What if your suffering isn’t coming from what’s happening to you… but from how you’re relating to it?

In this episode, Chris introduces a powerful workshop-style practice to help you see the root of your suffering in real time. Through a simple visual exercise, you’ll begin to understand how both grasping and resisting quietly shape your experience.

In this episode of the Spiritual Sobriety Podcast, Chris explores:

• The two primary causes of suffering: attachment and aversion
• How “grabbing” and “pushing away” create internal tension
• The connection between Buddhist teachings and the 12 Steps
• How mindfulness helps interrupt automatic reactions

This episode is for you if:

• You feel stuck in patterns you can’t seem to break
• You notice yourself clinging to or avoiding certain people, places, or behaviors
• You’re ready to understand your suffering at a deeper level

The Invitation

Suffering doesn’t just come from what we experience.
It often comes from how tightly we hold on or how strongly we push away.

As Chris shares, “attachments and aversions are the two key sources of suffering.”

In this episode, you’re invited to slow down and notice where this is happening in your own life, not with judgment, but with awareness.

Featured Practice

Take 5 minutes today to try this:

1. Draw a simple half-circle with two arrows: one labeled “attachments” and one labeled “aversions.”
2. Write down examples of where you are grabbing onto something or pushing something away.
3. Pause and ask yourself: “What am I wanting right now? What am I not wanting?”

Begin to notice the moment before the reaction.

Journal Prompt

“Where in my life am I creating suffering by holding on or pushing away?”

Write freely. Let patterns reveal themselves.

Key Reflection

“The grabbing and the pushing away are what generate our suffering.”

If this episode resonated with you, share it with someone walking their own sobriety path.

Chris McDuffie is a licensed psychotherapist, mindfulness teacher and sober coach in private practice. He is the CEO and lead therapist for Chris McDuffie Counseling, a leading concierge practice caring for mental and behavioral health needs. He lives in Carlsbad, California, and holds a Master of Social Work from Fordham University. He teaches recovery from addiction and co-occurring disorders through the spiritual practices of Buddhism and the 12 Steps.

If this episode resonated with you, share it with someone walking their own sobriety path.

Follow Chris for reflections and meditations:
Website: https://www.chrismcduffietherapy.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chris__mcduffie/

Insight Timer: https://insighttimer.com/buddhanature

You don’t have to walk this path alone.

Show Notes

Recovery is not only about stopping harmful behaviors. It is about waking up to our lives with greater awareness, honesty, and connection.

In this episode, Chris introduces the Three Jewels of Buddhism and explores how they relate to the principles of the Twelve Steps. These three foundations offer a framework for spiritual practice that supports sobriety, awakening, and meaningful connection with others.

In this episode, Chris explores:

• The meaning of the word Buddha and the idea of awakening
• The Dharma as a path of mindfulness, understanding, and love
• The Sangha as the importance of spiritual community
• How these three jewels parallel the principles found in the Twelve Steps

This episode is for you if:

• You are curious how Buddhist teachings connect with recovery
• You want a deeper understanding of spiritual awakening
• You are learning how community supports long-term sobriety

The Invitation

The Three Jewels are the foundational refuges of Buddhist practice: the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha.

The Buddha represents the possibility of awakening. In Buddhism, the Buddha is not viewed as a god but as a human being who awakened to the causes of suffering. His life reminds us that awakening is possible for all of us.

The Dharma refers to the teachings and practices that guide us toward awareness, wisdom, and compassion. These teachings are offered as suggestions and practices that help us see clearly and live more skillfully.

The Sangha is the spiritual community. It is the place where we practice these teachings together, support one another, and learn to cultivate loving awareness in relationship.

Together, these three jewels remind us that recovery is not meant to be practiced alone. Awakening happens through practice, guidance, and community.

Featured Practice

Take a few quiet breaths.

1. Sit comfortably and allow your body to relax into the support beneath you.
2. Bring your awareness to your breath as it naturally rises and falls.
3. Notice the beginning, middle, and end of each inhale and exhale.

If the mind wanders, gently bring your attention back to the breath.

Simply watch the breath move in and out, allowing it to breathe you.

Journal Prompt

How do the three refuges of awakening, practice, and community show up in my own recovery?

Write honestly and notice where these supports already exist in your life.

Key Reflection

“A bad Sangha is better than no Sangha.”

Chris McDuffie is a licensed psychotherapist, mindfulness teacher and sober coach in private practice. He is the CEO and lead therapist for Chris McDuffie Counseling, a leading concierge practice caring for mental and behavioral health needs. He lives in Carlsbad, California, and holds a Master of Social Work from Fordham University. He teaches recovery from addiction and co-occurring disorders through the spiritual practices of Buddhism and the 12 Steps.

If this episode resonated with you, share it with someone walking their own sobriety path.

Follow Chris for reflections and meditations:
Website: https://www.chrismcduffietherapy.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chris__mcduffie/

Insight Timer: https://insighttimer.com/buddhanature

You don’t have to walk this path alone.

When we use the word spiritual, what do we actually mean?

Is it religious? Secular? Personal? Universal?
In recovery, this question matters. Because how you define spirituality will shape how you practice it.

In this episode, Chris explores the meaning of spirituality through the lenses of Buddhism and the Twelve Steps.

In this episode, Chris explores:

• The root meaning of the word “spirit” as breath
• How Buddhism defines spirituality as a path of awakening
• How the Twelve Steps frame spirituality as transformation
• Why spirituality may be best understood as love

This episode is for you if:

• You struggle with the word “God” in recovery
• You feel unsure how to define spirituality for yourself
• You want a path that is spiritual but not rigidly religious

The Invitation

The Latin root of spirit means breath. A living force flowing in us, through us, and around us.

Buddhism describes spirituality as a path of practice leading to insight into the true nature of reality. Through meditation and awareness, we cultivate kindness and wisdom and gradually loosen the grip of ego.

The Twelve Steps describe spirituality as a transformation. A spiritual awakening is the moment we become able to do, feel, and believe what we could not do alone. It is the discovery of a strength beyond our isolated self.

Across both paths, a common thread emerges. We move out of self-centeredness and toward connection. Toward service. Toward love.

Spirituality may not be about doctrine. It may be about becoming capable of loving more fully.

Featured Practice

Take a few quiet breaths.

1. Inhale slowly and notice the breath moving through you.
2. Ask yourself: “What does spirituality mean to me?”
3. Notice any resistance, clarity, or curiosity that arises.

There is no correct definition. Let your experience teach you.

Journal Prompt

“How do I define spirituality today, and how does that definition shape my recovery?”

Write without trying to sound spiritual. Write honestly.

Key Reflection

“Maybe there are as many definitions of spiritual awakening as there are people who have had them.”

Chris McDuffie is a licensed psychotherapist, mindfulness teacher and sober coach in private practice. He is the CEO and lead therapist for Chris McDuffie Counseling, a leading concierge practice caring for mental and behavioral health needs. He lives in Carlsbad, California, and holds a Master of Social Work from Fordham University. He teaches recovery from addiction and co-occurring disorders through the spiritual practices of Buddhism and the 12 Steps.

If this episode resonated with you, share it with someone walking their own sobriety path.

Follow Chris for reflections and meditations:
Website: https://www.chrismcduffietherapy.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chris__mcduffie/

Insight Timer: https://insighttimer.com/buddhanature

You don’t have to walk this path alone.