When most of us addicts wash up on the shores of recovery to say we’ve lost our way seems a gross understatement. The bottom has usually fallen out from under our lives. We feel utterly lost and painfully alone. The world we knew is gone and no new world has arrived to take its place. We need a map to orient us and a guide to help us find our way home.
This is the world Jungian analyst Dr. James Hollis describes in his book “Living Between Worlds: Finding Personal Resilience in Changing Times.” It’s likely an all too familiar world to most of us addicts. Hollis says not only are we lost, but the religious structures and cultural belief systems that supported yesterday’s lost souls seem out of reach for many of today’s men and women.
The series describes this lost-world and how to access the “Inner Resilience” needed to find our way home. Episode Three is focused on “soul work” in recovery
Show notes:
Living Between Worlds: Finding Personal Resilience in Changing Times by James Hollis, PhD.
When most of us addicts wash up on the shores of recovery to say we’ve lost our way seems a gross understatement. The bottom has usually fallen out from under our lives. We feel utterly lost and painfully alone. The world we knew is gone and no new world has arrived to take its place. We need a map to orient us and a guide to help us find our way home.
This is the world Jungian analyst Dr. James Hollis describes in his book “Living Between Worlds: Finding Personal Resilience in Changing Times.” It’s likely an all too familiar world to most of us addicts. Hollis says not only are we lost, but the religious structures and cultural belief systems that supported yesterday’s lost souls seem out of reach for many of today’s men and women.
The series describes this lost-world and how to access the “Inner Resilience” needed to find our way out. Episode two is focused on some of the unsuccessful coping mechanisms we have tried. Then it points us toward the solution.
Show notes:
Living Between Worlds: Finding Personal Resilience in Changing Times by James Hollis, PhD.
Hollis Quote:
“Jung concluded that there was within each of us a deep resilience guided by some locus of knowing, independent of ego consciousness; a center that produces our dreams to correct us, symptoms to challenge us, visions to inspire us.”
When most of us wash up on the shores of recovery to say we’ve lost our way seems a gross understatement. The bottom has usually fallen out from under our lives. We feel utterly lost and painfully alone. The world we knew is gone and no new world has arrived to take its place. We need a map to orient us and a guide to help us find our way home.
This is the world Jungian analyst Dr. James Hollis describes in his book “Living Between Worlds: Finding Personal Resilience in Changing Times.” It’s likely an all too familiar world to most of us addicts. Hollis says not only are we lost, but the religious structures and cultural belief systems that supported yesterday’s lost souls seem out of reach for many men and women today.
This series describes this lost-world and how to access the Inner Resilience needed to find our way out. Episode One describes the problem and sets the scene.
Show notes:
Living Between Worlds: Finding Personal Resilience in Changing Times by James Hollis, PhD.
Women face any number of unique challenges at the start of their recovery, but still other problems (as well as blessings) lay ahead.
Father Bill’s guest is Diane Cameron, author of Out of the Woods: A Woman’s Guide to Long-Term Recovery. Diane addresses issues that include sex, family, work-life balance, the empty nest, caregiving, aging … and many more.
In addition to authoring several books, Diane is a journalist, columnist, blogger, and a woman in long-term recovery. Gifted with a sense of humor and a passion for helping women, Diane draws on her long experience in 12-Step recovery to help women traveling on the road of recovery. In this final episode Diane shares her wisdom regarding self-image and self-care, learning to live a life of service, and avoiding - or returning - from relapse.
Show notes:
Out of the Woods: A Woman’s Guide to Long-Term Recovery
Women Who Love Too Much by Robin Norwood:
Diane’s website: https://www.dianecameron.info/
Women face a number of unique challenges at the start of their recovery, but still other problems (as well as blessings) lay ahead.
Father Bill’s guest is Diane Cameron, author of Out of the Woods: A Woman’s Guide to Long-Term Recovery. Diane addresses issues that include sex, family, work-life balance, the empty nest, caregiving, aging … and many more.
In addition to authoring several books, Diane is a journalist, columnist, blogger, and a woman in long-term recovery. Gifted with a sense of humor and a passion for helping women, Diane draws on her long experience in 12-Step recovery to help women traveling on the road of recovery. In this fourth episode, Diane shares her wisdom regarding a woman finding her role in the workplace, as well as coping with issues surrounding aging, dying, and death. Don’t let these topics scare you off – and know they apply to men as well.
