Sober Curious: Becoming Spiritual Without The Spirits #218

Ruby Warrington is an author and spiritual thought leader who has been sparking a lot of interesting conversations over the past few years. Last time she was on the show, we talked about why she created The Numinous, a cosmic lifestyle platform that updates all things "new age" for life in the Now Age, and how she stays so grounded in reality without sacrificing her spiritual life. And over the past few months, Ruby’s new book, Sober Curious: The Blissful Sleep, Greater Focus, Limitless Presence, and Deep Connection Awaiting Us All On The Other Side of Alcohol, has been kicking off a much-needed conversation about alcohol. It’s important to note that Sober Curious isn’t a sobriety program and Ruby isn’t trying to demonize those who drink alcohol or the substance itself – it’s just an open invitation to join a conversation in which anyone can investigate something that often goes under the radar: our cultural and personal relationship with alcohol, our perception of alcohol, and why it is we drink.  And the idea of being Sober Curious is clearly hitting a nerve in the zeitgeist because it’s quickly growing into a lifestyle embraced by a large and diverse group of people. If you’ve listened to the show before, you probably know I have a complex relationship with drugs and addiction, and I wish I had been exposed to some of these ideas earlier in my life. So, consider this your official invitation to join us in thinking about alcohol in a new way; to learn the benefits that come from unlearning the mindless habit of drinking and how you can define your own relationship with alcohol.   Topics Discussed In This Episode: We’re not taught to question our drinking until it becomes problematic – but why? Why are we willing to accept the hangover as the price for a good night out? Creating an environment and culture around drinking where everybody feels that it is safe and okay to ask questions and define their own relationship with alcohol The nature of alcohol Our brain’s hardwired “desire function” Why it’s actually difficult to maintain a neutral relationship with alcohol in our current society Addiction as the way our bodies try to process trauma Feeling like an imposter in AA Cultural conditioning around what’s okay and what’s not okay with certain drugs Making it as normal not to drink as it is to drink Alcohol’s position as a rite of passage into adulthood and the assumptions that come with it Anti-anxiety medication is essentially alcohol in a pill Unacknowledged spiritual and physical trauma How plant medicines can help us mend our trauma and change our relationship with addiction Why alcohol was originally called “spirits” Giving yourself a month-long break from alcohol to examine how it makes you feel and engage in self-examination   More about this episode. Watch it on YouTube   Connect with Luke on social media to learn how to take your lifestyle to the next level, plus catch...