I can do more of that and help more people. So, yay.    All right. Let's talk about recovery. It's taking all of my energy not to bang my hands down on the table and be like, “Let's do it.”  All right. So, I take walks every morning and I often listen to podcasts or audiobooks. I'm a big self-help, non-fiction kind of gal. And I'm often listening to these most motivating speakers and it gets me so fired up. This morning, I got so fired up because this is such a part of the work of being a clinician. We get trained on all the theory and the statistics and the diagnoses, but we don't get taught very well how to help a client identify what is your recovery goal. What are you here for? And so, even though you, listener, loving beautiful person, human friend – even though you're not here for therapy, because this is not therapy, I want you to be really intentional about your recovery goals.  Why is that important? Because, when you're dealing with a mental health issue, you've already got a full-time job. You're working your butt off to manage that. And sometimes we can put our attention so much on the disorder instead of making time and carving time and having a mindset towards, what do I want life to look like once I recover and how can I use that recovery goal to fuel the work I'm doing now while I'm in the trenches? So, what I'm not saying here is, list off 20 magical things that will happen to you in the future when you get rid of your anxiety disorder, because that just means now you have an additional list of things to check off and it's overwhelming and anxiety producing. So, I'm not talking about just lists. I'm talking about getting clear on what you want life to be like, even if anxiety is there.  So, let me ask you. You guys know, I love questions. First question, what does your recovery dream look like? What do you wish it looked like? So, often when I ask that to clients, their first response is, they put their hand on the buzzer and they're like, “Pick me.” I don't want anxiety and I don't want that to be your goal. So, the absence of an emotion is not a recovery goal. We need anxiety. If you didn't have anxiety, you'd put your hand on the hot plate. You'd jam your hand in the door. We need anxiety. So, try not to make that your goal. I'm talking about specifically, zoom in and imagine that you are the ring camera on your house. What would be happening in your house, around your house, around your life? How would you be interacting with the world? That's the stuff I'm really interested in knowing.  So, for me it's like, okay, if I was in my fullest recovery, I would be with my kids. I would be helping my clients and my listeners and my followers. I would be a connected wife. I would be a wife that shows up for my husband, even when it's tough and we've got stuff to work out. I'd be someone who still has good days and bad days. But the bad days I just keep showing up, like it's a beautiful day to do hard things. I'd be that person. I'd embody “it's a beautiful day to do hard things.” That's what recovery would look like for me. It might not be that for you. And please don't just use mine because mine is just for me. Make it specific for you and look at that, write it down. Because in those answers, in those questions and answers is all of the details in which you can start to implement today.  So, example being, if that was my recovery goal, what can I do today? I can get down on the floor and I can play with my kids, even if anxiety is there. I can go to my husband and say, “How are you? How are you really?” And practice staying in the moment and practice listening instead of letting my anxiety do all the talking. I still do the talking, but I'm listening to my partner, not to my anxiety. I'm practicing this and it's not perfect. I might even suck at it. That's fine. But I'm already working towards the recovery that I want, the life that I want, the dream that I want.  While I have anxiety, and if it's there, I'm also going to bring myself into intention that my goal was to help people, to be of service, to show up for you guys and have a couple of giggles and be myself because that's a huge goal for me, to be more myself, which means I have to share a few layers of professionalism and just show up as Kimberley, the imperfect, giggly, silly, goofy, all-over-the-place Kimberley. So, I'm working towards that, whether anxiety is there or not. And by practicing that, I'm already 20 steps towards the recovery goal because I got down-dropped into what was it that I was looking for? So, this is the work, guys. Don't use this recovery list as a list of expectations that you tell you, you won't ever get to. Instead, use it as a way to implement it today.  Now, what I just said is the perfect segue into identifying the next question I had in my prep for this. Are you living according to old stories or your recovery goal? Because often, if we've made mistakes in the past or we've struggled in the past or we have messed up in the past, as we're engaging with our goals, we're telling ourselves a story. What's the point? Look at that, what I wrote down. Like, I want to show up for my followers and listeners. I want to be a wife that's engaged and connected. I want to be a mom that's on the floor playing with their kids. I want to be a therapist that is just pouring my heart into the people. So, that's my list.  But if I'm living according to old stories, I'd go, “Yeah, that's not going to happen because you totally screwed up with that one client that time, and you totally said something inappropriate to that one person and offended them and harmed them.” And so, you're just, “Nah.” You think you don't deserve to have that recovery or it's just not possible for you, Kimberley. That's what we call a fixed mindset. You're living off of old stories. “No, I couldn't do it in the past. I tried. So, there's no point. There's my recovery list. I'll never get there.” That's old stories.  