Episode #68: A Shamanic View of Illness

“There is no chemical solution to a spiritual problem.”

You’ve probably heard this one, as it’s one of the most quoted lines in recovery. Maybe you’ve even said it a few times yourself. But here’s the thing:

What exactly is the spiritual problem?

Because if we can’t name it and we can’t map it, then the saying is just a groovy bumper sticker. True, sure, but not particularly useful.

In this episode, I’ll be nailing down exactly what the spiritual problem is through an introduction to the core shamanic model of illness. It provides answers and gives us a solid framework for understanding addiction,

This isn’t one culture’s tradition or one religion’s perspective. It’s a structure that’s found on every continent of the world that points to the same three root causes for all disease. And when I applied these to addiction, something fit into place where nothing else had clicked before.

The shamanic map finally made sense of the spiritual territory.

The three reasons, in order:

* Power Loss — We are all born with spiritual help. Whatever you call it. That connection gets severed when the TAHL hits — the Trauma, Abuse, Heartbreak, and Loss that overwhelms every defense we have. Power Loss isn’t weakness. It’s a severed connection.

* Soul Loss — When the pain becomes too much to be present for, a piece of us leaves. Psychology calls this dissociation. Shamanism calls it Soul Loss. Basically the same thing, different language. That piece takes qualities with it, our innocence, trust & childlike-joy, and leaves a void where those blessings used to be.

* Spiritual Intrusion — The void doesn’t stay empty. It never does. Something moves in. It’s pain-fear-based, hungry, and perfectly fed by your drug of choice. This is the spell of addiction. And the only reason it works is because we believe the lie it tells us about who we are.

You don’t have to frame any of this in spiritual terms if that’s not your language. The concepts hold whether you call it a spirit, a belief, a pattern, or a spell. What matters is recognizing the sequence and understanding that recovery, at its core, is about reversing it.

Stop feeding the intrusion. Court your soul back. Reclaim your power.

That’s the treatment plan. And this episode is where it starts.

With Blessings,

Randal

What if the problem with Ozempic isn’t the drug itself — but what it says about our relationship with hunger?

In this episode, I’m sharing my first take on one of the most loaded topics in wellness right now: Ozempic and addiction. And just for a heads-up, my angle might surprise you.

I hear people talk about Ozempic quieting “food noise” or reducing cravings. While that’s great, when I look at it through the lens of Chinese medicine and shamanic tradition, I see something different: a drug that solves hunger by treating hunger as the problem.

Here’s why that matters. Hunger isn’t just a body signal — it’s a sacred function. It’s our daily act of communion with the Earth, with nourishment, with life itself. When we chemically suppress that, we don’t just suppress cravings. We weaken the very muscle that allows us to say yes to what truly nourishes us.

And that, by the Alchemist Recovery definition, starts to look a lot like addiction — the patterned and repetitive use of any substance or action that attempts to fill a void, but instead reinforces the origins of the pattern.

We’ll walk through each element of that definition and apply it directly to Ozempic. We’ll talk about rituals of communion, the archetypal wound of disconnection from nature, and why…

your daily pill may have replaced your daily bread.

This is not medical advice. This is a perspective — one I hope sparks some open thinking & honest conversation.

Important discussions like…who makes the best stuffed noodle? Wontons vs. ravioli vs. pierogis. Let’s sit down, disagree, and figure it out together.

🎙️ The Sober Shaman Podcast — making the spiritual practical.

You can listen to the audio of this episode here:

Definition: Spell

a: a spoken word or form of words held to have magic power

b: a state of enchantment

I’ve been professionally helping others in recovery for almost as long as I’ve been clean and sober—no coincidence. From the start, I realized that for treatment to have any chance of success, I need to take what works from my esoteric Chinese medicine and core-shamanic approaches and explain addiction’s origins and mechanisms in a way people can understand.

On the other end, I’ve had to translate what I do for treatment centers, insurance companies, and licensing and accreditation boards, as well as to my medical and mental health colleagues—speaking in the “medical-ese” that checks diagnosis codes and reimbursement boxes.

Fun, right?

Now, I aim to strip away language that complicates an already complex issue. With that in mind, I propose…

Addiction is a SpellThis Spell is a LieThis Lie is a Belief

Let me explain.

Check out our exploration along this path to the core of an addiction. Hit the play button on the podcast audio at the top of the page, or check out the video embedded here:

And as always, please hit the little like button and send along any comments or questions you may have.

With blessings,

Randal