Show notes:
· Out of the Woods: A Woman’s Guide to Long-Term Recovery
https://www.amazon.com/Out-Woods-Womans-Long-Term-Recovery/dp/1937612473
· Denial of Death by Ernest Becker
· Diane’s website: https://www.dianecameron.info/
· Get the Two Way Prayer Book https://www.amazon.com/Power-Two-Way-Prayer-Addiction/dp/1640657991Watch us on Youtube!https://www.youtube.com/@twowayprayer1335Join our Facebook Group! https://www.facebook.com/groups/twowayprayer/Two Way Prayer Website https://www.twowayprayer.org/Donations:https://www.twowayprayer.org/donate-1Keep coming back everyone! #twowayprayer #spirituality #recovery #addictionrecovery #addictionsupport #addictionrecoverypath #alcoholfree #addictionfree #sobriety #podcast #12stepprogram #therapy #mentalhealth #serenity #serenityprayer #theoxfordgroup #billwilson #podcast #addiction #recoveryjourney #womeninrecovery
Women face some very unique challenges at the start of their recovery, but still other problems (as well as blessings) lay ahead. Father Bill’s guest is Diane Cameron, author of Out of the Woods: A Woman’s Guide to Long-Term Recovery. Diane addresses issues that include sex, family, work-life balance, the empty nest, caregiving, aging … and many more.
In addition to authoring several books, Diane is a journalist, columnist, blogger, and a woman in long-term recovery. Gifted with a sense of humor and a passion for helping women, Diane draws on her long experience in 12-Step recovery to help women traveling on the road of recovery. In this third episode Diane shares one woman’s wisdom regarding attendance at 12-Step meetings and how to maneuver the many pitfalls relationships present in recovery.
Show notes:
Out of the Woods: A Woman’s Guide to Long-Term Recovery
Anne Lamott Operating Instructions
Diane’s website: https://www.dianecameron.info/
Women face unique challenges at the start of their recovery, but still other problems (as well as blessings) lay ahead. Father Bill’s guest is Diane Cameron, author of Out of the Woods: A Woman’s Guide to Long-Term Recovery. Diane addresses issues that include sex, family, work-life balance, the empty nest, caregiving, aging … and many more. In addition to authoring several books, Diane is a journalist, columnist, blogger, and a woman in long-term recovery. Gifted with a sense of humor and a passion for helping women, Diane draws on her long experience in 12-Step recovery to help women traveling on the road of recovery. In this second episode Fr. Bill and Diane discuss some of the physical, emotional, and spiritual challenges women face in recovery.
Show Notes:
Out of the Woods: A Woman’s Guide to Long-Term Recovery
· Diane’s website: https://www.dianecameron.info/
· Dr. Bob’s Method for Finding God’s Will
Dr. Bob’s God’s Will Exercise
Dr. Bob Smith, one of the founders of Alcoholics Anonymous, gave us this discernment process. It was his response to the question, “How do we know God’s will?”
1. Write out the question:
“What should I do about….?”
“Should I move to xxx or…?”
2. Get quiet and meditate on that question for a few minutes each day in your prayer time. (Note: You have a prayer time.)
3. Then, each time, write down everything that comes to mind for your question. (Don’t judge or edit the thoughts, just write them down.):
Talk to Susan about…
Take a weekend trip to Detroit
Get catalogs for grad school
Get a dog instead
Buy a kayak and go…
Borrow the money from my brother…
4. Then slowly examine each idea and ask of each:
-Is it pure?
-Is it honest?
-Is it loving?
-Is it unselfish.
5. If the answers are not clear, ask these questions again with your sponsor or close friend.
Women face unique challenges at the start of their recovery, but still other problems as well as blessings lay ahead. Father Bill’s guest is Diane Cameron, author of Out of the Woods: A Woman’s Guide to Long-Term Recovery. Diane addressesissues that include sex, family, work-life balance, the empty nest, caregiving, aging … and many more. In addition to authoring several books, Diane is a journalist, columnist, blogger, and a woman in long-term recovery herself. Gifted with a sense of humor and a passion for helping women, Diane draws on her long experience in 12-Step recovery to help women traveling on the road of recovery. In this first episode Diane shares some of her story and lays out the special challenges her book addresses.
Show notes:
Out of the Woods: A Woman’s Guide to Long-Term Recovery
What Can We Do to Help Our Addicted Communities?