And the whole point of me talking with you every week on doing the “I did a hard thing” segment isn't just because-- well, yes, it's because I love it. I ain't going to lie. I love it so much. But the whole point I do that is so that you guys can see baby steps lead to medium size steps, leads to large steps. And you mess up and you totally screw up. I've done whole episodes about this in the past. Just recently actually. You mess up and then you go, “Okay, I'm going to just do one more.” It's going to try one more time, and one more time. The whole AA approach, if you have an addiction, if you go to alcoholics anonymous is one more day. And there's some research around that model because it helps you just to stay in the short term, doing today, not looking at the long term, and changing the story.  The next question I have is, are you really clear of what recovery will look like, and does that line up with your values? The reason I ask that, and that's the final question of this episode, is when I ask my patients like, “Okay, let's get a recovery plan together. What are your treatment goals? What do you want to look like once therapy is done? How would we define that?” Often, because they've been trained and conditioned from society to be this, they're like, “Okay, so I want to have a house and I want a car and I want to have 100,000 followers on Instagram and I want to be a size blobbidy blah.” And it's just like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Is that what society told you or is that actually what you want? Do you actually value those things? Are they coming from a place of getting other people's approval or are they coming from a place of what really feels good to you, really feels good? What feels true to your values? Because yeah, it's easy to say, “I want to have this many dollars in the bank,” or “I want to have achieved a certain thing.” That's fine. I'm not against that. In fact, I love that kind of thing. I love goals. But I first want you to ask yourself, why? Why do you want that goal? Is it because you want approval or is it because you want to prove you're worth? Because if it's any of those two things, it's probably going to be a painful process. Because, number one, you won't get approval from other people that's long-lasting because that depends on their mood and their values themselves, and you won't get up to a place where you feel worthy because you've based that on a conditional relationship. The only way we can actually build self-worth is to drop all the conditions and recognize that you're worthy right now, whether you reach this goal, this recovery goal or not. It's not a condition. The thing to remember here is your worth doesn't go up if you reach these goals. Please remember that. Your worth is the same whether you reach them or not. You're a valuable, important human being that deserves love and kindness. So, just keep an eye on that. I'm sorry, I'm going on a little tangent there, but it's so important as you embark on getting really clear. And I really want you to be really, really clear. I really do.  I'll use a really ridiculous example, and mind me, I understand that this is a very privileged example, but my daughter is going off to middle school. She's going to a school that's very far away. And so, I have to engage in a carpool. We have a four-wheel-drive that we use to do all of the outdoor stuff that we do. So, I need a bigger car to fit seven people. And so, I'm trying to get really clear on values as I buy this car. I understand this is a ridiculous example, but let's use it as an example. As I go to buy a car, what do I want to feel when I get in the car? What are the things that matter to me? Is it the brand? Do I have to drive a Mercedes Benz or is it the functions? Is it the way it makes me feel? Is it the color? Is it the way my kids feel? That will help me to make a decision. So, I drop down into, really what do I want? What's important to me? Is it important for me to have technology or is it important for me to have ease? Is it important for me to have technology or pay less for this car? And so, it's asking questions. Don't go overboard here, but asking questions so I get really clear on what matters to me, what values matter in this decision.  So, again, I get the ridiculous privilege of that whole question, but they're the questions I want you to ask about you, because you deserve that. When you make decisions about your recovery and your life, you want to ask the questions that are detailed so that you can pivot in those areas. It doesn't have to be perfect, but get clear on what you want recovery to look like. Because if you don't, you'll probably find that you're wavering around feeling directionless, not sure why you're doing all these hard things, feeling like, what's the point really? But when you know exactly what the outcome you want is, you'll know exactly the point.  Okay. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. Thank you for being here. It is a beautiful day to do hard things. I hope that was helpful. I will talk to you guys next week, and have a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful day. By the time you hear this, I'll be back in the United States from my trip. If you want to go back and listen to the old episodes, I encourage you to do that. All the goodness is right there in those early ones.  Have a wonderful day, everybody. Talk to you soon.

