In this conversation, Andrew shares how Sky Breath Meditation works with our physiology rather than against it, using the documented relationship between breath patterns and emotional states to bring the nervous system into alignment from the inside out. We get into what the research actually shows, how it fits alongside 12-step work, psychedelic integration, and traditional clinical care, and why it doesn’t ask you to believe anything different than you already do.

• What separates Sky Breath from other meditation techniques and why it’s the most studied breathwork protocol today

• How the breath-emotion connection works, and what a scientific study revealed about running it in reverse

• Why Andrew & I believe addiction is about identity and what it takes to get underneath it

• What a person in recovery said Sky Breath gave him that nothing else had: choice - in the moment before the decision

Website: artofliving.org | Recovery-specific: skyrecovery.org

Please hit the little like & subscribe buttons wherever you get your podcasts.

With Blessings,

Randal

Subscribe now

That’s the line this episode draws. Because when we’re working toward mastery and comfort serves the work, we come back Monday morning lit up and ready to give. But when we’re just grinding until Friday, when the drink, the couch, the shortcut is what we’re actually after, that’s when we’ve crossed into something familiar to anyone in recovery: an addiction.

Using the Chinese Five Element cycle, I walk through exactly how comfort-as-goal moves through the addiction cycle the same way any substance does. The fruit looks, smells, and maybe even tastes like success, but it’s hollow calories.

And here’s what that costs us:

• When comfort is the goal, meaning goes out the window. Every time.

• Shortcuts don’t just rob you of mastery, they also sacrifice the heart, which is where inspiration and purpose reside.

• Crisis as a gift. Because rock bottom can be where the belief finally cracks open enough to let something honest and real in.

• Mastery holds the magic to connect you to lineages of the past, to nourish people right now, and then inspire the next generation for the future. No shortcut can deliver this.

Thanks for listening.

Here’s a link to Lesson 6: The 4 Stages of Addiction that we use as a guide in this episode.

Blessings!

Subscribe now

The focus is one simple, powerful Qigong exercise: hold the ball. In 13 years inside addiction treatment centers, this is the exercise that lit people up. I loved seeing the light bulbs going off when someone felt the Qi between their palms for the first time.

We’ll explore Qi follows Yi. Energy flows where attention goes. Which means we can direct it, move it, use it. Starting with the basics, jaw, shoulders, belly, we work through three lines of relaxation, build the Qi ball between the palms, and then take that ball of love and light to wherever it’s needed: a headache, a knee, gastric upset, anxiety, cravings, heartbreak. No place to put it? Bring it straight into the Heart.

This is a practice that can deliver palpable relief, not a cure-all, but an absolute component of healing that puts you back in participation with your own recovery.

In this episode:

• What Qi actually is, and why a thousand types of it exist in Chinese medicine

• The three body basics (jaw, shoulders, belly) that shift your state immediately

• The three lines of relaxation as preparation for any Qigong practice

• How to build and feel a Qi ball between your palms

• Directing that ball to pain, discomfort, anxiety, cravings or straight into the Heart

• Qi as a pattern interrupt for fast-cycling cravings like nicotine, scrolling, and stimulants

• Why fighting the interrupting mind makes it worse, and what to do instead

Want to run through it step by step?

Lesson 23 is waiting at thesobershaman.com.

Let me know how you did, tell me about the experience & shoot me any questions you may have - directly or in the comments below.

With Blessings,

Randal

Really?

I’ve noticed this sentiment has been showing up on social media lately, and I’ll admit, I get it. I bumped up against it in those first couple of years and I’ve had many people tell me they’ve experienced exactly the same. It’s common to hit some pretty quick plateaus of the, “Ok, I’ve stopped. Now what?” variety.

But here’s what I keep coming back to: what’s boring, exactly? Life?

Yup, there’s a lot to cover here. Because, as we know, stopping the active addiction is just the beginning.

The Intention Behind This Journey

This episode and journey were born out of both of those things: the “sobriety is boring” feeling and the existential question of, “Now what?" I found that the practices that got me through early recovery are exactly the same ones that also took care of these two challenges. And which is why they’ve become non-negotiables in my present life.

Specifically, I’m talking about the shamanic journey. You, as well, can use the knowledge, information and healing power provided and apply it to what’s working and what’s not working in your life right now. As the practice grows, you grow with it. As you grow, it grows with you. Evolving, inspiring, empowering and definitely not boring.

