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

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

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

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

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

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

Do you struggle with negative thoughts and intrusive voices? Do you find yourself informed by these thoughts and reacting with poor choices? Then it's time to begin to develop Power Over Your Mind! Marcus Aurelius reminds us that we do have power over our mind and that helps us to avoid getting caught up in outside events. He also said "The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts." Listen to this episode for ideas on improving the quality of your thoughts and gaining Power Over Your Mind.

Enjoy as you listen to our group of six guys in recovery from Australia, South Africa and the US as they react to the following quote by Mother Theresa "We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked and homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved and uncared for is the greatest poverty." I'm sure they will touch your memories and your hearts as they describe their greatest poverty, how they number the pain and how they found healing.

Do you find yourself slipping and stumbling in your recovery? Today we look at what causes us to lose our footing in recovery. AND then we discuss four things we can do to get our foundation established and have strong and stable footing in recovery. We don't have to live in fear of slippery floors or road surfaces as we travel our journey of recovery.

What is the damage done by your years in addiction? In this episode we look at many areas of damage and how we learn to accept them with grace in our recovery. How do we find grace when we're battling so much grief for all that we lost because of our addiction? One of the keys is realizing that in our addiction we knew the price of everything and the value of nothing! In recovery we begin to find the splendor of the value of things by gracefully accepting the damage done.