This episode features Barry L from Southern Minnesota.  Barry has been sober since October 29, 1988Barry's story starts with his identification as an alcoholic while fulfilling his pastoral duties.  He found some very understanding and helpful people early on that allowed him to build his foundation.  As a result of establishing a firm constitution for his step work and cultivating relationships, he has transitioned to being a counselor to help other alcoholics and addicts.  His journey also prompted a calling to write a book called Mastering Recovery.=============================Reading Recommendation from Barry L.Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor FranklBreathing Under Water: Spirituality and the Twelve Steps by Fr. Richard RohrMastering Recovery by Barry Lehman=============================Use the link below if you would like to contact the show.https://www.seasonsofsobriety.com/contactA special thanks to Sound Devices (https://www.sounddevices.com) for donating the MixPre-6 used to record portions of this episode.

Nikki's story is one of transformation and healing distinguished by her practical application of the direct instructions of the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous.  She carries the undiluted message to countless rooms, sponsors both men and womyn, provides service to numerous local community groups and can be found at Noodle It Out with Nikki on Monday mornings. I will post the link to those meetings in the chat and in the show notes. https://bit.ly/2WYbJms Nikki has abandoned herself to God and understands her purpose is to fit herself to be of maximum service to God and the people about her. She continues to work a rigorously honest program and believes to be vital, faith must be accompanied by self-sacrifice and unselfish, constructive action.Reco12 is an organization with the mission of learning and sharing the similarities of addiction of all kinds and gaining and sharing tools and hope from others who are walking a similar path.  We come together from all places, faiths and backgrounds to gain tools and hope from others who are walking a similar path.  Speakers from our past meetings have represented many fellowships and identify with addictions with such variety of alcoholism, drugs, food, sex, gambling, theft, co-dependency, and the anon groups, just to name a few. We invite recovering addicts with at least 1 year sobriety and who are actively working their recovery in their respective fellowships to share their experience, strength and hope on a live Zoom webinar, each Friday at 12:00 pm central time, for 20-25 minutes.  Then, we, the live audience, get the opportunity to ask questions of the speaker for another 20-25 minutes.  If you are hearing this meeting in recorded podcast form and would like to participate as a live audience member in the future, please go to www.reco12.com to learn more and submit your email address there to receive weekly invitations.  Reco12 is a self-supporting service and we appreciate your help in keeping it that way.  We gratefully accept contributions to help cover the costs of the Zoom platform, podcast platform, web hosting, and administrative costs.  To contribute, you can go to https://www.reco12.com/support  or you can click the link to PayPal (https://www.paypal.me/reco12)  in the chat of the live meeting.  When you contribute, please specify the meeting number.  This is meeting number 113.To join our private Facebook group to ask and answer questions there:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/291099645261990Resources from this meeting:Noodle It Out with Nikki (and other Spiritual Gangsters Meetings)Big Book Sponsorship Monthly WorkshopOther Reco12 Podcasts with Nikki MBig Book of Alcoholics AnonymousOutro music is “Standing Still” by Cory Ellsworth and Randy Kartchner, performed by Mike Eldred and Elizabeth Wolfe.  This song, and/or the entire soundtrack for the future Broadway musical, “Crosses:  A Musical of Hope”, can be purchased here:  https://music.apple.com/us/album/crosses-musical-hope-by-cory/528476262  This song is used with the express permission of Cory Ellsworth.Support the show