If you’re ready to undertake this shamanic journey right now, wonderful, here’s the specific intention:

I am journeying to meet my guardian spirits, the ones that protected me in active addiction.

If you’re not in recovery, no worries, you can absolutely still do this journey. If you’ve walked through some kind of life-threatening situation, maybe you want to ask about that specifically. Or maybe not and you just want to meet your guardian spirits, in which case ask: How have you protected me in the past? What do you want from me now? How can we have a relationship going forward?

If you haven’t undertaken the shamanic journey yet and would like a step-by-step guide, here’s Your Guide to the Shamanic Journey. It’s part of the free membership to The Sober Shaman and comes with everything you need to get started.

As usual, I do my best to enter into the journey from a place of emptiness. And as usual, I had some preconceived notions and expectations about what I was going to find and who I was going to meet. But that’s part of the practice. I look at all those expectations and say: thank you for your opinions. You’ve just accurately identified exactly what I need to let go of. And then the drums start. I breathe…what fills the emptiness is wonder. Not knowing. Genuine heart-sourced curiosity.

What I Found: The Upper World and the Lower World

In my journey, I was immediately brought to a teacher I haven’t called upon or worked with for at least a couple of years. It always amazes me how in non-ordinary reality the experience of time is completely different. It was like no time at all had passed since my last visit and we picked up from right where we left off.

This upper world guardian, who’s name is Almethius, showed me how he is a guardian of what the Chinese call the Hun, or the eternal soul. His relationship is to guide and protect me during “soul level” situations, and which I was shown a few that occurred during that active addiction time of my life.

And then, I have to say this with a little humor, I went to the lower world. Where I found my guardians living out the scene from those paintings, you know the ones, found in really cheap hotels in the middle of nowhere where there’s a bunch of animals sitting around a card table playing poker. That’s my power animals, hanging out, smoking cigars, waiting for the Emergency Light to go off signaling I need help, again. All right, whose turn is it? You go save him this time.

In Chinese Medicine, this is at the level of the Po, which is the part of the soul that dissolves back into the Earth upon my passing. It deals with earthly problems, physical directions, and these three-demential-time-&-space situations. And I don’t just see a bunch of cats sitting around one table, no, there’s a whole Lowerworld casino floor. Everybody’s busy. Bells, buzzers, announcements. Dealing with all variety of knuckleheads like me up here in the middle world. A beautiful assortment of compassionate guardian spirits doing what they do best.

What became clear to me in this journey is that it takes a team. A team of helping and compassionate spirits to carry us through the thresholds of an entire life. Birth, childhood, adolescence, adulthood, career, parenthood, and into the wisdom of elderhood. All of it.

I saw between 12 and 15 specific incidents from my life where one simple change…of a steering wheel, of a step, of a word, and I would not be here. And I would have taken people with me.

That was extremely power-full and all I could handle on this one journey.

What This Transforms

What the guardian spirits showed me was this: that search for thrill, that sticking-my-finger-in-the-light-socket, that nightly tight rope walk, was the drive, the burning Fire, the infusion of spirit, that fueled the using in its attempt to fill The Void.

I was a stimulant kind of guy. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas was the bible, literally. It never got weird enough for me. And looking back, I recognize it. When I speak to people who cut, it’s the same thing: a way to slice through the flatness. Even if it’s pain, at least I feel something.

And that circles back to the original instigator for this journey: Sobriety is boring. The practice is the answer to that. A practice that delivers connection, spirit, wonder, not knowing what I’ll find, infusing that kind of excitement, and igniting that kind of curiosity. That is what is transformational.

This is what Opens the Eyes of the Heart and transforms the Phlegmed-over senses that are stuck, ruminating, with gaze turned inward, into the outward opening, senses-receiving abilities to recognize the profound beauty in the ordinary.

Normal rocks. This perspective delivers the notion that right here, right now, I am enough. Right here, right now, you are enough. That’s it. Beautiful.

In the recognition of that, we are given the responsibility to remember this, because now, we have something to protect, something to lose, and something to build upon.

He Who Heals Me Divinely: A 30-Year Mystery

One more thing from this journey, a 30-year mystery and a sticking-point in my belief system, resolved.

