The path From Addict to Disciple may be the path less traveled, but it is the path that makes all the difference! David Hain is the founder of From A2D, has attained the designation of International Advanced Alcohol and Drug Counselor, and authored From Addict to Disciple, The Heart of an Addict, and From Ashes to Destiny. He equips people to work with addicts in prisons and communities in the US, Canada and Africa. These podcasts will focus on finding freedom from the emotional wounds which ...
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Are you someone who starts recovery, who starts a new curriculum, who finds a new self help book and is on fire? But quickly the fires begins to die down and you are just going through the motions? This episode looks at how to get back on track. How to follow the plan, not your mood swings! Remember, the plan is not just knowing your goal or destin…
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Today's episode is a walkabout with Michael through Patience Park. He had shared his struggles with being patient, with wanting everything instantly and with getting into arguments repeatedly. Some key quotes are: "Patience attracts happiness; it brings near that which is far," a Swahili proverb and "Patience is when you're supposed to get mad, but…
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In today's episode we look at the Japanese art form of kintsugi. In kintsugi the artist takes broken pottery or glass an joins them together with gold dusting over all of the "scars" or the seams where the pieces are glued together. We compare the steps in this process to the aspects we need to focus on as we deal with our own broken pieces from ou…
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Does your past keep you caught in the identity of an addict or an addict in recovery? Maybe you have begun to identify yourself by how many days, months or years you have been clean. In this episode we look at the 5 P's of identity and the process of growing in self-acceptance so to can focus on your new identity. Lao Tzu said "Knowing others is in…
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What's the difference between a do and a relapse? Between a lapse and a relapse? What causes slips? How do we keep a skip from becoming a full blown relapse? What do we do if we're the loved one of someone who tells us they had a slip? These questions and more in today's episode.--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/a2d-…
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This episode is a walkabout through Beautiful Scars Park with my good friend Michael. Join us as we look at the scars we have, the stuff that caused them and how they have shaped our character. I like the quote by Demi Lovato who said "I think scars are like battle wounds - beautiful in a way. They show what you've been through and how strong you a…
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Today's episode is a walkabout through Thankful Park. It's more than just an "attitude of gratitude." It's about finding a way to grow a thankful heart. Cicero said it's the greatest virtue. How can we be thankful for the struggle and find our strength? How can we be thankful that thorns have roses rather than complaining about the thorns? Join us …
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This episode is a follow up to episode # 216 entitled One Truth. I got quite a few messages from listeners asking how to find the truth. So here goes. Today we look at ways to find the truth, to experience it and to apply it. We also look at things in us that may be acting as blockages to the truth. It's important that we become aware of the blocka…
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Today's episode is a walkabout. Join me as I go through this park. The motivation for this episode was a message from a listener who said "David, I feel like I'm plodding along in recovery with a millstone around my neck." I hope that every listener finds understanding of their millstone and the motivation to take off that millstone and move forwar…
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Thanks for joining Michael and me as we go for a walkabout in Words Hurt Park. How have words, labels, and name calling hurt you over the years? Have you begun to label yourself? Where can you turn to find healing from the wounds and crushed spirit you have as a result of hurtful words? Join us to start the process of restoring a cheerful heart and…
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Today's episode looks at this poem written in the 1900s by American motivational writer William Arthur Ward. Listen to hear some keys to find adventure, purpose, essence, spice and beauty in life... AND so much more!--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/a2d--from-addict-to-disci/support…
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Today's episode is a follow up to last week's podcast on Ten Minute Friends. I'll be going on a walkabout with my friend Michael in I'm Glad I Spoke With You Today Park. I hope you find strength as he responds to quotes like : "Sometimes I feel like I don't know where I am." "It's like I'm in a world that's changed and I'm trying but...." "So I wat…
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How many friends do you really have? I'm not talking about friends on Facebook or Instagram. I mean friends that will meet with you in person or talk to you on the phone for ten minutes everyday, out a few times a week, at least once a week. The key for me is: I'd rather hear your story than read about your story on social media.--- Support this po…
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Today's episode is a group session with our guys in recovery from the US, South Africa and Australia. I'm sure you will be encouraged by their one truth as they answer this question: "What's the one truth that you learned in childhood, or in addiction, or in recovery that has become a core value in who you are as a man? By core value, I mean it is …
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For today's episode, I go on a walkabout with my friend Michael who has been struggling to establish a recovery for more than five years. On the walkabout we discuss these words by American author and historian Edward Everett Hale: "I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something, and because I cannot do ever…
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This is a group episode with our guys in recovery from Australia, South Africa and the US. They share their journey in response to this question "If we can help you make sense of why you became an addict, can you make sense of the choice of recovery?" --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/a2d--from-addict-to-disci/suppor…