Diane’s website: https://www.dianecameron.info/
Tom Powers, Jr. grew up in the shadow of Bill Wilson but that didn’t keep him from descending into the pit of his ownalcoholism. To climb out of his illness he needed to find a ladder and climb it as if his life depended on it because it did. In this series, Father Bill interviews Matt D. archivist for All Addicts Anonymous, the 12-Step Fellowship Tom and his father founded to reflect the original and more spirituallygrounded pioneer program. They discuss a 1973 paper Tom wrote titled “The Twelve-Step Ladder to God Consciousness.” In this episode they discuss the danger of climbing only partially up the ladder.
Show notes:
“The Twelve-Step Ladder to God Consciousness.”
All Addicts Anonymous website: https://alladdictsanonymous.org/
Tom Powers, Jr. grew up in the shadow of Bill Wilson but that didn’t keep him from descending into the pit of his ownalcoholism. To climb out of his illness he needed to find a ladder and climb it as if his life depended on it because it did. In this series, Father Bill interviews Matt D. archivist for All Addicts Anonymous, the 12-Step Fellowship Tom and his father founded to reflect the original and more spirituallygrounded pioneer program. They discuss a 1973 paper Tom wrote titled “The Twelve-Step Ladder to God Consciousness.” In this episode the danger of being too smart to climb a stupid looking ladder.
Show notes: “The Twelve-Step Ladder to God Consciousness.”
All Addicts Anonymous website: https://alladdictsanonymous.org/
Tom Powers, Jr. grew up in the shadow of Bill Wilson but that didn’t keep him from descending into the pit of his own alcoholism. To climb out of his illness he needed to find a ladder and climb it as if his life depended on it because it did. In this series, Father Bill interviews Matt D. archivist for All Addicts Anonymous, the 12-Step Fellowship Tom and his father founded to reflect the original and more spiritually grounded pioneer program. They discuss a 1973 paper Tom wrote titled “The Twelve-Step Ladder to God Consciousness.” In this episode some cautions for spiritual ladder climbing are discussed. The paper is available in the show notes below.
Show notes:
· “The Twelve-Step Ladder to God Consciousness.” S
· All Addicts Anonymous website: https://alladdictsanonymous.org/
· The Fourth Way by Ouspensky – (Be sure to see the used book selections)
· Maurice Nichols: Best book recommended for an introduction to Ouspensky.
Tom Powers, Jr. grew up in the shadow of Bill Wilson but that didn’t keep him from descending into the pit of his own alcoholism. To climb out of his illness he needed to find a ladder and climb it as if his life depended on it because it did. In this series, Father Bill interviews Matt D. archivist for All Addicts Anonymous, the 12-Step Fellowship Tom and his father founded to reflect the original and more spiritually grounded pioneer program. They discuss a 1973 paper Tom wrote titled “The Twelve-Step Ladder to God Consciousness.” The paper is available in the show notes below. In this episode the 12-Steps are described as a spiritual ladder for the needs of modern men and women confronted with multiple addictions or those with a more serious need of a more spiritual solution.
Show notes:
“The Twelve-Step Ladder to God Consciousness.”
All Addicts Anonymous website: https://alladdictsanonymous.org/
Tom Powers, Jr. grew up in the shadow of Bill Wilson but that didn’t keep him from descending into the pit of his own alcoholism. To climb out of his illness he needed to find a ladder and climb it as if his life depended on it because it did. In this series, Father Bill interviews Matt D. archivist for All Addicts Anonymous, the 12-Step Fellowship Tom and his father founded to reflect the original and more spiritually grounded pioneer program. They discuss a 1973 paper Tom wrote titled “The Twelve-Step Ladder to God Consciousness.” The paper is available in the show notes below. In this episode the 12-Steps are described as a spiritual ladder for the needs of modern men and women confronted with multiple addictions or in need of a more powerful spiritual solution.
Show notes:
After doing Two Way Prayer for many years, a friend encouraged me to try integrating it with Inner Child Work. This certainly wasn’t anything the Pioneers in AA had even done. And yet, Carl Jung who played such an important role in the beginnings of AA would no doubt have encouraged it. In this single episode, Fr. Bill shares some basics on what the process entails and how it integrates with Two Way Prayer. It includes portions of a chapter from Bill’s new book with sample inner child writings. Hope you’ll lighten up for a while and come join us in the sandbox!Your inner child awaits.
