Michael (Mike) Collins the founder of http://sugaraddiction.com and a former sugar addict.

For the past 30 years he has not consumed sugar in any form – at least not intentionally.

His interest in sugar addiction began in the early days of his recovery from substance use disorder. As he weaned himself off other substances he noticed that his relationship to, and his consumption of, sugar was beginning to resemble his other addictions. Curious and concerned, he started to talk about this with his recovery buddies. This led him to decide to quit sugar with the help of some amazing mentors.

Since then he has helped hundreds of people personally and thousands online - quit, reduce or get under control runaway sugar use.

With his wife, he raised two children sugar-free from the womb to six years old with zero sugar. After which they only had sugar at outside events occasionally - but never at home.

After many years of successfully starting, scaling and selling businesses, Michael decided that what really made him happy was helping people break their addictions of all kinds and come out the other side happier and healthier

Kenneth Carter III has grappled with the grips of substance abuse and paid the price for those choices, landing in prison. He has such a passion today for what he has accomplished. I am so honored to have him on our show. He went from prison to a solid member of our society breaking that stigma as being a waste and burden. Kenneth Carter III is going to share his story of pain and suffering that led to his success.

The pain we gain from substance abuse can be defined as traumatic, a nightmare, but we can also say, maybe it is a blessing in disguise.

As I have interviewed many people on this show, the one commonality we all have seen is that great things have come from pain through my guests. We can do anything we want if we are willing to fight for things.

Dr. Jeff Skolnick: Is the Creator of the SatoriWest Method. It joins together Buddhist wisdom with modern brain, behavioral and wellness sciences. It brings all the areas of your life together in a way that guides you to happiness and peace. He is a 40 year zen budhist meditator and senior zen teacher. He is a Psychiatrist, has a PhD in natural health science, and is an author.

The SatoriWest Method© is a revolutionary new approach to mental health and substance use disorders. It’s also about how to deal with life stress and dissatisfaction.

The SatoriWest Method consists of 5 points

•Fact:

Everyone faces crises and emotional struggles.

•Reason:

“Tunnel Vision” is the true cause of life dissatisfaction and struggle.

•Aim:

“Perspective” leads to inner peace, contentment, and fulfillment.

•Journey:

The SatoriWest Method© is a journey from Tunnel Vision to Perspective using BrainShifting skills enhanced with life wellness. The below diagram of the method outlines the areas of wellness and shows how we take participants from Tunnel Vision to Perspective.

•Shortcut:

Crises can be opportunities for the highest Perspectives.

"By living your life's purpose, there are no obstacles you cannot overcome." Gerald Czernohorsky

Gerald is a Jay Shetty Certified Life Coach. After spending many years in the corporate world he decided to take the leap into the world of entrepreneurship as a real estate investor and now a Life Coach. As well Gerald spent many years as a Big Brother and also sat on the Board of Directors for the Local Chapter of the “Big brothers and Big Sisters”

Our fears and limiting beliefs can hold so many of us back from reaching our goals and dreams. Wouldn’t it feel amazing to free yourself from those shackles and obstacles in your mind? Most of our fears are based on our thoughts but are not actually true or valid. You can live a life of “Freedom” when you realize this and begin to face your fears and challenges head on.

The greatest gift we have as humans is the ability to connect with one another. However to be able to relate with others on a deep level we must first learn to connect with ourselves, to understand who we truly are so that we can really have amazing connections with our fellow human beings.

It is so important to work on ourselves in terms of personal development and growth and I want to inspire people to live a life of Freedom and Connection.

https://www.facebook.com/geraldczernohorsky

https://gerrythecoach.com/

Scott Stokely is a professional disk golfer, teacher and author of "Growing Up, Disk Golfer." He also published an instructional book and videos about disc golf throwing techniques in 2001. He earned 17 world and national professional titles in major tournaments before leaving the sport in 2000. He returned in 2014 and continues to tour. In 1987 he set a Juniors’ distance record of 155.83 meters. In 1995 he threw a Discraft X-clone 200.01 meters, beating the previous Guinness World Records distance record set in 1993. Scott broke his own record in 1998 throwing a 211.32 meter backhand with a Discraft XL. In 2001, Scott Stokely also set a record for the longest throw sidearm which was not published.

His story is of a rise to fame in a sport that wasn't even much of a thing when he started. I 2001, he left the sport as he lost in passion that led him down that path we all know too well. Listen to his story of regaining his purpose and passion he had lost.

As that saying says, it isn’t what happens to us that is of importance but what we do about what has happened to us that is of most importance. I made bad choices in my life and had to walk through the consequences I created but I stood up, dusted myself off and with hard work and determination; I believe that I am doing important things.

Clinton Calton is a professional musician. He is a guitarist for D.I which is an American Punk rock band that was formed in Orange County, California. He has recorded/produced music with cottonmouth kings, Ronnie King, Jack Grisham, Angelo Moore, as well as scoring soundtracks for films. Clinton is also a member of Rock to Recovery and is a member of a new band with Wes Geer called Hu3m3n.

Brian Winters, former Michigan State Legislature and founder of the American Union. The Phoenix Congress is organizing a block of swing voters – an American Union – who will vote across party lines in order to advance the MLK-inspired legislative agenda. They are working to give career politicians an ultimatum: support the American people by enacting a Blueprint for a Better America or lose their elections.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said “Our only hope today lies in our ability to recapture the revolutionary spirit, and go out into a sometimes hostile world, declaring eternal opposition to poverty, racism, and militarism. With this powerful commitment, we shall boldly challenge the status quo…”

With Tens of millions of Americans living below the poverty line, with what has been called the new Jim Crow laws, mass incarceration has grown the prison population to eight times what it was at the end of his life.

