From Addiction to Awakening: Justin’s Journey to Freedom
Podcast Recap: Do You Feel Heard? – Episode 10
Guest: Justin
Theme: Recovery, spiritual transformation, releasing identity, and how healing relationships can change everything
What does it take to transform your life completely—from addiction, trauma, and spiritual disconnection to deep healing, purpose, and service?
In this raw and powerful episode of Do You Feel Heard?, the hosts welcome Justin, a former client and now communication coach-in-training, to share his incredible story of resilience. His journey spans decades of addiction, prison, spiritual awakening, deep relationship healing, and the pursuit of a new identity rooted in truth and love.
This isn’t just a story about overcoming substance use. It’s a story about becoming yourself.
A Life in Chaos: Addiction, Identity & the Breaking Point
Justin’s story begins with early childhood pain, disconnection, and rebellion. He was drinking and experimenting with drugs before the age of 10, dropping acid by 12, and injecting substances by 15. For the next 20 years, his life spiraled through addiction, violence, and incarceration.
“The thing that was killing me, I had tricked myself into believing was the thing keeping me alive.” – Justin
His wake-up call came not through therapy or rehab—but jail. A night of divine intervention, a period of detox in solitary confinement, and a spiritual moment of surrender led to a realization: “This is 100% my responsibility.”
That moment changed everything.
Spirituality, Sobriety & the Long Road to Healing
Justin found early recovery through Narcotics Anonymous. The structure, the 12 steps, and the community gave him what he calls a “blueprint for living.”
But the most transformative part came through Step 11: prayer and meditation.
“I wanted to be with myself. But for 26 years, I did the opposite—I obliterated myself.” – Justin
Meditation became his medicine. Eventually, it turned into a calling. Justin trained with Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield, becoming a certified meditation teacher. He later trained in Kundalini yoga—after just one class—and began teaching workshops, working one-on-one with others from a spiritual lens.
The Danger of Labels: “Addict” and “Recovery”
Nine years into sobriety, Justin hit another wall—not with substances, but with identity.
Despite the growth, he was still calling himself an “addict,” still framing his life as “in recovery.” But the label no longer matched the lived reality. In fact, it was holding him back.
“How long do I have to carry this identity to feel like I’m doing it right?” – Justin
A plant medicine ceremony gave him clarity: he wasn’t just ready to let go of the addict label—he had to. Real healing required expansion beyond past identities.
Healing Relationships: From Conflict to Conscious Partnership
Justin and his wife came to coaching on the brink of collapse. Childhood trauma, unspoken expectations, and cycles of reactivity had created a deep wedge.
“We were holding on to the good moments and blasting through the bad.” – Justin
With coaching, communication skills, and vulnerability, everything began to shift:
- Awareness replaced blame.
- Tools created space.
- Personal growth stopped relying on the partner’s behavior to feel safe.
Eventually, the relationship itself became a spiritual practice—what Ram Dass calls “the highest form of yoga.”
From Student to Teacher: The Call to Serve
Now, Justin is stepping into the next evolution of his path—as a communication coach with Helping the Heard.
Why?
“How can I not help someone else feel this free?” – Justin
He’s committed to reducing unnecessary suffering in relationships, challenging the stigma around addiction and recovery, and helping people find wholeness through presence, accountability, and deep listening.
Favorite Quotes from Episode 10
“The longer I called myself an addict, the more that identity solidified.”
“Recovery was a chapter. But I’m not recovering anymore. I’m living.”
“Addiction is spiritual malnourishment. We’re trying to fill a void—but not with what we need.”
“Healing happens when we stop trying to fix—and start supporting.”
“Your trauma is valid. But it’s not your whole identity.”
Justin’s Practices for Healing
- Daily meditation (Insight Timer, breath counting, guided sessions)
Kundalini yoga and chakra-based energy work - Sit spots and barefoot grounding in nature
- Psychedelic integration and conscious plant medicine use
- Reflective journaling on identity, self-talk, and change
- Communication coaching for relationships
Final Reflection: Healing Is Identity Expansion
Recovery isn’t the end of your story. And addiction isn’t the only thing about you.
The journey to awakening is about more than quitting a substance or surviving a past—it’s about learning to live, fully, honestly, and with heart.
And as Justin proves, when you release what no longer serves you, and follow what truly calls you…
You don’t just heal.
You become whole.