Former guest and longtime friend John Amodeo joins Allen and Thom to advocate “gentle presence” 9 making ourselves available to the full range of what we’re experiencing in the moment, whether pleasure and pain. People are afraid of their emotions - “If I start crying, when will I stop?” The greater danger, in our experience, is the suppression of emotion. We also touch on processing failure and mistakes, cautioning against blame. When we get stuck in blame, we don’t learn and grow from our experiences.Buy John’s new book, The Power of Gentle Presence: Insights for Inner Peace & Deeper Relationships here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0G1HLNFV5Visit our website:www.emotionalsobriety.infoFollow us on social media:Instagram: thomrutledge2Joe C. Twitter: @Rebellion_DogsLearn more about Joe C., Secular AA and Rebellion Dogs here:https://rebelliondogspublishing.com  Friendly Circle Berlin workshops: https://friendlycircleberlin.org/events Allen’s book, 12 Essential Insights for Emotional Sobriety: https://www.amazon.com/12-Essential-Insights-Emotional-Sobriety/dp/1955415129/ Join Allen & Thom at our Thursday night, 7pm PST Zoom meeting on Emotional Sobriety and the Steps (login information below): https://zoom.us/j/330149513Password: 375986 For our ongoing workshop video series on Emotional Sobriety and the 12 Steps, visit our YouTube channel here:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHEM2-kqLkfp3I4c0jy-X-g Also, please join our “Emotional Sobriety and Recovery” FB Group at the following link:https://www.facebook.com/groups/120450976662519We’d love to stay in touch in between meetings. We appreciate feedback! Contact Patrick, our producer, at [email protected] for any questions or comments.