0:00 Welcome to the Show00:36 Meet Andrew Ecker02:03 Ancestry and Roots03:49 Life Assignment and Loss04:58 Gritty Healing Work06:46 Host Tribute and Sacred Seven09:05 Opening Prayer13:19 Relational Spirituality Defined14:00 From Religion to Red Road18:22 Trauma Addiction and Liberation27:15 Energy and Emotional Density28:56 Drumming in Memory Care33:00 Displacement and Manifestation35:29 Trauma Informed Sound Medicine39:06 Spirituality Over Substances39:35 Turning Pain Into Practice40:40 Healthcare Pushback And Support42:15 Scaling Drum Circle Impact43:27 Energy Work With Clinicians45:38 Gong Moment Breakthrough47:31 Why Research Lags50:34 Funding A Drumming Study51:35 Connection Replaces Addiction53:30 March Retreat Details54:35 Congo Square And Inclusion57:22 Transformation Story And Invite01:00:23 Sacred Seven And Grounding01:01:49 Blessing And Closing Prayer The Other Side of Things Podcast A Soulversation with Andrew EckerRecovery • Sacred 7 • Drumming Sounds • Rhythm as Medicine • Living a Prayed Life In this deeply personal and powerful conversation, I sit down with healer, recovery guide, and founder of Drumming Sounds, Andrew Ecker. Andrew shares his journey through addiction and recovery, revealing the deeper spiritual hunger beneath substance use and the sacred discipline that reshaped his life. We explore sobriety not as abstinence alone, but as initiation — as an ordeal that strips away illusion and invites us into prayer, service, and presence. We also dive into Andrew’s Sacred 7 practice, a relational prayer rooted in the seven directions, and how rhythm and intentional drumming restore connection to ancestors, land, body, and spirit. Andrew introduces his ancestry and lived experience with generational incarceration, substance use disorder, and family loss, and describes bringing drumming into memory care, psychiatric units, prisons, and treatment centers as an evidence-based, trauma-informed practice that emphasizes permission, empathy, and connection. The conversation focuses on “relational spirituality,” learning intimacy and boundaries with mental health experiences, and using drumming, breathwork, guided imagery, and sound medicine to displace “energies of sickness” and support healing. Andrew calls for more research funding for group drumming, shares outcomes from clinical and bereavement contexts, and promotes a March 13–16 retreat-style drumming training in Scottsdale plus his book Sacred Seven and coaching. Andrew closes our conversation with a spoken prayer — a reminder that healing is not something we do alone, but something we remember together. If this conversation moves you, consider subscribing and sharing it with someone who may need to hear it. Andrew's Resources and Links: Drumming Soundshttps://drummingsounds.com Sacred 7 Community & Traininghttps://thesacredseven.com/ Andrew’s Book – The Sacred 7: A Path to Finding the Wholeness of Self-Identityhttps://www.amazon.com/Sacred-path-finding-wholeness-self-identity/dp/1090133642?ref_=ast_author_dp The Sacred 7 explores relational spirituality, identity, and healing rooted in earth-based traditions and community practice. Michael's resources and links: Official Websitehttps://michaelbrantdemaria.com Bookshttps://michaeldemaria.com/books/ Music & Albumshttps://michaelbrantdemaria.com/music Filmshttps://michaeldemaria.com/ontos-films/ YouTube Channelhttps://www.youtube.com/@MichaelBrantDeMaria