I Have 12 Questions Podcast - Conversations About the Sober Life

A podcast about Trudging the Road to Happy Freaking Destiny! Interviews and random soliloquies where we laugh, cry, complain, explore, and learn. All are welcome, No exceptions. Including those who are not in recovery but perhaps know or love someone with addiction issues or just want to learn more. Along with experts and practitioners who help people work through addictions and behaviors they want to change. These conversations will span limitless topics and though will be through the lens of sobriety, are still universally human. Love, loss. grief, excitement, parenting, outside issues, purpose, God stuff, etc. In the words of the great Ted Lasso (by way of Walt Whitman), ”I want to be curious, not judgmental.” So, we’ll be talking to people who have found sobriety, recovery, perspective shifts regardless of their path. Radical acceptance and inclusivity of ourselves and everyone else. Happy trudging!

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Episodes

Friday Sep 22, 2023

Hey listeners!  I am excited to welcome and introduce our guest.  Her name is Dr. Evelyn Higgins.  Her work is absolutely fascinating to me!  She’s the Founder and CEO of Wired For Addiction®, She’s a recognized international expert in the epidemiology of addiction and other mental health complexities.  
As a Certified Addictionologist, Diplomate of the American College of Addictionology and Compulsive Disorders, and Diplomate of the American Board of Disability Analysts specializing in pain management, Dr. Higgins has had the honor of advising the U.S. Surgeon General, producing and hosting a Gracie Award winning nationally syndicated health and wellness terrestrial radio program, and serving as a 1996 Olympic Team Doctor and Olympic torch bearer.  
With 35 years in clinical practice, Dr. Higgins has designated over 16 years to Research and Development in the science of mental health and addiction recovery. A TEDx Speaker (her TEDx Talk can be foundhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XNk8tNsaco ), panelist at the 2022 International Society of Substance Use Professionals Annual Conference in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, the 2022 International Gambling Conference in Auckland, New Zealand, and a 2021 Nominee for Modern Healthcare’s Top 25 Innovators in Healthcare, Dr. Higgins finds herself at the nexus of epigenetics, neuroscience, and mental health. 
You can find out more about her work and connect at  
https://www.wiredforaddiction.com/ and @wiredforaddiction on Instagram 
Her episode drops on September 22, 2023!
#addictionrecovery #addiction #alcoholfree #alcoholism #sobriety #recovery #neuroscience #biomarkers #addictiontreatment #mentalhealth #mentalhealthawareness #criminaljusticereform 

Friday Sep 08, 2023

Hey sober family and our entire listener community!  We have a fantastic show, and I can’t wait to get into this one.  Our guest is Kevin Griffin.  Kevin is a Buddhist author, teacher, and leader in the mindful recovery movement.
I read one of his books while traveling a few years ago and have read it several more times since then.  I have notes in the margins, highlighting everywhere and paragraphs circled and dogeared to read when I’m feeling out of whack internally.  to It was expansive for me it’s called One Breath at a Time:  Buddhism and the Twelve Steps.  As well as Buddhism and the Twelve Steps Daily Reflections which offers teachings for every day of the year to support your recovery. Daily reflection is at the heart of both Buddhist practice and Twelve Step programs.  I will also say that regardless of your spiritual leanings, if you have any at all, these readings still apply. 
Kevin has authored many books, too many to list now, but I’ll include a link in the show notes if you care to peruse later.  https://www.thriftbooks.com/a/kevin-griffin/208785/
And you can find out more about Kevin and his work at:
https://www.kevingriffin.net/
 
#sobriety #recovery #podcast #mentalhealth #alcoholfree #buddhism #recoverydharma #alcoholicsanonymous #meditation 

Friday Aug 25, 2023

Hey listeners!  I am excited to welcome and introduce our guest.  His name is Paul Larsen – He’s the Author of "Find Your VOICE as a Leader" and Founder of the Find your VOICE Coaching Institute where he coaches professionals to break free from the limiting beliefs of Imposter Syndrome and shift from the mindset of a manager to a leader mindset.  He has served many companies and people among them SAP, Twitter, Wal-Mart and Kaiser Permanente.  And of course, he's sober...for over 32 years in fact.  So, we've got a lot to learn from this guest!
You can find out more about Paul and his work at paulnlarsen.com 

