Spirituality is an essential ingredient in drug and alcohol recovery because addiction eventually takes away your ability to think about anything outside of your substances of choice. As your life begins to revolve around when, where and how you will get your next dose, you become powerless to choose any other way of living.
The New Found Life team believes everyone deserves to rediscover their true self – the person you were before addiction stripped you of everything you once loved and cared about. That’s why we make spirituality a focus of our addiction programming. We view spirituality as separate from religion in that spirituality is a personal journey of discovering a renewed connection with all things and experiencing a power higher than yourself.
Rev. Leo Booth serves as New Found Life’s spiritual advisor. Rev. Booth is an ordained minister, in addition to being an author, speaker and trainer. He has made guest appearances on TV shows including The Oprah Winfrey Show and Good Morning America. We asked him to share his thoughts on spirituality and what brings positive change in life.
Rev. Leo Booth on Spirituality
At New Found Life, you’ll often hear owner Ed Spatola and his wife, Mary Ann, say “Welcome to the good life,” followed by “It’s a beautiful thing.” The “good life” and the “beautiful thing” are the ingredients of spirituality. The spiritual awakening is knowing that we can change; knowing that in the company of others, we are stronger than substance abuse.
Know that, in the presence of God, we can face anything. And I’m not just talking about alcohol and drugs; I’m talking about anything – sickness, financial issues, divorce, death of a loved one – anything. Because the spiritual journey teaches us that we may not be able to change some things that happen in life, but we can create a spiritual response that enables us to live with the issues facing us.
This is the message to staff and clients at New Found Life. Spirituality becomes a lifestyle that includes all religions – and none. I’ve encountered every religion at New Found Life; those who were fanatical about God and those who do not believe in God. However, the message is the same: Be positive and creative. Be open to change. Be open to a God of your understanding.
Spirituality teaches us to accept each other. Accept the differences. Accept different cultures. Accept different sexual orientations. People from all backgrounds have passed through New Found Life and found sobriety…and more importantly, kept it.
It is a joy for me to be the spiritual advisor at New Found Life. It’s a beautiful thing!
— Reverend Leo Booth