When I first met Almethius, about 30 years ago during my time in acupuncture school, I got the name and I’ll admit…I cringed. There was something about my perception of that name, writing it in my journals, even as the years went by and I developed real rapport and trust, that my guts twisted just a little.

Back then, I did some superficial investigation into exactly what the name could mean, but I came up empty, the feelings remained and I kind of just buried it.

So, since one of the most obvious changes lately is Ai, after this journey, I revisited the etymology. I plugged the name into ol’ Gemini, intentionally scrambled, breaking it into its roots so I wouldn’t just get one of those sycophantic answers. What came back was this:

Al from the ancient Greek verb meaning to cure, to heal. Theus from theos, divine, of the gods, sacred. Me, the first person singular pronoun. Myself.

Put together, the name Almethius means: he who heals me divinely. Or simply: my divine healer.

What?!?!

I’ve been carrying around a cringe about that name for 30 years. And now, after this journey, not only can I finally unwind my guts but, dag-nab-bitt that’s just too cool! And while the relationship was always there, the name was always right, I’m just now getting out of my own belief system’s way to receive it on yet another, deeper, level. One that provides even more insights into the origins and continued usage of the substances and behaviors that perpetuated my cycle of addiction. Amen.

Let me know if you’ve undertaken this journey, or if you want to. I’ll be doing live streams and shamanic journeying sessions toward the third or fourth week of June. Subscribe to the Substack so you’ll know when things are going down. Till next time, blessings.

In this episode, I dig into what the word “shaman” actually means, why I deliberately use it, and why I’m equally deliberate about saying I’m not one.

From lineage, ancestors and sacred language to power loss, soul loss and spiritual intrusion, I share the path I do walk and why I’d rather teach you to be your own shaman than do the work for you.

Show Highlights

• What a shaman actually is, Unpacking the traditional dictionary-definition of shaman. From lineage, sacred language, ritual, to the role of intermediary between people and spirit.

• Why I use the word, but don’t claim the title. The intentional tension behind the name “The Sober Shaman” and why challenging preconceived notions is part of the work. As it’s one of the things I do best ; )

• The three forms of shamanic disease. A breakdown of power loss, soul loss, and spiritual intrusion, and how they show up in addiction and trauma.

• Teaching you to do it yourself. Why I believe the most powerful healing is the kind nobody can do for you, but it’s also the kind nobody can take away from you, either. And how I guide people to reclaim it.

This one is close to my heart, so I hope it sparks something in you too.

Listen in, and let me know your thoughts. Don’t forget to like and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

With Blessings,

Randal

To begin, I start with, “What are the long term effects of Adderall?”

There’s a lot to look at there.

Then, I visit a question that I’m often asked, which is: “If I’m diagnosed with ADHD, prescribed Adderall by a licensed psychiatrist, and taking it as I should be, is this still an addiction?”

Great question. And answers will cover the entire spectrum, as we’ll talk about.

And the last one, which is something I ask of every prescription, “Where’s the off ramp?” Which is my way of exploring when is enough going to be enough, the “problem” finally fixed, and we can stop taking the medicine.

These are the questions (still, surprisingly) not a lot of people seem to be asking, which is why I’m kicking up the dirt again here. I feel like it’s a discussion that needs to keep being revisited.

What’s your take? Maybe you’re somebody who finds adderall works just right for you. Maybe you’re somebody who it’s changed your life for-the-better in a huge way. Maybe you’re somebody stuck in the middle somewhere…wherever you find yourself on this one, I’d love to know your thoughts.

With Blessings,

Randal

Hey, here’s a PDF from a couple of years back on this exact subject & it gives a good outline of the podcast.

Adderallthecostofspeeding

1.34MB ∙ PDF file

Download

Download

“There is no chemical solution to a spiritual problem.”

You’ve probably heard this one, as it’s one of the most quoted lines in recovery. Maybe you’ve even said it a few times yourself. But here’s the thing:

What exactly is the spiritual problem?

Because if we can’t name it and we can’t map it, then the saying is just a groovy bumper sticker. True, sure, but not particularly useful.

In this episode, I’ll be nailing down exactly what the spiritual problem is through an introduction to the core shamanic model of illness. It provides answers and gives us a solid framework for understanding addiction,

This isn’t one culture’s tradition or one religion’s perspective. It’s a structure that’s found on every continent of the world that points to the same three root causes for all disease. And when I applied these to addiction, something fit into place where nothing else had clicked before.