Friday Aug 11, 2023

Hey sober family and our entire listener community!  We have a fantastic show, and I can’t wait to get into this one. 
Our guest is Lee Adkins.  We’ve known each other since grade school days.  He’s a trusted friend, mentor and person living an alcohol-free lifestyle.  As well as a dad, successful real estate professional and owner of Amplified Solutions, podcaster, musician, runner, woodworker among other things.
You can connect with and find out more about Lee at:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leeadkins/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lee_adkins/
Company website: https://amplifiedsolutions.com/
#sobriety #recovery #musician #realestatecoaching #realestatecoaching #sober #alcoholfree #podcast #podcastinterview #mindfulness #addiction #positivechange

Friday Jul 28, 2023

Hey sober family and our entire listener community!  We have a great show lined up and I’m SO excited to share it with you. Our guests are Will and Margarita.  We run in similar secular recovery circles, and I’ve been so inspired by their recovery stories, the programs they work, the people they help and their love story.  This one is a total feel-good conversation and a testament to how recovery touches every area of life from self-worth to parenting tour love lives.    
You can connect with Will via:
@wcranor on Instagram
https://www.the-fitness-sherpa.com/

Friday Jul 14, 2023

Hey everyone!  Thanks for joining us and we have a great show in store today.  Our guest Tim Lodgen.   He's a man in recovery as well as a former U.S. Marine, Jr. Olympic Boxer, MMA fighter, Dad, Husband, etc.  He shares his lessons about moving from being an active alcoholic addict to motivational speaker and uses his platform to advocate for mental health and suicide prevention, among other things. 
He's involved in outreach nonprofits as well.  The Overwatch Collective and Rockstar Testimony, which we will hear more about today. 
His harrowing journey through the gauntlet of addiction and mental health issues for 27 years in one you don't want to miss.
You can find him and more about his work on Instagram @tlodgen
Below are the outreach programs he works to support offering services to veterans, first responders and all people in recovery.  Please check them out!
Rockstar Testimony https://www.loveandlighttotheworld.org/
Empower to Recover https://www.facebook.com/Empower2Recover/ https://www.hyperecoverycoach.com/empower-2-recover
The Overwatch Collective  https://www.theoverwatchcollective.com/

Friday Jun 30, 2023

Hey sober family and our entire listener community!  We have a great show in store today.  Our guest Jason Fotter and we went to school together many moons ago!  His tag line is "just a guy in recovery" because he's a humble guy.  So, I will brag on him since he won't.  He makes his living as a Creative but is also a great friend.  A guy in recovery.  A Dad.  A husband.  The kind of man you respect and admire because what you see is what you get.  As it goes with many in our recovery community, he's very smart and witty, but also knew that wasn't enough to overcome addiction so chose this path.  And he's going to share his story with us today.  I am so grateful he said yes.

Thursday Jun 15, 2023

Hey sober family and our entire listener community!  We have a great show in store today.  Our guest is Nicole Cameron and she's a gem!  For those of you who don’t know her yet she's a Professional Coach, Consultant and Woman in Recovery from Alcoholism and Myriad Other Life Challenges.
Our interview is candid, fun and very REAL.  Nicole shares her heart, experience and wisdom and I, for one, am better for having had this conversation.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did and draw some tools, inspiration and love from it too!
You can find Nicole's work and offerings or connect @ http://www.coachwithnicole.ca/about
or you can find her on Instagram @coachwithnicole https://www.instagram.com/coachwithnicole/?hl=en
 

Thursday Jun 01, 2023

Hey sober family and our entire listener community!  We have a great show in store today.  Our guest is Steven English.  For those of you who don’t know, let me just catch you up!  He's a well-known and respected Coach, Trainer, TEDx Speaker, Team Facilitator and Person in Recovery.  He's done executive coaching and team building for big names like Samsung, Home Depot and BlackLocus among others as well as sharing his personal story of recovery from addiction and how that guides his life and career today.  As with all of our guests he uses his gifts to be of service to others and we are so lucky to have him here today!  
He shares insights that are invaluable and it's just an easy conversation with his very calming and open presence.  I hope you enjoy it and learn as much as I did.  
Please check out Steven's Business/Coaching Offerings @ https://stevenenglish.net/
And his TEDx Talk @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FH3ICez55PE