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Today's episode is a walkabout in Outside Looking In park. Join us as we reduce on this topic. What does it mean to be on the outside looking in? Do you feel like you've always been on the outside looking in? Where do you belong? Where do you fit in? Do you find out hard to even explain yourself to friends and family? How go you find the courage to…
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Today's episode is a group meeting where our guys in recovery in the US, Australia and South Africa trains to this quote "You can't do the next right thing, if you always ignore this moment's right thing." What are the thieves that steal your enjoyment of the present moment? How do we find the inner strength and courage to do the next right thing? …
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Today's episode is a walkabout through Keep Walking park. How do we stay focused on self care and our recovery when our loved ones say things like "Don't try to convince me that you've changed." Or "Tell it to yourself as you walk out the door!" The key is to learn to walk in silence, not for others to see. Just keep walking.--- Support this podcas…
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This episode is a walkabout through A Desolate Place park. Many guys I work with have relapsed because of feeling the sadness of being abandoned or forsaken as a result of their addiction. Join me on this walkabout as we find encouragement and hope to leave the place of desolation and see each new road roll out like a welcome mat to a better place,…
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Today's episode is a walkabout in The Older I Get park. No this is not just for pensioners or retired people! We are all getting older everyday. What have you learned or view differently at your present age than you did a few years ago? In this walkabout we react to quotes like this one by Karen Salmansohn "The older I get the more I realize the im…
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Who are the mockers in your life? Those people who are always teasing you or showing contempt. What is a mocker in your life? The things that drain your energy or maybe dilute your hope. What are the things that you give in to them because you think it's no big deal. Then you find out they caused you to return to full blown addiction. Listen to thi…
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Today's episode is a group session. Our guys in recovery share their reactions to this quote by American humorist Will Rogers "Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment." I hope you can hear a nugget of good for you in their answers.--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/a2d--from-addi…
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In this episode we look at the Japanese concept of Ikigai which translates as our reason to live. The four elements of Ikigai are: 1) your passion - what you love, 2) your vocation - what you're good at, 3) your mission - what the world needs and 4) your profession - what you can be paid for. We're not looking to have you develop a new five year pl…
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This is a walkabout episode as we walk together in Glimmer of Hope Park. Many you asked for this topic after you listened to episode # 202. I hope you enjoy this look at how we find a Glimmer of Hope in the darkness that surrounds us and crushes our incentive to risk hoping again. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/a2…
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In today's group episode or guys in recovery discuss the quote by Desmond Tutu "There comes a point where we need to stop just pulling people out of the river. We need to go upstream and find out why they're taking in." Listen to our guys input about faith, connectedness, fellowship and relationship as well as their warning to not pull someone out …
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Today's episode is a walkabout. Join me as we walk through a park dedicated to the poetry of Pablo Neruda, Chilean who won the Nobel Prize for Literature. In this path we look at his poem entitled "You Start Slowly Dying." We'll use his poem to see ways that we may be slowly dying in our addiction and begin to uncover small steps of life that we ca…
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Do you know what glimmers are? Well, think of them as the opposite of triggers. In this episode we look at the importance of knowing our glimmers, seeking them out, gathering them and understanding how they are related to each of our five senses. I hope as you listen to this episode you will see how glimmers let you know that the world is okay!--- …
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In this walkabout episode we go on a walk on Flat Tire Trail. The trail has that name because many of us don't realize that we have attitudes in our life that have become a flat tire. Listen to this episode to understand what your flat tire may be and to find the encouragement to change that attitude, change that flat tire, so you can reach your de…
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Join us on celebrating 200 episodes as guys in recovery from the US, South Africa and Australia share their favourite memories from this podcast and why they like being part of it. If you're not in a group please feel free to contact me and I'll do my best to get you connected.--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/a2d--f…
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Today's episode is another walkabout as we look at emotional, social and existential loneliness. Being lonely is a physical state. Feeling lonely is an emotional state. Today we dig into the emotions of loneliness and being broken or brokenhearted. Two key quotes from this episode are: "The only thing keeping you from being happy is the belief that…
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This episode is a walkabout to reflect on the prison of addiction and things that made us feel like we were in chains. Here's two opening signs as we enter the park for this walkabout: 1) Addiction imprisons your mind, your body, your spirit, your soul. We put ourselves in that prison. We don't need to be arrested by the police. 2) A quote by Keith…
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Let's take a walkabout together to look at addiction and where we or our loved ones fit in the spectrum of substance use disorder. On this walk we'll look at the 11 evaluation criteria of the DSM 5 as well as a variety of other definitions of addiction. Is it a disease? A brain disorder? Bondage? Or simply choosing to chase pleasure?--- Support thi…