The shamanic map finally made sense of the spiritual territory.

The three reasons, in order:

• Power Loss — We are all born with spiritual help. Whatever you call it. That connection gets severed when the TAHL hits — the Trauma, Abuse, Heartbreak, and Loss that overwhelms every defense we have. Power Loss isn’t weakness. It’s a severed connection.

• Soul Loss — When the pain becomes too much to be present for, a piece of us leaves. Psychology calls this dissociation. Shamanism calls it Soul Loss. Basically the same thing, different language. That piece takes qualities with it, our innocence, trust & childlike-joy, and leaves a void where those blessings used to be.

• Spiritual Intrusion — The void doesn’t stay empty. It never does. Something moves in. It’s pain-fear-based, hungry, and perfectly fed by your drug of choice. This is the spell of addiction. And the only reason it works is because we believe the lie it tells us about who we are.

You don’t have to frame any of this in spiritual terms if that’s not your language. The concepts hold whether you call it a spirit, a belief, a pattern, or a spell. What matters is recognizing the sequence and understanding that recovery, at its core, is about reversing it.

Stop feeding the intrusion. Court your soul back. Reclaim your power.

That’s the treatment plan. And this episode is where it starts.

With Blessings,

Randal

Subscribe now

In this episode, I pull apart the reasoning behind “why we need this” and ask a harder question: need it for what, exactly? And according to whose values?

Some of O’Leary’s foundational pillars, like national security, medical advancement, and job creation, sound like progress. But when I look closer, I find the same engine running all three: fear. Fear of enemies. Fear of disease. Fear of falling behind. I’ve found that when fear is the foundation, whether we’re talking about it as the structure for sobriety, or a family, or a career, it builds a future that is dependent upon, and addicted to, who or whatever holds the answers for relief. That’s not healthy. And in obvious contrast to something built upon heart-centered-ness designed for human connection.

We look at what it means to place data centers on top of farmland, possibly permanently. To me, that isn’t a neutral decision…

it’s a declaration that our relationship to data is more important than our relationship to healthy food and all of the sources in which it blessedly comes from.

And then…when tech inevitably offers lab-grown food as the solution to the food problem it helped create, well…you can see where I’m going here…we’ve traded yet another living thread for one more I’m-smarter-than-Nature answer.

We talk about medicine, and the empowered patient that this model of “advancement” continues to leave out of the equation. We talk about community, what Main Street actually gave us, and what we quietly surrendered when big-box-businesses-of-convenience became the go-to form of human consumption.

And we talk about power. Not the kind that flows through these kinds of data-server farms, but the kind that flows through human, organic relationship. The ones we’re wired for with nature, with neighbors, with our own body and heart-recognizing choices.

Two kinds of power are on the table right now. One is being built with billions of dollars and the full force of fear. The other lives in the choices you make every single day.

Which one are we feeding?

Takeaways:

• The “if we don’t, our enemies will” argument behind Kevin O’Leary’s Stratos Data Center is the same fear-based logic that drove the nuclear arms race. And how it’s still building the wrong world for the wrong reasons.

• When we place data centers on farmland, we’re making the value statement that our relationship to technology matters more than our relationship to nourishing, living food.

• Modern medicine’s promise to “advance through AI” continues to disempower the patient. And it ignores that the vast majority of chronic disease is lifestyle-dependent and entirely within each person’s own control.

• Big Business as community is one built on competition, hierarchy, and dependence on billionaire infrastructure. It certainly is one model, but not the only model; Main Street, reciprocity, and relationship-based commerce existed, and can exist again.

• Every strand we hand over to a tech system, whether it’s our food, health, commerce, or human connection, is another thread removed from our intimate weave in the Web of Life. And the cost of that doesn’t show up until the web starts to tear.

This one zooms out quite far - and at the same time, hits every one of us in deeply personal ways (which we don’t even fully know how yet!) Let me know your thoughts down below, it’s appreciated.

And if you don’t mind, please hit-that-heart & consider subscribing.

Subscribe now

With Blessings,

Randal

In this episode, I’m sharing my first take on one of the most loaded topics in wellness right now: Ozempic and addiction. And just for a heads-up, my angle might surprise you.

I hear people talk about Ozempic quieting “food noise” or reducing cravings. While that’s great, when I look at it through the lens of Chinese medicine and shamanic tradition, I see something different: a drug that solves hunger by treating hunger as the problem.

