Alchemist Recovery Podcast

Where addiction ends, transformation begins.
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Where addiction ends, transformation begins. The Alchemist Recovery Podcast (formerly The Sober Shaman) explores recovery through the lens of Traditional Chinese Medicine and spiritual practice. It offers listeners a non-denominational, self-empowering path beyond the usual approaches. Hosted by Randal Lyons, a Doctor of Oriental Medicine and recovery specialist with over 30 years in the field, each episode blends practical tools for understanding the mechanisms of how the addiction cycle operates and perpetuates. This isn't just about breaking the cycle, it's about what comes after: ongoing growth, mastery, and a life re-membered. Expect solo reflections, guest conversations, and medicine for the journey ahead. With blessings, Randal alchemistrecovery.substack.com

  1. 2d ago

    What Do I Do When There’s Nothing I Can Do?

    What Do I Do When There’s Nothing I Can Do? Feeling Stuck and Feeling Powerless In recovery, as in life, there’s few feelings that are as frustrating as stuck-ness with seemingly no way out. Whether we’re talking a job, a marriage, a health diagnosis, or a legal battle, powerlessness stinks because it feels absolute and immovable, especially once we’ve stopped using our old coping mechanisms in the form of the go-to drug-of-choice. In this episode, we explore what a simple but powerful shift in perception can do. When we change our perception of medicine, the medicine of perception changes us I propose that what we call “stuck” is often based upon an assumption, and once we see it clearly, we get to trade powerlessness for empowering conscious choice. One of Tim Ferriss’s favorite guest quotes is, “How am I complicit in the situations I say I don’t want?” I love that. And when we reframe our stuckness into a choice, we restore our agency, we reclaim our power, even if every option still feels difficult. This episode covers: * The four common areas of stuckness: Job and finances, marriage and relationships, health and diagnosis, and legal struggles, along with the hidden assumption that keeps each one feeling immovable. * Shifting from assumption to choice, and why that shift alone begins to return power to you, even before you’ve solved anything. * Head versus heart decision-making, weighing logic against emotion, plus the deeper distinction between man-made power, which others can give or take away, and spiritual power, which no one can give you or take away from you. If you’ve ever felt trapped by circumstances outside your control, I hope this podcast episode sheds light along the path back to clarity, choice, and empowerment. Blessings! Randy Get full access to Alchemist Recovery at alchemistrecovery.substack.com/subscribe

    What Do I Do When There’s Nothing I Can Do?

  2. Aug 30

    Addiction & the Power of Nurturance

    We’ll dive a little deeper into the Newsletter’s info from this week and really examine what we mean by… * How does an addiction deliver Nurturance? * What exactly does this look like? * What can I do about it? Also, we go into everybody’s favorite of The Big 3: Food, Sex, Money, with regards to substitution. * Why does our relationship to these things change in recovery? * What are the forms of Nurturance we get from them? * What do we really need & how do we get it? There’s Power in this work, and if we don’t acknowledge, receive and redirect it into our new places of recovery, then the forces, habits, and spirits of addiction will gladly accept them back into the self-perpetuating cycles of the-way-things-have-always-been. Please like, share, subscribe, wherever you get your podcasts on, and send me any questions or comments you have. Blessings! Randy Get full access to Alchemist Recovery at alchemistrecovery.substack.com/subscribe

    Addiction & the Power of Nurturance

  3. Aug 26

    Addiction & the Power of Home

    The opposite of addiction is…Home. It is not just sobriety, as I’ve known plenty of people who were sober but not at home. They remain in a wrestling match of daily struggle. In this episode, we’ll look at the power that resides in the archetypal idea of Home and how it holds the ability to single-handedly disrupt the entire cycle of addiction. Some points we’ll look at are: * “New York’s home but it ain’t mine no more” - a little Neil Diamond to illustrate the tension between where we are now and where we came from * The Story of the Identified Patient - is this yours, as well? * The Weave of Home - the Irish joke that holds profound truth * “Go where you’re treated best” - is that back home or somewhere new? We all are somewhere on the continuum of deeply rooted where we’re presently at, to blowing around like a kite in the winds of circumstance, so either way and from wherever in-between you find yourself, there’s questions to ask in this one. I’ve love to know how you answer them, so drop me a e-line, or type them in the comments below! With Blessings, Randy Get full access to Alchemist Recovery at alchemistrecovery.substack.com/subscribe

