HELLO HIGHER POWER –
Jan. 8, 2025 – I went through an experience that would change my life. Having already been working for several years in the substance abuse field as a drug and alcohol counselor, I suffered a relapse into my own addiction. I ended up in treatment as what they call an “impaired professional.” The experience of being a drug counselor in drug treatment was not fun.
Thus began the daunting challenge of reestablishing my own recovery—a process of, as I would later describe it, “learning how much I didn’t know, even though I thought I knew…” When my counselor handed me my graduation medallion, instead of praising me for the phenomenal growth I had accomplished, all he said was, “It was nice co-facilitating group with you for the first two weeks.” Ouch. Like I said, it wasn’t fun.
But it changed my life.
The most significant thing that happened for me during that time was being exposed to specific activities that helped me discover a part of myself I had no idea existed: my spiritual self. There was one counselor in particular who used music, drumming, Native American ritual, and simply wandering around out in the desert to help clients explore their spirituality.