Here’s why that matters. Hunger isn’t just a body signal — it’s a sacred function. It’s our daily act of communion with the Earth, with nourishment, with life itself. When we chemically suppress that, we don’t just suppress cravings. We weaken the very muscle that allows us to say yes to what truly nourishes us.

And that, by the Alchemist Recovery definition, starts to look a lot like addiction — the patterned and repetitive use of any substance or action that attempts to fill a void, but instead reinforces the origins of the pattern.

We’ll walk through each element of that definition and apply it directly to Ozempic. We’ll talk about rituals of communion, the archetypal wound of disconnection from nature, and why…

your daily pill may have replaced your daily bread.

This is not medical advice. This is a perspective — one I hope sparks some open thinking & honest conversation.

Important discussions like…who makes the best stuffed noodle? Wontons vs. ravioli vs. pierogis. Let’s sit down, disagree, and figure it out together.

🎙️ The Sober Shaman Podcast — making the spiritual practical.

You can listen to the audio of this episode here:

a: a spoken word or form of words held to have magic power

b: a state of enchantment

I’ve been professionally helping others in recovery for almost as long as I’ve been clean and sober—no coincidence. From the start, I realized that for treatment to have any chance of success, I need to take what works from my esoteric Chinese medicine and core-shamanic approaches and explain addiction’s origins and mechanisms in a way people can understand.

On the other end, I’ve had to translate what I do for treatment centers, insurance companies, and licensing and accreditation boards, as well as to my medical and mental health colleagues—speaking in the “medical-ese” that checks diagnosis codes and reimbursement boxes.

Fun, right?

Now, I aim to strip away language that complicates an already complex issue. With that in mind, I propose…

Addiction is a Spell
This Spell is a Lie
This Lie is a Belief

Let me explain.

Check out our exploration along this path to the core of an addiction. Hit the play button on the podcast audio at the top of the page, or check out the video embedded here:

And as always, please hit the little like button and send along any comments or questions you may have.

With blessings,

Randal

Here are some of the three ways we look at this:

• The place of your birth: I spent years of my youth walking the streets of the island of Manhattan driven by a deep longing for belonging but without a guide to clarify my intentions.. This wRites exercise may help you just that.

• The place where you felt Home: I share a paragraph from the written post, which I later realized was part of my ongoing work in Soul Courting. Welcoming back a lost soul fragment—split off for survival due to TAHL (trauma, abuse, heartbreak, and loss)—is only the beginning. We must actively and continuously create a safe Home for this part. For me, that means providing a space where my 9- to 14-year-old self feels secure enough to stay. When I do, he returns with gifts only he can offer: innocence, wonder, passion, and heart-sourced curiosity, which infuses my present life with these powers and the deep recognition of their importance.

• The place where you are a guest right now: Wherever you are right now, how do interact with the spirits of this place? What is your relationship to the spirits of:

• Nature

• Elements

• Trees

• Mountains

• Bodies of water

• Guardians

• Thresholds

• Ancestors—familial, tribal, national

• Ghosts

• Deities

• Holy teachers

• Taboos

• Gateways to the Lowerworld and Upperworld

Join me as we explore how important it is to bring a guest’s humility to, and the expression of gratefulness for, being taken care of by the inhabitants and the Spirits of This Place.

You can read the full write-up in the written post here:

As always, please hit the ♥️ and subscribe if you feel called, and send along any questions or shares in the comments below, or reach out directly via email: Spirit@RandalLyons.com

With blessings,
Randal

Subscribe now

This episode of The Sober Shaman podcast serves as a companion piece to the recent written post entitled, “Addiction Separates / The Web Connects.” In this episode, we explore the year’s first Medicine Drum Journey and how our experience can provide insight, connection, and healing power for our concerns.

Here are some of the ways we look at this:

• Connection is the Medicine for addiction’s pathological power to separate.

• Fear grows in the spaces where we are separated from loved ones, heartfelt activities and places of belonging.

• An overview of the Cycle of Addiction and role of The Web of Life within it.

• In the Earth Phase, we receive the Medicine of Connection through the power of support, home, nourishment & communion.

• Dissolving the negative experience of feeling stuck in The Web

• The transformative power of Earth & the Spleen: extracting wisdom & releasing waste

• The weave of the 5 Elements

Join me as we explore all of this in the podcast.

