FAQ's | Intro | East |
South |
West |
North |
Center
FREQUENTLY
ASKED QUESTIONS
WHAT
IS ADDICTION ALCHEMY?
Addiction Alchemy is an addiction recovery pathworking system that was
founded upon Native American Medicine Wheel and Kabalistic teachings and
technologies. Addiction Alchemy can help you decode and transform your
life with once secret, ancient healing modalities and sacred ceremony.
By tapping into the energy, power and mystery of the Medicine Wheel, Tree
of Life, Meditation, Archetypes, Nature and the Elements, Animals,
Energy Healing and much more you can uncover insight and information
that was previously hidden and unknown to you in a relatively short
period of time. Using the Medicine Wheel blueprint, Addiction Alchemy helps
make personal growth work and healing engaging, intriguing, imaginative, adventuresome and even fun!
ADDICTION ALCHEMY IS FUN - YOU'RE KIDDING,
RIGHT?
All joking aside, facing and dealing with painful issues is not usually
fun, but personal growth work does not have to be filled with endless
suffering. Often our fear of facing pain is what has brought us to the
path of addiction. Yet the fear itself can be a greater source of
suffering than the original pain! Pain and suffering can be one of our greatest teachers, but so
can
Love. Understanding this will help us to release fear and move through
our life lessons and reach the understandings that expand our awareness so
that we can step more fully into our own personal power and develop a
greater ability to be moved by love, instead of suffering.
Addiction Alchemy uses the sacred path of the Medicine Wheel to remind
you not to get stuck and to stay on track. It provides a blueprint to
keep you moving through and processing your "stuff" so that you don't
get bogged down in pain and misery. Deciphering and discovering
who you really are will fill you with mystery and awe as the
synchronicities of life reveal all. Addiction Alchemy will help
you unleash and harness the power of Universal Law as you make sense of
your life and find out who you really are.
WHAT IS A SACRED CIRCLE CEREMONY, I HAVEN'T
BEEN TO ONE?
If you have been to a wedding, baptism, funeral, bar mitzvah,
birthday party, anniversary party, or a baby shower then you have been a
part of a sacred ceremony. Whenever two or more people are gathered
together to join forces and to share in the celebration of a milestone
or a life event with purpose a sacred circle has been formed. Where
sacred means worthy of respect or dedication and devoted exclusively
to a single use, purpose or person and circle means a complete
series forming a connected whole or a number of persons bound by a
common tie and ceremony means any activity that is performed in
an especially solemn, elaborate or formal way, this is surely so.
Ceremony and especially those in
circle with focused intention can summon a great deal of energy for the
use and edification of the participants. This is something that human
beings have tapped into since time immemorial. Ancient peoples would
perform rites of passage and mark the passing of time and events for
many milestones that we no longer recognize. Addiction Alchemy
ceremonies are a way to use the power of sacred circle ceremony to
establish a deep and profound energetic connection for the focused
intention of addiction recovery. See below for more info about some of
the activities at the gatherings.
CAN ADDICTION
ALCHEMY WORK WITH MY EXISTING TREATMENT PLAN?
Addiction Alchemy is
designed to be part of a comprehensive addiction treatment and recovery
plan and can be easily incorporated into and layered with existing care
plans and/or 12 Step programs and other support programs. It has the potential to enrich any of your
other practices. It can help make you a better 12 Stepper, a better
counselee or patient and a better person! It is not intended to replace any other treatments or therapies.
It is considered a social/community or self-help therapy.
Note: If you
are an addiction recovery professional and would like to refer out this
program, please contact us.
WHAT IF I
AM NOT IN AN ADDICTION TREATMENT PLAN AND NEVER BEEN TO 12 STEPS AND
DON'T NEED TO DO THOSE THINGS, CAN I
STILL DO ADDICTION ALCHEMY?
The answer to that is a resounding YES! You do not need to be in formal
treatment in order to participate in Addiction Alchemy. (That is not to
say that you may not need treatments.) You don't even
have to be 100% sure that you have an addiction. We all
need healing and you never know what you may uncover. You do not need
prior recovery or 12
Step experience to derive benefits and healing from Addiction Alchemy.
IS
ADDICTION ALCHEMY AN ALTERNATIVE TO 12 STEPS?
Addiction Alchemy can be added to your existing menu of personal growth
practices and addiction recovery therapies and it can be used in conjunction with 12 Step programs, or
it can be used as an alternative to traditional 12 Steps. Addiction Alchemy
does have correlations to 12 Steps, however, there are a few differences which
may provide new keys to your healing and recovery.
It is your choice to do whatever
resonates with you. If you feel stuck or confused as to where you are in your recovery process, if you are having a hard time working 12
Steps, if you are new to the concept of recovery or if you are further along in your recovery and ready to move
forward and no longer identify with your frailties and want to
bring more joy, passion and purpose into your life, Addiction Alchemy
may offer a new pathway to your ultimate healing and the fulfillment of
your human potential. See the 12
Point Compass.