    Addiction & the Power of Home

  4. Aug 17

    Addiction & the Rituals of Communion

    I use the word communion on purpose, so as to illicit a response and begin an exploratory conversation. Let’s reveal exactly what your beliefs are around these-things and see how they bring clarity to your position. Because I propose that we enter into communion with the spirits of addiction when we are engaged in the cycle. We feed them our energy and give them our power, and from this unhealthy union, all we get back are the consequences of our ordinary reality actions and the validation, through experience, of our original limiting core belief. There are three reasons I use communion to explain addiction, and they are: * The rituals involved * The definition: to become as one with * The power this moment in the cycle delivers I go through each of these to show how this perspective illuminates the insane, but in this moment accurate, logic of how “addiction actually works and makes perfect sense.” Let me know how all of this lands with you - I’d love to hear your take. Here’s the newsletter that covers all of this: Here’s Lesson #33 of the Alchemist Recovery Program that provides material, guidance and experiential exercises to dismantle this portion of the cycle: Please hit the little ♥️ if this resonates, leave a comment below, and share with another who may need to hear it. We never know what the word, gesture or small action is that tips the scales from active addiction into recovery - even if just for today. Blessings! Randy Get full access to Alchemist Recovery at alchemistrecovery.substack.com/subscribe

  5. Aug 4

    Transformation - Not Treatment

    As I often say, words have power. And when supporting someone in the early stages of making a big change in their life, like getting clean & sober, how we use our words matters. They can connect us or they can cause unintended obstacles. For some, the word “treatment” is one of those words. It can imply meanings that are less than helpful and land as: * A reinforcement for a limiting core belief repeating, “I am broken” * A professional will do the heavy lifting for me * When does treatment end? Whereas a simple shift to the word, “transformation” can imply: * I see my limiting core belief of, “I am broken” & can transform it * I will do the heavy lifting * I will know when I’ve transformed While these are simplified examples, the shift in how we use words is important. They can carry implied meanings that either reinforce old stories or begin to question the limiting core beliefs we’ve been telling ourselves for years. We’ll dive deeper into all things transformation on this one. So, let me know how it lands with you, what practices you use and if you’ve experienced anything similar along your path of transformation! With Blessings, Randy Chapters: * 00:01 - Introduction to the Alchemist Recovery Podcast * 04:43 - Understanding Transformation vs. Treatment * 14:07 - Exploring Transformation Practices * 21:22 - The Transformation of Jing, Chi, and Shen * 24:45 - Transformation through the Spleen: A Metaphor for Healing * 29:30 - The Importance of Language in Transformation * 35:14 - The Path of Mastery: Transformation Practices Get full access to Alchemist Recovery at alchemistrecovery.substack.com/subscribe

    Transformation - Not Treatment

  6. Jul 27

    No Such Thing as Staying the Same

    There’s no such thing as staying the same. We’re either moving forwards or sliding backwards; releasing and rising, or attaching and sinking; riding with the flow, or anchoring in and deepening-stuck. There truly is no such thing as staying the same. This holds true for a life in recovery, as well as applying it to any important area you want to look at: career, relationships, health, to name a few. In this episode, we’ll not only explore what it takes to keep manifesting in cycles of growth and abundance, but also address the obvious here: The Sober Shaman Podcast is now Alchemist Recovery! Please know, we’ll be keeping the content basically the same, and that this change has been done to consolidate, simplify and make it easier to keep bringing quality podcasts to you going forward. If you have any questions or hit any link-glitches, please let me know and I’ll take care of it for you! With Blessings Randal Lyons, Doctor of Chinese Medicine https://www.alchemistrecovery.com/ Takeaways: * The essence of transformation in recovery is rooted in the understanding that change is inevitable and continuous. * Practices for life encompass not just recovery but the mastery of emotional, spiritual, and physical well-being. * The transition from the Sober Shaman to Alchemist Recovery symbolizes a commitment to simplicity and clarity in healing practices. * Acknowledging that no one remains static is crucial for personal growth and understanding in recovery. * The cycles of addiction and recovery represent a three-dimensional journey that is unique and evolving for each individual. * Emphasizing connection as a vital component of recovery highlights the importance of community and relationships in healing. Get full access to Alchemist Recovery at alchemistrecovery.substack.com/subscribe