You can read my full write-up and complete any preparation work before undertaking your own journey in the written post here:

I’m inviting anyone interested in collaborating to reach out. Ways to participate could include:

• Sharing what you received from your journey

• Proposing a writing prompt or offering a place in Non-Ordinary Reality to take a Medicine Drum Journey to that explores a recovery, mental health, and/or spiritual topic of concern

• Discussing how these exercises have worked for you, or, if you're a medical or mental healthcare professional, how they’ve worked for your clients

This could take the form of a written Q&A, a recorded Zoom session, or even through the new Substack live option.

As always, feel free to message me here on Substack or reach out directly via email: Spirit@RandalLyons.com

With blessings,
Randal

Here are some bullets on how we can do this:

• Going to where the truth resides

• Merging with my spiritual bones

• Writing from this place

• Receiving the messages of truth as merged with the spirit of The Bones

Join me as we explore all of this in the podcast.

You can read my full response to the prompt, as well as any preparation work you’d like to do before undertaking your own wRites from the prompt, here in the written post:

I’m inviting anyone interested in collaborating to reach out. Ways to participate could include:

• Sharing what you received from the writing or journey exercises

• Proposing a writing prompt or offering a place in Non-Ordinary Reality to take a Medicine Drum Journey to that explores a recovery, mental health, and/or spiritual topic of concern

• Discussing how these exercises have worked for you, or, if you're a medical or mental healthcare professional, how they’ve worked for your clients

This could take the form of a written Q&A, a recorded Zoom session, or even through the new Substack live option.

As always, feel free to message me here on Substack or reach out directly via email: Spirit@RandalLyons.com

With blessings,
Randal

Here are a few topics that are in addition to what’s covered in the written post:

• Modern society’s promotion of the inability to listen to and maintain a relationship with spirit

• How our spiritual sensitivities are clouded and blocked by the shouting from our screens

• What if we swapped the words “truth” and “spirit” in conversation?

• Exploring how writing to, from, and merged with spirit is a different experience than engaging in regular writing prompts

• An advantage of being an addict in recovery is that we know where the line is because we’ve crossed it so many times in active addiction

• By crossing the line, we understand and remember the clear difference between being in control and being out of control

  ---

In the new year of 2025, The Sober Shaman will focus on the two experiential spiritual exercises that set this work apart:

• Shamanic wRites

• Medicine Drum Journeys

Since both the written posts and podcasts will explore these two exercises, I’m inviting anyone interested in collaborating to reach out. Ways to participate could include:

• Sharing what you received from the writing or journey exercises

• Proposing a writing prompt or offering a place in Non-Ordinary Reality to take a Medicine Drum Journey to that explores a recovery, mental health, and/or spiritual topic of concern

• Discussing how these exercises have worked for you, or, if you’re a medical or mental healthcare professional, how they’ve worked for your clients. This could be in a written Q&A format, a recorded Zoom session, or even through the new Substack live option.

As always, you can message me here through Substack or reach out directly via email: Spirit@RandalLyons.com

With blessings,
Randal

This series showcases personal stories of addiction recovery and sobriety. Today’s edition features, Randal Lyons, Doctor of Chinese Medicine and shamanic practitioner whose spiritual, integrative program of addiction recovery has been implemented in holistic clinics, premier treatment centers, and his private practice. You can access the online version of The Program through his newsletter, The Sober Shaman.

When and how did you get sober?

The when is July 17, 1994. And the how is simply that I had just had enough. After countless attempts to quit and many relapses, what changed this time was a clear and unwavering decision to quit. Boom. That’s it. I wasn’t going to try—I just did.

I knew that if this was really going to work, I had to relinquish all the slippery people, places, and things—which made up about 90 percent of my life as a rock ‘n’ roll guitar player trying to make it in LA.

The only other things I had going for me, which were keeping me alive during the insanity, were my study and practice of Chinese martial and medical arts, along with my spirituality.

Neither of those offered clear or well-defined pathways for getting and staying sober, but I knew they worked for me. The passion I had previously poured into making music—and the fire that had fueled my cravings to use—was now redirected into my curiosity about how this medicine could help me and, later, others.

What was the turning point in your decision to get sober?

I would call it the tipping point rather than a turning point. In the moment I made “the decision,” I felt the full weight of 17 years’ worth of using and its consequences tip over into conscious awareness.

