Allen and Joe find an unlikely Emotional Sobriety kindred spirit in Dr. Seuss' "Oh, the Places You'll Go," a classic... more

Melanie Gulde, program director of the soon-to-open Divided Sky residential recovery retreat located in Ludlow, Vermont, drops by discuss her... more

In a later season of her life, Susan Chandler had to reckon with the collapse of a marriage, unemployment, the... more

To be loved, to be accepted, and to belong, we early in life construct an identity that, as Allen describes,... more

Celeste Yvonne, certified recovery coach and author of It’s Not About the Wine: The Loaded Truth Behind Mommy Wine Culture... more

Therapist Roger Andes, longtime friend and frequent collaborator on Thom and Allen’s 12-Step workshops, drops in to discuss his latest... more

Living peacefully with the irreconcilable is at the core of what creates change. Thom and Allen alternately draw upon their... more

On a weekend of record heatwaves, to escape the crushing anxiety Thom and Patrick invite longtime collaborator Carol Carter on... more

As much as we strive to cultivate our emotional sobriety, learning to lean on self-support rather than environmental support, those... more

Health care and financial insecurity are just a couple of the subjects Thom, Joe, and Patrick touch on as they... more

What does it mean to respect ourselves, and how can we put it to work once we’ve attained some physical... more

Allen references Erving Polster’s book while contemplating how the broad span of our lives have a dramatic richness and fullness... more

Picking up with Thom Rutledge about his recent struggles with depression, something that’s been with him since his early days... more

The team unpacks their month of hard knocks and give their best shot at illustrating how life's heaviest challenges can... more

Part of our mission statement as we move towards greater emotional freedom is to have the best possible attitude towards... more

Foundational to Emotional Sobriety is the recognition that we aren’t bad people trying to be good people. We’re simply trying... more

Decades after his service in the Vietnam War, Allen realized the extent of his disability and trauma after a chance... more

With some inspiration from W. Timothy Gallwey’s The Inner Game of Tennis (one of the only self-help books Thom has... more

Brian Lutz and Thom Rutledge recently encountered critical challenges in their marriages that tested their capacity for acceptance. Acceptance of... more

Locating our authentic self in the midst of our warring inner committee and standing our ground - not against others... more

A we engage with the recovery impetus to be of service to others, In addition to the reward there may... more

Recovery (and Emotional Sobriety) are contagious! Joe Chisholm returns to the pod to chat with Thom and Patrick about the... more

As we become more awakened in emotional sobriety, we begin to challenge all our old ideas. The power struggle of... more

How can we learn to live in better alignment with our values? Some of our values are unconscious, and benefit... more

Thom and Allen hold down the fort to discuss the role of honesty in therapy. Allen shares the profoundly positive... more

It feels good to judge. What does that reveal about ourselves, and how can we work on putting this energy... more

Thom and Allen discuss what it means to be "radically honest." Radical honesty begins with self-honesty. We can’t do it... more

Thom and Patrick dig into their rocky pre-recovery days, charting the evolution their consciousnesses have taken. While encountering challenges, keep it... more

Allen and Thom welcome longtime contributor to the Emotional Sobriety community Tom Potash to talk about his decades-long recovery journey,... more

Recovery stalwart Richard Warner had to announce himself as a newcomer after decades in the program, a formative experience that... more

Roger Andes discusses his body-oriented work as a therapist, cultivating connections with others and within himself revolving around the preservation... more

Longtime collaborator, first-time guest Herb K. joins us to discuss the role of meditation in his daily practice, and how... more

This week we share our thoughts on receiving & offering guidance to other addicts across a wide span of experience... more

Peg joins us to talk about her more secular conception of a Higher Power, informed by her background in philosophy... more

If you’re disturbed about something, we encourage investigating what’s beneath that disturbance. This episode we explore the psychological mechanism called... more

With the serenity prayer, we try to figure out the things in our lives that we have the power to... more

In preparation for the forthcoming high calorie sit-downs many of us are having with friends and family this week, Allen... more

Allen’s big Italian dinners. Thom getting kicked by a horse. Patrick learning what to do with his hands, now that... more

At a certain point (or maybe various points) along the recovery way, we each develop an awareness of what we... more

Allen tells us about his formative years enlisting in the marines, Vietnam, alcohol and drugs. Thom of early struggles working... more