94 Minutes PG-13 Thomas777 is a revisionist historian and a fiction writer Thomas finishes the closing section on Rudolf Hess, concentrating on his flight to Britain, in preparation for the next episode where he will be talking about the Nuremberg Trials Today's Sponsor Mises Mayors - Buck Johnson for City Council Thomas' Substack Thomas' Book "Steelstorm" Thomas' Telegram Thomas on AA's Podcast - The Troubles Get Autonomy 19 Skills PDF Download The Monopoly On Violence Support Pete on His Website Pete's Patreon Pete's Substack Pete's Subscribestar Pete's Venmo Pete on Facebook Pete on Twitter

"Pray. But as soon as you open your eyes, play God."                 - August 5th,  Sarcastic Daily Meditations

David Hughes makes his AA return after a couple weeks hiatus, he joins Josh Williams to discuss their predictions for the 2022/23 campaign. The lads talk about who they believe will end up in the title race, top four, European spots, relegation and under/over-achievers as well as what players to keep an eye on across the league throughout the course of the beckoning campaign.

Braves lose and split the series with the Phillies. AA makes a huge trade before the deadline. Alex Anthopoulos spoke to the Locker Room about the moves made at the deadline. Falcons keep practicing and we have football tomorrow! We hear the best of Vin Scully and remember the legend. Plus, Matt had the chance to catch up with the now very rich Austin Riley. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Teddi came to the rooms of Alcoholics Anonymous for one reason: to get verification from real alcoholics that she was a normal drinker. They told her to keep coming back . . . and she hasn't had a drink since. Quotes“I was always judging my insides by your outsides and I always came up short.”“If you're new . . . and you're listening to this, I want to tell you what they told me in my first meeting, Welcome Home.”“They told me to Keep Coming Back.”

Braves lose and split the series with the Phillies. AA makes a huge trade before the deadline. Alex Anthopoulos spoke to the Locker Room about the moves made at the deadline. Falcons keep practicing and we have football tomorrow! We hear the best of Vin Scully and remember the legend. Plus, Matt had the chance to catch up with the now very rich Austin Riley. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

People think that networking is all about impressing the person you're talking to, so they would a) buy what you are selling and/or b) refer you.  And by people, I mean me. Well, not anymore, but that was definitely me at the beginning of my sales game. I thought my first sales meeting was basically a business AA meeting. And in my conversations, I would really sell how good I was at “AA.” I got really good at telling these elaborate stories about my journey, who I was, and all the things I'd done and accomplished. And that worked with a lot of people, but just to the point where they would say “Wow you've done a lot for a young guy,” a stroke of my ego, which seemed to be what I was going for. What I realized very quickly, though, was the more I made the conversation about myself, the less referrals and introductions I got. I even had one person tell me “Donnie, I can't introduce you because I don't think my clientele is the caliber of business you need to be working with.” So all of those techniques I was using would have worked if I was looking to make zero profits and have zero sales. So if you're going into networking and making it all about you, all you're doing is making yourself non referable. LinksWebsite - https://successchampionnetworking.com/ (https://successchampionnetworking.com/) YouTube Video - (available soon) Blog - (available soon) Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/SuccessChampion (https://www.facebook.com/groups/SuccessChampion) Mentioned in this episode: BABs The Badass Business Summit takes place live and has one goal... helping you build business freedom. 17 business development leaders 8 Breakouts Sessions 8 Workshops 7 General Sessions Panel Discussions Live Podcast This isn't a conference where you will take a bunch of notes and then go home and attempt to implement. This is designed to work on your business while you are there. You will walk away with tangible and tactical business processes already working. The speakers don't fly in and fly out they sit side by side with you in the audience and participate all 3 days. You will be working on Sales, Marketing, Operations, and mindset. Build your business and network with some of the biggest badasses in the game. You didn't set out to create a crappy job for yourself and be a slave to your company. At the Badass Business Summit, you will create freedom from the hustle and grind. September 22-23 2022 in Fort Worth, Texas This is the best business conference you will ever attend. Get your tickets at https://badassbusinesssummit.com/ BABs The Badass Business Summit takes place live and has one goal... helping you build business freedom. 17 business development leaders 8 Breakouts Sessions 8 Workshops 7 General Sessions Panel Discussions Live Podcast This isn't a conference where you will take a bunch of notes and then go home and attempt to implement. This is designed to work on your business while you are there. You will walk away with tangible and tactical business processes already working. The speakers don't fly in and fly out they sit side by side with you in the audience and participate all 3 days. You will be working on Sales, Marketing, Operations, and mindset. Build your business and network with some of the biggest badasses in the game. You didn't set out to create a crappy job for yourself and be a slave to your company. At the Badass Business Summit, you will create freedom from the hustle and grind. September 22-23 2022 in Fort Worth, Texas This is the best business conference you will ever attend. Get your tickets at https://badassbusinesssummit.com/

