Neil - Atheism, finding your tribe, dealing with death, fun in sobriety

Welcome to Odaat Chat, my name is Arlina and I’ll be your host. In case you didn’t know, ODAAT stands for “one day at a time”. If you haven’t yet, don’t forget to subscribe on iTunes so you don’t miss out on upcoming episodes.

You might be wondering the purpose of the podcast, and what I can tell you is that besides wanting to clear up a lot of misconceptions about addiction and recovery, I also wanted to share the teachers, ideas and exercises that have helped me on my own journey over the last 22 years that fall outside the parameters of 12 step groups.

So today I wanted to share an exercise called “willingness calls”. This is something I actually require girls I sponsor to do. When someone new comes into the group, it’s important for them to get connected, so I ask them to make 3 willingness calls a week. A willingness call is when you reach out to someone to demonstrate you are willing to do what it takes to stay sober and connect with others.  The idea is they ask how the other is doing, then share something about themselves and that’s it! Over time, you form bonds with others and you have a few people you are current with. Then when the shit hits the fan, they are already current with a few people and can get right to the issue without having to explain the backstory.  I’ve been practicing willingness calls my entire sobriety and it’s my first go-to exercise when I’m stressed out and can’t deal. I can’t imagine trying to be sober without being connected to those I’ve come to adore.

This is a special interview with someone I had been dying to interview from the beginning and will likely be a reocurring guest. Neil is a fascinating guy. He’s super smart, an atheist, and is a deep thinker. We had good intentions of covering several topics, but we barley scratched the surface and have already planned round two. Neil is definitely one of those guys who had developed an inclusive community of people who are outcast or otherwise live on the fringes and in subcultures. If not for people like Neil and his lovely wife Stephany, I wonder if the people they reach, would otherwise be lost. For that I deeply admire and respect them. I talked way too much on this one, but I couldn’t help myself! I hope you enjoy this one as much as I did.

And with that, please enjoy this episode with Neil.

Peace & Love,

Arlina