Ray Whitaker
National Recovery Month
September is National Recovery Month. The prologue to this was (is) Overdose Awareness Day, where those who have passed away from an overdose were...
A doorway to healing
“Trauma is not the bad things that happened to you, but what happens inside you as a result of what happened to you.” —Dr....
Bridging the gaps
One of the great things about being an addict or an alcoholic is …
Weird way to start off an article about recovery, with a...
Mind, body, soul
So … it may seem like I’m a one-trick pony when it comes to certain subjects I bring to these pages. But when it...
Master at work
So, raise your hand if you’re a Jorma Kaukonen fan (I’m raising mine). I’ll be straight with you — I knew Jorma’s music with...
How she survived
“At first I was afraid, I was petrified …”
I don’t care if you’re a die-hard metal or country music fan, you’re lying to yourself...
Slow and steady can win the race
We’re approaching a season that bodes many things: our busiest time of year, an exponential increase in the Island population, cookouts, hitting the beach...
Taking an inward journey: Part 3
“I know so many people who think they can do it alone
They isolate their heads and stay in their safety zones
Now what can you...
The act of protest
“Handful of senators don't pass legislation
And marches alone can't bring integration
When human respect is disintegratin'
This whole crazy world is just too frustratin'”
–P.F. Sloan, “Eve...
I pledge …
Oh well now, two or three minutes, two or three hours,
What does it matter now, in this life of ours
Let's work together, come on,...
Taking an inward journey: part two
“Watch out now, Take care, beware the thoughts that linger, Winding up inside your head, The hopelessness around you, In the dead of night…Beware...
In the chair
“Penny Lane, there is a barber showing photographs of every head he's had the pleasure to know, and all the people that come and...
Taking an inward journey: part one
“Turn off your mind, relax, and float down stream…”
John Lennon borrowed, modified, and beautified these words from Timothy Leary’s 1964 book “The Psychedelic Experience”...
A passionate player
So, let's say you're a musician. You're passionate about what you play, how you play, why you play, and how it makes you feel...