Examining the Propaganda of AA-1025 w/ Kevin Symonds

RMA-Episode 89 Show Notes:   RMA-Episode 89: Everything happens for a reason. Or does it? This week on RMA, Mike and Nat discuss this old bromide, how it pertains to recovery, and whether or not believing that there is a master plan for your life helps or hurts you stay sober. It's a far ranging discussion that touches on religion, philosophy, quantum mechanics and Schrodinger's cat, with a little Repo Man thrown in for good measure.   We also have a Monkster's Speak, a new listener asks for some advice, and a rundown of summer vacations past and future. It's two hours of RMA, coming straight into your earholes.   Please remember to SUBSCRIBE to the podcast on your favorite platform to get the latest episode delivered right to your devices as soon as it's released. We are a listener-supported podcast. If you like what we're doing here at RMA and want to support the show, JOIN THE RECOVERY IN THE MIDDLE AGES PATREON    Our sole mission is to help other people achieve sobriety and become their best, most authentic selves. As little as $3 a month makes a big difference and helps us keep the lights on.    https://www.patreon.com/RecoveryintheMiddleAges   As always, we thank you for your support.   LINKS:    Recovery in the News   The Week in Weird   Repo Man Recovery News You Can Use, Any Day of the Week:   www.soberliningsplaybook.com LISTEN TO RMA ON YOUTUBE PLEASE leave us a 5 star review on I-Tunes if you're enjoying the show and SUBSCRIBE to get the latest episodes.    You can reach us by email at: MikeR@middleagesrecovery.com Natx@middleagesrecovery.com   Send comments, complaints, death threats, ideas and requests to be interviewed. We'll talk to anyone!   Check out the website: Www.middleagesrecovery.com   While you're there, buy a T-Shirt and support your favorite recovery podcast.   We all have a story. Tell us yours and we'll share it on the show!   E-Mail your story to miker@middleagesrecovery.com   FOLLOW US ON TWITTER  Join the Facebook Page! Exciting things are happening there!   We also have a Facebook Group! Request to join the group. It's a private space for continuing the discussion of what Nat and Mike talk about on the podcast. Hope to see you there. If you're in trouble with substance abuse and need help, reach out. There are thousands of people who have put problems with addiction in their rear-view mirrors and you can be one of them. While we neither endorse nor condemn any particular program, the sheer number of available AA and NA meetings suggest that reaching out to those organizations would be a good first step on the road to recovery.     https://www.aa.org/ https://www.na.org/meetingsearch/   Marijuana Anonymous (just in case):   This Naked Mind

Anthony and Brian get the chance to talk with Team 980's Chris Russell about all things Commanders and his outlook on the team so far and for the season to come.  Chris also talks about his time covering Anthony in the Burgundy and Gold. We hear some of AA's journey to the NFL and his advice to undrafted guys who are trying to make the roster in camp. And how training camp gets to be more serious once the team puts pads on.  It means football is right around the corner!