Thursday May 18, 2023

Hey hey sober family and our entire listener community!  We have a great show in store today.  Our guest is Michael Blanchard.  For those of you who don’t know let me chat him up a little.  First of all he's got a compelling recovery story, but he's also put out two beautiful and poignant books that combine his photography and his recovery.  They are called Fighting for My Life and Through a Sober Lens.  He runs an art gallery on Martha's Vineyard where his majestic pictures of nature inspire and heal people...himself included.  And they do a calendar each year whose proceeds go to fight hunger in his community.  He also supports recovery-focused programs and appears as a guest expert on talk radio shows across the country and teaches photography.  Among other things.
His work inspires, heals, helps, loves and gives.  Please check it out and spread the love/share it with others!  
You can find Michael's work at his website @  https://www.blanchardphotomv.com/
On Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/blanchardphoto/
On Instagram @ https://www.instagram.com/michaelblanchardmv/
 

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About Your Host 

Amanda Patton

As long as I can remember I've been a restless spirit - even as a child.  I had so many questions and observations that seemed odd to most people.  And I recall feeling alone even when surrounded by people.  Living in my head where I could make things make sense, or so I thought.  This "ism" has pulled me up to some incredible vistas and allowed for my survival.  It has also dragged me down some very destructive roads.

I am enthusiastic about emotional expansion.  I've had to do (am still doing) my own healing and recovery from all kinds of people, places, things and ideas.  With the help of many, many people, mostly women, and my incredible family, I've been building on a new perspective over the past decade or so.  It has changed everything and I am compelled to share it in hopes it will help someone else.  For years I've stayed logical, practical, in my head space to pay the bills and protect my independence and my heart.  To my detriment as it turns out.  Now, I'm living out of my heart space.  That low hum of anxiety and grayness I've experienced is a result of not being aligned with my passion. 

I'm stepping back into the light after literally 3+ years in hermit mode.  Pushing away relationships, noise, activity and anything else that got between me, my spirituality and healing.  I needed to sit with all the pain and did not want to.  It was a lonely time and also really hard, but absolutely critical in my ascension and I see that now. Colors are brighter, divine timing is my guide, surrender is a blessing rather than a punishment and the things that used to define me are falling away to make way for freedom.  The kind that happens in our inner worlds.

Losing my Pop to cancer in September of 2022 was the final piece of that season and it broke me open and woke me up in ways I'll never be able to fully express or understand.  I'm ready now to heed my intuition and pursue what matters to me.  This podcast is the first step. 

I really hope you'll come along.  There is a community of people waiting to receive you just the way you are right now.  

 

You are the sky. Everything else – it's just the weather. ~ Pema Chödrön

 

The doors to the world of the wild Self are few but precious. If you have a deep scar, that is a door, if you have an old, old story, that is a door. If you love the sky and the water so much you almost cannot bear it, that is a door. If you yearn for a deeper life, a full life, a sane life, that is a door. ~ Clarissa Pinkola Estés

 

“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, "Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” ~ Fred Rogers

 

“I believe in recovery, and as a role model I have the responsibility to let young people know that you can make a mistake and come back from it.” ~ Ann Richards

 

“Stand up straight and realize who you are. That you tower over your circumstances. You are a child of God. Stand up straight.” ~ Maya Angelou

 

"Pain is the fuel of revolution." ~ Glennon Doyle

 

“My identity shifted when I got into recovery. That’s who I am now, and it actually gives me greater pleasure to have that identity than to be a musician or anything else, because it keeps me in a manageable size.” ~ Eric Clapton

 

“When I dare to be powerful — to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.” ~ Audre Lorde

 

"When you put love out in the world it travels, and it can touch people and reach people in ways that we never even expected." ~ Laverne Cox

 

“If you’re not in the arena also getting your ass kicked, I’m not interested in your feedback.” ~ Brene Brown

 

 "To us, the Realm of Spirit is broad, roomy, all inclusive; never exclusive or forbidding to those who earnestly seek." ~ Alcoholics Anonymous

A Few of My Favorite Do Gooders to Support!

 

Jeremiah Program

 

Austin Animal Center (AAC)

 

 

 

 

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