The Sober Shaman

The Sober Shaman

The Program

Lesson 14: The Cycle & The Magic Moment

Addiction and the Magic Moment

Randal Lyons's avatar
Randal Lyons
Mar 31, 2026
∙ Paid

Looking back on my experiences of active addiction, I’ve noticed that there’s a very particular time in the Cycle of things when suddenly everything makes sense.

There’s a singular moment when the addiction actually works.

This occurs sometime after all of the mental planning, after all of the acquisition of the goods, and then after arranging all of the logistics of people, place and circumstance, when everything is laid out in front of me and I’m about to dive in…

Boom!

In the words of Charlie Sheen, “Hey, I’m winning!”

I’ve come to call this, The Magic Moment.

Oh, it’s “magic” all right - but it’s also quite the illusion ; ) and…it does not last.

In this Lesson, I’ll share with you not only exactly when this Moment occurs but also why it works. And if you’d like, you can share your own experience of what this was like for you.

Let’s begin…

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