It wasn’t any one thing or a lightning-bolt moment of understanding. It was the felt accumulation of all the wasted time. For whatever reason, that was—and remains—my pain.

This pain still serves me to this day, because whenever I’m engaged in an activity that could be judged as wasting time, I’m brought into the present moment. And this is the practice: I breathe, relax, and observe from an objective view what the next right thing is. Usually, it involves stopping whatever activity I was doing, because it indeed was “enough of that.”

What surprised you about getting sober?

What surprised me the most was that I was able to give up playing music as easily as I did. I had such a deep connection between my addiction and my playing that I knew I couldn’t stay in that field. That part was obvious.

But the good that I received from music, which I would call soul nourishment, led me to be surprised by the possibility of finding new ways to get the same medicine.

For example, when I wrote music, it was always a collaborative jam. There’s nothing better than riding a groove, being carried by its current, and, in all aspects of the phrase, playing together. This was experimentation, without judgment, in which we responded to each other’s input with, “Yes, and…then, what if…?”

Later on, armed with a degree, a medical license, and a bunch of acupuncture needles, I could drop into a group at an addiction treatment center and do exactly the same thing. But instead of hitting a chord to elicit a band member’s response, I could throw out a question like, “What’s stronger: belief or reality?” and the room would quickly divide into sides, the discussion rolling, and the current of exploration, learning, and insight in motion. And now, I can add healing to that list—and yes, this was, and continues to this day to be, surprising, as well as exciting and inspiring.

What’s the biggest challenge you’ve encountered on your recovery journey?

I’d say there have been two challenges. First, because I was a man of more and addicted to faster, louder, sharper, let’s-keep-this-train-a-rolling ridiculousness, there’s still a part of me that holds these beliefs and suggests that sticking my finger in the nearest light socket is a good idea. You know, just for the feeling of it—just for ol’ time’s sake.

Quite simply, this is when I allow feelings to completely override all sense of logic and reason. A freight train of feeling has always provided enough of a jolt to ignore whatever reality I’m avoiding.

So, the big challenge is recognizing when that belief is offering its opinion—disguised as passion, excitement, or something I totally deserve—and seeing it for what it is. Most often, I say, “Thanks. Great idea. But instead, I’m just going to do this boring, next right thing over here.”

The other big challenge has been with my spirituality. It’s hard walking a path of practicing core shamanism, especially as the teachers lie on the other side of the veil in non-ordinary reality. So, finding other people who know the language, the medicine, and the ins and outs of this work is not so easy. After all, it’s not like being able to look up the nearest Roman Catholic Church and drop in on a service.

What are the biggest benefits or gifts of sobriety?

While there are so many obvious and powerful benefits of sobriety and how it affects health, wealth, and happiness, of course, the biggest gift is my relationship with the Love of My Lifetimes and simultaneously ex- and current wife, Dr. Dana Leigh Lyons—which in no way could have happened or been maintained if I were anywhere near active addiction.

And while a close and meaningful relationship is easy to identify as the biggest gift, it also serves as a reminder of the big gift of appreciation and gratitude for exactly what I’ve got, right here and right now, in this exactly perfect form, showing up exactly as the way things are.

What words of advice would you give someone who’s considering sobriety or newly sober?

Stop searching. Start trusting. Trust what you already know to be true. “Answers” are not found “out there” somewhere. Rather, they are listened to as what I call “the truth that resides in your bones.” This truth speaks of the next right thing to do and reminds you that you are completely deserving of all the best this world has to offer.

Want to share your sobriety story?

Thank you for sharing, Randal! We look forward to connecting with you in the comments.

Want to be published on Sober.com? If you’re a sober writer, we invite you to contribute! Reach out to hello@danaleighlyons.com for details.

And from me, thanks for listening and/or reading—it’s always appreciated. If you feel called, please hit the ♥️ and send along any questions.

Blessings,
Randal

Subscribe now

They want to know, “What will it do for me?”

There are certain perspectives that viewing life through a spiritual lens can provide, which can be used to one’s advantage. But first, we need to confront the baggage carried into the present. For many of us:

The problem is that we’ve been conditioned to believe what spirituality should be, rather than discovering for ourselves what it can be.

Listen in above as we explore some of the wonders that spiritual medicine can offer.

I’d love to hear your feedback—leave a comment or send me your questions. And don’t forget to hit the little ♥️—your support is always appreciated!

