Addiction Alchemy, A Different Approach to Recovery

Addiction Alchemy™ is a program based on a Native American path-working system known as the medicine wheel, and Kabalistic teaching, an ancient Jewish mysticism. Specifically, the program focuses on the following: The four directions and creation of personal sacred space (this includes prayer and meditation); recognizing over or under-identification with archetypes and employing the healthy integration of archetypes; the use of ritual and ceremony for psychospiritual work; personal inner work that the individual does outside a group context.

Addiction Alchemy™ offers the opportunity to participate in the process with a small group of people over a period of several months. Their location is Fort Myers, Florida and the groups are $50 each, which leads me to believe they ain’t just doing this for the money. The website has a tremendous amount of information about the medicine wheel and using it in conjunction with other programs.

The medicine wheel is a journey around the compass of our lives. If your religious leanings are more Earth-based than Christian, this model offers a blueprint for using the 12 steps that may be more in line with your core beliefs. I can easily see the 16-steps of empowerment fitting in the wheel as well as the affirmations of Women for Sobriety.

Addiction Alchemy™ was founded by Renee Bledsoe. Her brother died of drug addiction and alcoholism. There’s a beautiful link on the website for submitting memorials for loved ones who have died from addiction. She writes on the website:

The ability to "plug in", exchange and interchange archetypes, imagery, symbology and practices into the Medicine Wheel frame work allows the program to meet the individual "where they are at on the map". The eclecticism and elasticity of Addiction Alchemy could allow an entire population, who for whatever reason could not connect with 12 Steps and Alcoholics Anonymous, to connect to the over-arching power of archetypal energy healing.

The website also has a ton of resources including instructions on creating your own medicine wheel and rituals for intention and release. Exploring the links to all the different interactive tools can lead to at least several very pleasant sober hours. I hope you enjoy exploring this beautiful and informative site.