Episode
Sonia Does The Steps: Step Two - A Higher Power
- Podcast
- Sisters In Sobriety
- Published
- Jun 1, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 3525
- Processing state
not_requested
Actions
POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/sisters-in-sobriety-6679709/episodes/sonia-does-the-steps-step-two-a-higher-power/transcription-requests
Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/sisters-in-sobriety-6679709/sonia-does-the-steps-step-two-a-higher-power.md
Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.
Summary
In this episode of Sisters in Sobriety, Sonia takes on something she has circled for years: the 12 steps. After years of attending meetings here and there, interviewing addiction experts, and seeing the way the steps have changed people’s lives, she is finally stepping in. Joined by recovery coach, One Day at a Time podcast host, and The 12 Steps for Skeptics author Arlina Allen, Sonia explores Step Two through the lens of skepticism, spirituality, language, and lived recovery. The conversation opens with Sonia’s honest reaction to Step Two: “Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.” Together, Sonia and Arlina unpack why words like sanity, insanity, God, and character defects can feel outdated or loaded, especially for people who understand addiction through trauma, mental health, coping mechanisms, and neuroscience. They also explore how to “take what you like and leave the rest,” why looking for similarities matters, and how a higher power can be understood in a way that feels personal, flexible, and grounded. Arlina helps reframe Step Two as less about dogma and more about willingness, support, outside perspective, and access to something beyond one’s own fear-based thinking. The episode touches on spirituality versus religion, the pause between impulse and reaction, emotional triggers, “first thought wrong,” and why the hard choice is often the right one. Sonia and Arlina also talk about synchronicity, awe, honesty, music, emotional avoidance, and how sobriety can make room for deeper joy, grief, intuition, and connection. In the personal story segment, Sonia shares how she is beginning to recognize her higher power in real life: in moments of synchronicity, in sober awe, and in choosing honesty. Arlina offers a beautiful refl…