HOW DOES
ADDICTION ALCHEMY DIFFER FROM 12 STEPS?
The most notable difference is that Addiction Alchemy is conducted on
the Medicine Wheel and so it is circular. We work within a 12 point
compass. Aside from the energetic advantage of the sacred geometry of
working within a circle, from a practical standpoint this can give you a
clearer perspective on where you are in the recovery process. Everyone progresses differently. Some of
us have more layers than others to work through. So, each time you make it through a
direction and around the wheel it brings a significant and often concrete
milestone and at the very minimum a sense of positive forward movement
and achievement as each phase of the journey is honored and recognized
in ceremony.
Once you make it through the
North, which is the physical aspect, there will usually be some concrete
manifestation of healing and change that will be visible to all. And if
you choose to continue on and go around the wheel again, the perception
of backward motion is removed as the momentum of traveling around the
wheel informs you that you are simply moving forward and through another
layer. As you continue around and around, layer by layer your baggage
will peel away and you will ultimately come to the realization that this
circle you've been traveling is actually a spiral. Metaphorically and
energetically speaking you may experience the sensation of ascension as
a lightness
of being.
Some people report that
traditional step work can become confusing and self-defeating, as the
linear model of step climbing can open them to feel that their progress
is lacking and that they are actually backtracking and all over the map if they aren't moving
up the steps in an orderly fashion. Others are put off by "God talk" and
refuse to partake. In no way does this invalidate the power of 12 Steps! If traditional 12 Steps works for you, please
keep stepping. But, if you feel stuck in your step work, or if it simply
does not appeal to you, perhaps Addiction Alchemy could
offer you a new perspective and an energetic boost, whether you choose
to 12 Step or not.
Addiction Alchemy could be
considered the 13th Step, in that it can help you go beyond sobriety and
into an even deeper level of consciousness and wellness. Sobriety is
crucial to recovery, however, beyond sobriety and above supression and
repression is absolute freedom of the soul.
WHAT CAN
I EXPECT FROM MY ADDICTION ALCHEMY EXPERIENCE?
Addiction Alchemy can help you to restore the function of your Will
Center. In order to do this it is important to understand that your
center, your inner flame, which is at your core and
encompasses ALL of you is already complete. You are not flawed. Your
connection to your core has simply been cut off or suppressed for
one or more of all the various reasons that our thoughts, feelings and
beliefs can distort our ability to connect with our power center and
consequently robbing us of our ability to
be truly free. Re-establishing that connection is our main goal.
Once that connection is restored
your Will Center can be clean and clear to inform your life so that you
can create a new reality or you will see your existing reality in a new
light and you will regain your Free Will. Humans are incredibly
self-healing beings. Our bodies are designed to seek balance. In fact,
it is my personal theory that addiction comes from a misguided attempt
to create balance, much like a moth mistakes the light source of the
flame for it's true geomagnetic guide, the moon. Some people report a feeling
of the addiction being "taken from them" as the Will Center is
re-connected and balanced. If there is no void, there is nothing to
fill. When you are operating from your core you are connected to all
that is and your highest and finest good will take you out of sorrow and
suffering and into grace and gratitude, wellness and wholeness. As your
cup begins to overflow, your healing and empowerment
will naturally serve all those around you, as well. As you heal, you
will notice all those around you begin to heal, too.
This is why that once the
addiction is uncovered and denial is fully released, the focus on the
wheel is to use that knowledge to see what is preventing you from
getting to your core, and to work toward the discontinuation of being
over-identified with shame and flawed character labels, continuing to
surrender and release all that does not serve to make room for what
does.
WHAT DO
YOU DO AT ADDICTION ALCHEMY?
Addiction Alchemy is conducted within a sacred circle in a private
gathering. There are 5 gatherings in an Addiction Alchemy journey, which
meets approximately every 2 months, with the entire trip around the
wheel taking about 10 months. You will be traveling with the same people
from beginning to end of the entire 10 month journey. This is your clan
(although you may never consciously know more about each other than your
first name). Each gathering honors the four cardinal
directions on the Medicine Wheel compass (East, South, West, North) and
culminates to a point of completion at the Center of the wheel. Within
each direction we focus on the different aspect of yourself which is
heralded by the direction and do
exercises, rituals and practices which help you develop your own keys to
connecting with the energies of that direction. Other components of the
program are journaling, guided meditations, music, practical intuition,
chakra attunement and
sacred rituals and ceremonies, along with any spontaneous guidance which
we remain open to. The rest of the journey is conducted in the "white
space" outside the circle as you take the awareness of the energies with you and venture
out into the School of Life.
IS ADDICTION
ALCHEMY ANONYMOUS?
Your full name, nor the nature of your addiction need never be revealed.
There is no getting up and stating your issues in front of the group, in
fact there is very little talking at all. The atmosphere is one of
mystery and reverence and is a deeply personal, moving experience. The
group dynamic is more of an energetic exchange, than a verbal one.
WHAT
HAPPENS AT THE END OF THE JOURNEY?