Leave a comment

With Blessings,
Randal

Subscribe now

When science and spirit are positioned as opposites and set against one another, the resulting tension can be overwhelming. 

Whether this is an internal battle or a conversation between two people, organizations, or businesses, the either-or, win-lose setup stretches our stress muscles.

We all get this and instinctively know we’ve got to honor—or at least hear out—both sides of the argument.

But let’s face it, when the head hears one-liners like:

• Follow your bliss.

• Listen to your heart.

• Chase your passion.

• Do what you love.

It cringes.

And when the heart is corralled and led down chutes of:

• Just the facts, please.

• Follow the science.

• Listen to the logic.

• Do the next thing on the list.

It shrivels.

So, how do these two forces within us reconcile with each other?

Join us as we explore this question—be it for your recovery, personal relationships, or even your business and career. We cover…

A Push-Pull Problem with a Yin-Yang Answer:

• Science wants control.

• Spirit wants surrender.

These feel very different:

• The mind pushes.

• The heart is pulled.

Transformation:

• Surrender becomes listening.

• Control becomes personal responsibility.

You can watch the podcast video on the homepage here.

As always, leave any questions or comments below, hit that little ♥️, and until next time…

With Blessings,
Randal

Regardless of where you find yourself on the path of recovery - whether it’s looking to make that first big leap into sobriety, or keeping things rolling in the early stages, or even if you’ve got some time under your belt and hit a plateau, have you, like me, at some point wondered:

“It feels like something is missing.”

This inner gnawing arises and persists despite the many effective therapies and modern approaches that carried us this far. We keep doing all the usual-next-right-things and they continue to deliver all of the usual-next-right-results, but they don’t speak to this voice emanating from the Void and telling us we’re not quite getting all of it.

So, what exactly is missing? 

A spiritual solution

There’s no chemical solution to a spiritual problem.

This is a popular recovery saying that speaks to the fact that taking a pill will not fix concerns of the spirit.

I agree. Let’s take it a step further and allow me to propose…

There’s no thought-solution to a spiritual problem. 

This speaks to the fact that we also cannot think our way into fixing concerns of the spirit.

So, if we cannot use a pill or think our way into arriving at this spiritual solution how exactly do we go about doing it and what exactly does this look like?

Well, let’s get more complicated before we make it very, very simple.

If you’d like to keep reading, you can find the written post on The Sober Shaman, which is entitled, The Heart, Soul & Bones of Recovery.

If you’d like to get the journey and the associated PDF that this Podcast refers to, as well as all of The Program’s 52 Lessons, hit the subscribe for free button below and you’ll have it delivered to your inbox with thanks & blessings!

Subscribe now

With All Good Medicine,

Randal

I know, I listened to plenty of professionals and experts who told me what I should, needed and had to do.

So, I did. And yet…something was still missing.

For me back then, as well as with the people I work with now, this is the spiritual component. And by that I do not mean some woo-woo ambiguity or an inventory of thou-shalt-not-do-these-things-list, no, instead this is a feeling from deep within, which resonates as a rock-solid knowing of the truth. This is what needs to be acknowledged, listened to and understood.

This is what needs to be trusted.

And when you do this, it affords you access to, and the ability to receive benefits from, the realm of spirit. 

This is exactly what we do here at The Sober Shaman. We make the spiritual practical. We follow a detailed map of the path ahead, which guides you step-by-step through every exercise. You arrive back from your journey with the information, knowledge and healing power that applies to your personal situation. 

When you become a subscriber, links to the two primary courses of The Sober Shaman (The Guide & The Program) will be delivered in your Welcome email. Click the button below, sign up & you’ll get them delivered right to your inbox ; )

Subscribe now

With Blessings,

Randal

This one is all about feeling. And just like the feelings that drove us during active addiction, the ones that arise from digging into the roots of investigative recovery can be overwhelming.

Because when a feeling overtakes us and we follow like a lemming, it can lead us right off the cliff.

The flip side also has drawbacks because when we control the feeling following a path of logical structure and/or medicative numbness, we can end up in a suspended state of safety that turns into a life of flatness.

How do we reconcile this?

Listen to the podcast to see how we explore this, or you can watch the video from the main post here:

As always, please feel free to reach out with any questions you have and leave a comment below.

Leave a comment

Blessings,
Randal