Your husband has decided it's time to get a grip on his drinking. Before things get out of hand, he has decided to go to AA meetings. You want to support your partner's decision, but you're not sure how.  So what can you do? We discuss.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is a workshop led by Jim K (he got sober in 1980 at 17 years old) he leads a workshop from WACYPAA15 held in Las Vegas from 2012 on the topic of The Sermon On The Mount, a book written by Emmet Fox and first published in 1935. It is one of the books used by folks in the earliest days of AA before the Big Book was written. Repost There is some Q & A at the back end of this workshop, some of the comments are difficult to hear...fyi If you are interested in reading Sermon On The Mount, you can pick up a copy here ( https://amzn.to/2SB5cLT ) Email: sobercast@gmail.com Support Sober Cast: https://sobercast.com/donate We have added a page of meetings that have moved online https://sobercast.com/online-meetings Sober Cast has 1900+ episodes available, visit SoberCast.com to access all the episodes where you can easily find topics or specific speakers using tags or search.

In this episode, Nathan Hursh and Jake Slebodnick discuss the Pirates' 2022 MLB trade deadline. Starter Jose Quintana was dealt to the St. Louis Cardinals for RHP Johan Oviedo and AA first baseman Malcolm Nunez. Not much else happened. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Growing up in Brooklyn, New York, Gerry's road to utter ruin began with pot, pills, and intravenous drug use at 15. Living as a heroin addict for the next ten years, his sordid lifestyle supported his addiction until he was able to stop heroin through methadone treatment for the next ten years. With his life spiraling out of control after two decades as a dope addict, Gerry was finally able to get off the drugs thanks to vodka. Unfortunately, drinking upwards of two quarts of vodka, while still smoking marijuana and snorting cocaine, soon confirmed how out-of-control his alcoholic life had become. By the time Gerry found AA in early 1990, he entered the local AA club a broken and desperate man. Fortunately, the members of that club gathered him in and showed him through tough love the work he would need to do in the Program to stay sober. With little faith that Alcoholics Anonymous would work, Gerry did what was asked, including attending the men's meeting in which I first met him. Frankly, it took me a while to get used to this guy with the gravely voice and thick New York accent, but, eventually, his story melted my heart and we became very close friends. He's stayed sober the entirety of our friendship. Gerry's life in sobriety has always been chock-full of meetings and service work, mostly at his home AA club. I've seen him face some very difficult situations over the years with the kind of hope and perseverance that genuinely inspire other people. He never hesitates to welcome new-comers and those returning from a slip. His booming laugh in conversation manifests the joy Gerry gleans from sobriety and is a healthy invitation for others to share his mirth and his enthusiasm for the Program. I'm always glad when I see Gerry in a meeting and, though I'm usually sure I know what he's going to say on any given topic, I never tire of hearing it. His relaxed and jocular way of relating his experiences in sobriety is steeped in hopefulness and wisdom. His absolute assurance that AA works, if you work it, comes through loud and clear every time he's called on a meeting. I think you'll get a meaningful kick out of my interview with Gerry R. and invite you to gather up others to listen to this episode of AA Recovery Interviews. Prepare yourself to be both entertained and enlightened over the next hour by the words of my close friend and AA brother, Gerry R. Check out Howard's Big Book Podcast, the complete unabridged audio version of the First and Second Editions of Alcoholics Anonymous. The Big Book Podcast is an engaging cover-to-cover, word-for-word reading of all 11 chapters and Personal Stories, many of which were left out of the Third and Fourth Editions. Follow us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Or listen on https://bigbookpodcast.com [Disclaimer: AA Recovery Interviews podcast strictly adheres to AA's 12 Traditions and all General Service Office guidelines for safe-guarding anonymity on-line. I pay all podcast production costs. No advertising is allowed. And no one receives financial gain from the show. AA Recovery Interviews and my guests do not speak for or represent AA at-large. This podcast is simply my way of giving back to AA that which has been so freely given to me. -Howard L.]

Host Lisa Colón DeLay features the fascinating mail correspondence between Dr Carl Jung and AA's Bill Wilson that focuses on conversion for recovery.