Despite similar usage rates across races, people of color are more likely to be arrested and incarcerated in the war on drugs.

An endless war that is within our country, our people, and justified by misguided, inaccurate, and mostly racial prejudices.

This war on drugs that has clearly been a failure but has succeeded in the eyes of some when it comes to the mantra of prohibition. Laws that are enacted by us to control the conduct of them.

For many years, US was the white, upper class politicians that were enacting the laws while them where the Asians, blacks, and Hispanics as was written within some like the Harrison narcotics act that was targeting Asians with opium and cocaine with the blacks.

The marijuana tax act that was promoted by Harry Anslinger who was very openly racist. Nixon identified drug abuse as “public enemy number one in the United States” and launched a failed, costly and inhumane “all out offensive” on Americans that continues to today.

Epiphany Jordan is the author of “Somebody Hold Me: The Single Person’s Guide to Nurturing Human Touch” She has a touch business, Karuna Sessions, in Austin, Texas.

In our communication Epiphany had informed me that "our culture currently considers touch between adults as romantic or sexual, instead of part of health and wellness, and it’s a paradigm that isn’t working for many single and partnered people."

Theories on the reasons why people choose to do drugs is vast as the medical field may define it as a reward deficiency syndrome as this can be related to self-medicating. Some use as they live in loneliness or a world where they don’t feel wanted, nurtured, or even belong to their family, society, and even this world.

According to Aristotle, human beings are “social animals” and therefore naturally seek the companionship of others as part of their well being.

Physical contact distinguishes humans from other animals. From a handshake, a hug or a pat on the back, we have developed emotional expression through physical contact. What about the internet and this world where human touch is in danger of becoming rare, if not obsolete.

As Covid-19 has been taking the lives of people close to us, we have been required to separate from everyone. When someone dies in the hospital, they are alone and unable to have any physical contact or comfort as they pass away.

Epiphany brings something that is looked down upon by some, and even viewed as awkward by many. How important is human touch? Is their information that can back up cuddling as a therapeutic tool. We are going to find out from my guest.

Sometimes we come across individuals who may think differently than us but are seeking the exact same thing. Jay Shifman, the host of “choose your struggles” is that person.

Nothing new happens unless you can have great communication with those that have differing ideas.

That is what todays episode is about. For the very first time in our podcast where we have a guest; I am not running this as an interview but instead a discussion about those very topics that nobody seems to want to talk about .

Why? If we don’t discuss them then maybe it doesn’t exist? The less we talk about, the easier it is to sleep at night or maybe we don’t talk about it, especially around our children because we believe it will taint their innocence.

I doubt it, because, most likely they have seen those things we pretend don’t exist, with suicide rising they most likely have had friends who took their lives, and sex;

which is usually a forbidden act creates a confusion between right and wrong since they are told it is wrong but for many males and some females, it probably runs through their heads.

All of these things that we don’t want to talk about are left for them to deal with, alone, and maybe scared.

Sometimes our perceptions of what is right and what is wrong can be based on biases, opinions, or perceptions that are flawed.

Maybe we are anxious or nervous, or uncomfortable about discussing certain things so we don’t for selfish reasons.

Donald Gibson, who was a well-educated Medical Doctor, has quite a story of that person who had an injury and was prescribed medications by a doctor that led to overuse and an addiction like many stories out there. The difference, is that he was a doctor.

In today’s show, we are going to dip our feet into that stigma of substance abuse because for some, there is a belief that certain people, specifically with certain professions are not susceptible to this problem.

They can’t be. I want to say. Drug abuse that can lead to dependency is not prejudice or bias. It could be your neighbor, your children, a lawyer, politician, or the profession of my guest today.

Donald Gibson, just like myself, became wrapped up in behaviors that the stigma says, he is a bad person.

Is he? Or was he that doctor who had transformed into Mr. Hyde as I describe compared myself to in my book. He did land himself in federal prison after being arrested by the FBI.

Dr. Lynette Louise – has a doctorate in bio science, holds two board certifications in Neurofeedback (BCIA, NTCB) and has her Ph.D., ABD (All But Dissertation) in Psychology, with a specialty in Psychophysiology.

In 2004 Lynette founded the Brain and Body Clinic, a treatment center for autism and other brain disorders using neurofeedback, a therapy that improves functioning by training individuals to control their own brainwave activity.

She is a comedian with experience in stand up comedy, acting, and hosted a weekly television show. You also transformed your family into a theatre troupe. Wrote, produced and performed in prison. You are an author?

In 2014, with the passing of the Affordable Care Act, the treatment industry changed drastically and for what some may define as good as everyone was able to seek drug and alcohol treatment if desired because insurance companies were required to include those services on policies while others defined it as a nightmare as greed took over and fraud became more of the norm.

Treatment programs started seeking out people and offering to purchase insurance by paying for premiums to fill their beds, in some cases these providers would offer financial incentives for coming into their programs by offering cash if they stayed.

Questionable people were opening rehabs because of the money they saw that could be made. Referrers and referral companies began giving financial incentives to people to enter treatment programs as these referrers were charging thousands of dollars to programs for giving them clients.

Safety and ethics was thrown out the window as providers began breaking the law by committing insurance fraud and in some case they were billing for services that weren’t being provided and even charging for people who weren’t even in their program.

I spoke to the DHCS and was informed that unless I can definitively prove it; they could do nothing.

I closed a program in Lake Elsinore because I wasn’t willing to pay for my clients by these dangerous referral companies which almost seemed to be the only way to secure clients to pay the bills to stay open. I was defeated.