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Have you ever said to yourself "I can get clean, I just can't seem to stay clean"? Does it seem like every door to recovery that you try is a revolving door, which only leads to relapse and return to rehab for another try at sobriety? Today we look at four stages of recovery: stability, strategy, security and freedom. These help us focus on the jou…
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Today we look at several acronyms for fear and how they apply in recovery. This is not another time of saying False Evidence Appearing Real. Fear is a real emotion. We need to look at our response to fear when it rises up. Maybe you're one who has always responded with Forget Everything And Run. Now is the time to develop the strength, courage and …
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Today is a group episode with our friends in recovery from the US and South Africa. Listen to their insight as they share their experience about the journey from wanting revenge to sitting still in patience. They share their wisdom in response to this quote "If you sit by the river for long enough, you will see the body of your enemy float by." As …
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Do you struggle with negative thoughts and intrusive voices? Do you find yourself informed by these thoughts and reacting with poor choices? Then it's time to begin to develop Power Over Your Mind! Marcus Aurelius reminds us that we do have power over our mind and that helps us to avoid getting caught up in outside events. He also said "The happine…
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Enjoy as you listen to our group of six guys in recovery from Australia, South Africa and the US as they react to the following quote by Mother Theresa "We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked and homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved and uncared for is the greatest poverty." I'm sure they will touch your memories and…
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Do you find yourself slipping and stumbling in your recovery? Today we look at what causes us to lose our footing in recovery. AND then we discuss four things we can do to get our foundation established and have strong and stable footing in recovery. We don't have to live in fear of slippery floors or road surfaces as we travel our journey of recov…
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What is the damage done by your years in addiction? In this episode we look at many areas of damage and how we learn to accept them with grace in our recovery. How do we find grace when we're battling so much grief for all that we lost because of our addiction? One of the keys is realizing that in our addiction we knew the price of everything and t…
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Today's group episode looks at the necessity of learning to manage the triggers that you cannot avoid. This includes people like friends and family, places like work situations and family gatherings, and things like money or thoughts that tempt us. Our guys in recovery share the things they employ to help them manage their triggers like pictures of…
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Are you stuck in mediocrity? Do you struggle to keep your momentum going as you walk in recovery? In this episode we look at things that slow down our momentum, drain our energy or sap our enthusiasm. How can we get our momentum back when we find ourselves sliding into that same old level of mediocrity? I believe a key is in the choices we make eve…
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Today's group episode looks at books or quotes that are precious to each of us in our recovery. The guys in the group react to this quote by Wilferd Peterson "It is time to browse through the precious books that have meant the most to you, that you may rediscover illuminating phrases and sentences to light your pathway to the future." I hope as you…
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The old proverb says that opportunity knocks but once. This has led to that "seize the day" mantra. In today's episode we look at what keeps us from seizing an opportunity and how we prepare to know if the opportunity is the right one for us. We're challenged with the thought of opportunities seeking you rather than you chasing after them. And what…
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Today's episode deals with making amends. Got other episodes on this topic check out #44 and #131. In this episode we look at our hopes as a result of making amends. Do you hope for reconciliation in your marriage, in the lives of your children, etc? Do you hope to have your status as head of the household and your respect and dignity restored? Are…
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This episode is another group session with my friends in recovery from the US, South Africa and Australia. I'm sure you will be motivated as you listen to their answers to this question: One issue in recovery is developing compassion for those parts of ourselves that are unwanted or ignored or misunderstood by those we care about. Can you share one…
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What keeps you strong in recovery? Is it stuff like meetings, programs, or a good job? Today we look at the importance of learning how to be resilient in the midst of all the burdens, demands, expectations, pressures and stressors we gave every day in recovery. How do we bounce back from life's situations and circumstances before they knock us down…
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What does "catch you on the flip side" mean? Where did that phrase come from? Today we look at writing our flip side of life. A chance to start over and to turn from our past vices to tomorrow's virtues. What have we learned from the past? What good aspects of our past can we hold onto in our recovery? I hope you enjoy today's episode.--- Support t…
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In today's group session episode we look at this question. People say we all have 3 versions of ourselves: 1) the person you think you are 2) the person other people see and 3) the person you really are. What does it mean to be the best version of yourself? How do you live that out or walk in it? Listen as our guys in recovery reflect on this quest…
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Are you someone who always says the grass is greener on the other side of the fence? Do you find yourself hesitant at new opportunities in recovery? Are you focused on and always talking about the things you can't do? If so, then this episode is for you. Remember "There is no flak jacket against self sabotage!" See episode #120 for more on Self Sab…
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