Sandy B conducts the Spiritual Workshop at the 2014 Woodstock of AA held in Orlando FL in May of 2014. Repost Email: sobercast@gmail.com Support Sober Cast: https://sobercast.com/donate We have added a page of meetings that have moved online https://sobercast.com/online-meetings Sober Cast has 1900+ episodes available, visit SoberCast.com to access all the episodes where you can easily find topics or specific speakers using tags or search.

The Nats lost 7-3 to the Mets in what **might** be the final game in which Juan Soto sported the "Curly W". Al & Mark marvel at Soto's performance on Monday night as he crushed a HR off of Max Scherzer, walked three times, stole a base, and threw a runner out at home. They give their updated thoughts on Soto's situation as we are under 24 hours until the 6pm Eastern Trade Deadline on Tuesday August 2nd. (17:45) Josh Bell doubled in what will likely be his final game as a National and his average sits at .301. Nelson Cruz, who also might be on his way out, was dropped to the 6th spot in the order. Why did Davey Martinez wait until August to drop Cruz in the lineup? (23:45) Washington made its first trade as it shipped Ehire Adrianza to Atlanta in exchange for a AA outfielder. Adrianza was a reserve on last year's World Series Champion. (32:04) Patrick Corbin lost his 14th game of the season. Hear what he and Jose Lima now have in common. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“Every A.A. has found that he can make little headway in this new adventure of living until he first backtracks and really makes an accurate and unsparing survey of the human wreckage he has left in his wake.” Remember, you have acted with courage working all of your previous steps in AA and staying sober! With Step Eight you have the opportunity to translate your experience of courage into developing a compassionate spirit. The exact wording of step 8 is: Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all. “The readiness to take the full consequences of our past acts, and to take responsibility for the well-being of others at the same time, is the very spirit of Step Nine.” At this point in our step work, we may be trudging the road to happy destiny, but we've reached the point where we must repair what we left behind us on a path of shattered relationships.  Step Nine of AA Alcoholics Anonymous is the perfect time to let go of the horrible way we feel about our past and to repair relationships radically. Living with the leftover guilt and shame from past wrongdoings prevents us from moving forward and puts us at risk of using again! The exact wording of step 9 is: Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others. Tonight, we talk about Steps 8 and 9. http://recoveredcast.com 3:25 To skip the intro This week,  Sean, Tony, Chris, Sam, Cristie, Falisha, Nicole Made their Sustaining Partner Donations http://recoveredcast.com/partner for more information This episode is sponsored by  McQ, Helen, Yuxin, Teresa, Audrey They used the donation button found on our website at recoveredcast.com/donation

In this episode I read from page 18 where it says that a person "properly armed with facts" concerning alcoholism can generally earn the trust of another alcoholic quickly, and until this happens, "little or nothing can be accomplished." My books and Instagram. 