    No Such Thing as Staying the Same

  7. Jul 10

    Shamanic Practices for Patterns in Long-term Recovery

    I love the line, “and Heaven is overrated?” from the song, Drops of Jupiter by Train, and this week we’ll use it as an entry point to explore how, once again, our A to Z linear perception of time keeps us in patterns that eventually outgrow their usefulness. This is true, and becomes clear, as we get more & more sober-time under our belts. We’ll then apply that awareness to The 4 Stages of Recovery, from Lesson #6 of the Alchemist Recovery Program, to take a new look at all-of-this through the perspective of Principle #2: Addiction is a Cycle. And getting back to Heaven, I acknowledge - and am happy that - shamanic practice is not the only path to the top of the mountain, but rather, just one way to reveal what’s here, now, and right in front of us because... The disciples asked Jesus, ““When will the kingdom come?” To which he replied,”It will not come by expectation; the kingdom of the father is spread upon the earth and men do not see it.” - the Gospel of Thomas Blessings! Get full access to Alchemist Recovery at alchemistrecovery.substack.com/subscribe

  8. Jul 3

    Shamanism for Regrowing Our Severed Roots

    In this episode I dig into the tension between shamanism and appropriation, sparked by a few conversations I had this past week with people in the podcast, mental health, and psychedelic communities. I explain why I named my podcast “The Sober Shaman” even though I don’t claim the title of shaman myself, and unpack the word’s anthropological roots and current misconceptions. I introduce the idea of “severed roots,” which is that sense of disconnection most of us in the West carry after losing our intact cultural and spiritual lineages. So, instead of appropriating another culture’s practices to fill that void, I make the case that we all have the ability, and the human birthright, to reconnect with and re-member, our own roots. * I get into why the word “shaman” both opens and closes conversations, and why I chose it for my brand anyway * I introduce “severed roots” and “the void” as the core wound behind appropriation and addiction alike * I use Bruce Lee’s Jeet Kune Do and Joseph Campbell’s hero’s journey to make the case for universal truths expressed uniquely * I connect today’s shamanism to the psychedelic movement, PTSD in veterans, and reconciling childhood religion with present practice Appropriation happens when we try to fill our own cultural and spiritual void with someone else’s home and that the real fix is rediscovering our own severed roots. And to take it home, I frame shamanism not as a borrowed identity but as a universal, cross-cultural capacity for direct revelation that anyone can reclaim. Thanks for joining me. Blessings! Randal Get full access to Alchemist Recovery at alchemistrecovery.substack.com/subscribe

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About

Where addiction ends, transformation begins. The Alchemist Recovery Podcast (formerly The Sober Shaman) explores recovery through the lens of Traditional Chinese Medicine and spiritual practice. It offers listeners a non-denominational, self-empowering path beyond the usual approaches. Hosted by Randal Lyons, a Doctor of Oriental Medicine and recovery specialist with over 30 years in the field, each episode blends practical tools for understanding the mechanisms of how the addiction cycle operates and perpetuates. This isn't just about breaking the cycle, it's about what comes after: ongoing growth, mastery, and a life re-membered. Expect solo reflections, guest conversations, and medicine for the journey ahead. With blessings, Randal alchemistrecovery.substack.com

Information

  • Creator
    Where addiction ends, transformation begins.
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    82
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Randal Lyons
  • Show Website
    Alchemist Recovery Podcast