A Road Trip to Love

“As a child of God, I am greater than anything that can happen to me.” ~ A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Since living in Los Angeles for 10 years and working in West Hollywood, LA’s gay neighborhood, I’ve known far too many people who have overdosed from drugs or alcohol or who have died by suicide. Just last night I was told that a young man I once worked with at a bar, who from the outside appeared to have it all, killed himself this week. He was handsome, charming, in good shape, and c

“Healing yourself is connected with healing others.” Yoko Ono During college, it was easy for me to hide who I was. I used to jokingly tell people I could’ve won an Oscar for the role I played as a straight man. I joined a fraternity and trained myself to act like the guys I knew. I had girlfriends and a life-size poster of Heidi Klum in a bikini hanging on my bedroom wall. I even went so far as to strategically place Playboy magazines in my room to make sure guests saw I loo

I think the best part of an experience is when it’s shared. There’s so much I recently experienced during my first session at the Allender Center, I could hardly wait to share with you some of what I learned. If aren’t familiar with the Allender Center, you can learn more about who they are and what they offer here. What struck me the most when I first came across the program at the Seattle School of Theology and Psychology a few years ago was two of their foundational belief

Since becoming sober five years ago, I frequently have people reach out who want to meet and talk about my experience. Usually, it’s because they’ve heard a whisper deep inside of themselves and are curious about the sober path, so they have questions they’d like me to help them answer. One of the questions I let them know that I won’t be able to answer is whether or not their drinking is a problem. Knowing that we have a drinking problem is something I believe we have to arr

What is one thing you can forgive yourself or someone for today? A few weeks ago, someone asked me for a few tips I could give them to help heal from within. For some, healing from within means something health-related. For others, it's a matter of the heart. Healing and personal development are the same. Whether we call it healing or working on developing ourselves personally, we’re taking action to improve our lives. The action we take is a practice we commit to over and ov

A few days ago, I overheard a young homeless man say to his friend, "I may look dirty, but I’m actually clean." They were talking about how they've both recently become sober. It made my heart hurt to hear him bring awareness to his appearance and recognize what people may see when they look at him. It also made me think how much more aware we are than we actually realize. It was like his higher self was speaking and saying that even though his shirt was stained, his jeans we

“Life is an inward journey. No matter our background or beliefs, each of us is on a road trip to love. And it's a journey that begins within.” A few weeks ago, someone asked me for some tips I could give them to help heal from within. For some, healing from within means something health-related. For others, it’s a matter of the heart. Regardless, I truly believe each of us is healing and when we heal ourselves, we help heal the world. Healing and personal development are the