Russ mentioned some books in the workshop that deal with rituals, rites of passage, and quests for meaning, sobriety and recovery. I’m passing the titles and authors along (in no particular order)…
Bill Plotkin: Nature and the Human Soul and Soulcraft
Richard Rohr: Quest for the Grail, The Naked Now and Adam’s Return: the Five Promises of Male Initiation
Malidoma Patrice Some’: Of Water and the Spirit
Edward Tick, Ph.D: War and the Soul
Leonard Sax, M.D., Ph.D: Boys Adrift: The Five Factors Driving the Growing Epidemic of Unmotivated Boys and Underachieving Young Men
Did you catch Russ Adams’ Second Saturday workshop on rituals and rites of passages for men in recovery? It was awesome! I’ve been to a lot of these and found them interesting, but this time I couldn’t take notes fast enough.
Russ has studied rituals for a long time. He talked about communities that understand the importance of rituals as a way to pass life skills and life info to younger generations. He talked about what those rituals were and how having men pass the information along to boys gave them an understanding of their place in the world…leading to less alcoholism, drug addiction and need for treatment.
If you ever have a chance to participate in one of the workshops or rituals presented by Russ, take him up on it. Austin Recovery uses rituals, like drum circles and voluntary sweat lodges, in their experience-based treatment to help us better understand what they’re talking about in treatment and in the 12-Steps. In fact, the alumni group has a drum circle the last Saturday of every month for those in recovery or involved in the AA community. Check it out… Austin Recovery Alumni Drum Circle.
Hey…I’m excited to get some of our rehab videos on-line…starting with this web driver on the blog. Check it out and forward it on to anyone who needs some help kicking the habit. Call me if we can help you get into treatment…800-373-2081 or 512-697-8600.
One of the cool things happening at Austin Recovery is free workshops on recovery from addiction. This Saturday is one of those workshops. If you’re an alumni of our rehab program, you’ve probably heard Mike Falls speak on inner-child work and life-scripting. He’s great and so easy to relate to. This weekend he’s talking about the meaning of life and how we find our purpose once we’re sober. He’s a retired Episcopal priest, so I imagine he’s had plenty of time to think about what it all means…and he’ll be great at giving us tips. Come join us.
Hi – You’re probably checking out this blog either because you’re in recovery, you’d like to be in recovery, or you really want a friend or family member to get help. This is the right place for all of us. Austin Recovery is where the healing begins and we hope this blog will inspire you, motivate you and serve as a home base for you every week.
Some days our posts will be from staff, some days from alumni, some days from Bill Wigmore (our CEO) or board members. Some days will just be inspirational quotes and other days may catch you up on the activities of the Alumni Association. We’ll tell you about breakthroughs in addiction treatment and how we’re incorporating it into our curriculum. We’ll talk about the struggles and triumphs of those seeking recovery and we’ll talk about the steps and ways to incorporate them into your daily life.
So, please add us to your RSS feed or check back here on a regular basis. We look forward to building a community with you! If you have immediate questions about our addiction treatment center or programs, please contact us by calling 800-373-2081 or 512-697-8600.
