Creative expression helped me learn to feel and find freedom. Relapse is not a requirement. I remember hearing that clear as day in my first meeting in January 2018. That was going to me: I was going to be a first-time winner. Today, six-plus years since that January, it has been a roller coaster that…
“Just as meditation practice depends on a limitless, ceaseless trust in ourselves, so too does our recovery.” This series showcases conversations with experts who are sober themselves and working in the recovery space. Today’s edition features Taishin Michael Augustin, a Soto Zen Buddhist Priest in the Phoenix Cloud lineage of Kobun Chino Otogawa, Roshi. Taishin Michael…
How to overcome challenges and receive life-changing rewards I had a love affair with alcohol for 20 years. I drank 6 or 7 days a week—not always to the point of blacking out, but there were stacks of those fuzzy nights in my career. I was a functioning alcoholic, as the oxymoron goes. Alcohol was…
Receiving a frightening diagnosis, taking a Fear Inventory, living one day at a time It’s been a few years since I’ve logged time in the rooms of AA. But recently, a theme I’d often hear has been tap-tap-tapping on the window of my soul like a nosey neighbor. “Will this be it?” I’m not one of…
It came with integrating practice on and off the mat. Want to hear Janine read this essay? Click here to listen on Substack I had my first taste of wine at age 3 or 4. My Dad had “trained” me to take a sip of wine and say, “It’s a good vintage, but not a…
“After witnessing the power of personal transcendence, I am committed to this lifelong pursuit.” This series showcases personal stories of addiction recovery and sobriety. Today’s edition is by Chandni Challa, a lawyer, writer, and astrologer. Her newsletter The Great Reality delivers insights on addiction, recovery, and mental health to facilitate spiritual awakening. Her newsletter Moonlight Shakti Astrology provides astrological interpretations…
Finding clarity, learning to love my beautiful brain One of my fondest childhood memories is all the time my brother and I spent at our grandparents’ place. When he retired, my grandpa Clem (my mom’s Dad) built a sprawling log house on a beautiful piece of land outside of the city. Over the years, he…
The role of mindset, belief, discipline, and commitment Sober: (i) free from excess, extravagance, or exaggeration; (ii) showing self-control; (iii) sane or rational. That’s what sober means to me. To others, it undoubtedly also means not intoxicated or drunk. The reason I make this distinction is that no matter how much of a drinking problem…
From “brain on a stick” to learning how to feel Six years ago, I was reading everything I could about giving up alcohol. I devoured personal stories, peer-reviewed research articles, and popular self-help books. I had spent my life honing my mind—a skill society rewards. Reading and knowledge became my sanctuary. But what was I…
“You need willingness to walk through all the doors that open.” August 11, 1988. The tile floor and dirt-smeared windows reflect back light in all directions. I sit in one of the ubiquitous metal chairs, felt banners with gold letters facing me from the front wall. It’s not my first meeting, just the one that…