Episode 389  - Journal Speak   Today we have Christy.   She is 42, from Denmark, and has been sober since April 5, 2022.     Costa Rica 2023:  https://www.recoveryelevator.com/costarica2023/     Exact Nature:  https://exactnature.com/RE 20   Highlights from Paul   Paul talks about “journal speak,” an informal, off-the-cuff style of journaling. The point is to get unprocessed, uncomfortable emotions out of you. It makes you feel less alone and more connected to yourself. This is a significant component connecting with the raw, unheard, vulnerable, pissed-off version of you. When you feel a craving coming on, this is one of the best times to do this because a part of you is screaming to be heard.   Paul suggests starting with 5 minutes in the morning and 5 minutes at night. Make it informal, with no spelling or grammar check, and toss or burn it when you finish. Generally, you will find that you feel better and have cleared your mind.   Better Help:  www.betterhelp.com/elevator - 10% off your first month. #sponsored                                                                               [10:58]  Christy has been sober for eighty days.   She lives in Denmark, is from North Carolina, and is an agile coach in IT. She is married with two children,   Christy describes herself as a boring child who didn't get into trouble. She was active in sports and music. Alcohol was always present in her life. She remembers the DARE program in high school and decided to avoid drugs and alcohol. She met her husband and married young. Christy drank socially, but there were no red flags.   In 2004, her father was diagnosed with lung cancer. He was age 47. Christy knew she needed to be strong. He passed in 2007. Unaware of how to process the grief, Christy pushed through, went through some counseling, and had a baby. After giving birth, she experienced anxiety and high blood pressure. She spiraled downward. Alcohol was a great way to shut down her brain. She gave birth to her second son and immediately returned to drinking and felt okay because the Mommy wine culture made it alright.   When moving to Denmark, she knew she needed to address her drinking because she had started sneaking alcohol. The geographic solution didn't work. The trauma of her Dad's death brought on emotions Christy could not process. She began taking days off and going to the liquor store early while her husband was at work and her kids were in school. Her drinking progressed, and she could secretly consume a whole bottle of wine. Her panic attacks got worse, and she didn't realize it was the progression of her drinking that was causing the panic attacks.    Christy told her doctor about her problem. She started listening to recovery podcasts and saw a new counselor to deal with her grief and health anxiety. Her self-talk was, “don't think, drink.”  The anxiety was debilitating. She was depressed and had the shakes and the shame of uncontrollable drinking.    COVID and having the kids home 24/7 was challenging. When she got to the point where her children had to put her to bed, she knew she had hit rock bottom. Her marriage was in jeopardy.    Christy enjoys Café RE and often hosts some of the chats. She attends AA and Smart Recovery as well. She has learned it is okay to be vulnerable and not strong. Leaning on her husband is okay.   She no longer has to be “the rock.”  Her anxiety has improved, and her counseling is helping. Her greatest joy is that her son says he has his mom back.      Paul's Summary   Paul talks about the anxiety that came with trying to fix his printer. He loves that he has learned to let emotions flow through him. Paul believes in all the listeners.   Upcoming events, retreats, and courses: You can find more information about our events   Resources Connect with Cafe RE - Use the promo code OPPORTUNITY to waive the set-up fee. Recovery Elevator YouTube - Subscribe here! Sobriety Tracker iTunes    Recovery Elevator- It all starts from the inside out. You can do this. I love you guys.

Tom C., who serves as a tour guide at the home of Dr. Bob, talks with Don and Sam about getting sober in AA, and shares some of what he's learned about Bill and Bob in Akron. Spoiler alert—Tom's a ringer at Stump the Thumper. While we provide the podcast at no charge, it is not free to produce. To support the AA Grapevine Podcast, please subscribe to the magazine or purchase books or other items at store.aagrapevine.org.

Aubrea Jojola joins The Steebee Weebee Show for the 1st time!! We talk about: The Shar-key Defense Keychain & Brass Knuckles, Pepper spray's range of about 10 feet, her living in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the significance of the number 3, how she got into Skateboarding, the benefits of rechargeable AA gaming batteries, Bethesda;s "classic" role-playing game-Skyrim, her growing up on a farm-around horses, doing her 1st kickflip, the game-Shadow Of The Colossus, the meanings behind her tattoos, her defense against skateboarder's "pick up lines" at the skatepark ,and much more !!!!Go to: https://www.youtube.com/steebeeweebee to watch. More: Aubrea https://www.instagram.com/aubrea123 Scissor Bros YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/scissorbros ** Now on iTunes:  https://goo.gl/CdSwyV ** Subscribe: https://goo.gl/d239PO Little Ray promises a Karma Boost if you join our Patreon: https://goo.gl/aiOi7J Or, click here for a one time Karma Boost. https://www.paypal.me/steebeeweebeeshow/2 More Steven: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/quangou Bandcamp: https://steebeeweebee.bandcamp.com/ Itunes: https://goo.gl/PSooa0 WEBSITE: https://www.steebeeweebeeshow.com Send stuff to: 1425 N. Cherokee Ave P.O. Box 1391 Los Angeles, CA 90093