In Addiction Alchemy, we each will reach a point of completion and fully
know that we have had a victory in our recovery and our many small
victories are honored and celebrated at each ceremony. As we work
through our intellectual, spiritual, emotional, and physical aspects you
begin to open these channels to our will center and the connection to
our core can be restored so that we can feel more complete and move
forward through our life from a place of wholeness and balance.
As we each document and reach a milestone at each aspect we begin to
understand that we may need to go around the wheel more than once in
order to get to our core (most of us do). And that is great, because we
are actually on the wheel whether we consciously know it or not. The
wheel is an archetype for life. When we are consciously on the wheel we
invoke all the powers and support that are available to us in the
universe through the power of intention and the law of attraction and it
is very powerful! We begin to function less from a place of lack and
more from a place of understanding that everything that we need is
already present and available to us.
We
soon come to understand that putting our problems, issues and our ideas
and creations “on the wheel” gives us the power to solve and invent
without limit.
HOW DO I
INTEGRATE THE WHEEL INTO MY LIFE?
Some people never get off the wheel because they integrate it into their
daily life. We can become so adept at traveling the wheel that we
actually become the wheel and take this archetypal energy into our
being. We may begin to experience the sensation that we are traveling in
spirals and "wheels within the wheel". We can take months, even years to
complete a journey on the wheel or we could theoretically
travel the wheel in a split second. Each person's progress will hinge on
the amount of energy that is put into it.
Building a wheel at home and
creating an altar and a sacred space is another way to honor and stoke
the energy of the Medicine Wheel. Of course, regularly communing with
nature and honoring all of creation is also a powerful daily reminder of
the magic of the wheel.
WHAT IS THE
MEDICINE WHEEL?
The Medicine Wheel is a universal source of power and a primer for the
condition of being human. It is the circle of knowledge that gives us the
schematic for putting our lives back into balance, giving us the power
of choice and direction. It is a comprehensive and dynamic formula which
facilitates the flow and integration of all the aspects of the human
condition: Intellectual/Thoughts, Spiritual/Beliefs, Emotional/Feelings,
Physical/Body and Soul/Will.
What is so striking about the
ancient Medicine Wheel is how it's matrix is compatible with and
directly correlates to so many different organized philosophies,
doctrines, modalities and even religions, both modern and old. The
hero's journey and even the Serenity prayer fit on the wheel! It is no
small coincidence that this 4000 year old (some say older) formula for
life perfectly aligns energetically and philosophically with traditional
12 Steps! No doubt here that the creators of 12 Steps and Alcoholics
Anonymous were tapping into some seriously ancient wisdom.
HAS THERE
BEEN ANY RESEARCH DONE ON THIS?
To our knowledge there is none to little research that has been
published. There has been some interesting research which is very
closely related to the phenomenon of circle work called,
Open Space
Technology. Harrison Owen has shared it in a book, called Open
Space Technology: A User’s Guide.
Although Harrison Owen is most
closely associated with the approach, and its design and development, he
openly proclaims that the creation of OST has been a collaborative
project involving thousands of people on four continents over a period
of eight years (as of 1993). Some were participants, some practitioners,
and all were contributors.
In addition, many of the basic ideas of Open Space are borrowed from a small West African
village, the Native American Tradition, and the Wisdom of the East. Open
Space Technology is a world product.
The same can be said for Medicine Wheel and Tree of Life matrixes. Those
of us who use these tools as a blueprint for our creations are not the
master architects. Another entity that has garnered a huge amount of
credibility is the
Wellbriety Movement by White Bison, Inc. White Bison has created
extensive programs and initiatives to bring sobriety and wellness to
native peoples and integrates Medicine Wheel with 12 Steps, as well.
DOES THE
MEDICINE WHEEL ONLY WORK FOR NATIVE AMERICAN AND INDIGENOUS PEOPLES?
The Medicine Wheel is available to anyone regardless of race or heritage
who wishes to study it and implement it into their lives. In fact, some
of the strongest proponents of the Medicine Wheel were guided by
powerful visions to gather the courage to bring these esoteric and
tightly held teachings out into the world. The time for NO MORE SECRETS
is here. The same holds true for Kabala and mystery teachings. The doors
to everything are being flung open. The world is ready now to receive
these teachings and to use them for the greater good, for healing and
enlightenment.
WHO
CREATED ADDICTION ALCHEMY?
Addiction Alchemy is the passion of Renee Bledsoe. While she created the
concept, marketing and compilation of this program, she acknowledges
that the Medicine Wheel and Tree of Life models belong to us all and
provide and continue to provide the backbone and inspiration for her
work. Read more about
how Addiction Alchemy was founded.
CONCLUSION
Learn how to apply this ancient technology to heal your life.
Beyond healing there is joy. Consider adding Addiction Alchemy
to your Addiction Treatment and Recovery Plan now. Get on
the Recovery Medicine Wheel: Let the
adventure begin!
Recovery
Wheel :
Archetypes & Guides :
12 Point Compass