This series focuses on Harold Begbie’s book Life Changers. First published in 1922 it describes key elements in Frank Buchman’s program of radical change from which AA drew so many of its principles and practices. Studying the source material for the 12-Steps can give us insights into the transformational process the Group was trying to achieve both in individuals and in nations. They can prove invaluable to anyone whose recovery has lost its “zing” or to individuals unable to recover because of a “watered down” recovery approach. Fr. Bill focuses on the final chapter in the 13th edition. It is an article on the Groups written in 1929 by John McCook Roots and published in the Atlantic Monthly.
Show notes: Life Changers: https://www.amazon.com/Life-Changers-13th-Harold-Begbie/dp/1439232067
This series focuses on Harold Begbie’s book Life Changers. Published in 1922 it describes key elements in Frank Buchman’s program of radical change from which AA drew so many of its principles and practices. Studying the source material for the 12-Steps can give us insights into the transformational process the Group was trying to achieve both in individuals and in nations. They can prove invaluable to anyone whose recovery has lost its “zing” or to individuals unable to recover because of a “watered down” recovery approach. Fr. Bill focuses on chapters 3 through 9 of Life Changers drawing broadly from the stories of some who attended the 1922 house party and the elements that helped bring about their change.
Show notes:
Life Changers:
https://www.amazon.com/Life-Changers-13th-Harold-Begbie/dp/1439232067
War of the Gods in Addiction by David Schoen:
https://www.amazon.com/War-Gods-Addiction-David-Schoen/dp/1882670574
Varieties of Religious Experience by William James (free / pdf version)
This series is focused on Harold Begbie’s book Life Changers. Published in 1922 it describes key elements in Frank Buchman’s program of radical change from which AA drew so much. Studying the source material for the 12-Steps can give us insights into the transformation process the Group was trying to achieve both in individuals and in nations. These can prove invaluable to anyone whose recovery has lost its “zing” or to individuals unable to recover because of a “watered down” recovery approach. Fr. Bill focuses on chapter two of Begbie’s book describing the founder of the Oxford Group as a “soul surgeon”- a man capable of cutting out anything that keeps a person from a full recovery.
Show notes:
Life Changers: https://www.amazon.com/Life-Changers-13th-Harold-Begbie/dp/1439232067
This series is focused on Harold Begbie’s book Life Changers. First published in 1922 it describes some of the key elements in Frank Buchman’s program of radical change from which AA had its birth. Studying the source material for the 12-Steps can give us insights into the transformation process the Group was trying to achieve both in individuals and in the lost culture of the times. Understanding these more fully and putting some of them to work for us can prove invaluable to anyone whose recovery has lost its “zing” or to individuals unable to recover because of a “watered down” recovery approach that isn’t working for them. They say “some of us are sicker than others” and the solution for some may be taking a stronger dose of medicine than others. The author identifies some of that strong medicine. The book is available in affordable reprints listed in the show notes.
Show notes:
Life Changers by Harold Begbie
I was invited to share with the “As Bill Sees It – AA Group” in Sheffield, England on March 30th , 2025. The speaker shares on one of Bill Wilson’s writings.
I chose a selection from the 12 & 12: “When a man or a woman has a spiritual awakening, the most important meaning of it is that he has now become able to do, feel, and believe that which he could not do before on his unaided strength and resources alone. He has been granted a gift which amounts to a new state of consciousness and being.
“He has been set on a path which tells him he is really going somewhere, that life is not a dead end, not something to be endured or mastered. In a very real sense he has been transformed, because he has laid hold of a source of strength which he had hitherto denied himself.” Hope you enjoy!
Jeff and Debra Jay are the co-authors of Love First: A Family’s Guide to Intervention. Now in its third edition, their book has helped thousands of families find new lives in recovery. The series addresses how families can be empowered to help a loved one still in denial, how to prepare properly for an intervention, and how the intervention can best be assured to succeed. In this episode Father Bill and Jeff discuss what happens on the day of an intervention along with some suggestions for special cases. If you’ve ever been told “you can’t help an alcoholic or addict until they ask for help” you won’t want to miss this series.
Show Notes:
Love First: A Family’s Guide to Intervention (The book) by Jeff and Debra Jay
Love First website: (Helpful material to learn more about addiction, intervention, and family recovery)
https://lovefirst.net/structured-family-recovery/#top
The Hijacked Brain by Dr. Henrietta Barnes, MD
