Recovery of Mind, Body, and Especially Spirit

Recovery of Mind, Body, and Especially Spirit


When we talk about recovery, often it is related to the recovery of a seemingly hopeless state of mind and body while in active addiction and/or alcoholism.  My experience in recovery is that there doesn’t have to be limits or boundaries on what recovery means to you, nor how it manifests itself in your life.  Generally, recovery allows the person to come out of active addiction and/or alcoholism with the most prominent feature of the disease in remission; which is the obsession to use or drink.  

For many of us, that is simply the beginning of a path to holistic wellness; in mind, body, and spirit.  Physical sobriety for us isn’t usually enough, we needed to pursue paths to wellness.  Ironically; the biggest factor in my own recovery and subsequent path to wellness was the one facet I had neglected the most and patently disregarded was my spiritual wellness.  Working the first 3 Steps allowed my spirituality to re-awaken and begin to positively affect my physical and emotional wellness as well.  Our wellness isn’t confined in to compartments that don’t effect each other, in fact it’s quite the opposite.  Poor physical health can and does drag on mental and spiritual health, and the same goes for each other aspect of our overall wellness.  It figures, therefore, that when we improve one component of our wellness that others receive a residual benefit.  That said, it has been my overwhelming experience in my own life and those I have both interviewed on this podcast and associated with in the rooms of Recovery that nothing has as great of an overall wellness effect than that of a spiritual awakening.  These don’t have to be of the burning bush variety; nor a bolt of lightning followed by the thundering words of God.  

The truth is, a spiritual awakening can take many forms.  The Dalai Lama once said “People take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness.  Just because they’re not on your road doesn’t mean they’re lost”.  Spiritual awakenings are marked by a distinct feeling that something changed within you; awareness of old and negative habits, a strong desire to make the world a better place, a deep yearning for meaning and purpose, and a willingness to know and be your authentic self, awareness to the foods you eat and the loss of interest in worrying.  Actions are increasingly becoming love based instead of fear based, and there is a loss of interest in conflict.  

My own path to a spiritual experience was through the working of the 12 Steps; which produced a profound and powerful spiritual experience within me that continues to be the single greatest gift of my recovery.  That said, the 12 Steps are not the only way to recover nor are they the exclusive path to a spiritual experience and awakening.  Regardless of the path one takes to experience a spiritual awakening, it is an experience that one should not miss.

Charlie LeVoir
Host - The Way Out Podcast



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