Larry Winter

Have you read a book, magazine article, blog, email, or other media, then re-read it years later? I have done this often during my lifetime. When I re-read a book I say to myself, “Wow I did not get the message the first time. There is a deeper meaning I glossed over initially.” I read […]

The gift of Recovery guides and strengthens us. We do not come close to healing by our own efforts. Having a team of people to help support us during our struggles and when life is running smoothly gives us spiritual food. Recovery begins and ends in the grace of our Higher Power (for me God).

A mother of twelve adult children informs them she has cancer and will die within six months. The children don’t understand and ignore her. One of the older children asks the mother, “Who is the greatest child? The children are arguing amongst themselves each stating they are moms best. The children were not worried about

Celebrate Recovery the mother of love. Sometimes we gloss over the importance of support from people who care about us. This gives way to freeing us from the thoughts that bind us, blaming others for our struggles, and succumbing to a world of hopelessness. We belong to each other (spouse, family, friends, co-workers, recoverees, etc.)

Happy Wednesday to you. A Certified Peer Specialist (CPS) is a person who has not only lived the experience of mental illness but also has had formal training in the peer specialist model of mental health support. We use our unique set of recovery experiences in combination with solid skills training to support peers who

When we receive information about Recovery we can be formed by what it offers us. When we become on fire by enveloping Recovery we find love for ourselves and people. We unite organically with people we don’t like and people we are in community with i.e. spouse, family, friends, and peers. Our openness to our

The unity of people is what we hope for when we practice the steps of Recovery. Some of us entering Recovery find our relationships involve division and discord. We can be divided against a spouse, child, friend, co-worker, etc.. Some of us are in union with the purpose and principles of Recovery. Sadly unity is

Have we ever asked someone “How old do you think I am?” Typically the person responding to this question will lowball our age. Our return response may be, “Actually I am much older than that. Don’t I look good for my age?” People I interact with sometimes ask loaded questions and want answers to make

We begin Recovery, What do we do now? We face this question as we explore the direction to finding hope, healing, and health. This is no joking matter since what we do next will create challenges for us. There is a spirit of wisdom and revelation in each of us attacking the problems of our

Throughout my Recovery, people have given me instructions to guide me toward healing. Several years ago a psychologist asked if anyone told me I suffer from trauma. My psychologist began to describe the symptoms occurring from trauma. I determined I could check most of the boxes. He said, “You may benefit from eye movement desensitization