Alchemist Recovery Podcast

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 does that do to you?

What are the ramifications for your health?

Let’s explore.

“The truth is not always beautiful, nor beautiful words the truth.”

Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

Lesson 11 of The Program explores the subject of Truth vs. Lies in detail. As with all 52 Lessons, it includes:

* PDF Workbook

* 3 Instructional Videos

* Guided Medicine Journey

* Shamanic wRites Exercise

* 3 Points - Summary PDF

* Notes from the Lab (for practitioners)

To accompany this podcast episode, I’m including the first Medicine Journey from this Lesson for free. That way, you can get a feel for the power of this work and decide whether you’d like to go deeper.

Find this week’s podcast episode in the audio above or the video below. Listen to the accompanying Medicine Journey here:

To get full access to all 52 Lessons, subscribe for free here:

With Blessings,Randal

You can watch this episode of The Sober Shaman on YouTube here.

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 unclear, healthy options cannot be seen, help is ambiguous, fuzzy, and out-there-somewhere. 

In this episode, we’ll take a look at two case studies from my clinical practice, showcasing ways to cut through the fog, gain clarity, and accumulate the medicine of healthy experience. 

We’ll use a metaphor from Everyday Spy, which makes use of CIA training for everyday life.

We’ll also draw on the Traditional Chinese Medicine concept of Phlegm, and how it can mist, or fog, the orifices of the Heart.

Can you relate to the fog of lies?

So, one of the things we do to cut through that fog is to provide a different perspective.

To provide a different experience.

Experience changes belief.

You can watch this episode of The Sober Shaman on YouTube here

Let me know what you think in the comments or shoot me an email at [email protected] 

Blessings,Randal

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 questions or comments below, or email me directly at: [email protected]

And if you’re listening/watching on a different platform, I invite you to come on over and check out all of the material on my Substack for The Sober Shaman.

I appreciate the connection!

With Blessings,Randal

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, which further explores a specific addiction related topic. In this edition, we’re going into Lesson #18: The Power of Surrender.

Thanks for listening!

Let me know what you think of this episode and send me any addiction-related questions you have: [email protected]

Get access to this, as well as all of the 52 Lessons, with one subscription. Join us inside The Program here:

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 departed saw us, knew us, and understood us like only they could. They were a Soul Friend and what is lost goes beyond the everyday, the ordinary, and the easily explained.

So, how do we heal?

Let’s explore…

You can also read the entire written post, which includes a step-by-step Shamanic wRites exercise and audio drum file, here:

You can watch this episode on YouTube here:

If you, or anyone you know, is struggling with addiction and the consequences from trauma, please feel free to reach out with any questions: [email protected]

The Sober Shaman is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

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 all of the concepts presented in the written post.

This lets me go into much greater detail and provide specific examples of what we’re talking about. And for me, this episode’s focus of “Addiction is a Spell” is a rockin’ one that provides another way to view the mechanisms of addiction—as well as ways to break its hold.

As always, please hit the little heart, subscribe if you feel called, and leave a comment with your thoughts—it’s always appreciated!

With Blessings,Randal

You can find the written post here, and watch the full-length video below:

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?

And, regardless of what’s real, what’s stronger? Belief or reality?

This podcast is a companion episode to the Substack newsletter of the same name. Inside here, we go into a lot more detail around these subjects, as well as using shamanism for addiction treatment in general.

In that written post, you’ll find a guided Shamanic wRites exercise, as well as an audio file of just drums if you’re good to go on your own.

Also, here’s a link to the video of the podcast:

Either way, if you’d like to leave a comment on your take that spirits are real or share what you received from the exercise, I’d love to hear what you’ve got!

With Blessings, Randal

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.

As always, reach out if you have any questions, comments or suggestions on a shamanic topic you’d like me to cover. Or maybe you know an addiction’s specialist or shamanic practitioner you’d like me to explore a conversation with…?…by all means, pass them along!

With Blessings,

Randal

“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—it offers a place to begin the conversation. 

So, whether we…

* Refuse to say it because it makes us feel like we’re reinforcing the problem.

* Say it daily because it instills the humility necessary on this path.

* Can’t say it because then “I’m joining their club.”

* Say it because it just makes sense. 

* Say it and feel nothing.

* Don’t say it because I feel like a victim when I do.

* Say it because I never was able to admit it before. 

…we’ve got a starting place.

There’s no wrong way to do the exercise. That’s why I’ve chosen it for Lesson 1 of The Sober Shaman’s Path of Recovery.

Give it a try and let me know what it’s like for you today—or how you’ve noticed it change over time. 

With Blessings,Randal

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 his time on both sides of the line of sobriety. Together, we explore a little of his journey. I hope you enjoy our conversation.

Please hit the little heart, leave a comment, or send along any questions you may have.

Blessings!

The Sanctuary at Sedona