One fine day, I received a Facebook message from a great guy named Omar. My mentor Pam Brossman has referred me to him and he asked if he can interview me about my story.
I didn’t hesitate and this is the product of his amazing podcast hosting skills and tech savvy:
http://theshairpodcast.com/020-maria-pau-coaching-with-substance/
When you click on the above link you will find me talking about my story of being raised in the slums of the Philippines surrounded with drugs, gangs and violence. I came from a broken home and was left out on the streets fending for herself from the age of thirteen.
Join us now as Omar takes me through 25 years of drug addiction where I travelled through 127 cities and into the unmanageable life of sex work and drug trading. You don’t want to miss this episode!
TRANSCRIPT: http://theshairpodcast.com/020-maria-pau-coaching-with-substance/
Maria, let’s talk a little bit about how your life is today. I know you have a very busy schedule, obviously with all the book tours and all the conventions, but tell us about how you balance your hobbies, what you do for a living, your daily routines.
Maria: Sure. Daily it’s a little bit of different things that I do every day, but it’s the same. I exercise. I eat well. I meditate twice a day so as soon as I wake up I do a 20 minute transcendental meditation and then I do one in the afternoon as well. Transcendental meditation is the technique used by Oprah when she ran Harper International. Everyone in that company actually meditated twice a day. If you look it up, Oprah Winfrey transcendental meditation, you’ll find it.
Russell Brand is one of the people that really use that as well as a tool to get well. Same with Hugh Jackman. Seinfeld as well is one of them and Nicole Kidman so a lot of celebrities have been using it. The Beatles were the ones who started it back in the 50s and it’s founded by Marishema and when I was seven years old I was taught transcendental meditation and as I got into my addiction that started at 11, I finally let go of it, but now I’m back into it again, practicing it daily and that’s really what grounds me: my meditative practice. Of course there’s exercise every day. I do yoga one day. Tai chi one day. Chi Quong one day and I’ve got hip hop classes twice a week. One that I go to and one that I teach.
What’s the one thing right now, what’s the most important aspect in staying clean and sober today?
Maria: I wish I could say there was one thing. There’s 50 things, but the first and foremost is spirituality. It is the belief and the firm faith and belief that there is something greater. This isn’t even me. This vessel that I ride this world in, I’m bigger than this. Just like yours, you’re sharing stories of people in addiction and your vision is so great that people are going to hear this and they’re going to think my life might not be so bad after all after I hear that crazy girl. Maybe I should make some changes and that’s why I wrote my book. Spirituality, we need something bigger than ourselves, because if it’s just up to us, if it’s just up to me, I’d still be out there. I swear to you I’ll still be out there.
Listen now: http://theshairpodcast.com/020-maria-pau-coaching-with-substance/
At what point did you have that spiritual awakening. Give us that story, that ‘aha’ moment in your recovery when you accepted that you were powerless over drugs and alcohol and for the first time had developed the hope that you could recover?
Maria: It was the time that I drove into this driveway because one of my really good friends that I’ve known for 20 years said ‘you need to see this monk. He’ll protect you’ because I had this guy after me with all guns blazing and so I went to see Zhu and when I looked into his eyes, I saw my experiences. He looked into my eyes and saw his experiences and this is when we said that we can do this together and really that’s the journey of recovery.
Not that you need to do it with another person. You need to do it with yourself and it was a hand off. He didn’t aid and abed me like every other person. He didn’t hook into my codependent side. He was just there modeling the behavior of spirituality. He’s lived a monastic lifestyle and he trains , he exercises, he eats well and not just exercises the things he can do with his body are amazing.
O: I love it. We can’t do this alone. We need models, mentors, whatever term you want to use, we need a guide to take us through this journey because otherwise we’re constantly seeking outside of ourselves, especially in the beginning and if we pick the wrong person, we pick the wrong guide and we pick the wrong mentor, then we’re right back where we started from so it’s crucial to find that connection with others that will allow you to connect with your higher power, with your spirituality.
**SHAIR – sharing helps addicts in recovery**
The SHAIR Podcast with host Omar Pinto is a great place where you can listen to inspiring stories from Drug Addicts and Alcoholics in recovery.
DOWNLOAD to your phone on iTunes or Stitcher Radio:
iTunes: http://theshairpodcast.com/itunes
Stitcher Radio: http://theshairpodcast.com/stitcher
OR go to the WEBSITE: http://theshairpodcast.com/
My interview is at: http://theshairpodcast.com/020-maria-pau-coaching-with-substance/
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