Episode 14 Enthusiastic Sobriety and Transcendent Joy with Joy Manning
Episode Notes
Joy Manning is a podcaster and writer focused on food and health. She is a self-described enthusiastic sober person and closet mystic. She shared her journey with us in this episode, including:
The spiritual practices that help Joy, including a daily practice of reading, writing, prayer (speaking to the divine), meditation (listening), and exercise (energy medicine)
Joy's journey from a spiritual child, to feeling a disconnection to the universe, to a profound spiritual breakthrough
The deep relationship between Joy's sobriety and spiritual journey
Kyley, and Eva also share their relationship to alcohol and how that is evolved over the years.
The feeling of relief at not drinking & the social pressure to drink
The authentically joyful experiences that have been available without alcohol, and how those moments feel deeply spiritual
Joy's experience with Kundalini Yoga, and the personal power of that meditation practice
“I was done drinking, and it was a huge relief. Since then I have felt far more in tune with a sense of my spirit, other peoples spirit, god, the universe. It’s just been an avalanche of insights and internal changes in myself.”
“It’s so obvious to me now how alcohol can be a wet blanket on any kind of spirituality that you might wish to have. And I actually think alcohol can even blunt the awareness that you would wish for something like that.”
“Alcohol and wine is [sold] as self care. And in my experience, it was numbing and was worsening my anxiety, so it was the opposite of self care for me.”
“The thing I try to tell people is that I thought nothing would be fun without alcohol. What I didn’t understand is that everything would be fun without alcohol and it would be more fun and it would be real fun.”