Todd Youngs has been in continuous recovery from severe addiction and alcoholism since 2009. His personal path to recovery involved a combination of 12 step work, and his work with Ayahuasca. Todd now works intensively with others to help them achieve a life of satisfying and meaningful sobriety. His approach is eclectic and holistic drawing on the 12 Steps, CBT, MEI, and Mindfulness practice in order to deeply address the bio/psycho/social/spiritual aspects of addictive disorders. Todd has worked extensively with Ayahuasca for over 14 years within a variety of communal and personalized settings. He is focussed on building bridges between the older treatment paradigm and newly emerging modalities that utilize Ayahuasca. He is the co-founder of Natura Care Programs. Todd is often heard fondly referring to his own personal path of recovery as AAA+, or “Ayahuasca Assisted Alcoholics Anonymous:  A Roadside Service for broken-down, drug-addicted hippies”. In this episode we dive into: How humans explore drugs to satisfy creative and spiritual yearnings.  The dark and light sides of psychedelics.  Todd’s wild addiction recovery story. Using pharmaceuticals to manage side effects of drug and alcohol use. Connecting to something bigger than yourself through ayahuasca. Todd’s journey of brewing his own ayahuasca in his mother’s basement. How ayahuasca helped Todd through 12-step recovery. The necessity of connection and accountability during recovery.  Family members seeing a change in Todd & Ben after ayahuasca journeys.  Healthy ways to incorporate the use of an altered state to transform your life. Therapeutic opportunities when taking psychedelics. Psychedelics vs therapy.  Are psychedelics the right path for you? Breaking down what the 12-week Natura Care Program looks like and why the 12 week model is advantageous. True recovery: Healing the root causes of addiction. Finding centeredness, calmness, joyfulness. Can you actually trust plant medicines? Ultra-conservatism vs. open-mindedness in recovery circles. Psychedelics in Recovery. Links from this episode Natura Care Programs Psychedelics in Recovery Todd’s Website Ben’s Freedom from Addiction Circle Evolving Man Brotherhood Free-Trial on Circle See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.