How to Break the Spell of the Broken Brain

Hey Randy, “Where’s the brain in your definition of addiction? You don’t have any mention of it at all.”

I’ll often make it blunt and clear to establish some polarity by answering, “I don’t care about the brain.” Now, of course, I care about the brain. But what I absolutely do not want is to cast a spell of dependence. And one of them, one of the biggest ones we have in this society, is this idea of the broken brain.

When someone points to the brain as a problem, for whatever reason or diagnosis, I have one question, “Do I still have a choice?”

If I find myself sitting at a barstool, with a lime, salt, and three shots of tequila lined up in front of me, and because by every definition of “alcoholic” there is, I am one, the question remains, do I have a choice to indulge - or don’t I?

I believe I do. (And of course, if I find myself in that situation, it’s because I’ve already made a long series of bad choices to get there! But still, in that moment, there’s one more choice to be made, and one last opportunity to make it a healthy one.)

Because when a client says, “I can’t fill-in-the-blank because I’ve got this diagnosis. I don’t have a choice. I’ve got a broken brain,” someone has removed this client’s ability to choose. To me, that’s a powerful spell.

One that we need to call out, pull apart and examine.

That’s what we’re going to be diving into this episode, as well as looking at:

* Do I have a choice or not?

* What’s missing from Gabor Mate’s definition of addiction

* The Spell’s effect on over 100,000,000 Americans with ADHD, anxiety & depression

* Why a cyclical perception of time is one answer to fix things

One of the most important aspects of my work is to bring clarity to what your choices are, where in the cycle you can make them, and then exactly what it’s going to take for you to pull them off.

No one can do it for you. And the beauty is, once you’ve done that, no one can take it away.

Blessings,

Randy

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I know that addiction can feel like something from outside of us has taken over. That we’re under a spell or even possessed. In this episode, we’ll tie together Chinese medicine, core shamanism, psychology, and some classic monster mythology to explain why, and what it takes to break the hold.

Starting with our simple four-part model from The Alchemist Recovery Program, we’ll show how the walls we build to protect ourselves end up blocking the very things we need to heal us.

In this episode:

* The TAHL model: how trauma, abuse, heartbreak, and loss come in like a meteor, leave a crater, and why our response matters more than the event itself

* The Pericardium is the wall around the heart, and how it can keep good things from getting in and keep the stuff, like grief, from getting expressed out

* You know the rule: the vampire can only enter when invited, so we’ll look at how the lie of “I am not enough” becomes the invitation

* How shame is the cement in the wall, and how we can dissolve it to break the spell

And once the Spell is broken and we become conscious of the Void that remains, we’ll close with what fills it: a practice that generates our gift, and a place where that gift is received.

Let me know how this one lands with you and send me any questions that you have.

With blessings,

Randy

“I need something.”

I hear this a lot, as this is a familiar feeling in addiction recovery. “But Randy, I got to have something to…ease the pain, fill the emptiness, make life manageable, etc…”

But what happens when the thing we reach for keeps changing while the need underneath, and that pull of the Void, stays the same?

In this episode of the Alchemist Recovery Podcast, I explore the difference between finding relief and addressing the hurts. Evaluating substitute addictions and seemingly healthy routines, we’ll look at how our sources of comfort can support growth or how they can sometimes be holding us back.

I’m going to pull a favorite quote from William Blake and contrast it to another fave from Hunter S. Thompson. I’ll revive a few memories of my own recovery to coincide with and rub against various conversations with clients. From all this, we’ll consider how moments of presence, belonging and acknowledgement of heartbreak are exactly the medicine we need to address the Pull of the Void - and without needing to escape it.

In this episode, we explore:

* Replacing one addiction with another: Recognizing substitution and questioning when it stops helping.

* Relief versus resolution: Appreciating progress while remaining open to deeper work.

* Healthy habits and avoidance: Examining our relationship with self-improvement, structure, and control.

* The practice of belonging: Finding connection through community, shared experience, and offering our gifts.

* Feeling enough: Making room for grief, gratitude, and the possibility that we already have something worth trusting.

Thanks for listening, it’s greatly appreciated!

As are all of your questions: Spirit@RandalLyons.com

With Blessings,

Randy

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