Randal Lyons
Doctor of Oriental Medicine (FL)Licensed Acupuncturist (CA, CO)Nationally Board Certified Acupuncture & Chinese Herbology (NCCAOM)ABOUT ME
The Short Version…
I’m Randal Lyons—a Doctor of Chinese Medicine, shamanic practitioner, addiction recovery expert, and author. I was born and raised in New York, studied Chinese Medicine and Core Shamanism in California, and now live in Nova Scotia, Canada, with my wife and two charismatic Siamese cats.
I’m also 29+ years sober. Prior to that, my “field work” in the area of drugs, music, and mayhem led me to holistic medicine. Decades ago, it helped me. Now, I use it to help others.
As a health professional with a holistic, shamanic edge, I work with individual clients as well as in Western hospitals and clinics, world-class addiction treatment centers, and collaborative healthcare facilities. I also offer a principle-based, proven-effective online addiction recovery program.
The Longer Version…
Born in NYC, I found myself transplanted to upstate New York at age 7. From then until age 15, I spent countless magical hours wandering the woods with my hunting cat Taffy. But…
Down the river and into the city, all sorts of trouble was waiting. By my early twenties, drugs, music, and mayhem led my friends and I on a cross-country, rock-n-roll pilgrimage to LA. It was the 1980s, and we had our sights on stardom. Some found it, some overdosed, and some moved on.
As for me? I found a rope tossed by my Guardian Angel in the form of…
Chinese Medicine
Studying Chinese martial and healing arts with Wang Yu is one of the greatest gifts I’ve received. From Summer 1988 until “graduation” and being allowed to teach on my own in 1994, I was initiated into traditional Chinese teachings.
It’s no coincidence that I became certified in Chinese Bodywork from Emperor’s College of Traditional Oriental Medicine the same month I got sober: July 1994.
I went on to become a licensed Doctor of Oriental Medicine (FL), Licensed Acupuncturist (CA, CO), and Nationally Board Certified in Acupuncture & Chinese Herbology (NCCAOM).
As a licensed healthcare professional, my work includes private practice as well as collaboration with hospitals, medical clinics, and world-class addiction treatment facilities.
Core Shamanism
I had my first shamanic journey in 1989 and, during the 1990s, trained at the Foundation for Shamanic Studies under the mentorship of Michael Harner and other gifted teachers.
This training included Shamanic Counseling, where I learned to teach others to journey for themselves. From there, I developed a system of healing called Opening the Eyes of the Heart. My book—which shares the same name—outlines and illustrates the process using 20 case studies.
The Masks of Addiction & Soul Courting
Trainings with Martin Prechtel and Malidoma Some have also shaped my practice. Their instruction informed my creation of The Masks of Addiction and Soul Courting, a six-part ritual which I led for more than a decade at The Orchid treatment center in partnership with licensed therapists.
What makes me an addiction “expert”? Field research! We’re talking 16-plus years of active addiction, failed attempts at sobriety, and all the inevitable loss, brokenness, and consequences that came as a result.
Those lessons inform my 29+ years of continuous sobriety and provide shared experiences with those I have the privilege of helping.
I believe every individual can overcome addiction and live a meaningful life of health and harmony. I am living proof.
Writing & Creation
In 2007, I published Opening the Eyes of the Heart. Merging Chinese Medicine and shamanism, this guide shares illustrative case histories and outlines a holistic system of healing. I republish and discuss these cases in the Medicine Journeys section here.
Over the last two decades, I created a proven-effective, principle-based system of holistic addiction treatment based on my experience treating trauma and the mental and physical health issues that arise from addiction. In addition to working with clients one-on-one and collaborating with treatment centers and medical facilities, I developed a unique online program that folks can utilize on their own.
The Sober Shaman’s Online Program guides participants through 52 lessons—one per week for an entire year. Each lesson is a multimedia experience that includes PDFs, videos, guided journeys, writing exercises, actionable homework, and the opportunity to attend live Q&As and events. The Program is the culmination of my treating, teaching, writing and personal practices of the last three decades.
What comes next…: As I embark on my sixties, I continue to widen my definition of Medicine. Along this path, I look forward to investigating, collaborating, and opening to what presents as the Tao unfolds. I feel grateful and fortunate to currently be wrapped in the embrace of the rural south shore of Nova Scotia, where I share a Home with my beautiful and talented wife, Dr. Dana Leigh Lyons, and our charismatic Siamese cats, LingXu and LingDao.