Testimonials
"The BRG has been my safe place for about a year now. The people (the family) in the BRG are always very welcoming and compassionate - never judgmental no matter what I have gone through. I am grateful for this group! I have gone to many other online support groups and recovery groups, but there's just something about being about to have recovery and Bhakti together in one space and have devotees there supporting me along the way. There's nothing else like it. And to know that I am still welcome and accepted as a Bhakti yogi- devotee while struggling through recovery and navigating the material world struggles. What a relief that is. What a relief it is that the BRG exists!! The best thing is that I can talk about my struggles openly and honestly and be seen and heard lovingly!"
- Anonymous
"I feel blessed to have a sadhu Sangha, a safe place to share from my codependency and ACA issues, where we study from the Gurus and the 12 step literature.
It's like one wing Bhakti the other wing 12 step recovery. Now I can fly!!!"
- Anonymous
"While I have only just come to awareness of the Bhakti Recovery Group, I have found it to be a wonderful, welcoming place unlike any other recovery meeting I have seen in my 12 years of attempting to recover from alcoholism. It can be quite difficult to find 12 step groups that understand Vedic ideas, so it is quite exciting for me to have finally encountered a group where I can freely speak about and strengthen my devotional practices for Lord Krishna and His devotees."
- Anonymous
"While I have only just come to awareness of the Bhakti Recovery Group, I have found it to be a wonderful, welcoming place unlike any other recovery meeting I have seen in my 12 years of attempting to recover from alcoholism. It can be quite difficult to find 12 step groups that understand Vedic ideas, so it is quite exciting for me to have finally encountered a group where I can freely speak about and strengthen my devotional practices for Lord Krishna and His devotees."
- Anonymous
"BRG provides a recovery community where I can be vulnerable, accepted, and grow in my practice of the 12 Steps and Bhakti"
- Anonymous
"Jiva Gwen is a wonderful teacher, listener, and Bhakti practitioner. She is fun and down to earth! Working with her has been instrumental in my journey of self discovery and understanding my path of devotion to God. Through practical introspection and formulating easy steps to move forward in my life Jiva has shown me a new path to joy and recovery."
- Anonymous
"I love the BRG, its mood and mission and members. am so grateful to be a part of this community."
- Anonymous
"BRG has been the most fascinating journey for me where I have learnt if you want to go fast you go alone, but if you want to go far go together and it is reversed engineering and will be for me (there is animal, human and god and we can choose to degrade to animal instinct or upgrade to godly level) for me Its truly been a Dog to God experience after being invoked in this divine group with All of YOU"
- Anonymous
"The BRG has provided me with a safe anonymous community to deepen my recovery and Krishna Consciousness. I feel so blessed to have found this lovely Sangha."
- Anonymous
"BRG has given me a safe space to share my material struggles without fear of judgement or condemnation. Through association with devotees who also have struggled, I have a new found freedom and the guidance I need to overcome my entanglements in Maya and increase my Krishna consciousness."
- Bhakta Rob G.
"The Bhakti Recovery group has been critical for me to be able to move forward in my spiritual life as a recovering addict. Not only have I been able to find support for my own journey, I have the opportunity to be able to support others. Thank you from the bottom of my heart."
- Mayapur
"The Bhakti Recovery Group has been essential in moving forward on my spiritual path. Coming from a 12 Step background into Bhakti had been intimidating until I met the fellowship. I am eternally grateful to the members of the group for helping guide me towards Krishna."
- Anonymous
"The Bhakti Recovery Group has helped me tremendously to understand what my karma is in this life and how to deal with it. Through the 12 steps and the connection with Krishna Consciousness, I am able to establish a meaningful, deep and loving relationship with Krishna and make a valuable contribution to the community of devotees. This very special group of devotees opened my heart and made my recovery possible.
Hare Krishna"
- Bhakta Phil
"Through the BRG I found a sponsor to guide me into surrender. For years I was talking to food instead of my sweet Lord Govinda. I am finding through resetting basic habits and receiving the right quota of food I am experiencing real freedom. Bhakti recovery is supporting my journey though the 12 steps so that I can rediscover my relationship with Krishna and have the higher taste I experienced when I first started chanting Hare Krishna. For someone like me with the disease of a food addiction I get a chance to see my whole living experience through surrender to Krishna colored lenses."
- Anonymous
"I had been sober for many years through another 12step program when I joined the BRG, but it was not until then I learned how to fully utilize the 12 steps. When I could see the steps in the light of bhakti, it all made so much more sense, and I gained a deeper understanding of my daily program."
- Bhakta Henrik
"Living in the material world can be hard. Even If you are fortunate enough to have friends and family who provide loving support, do they really understand you and can they give you the kind of support you need? Do you still end up feeling lonely with no direction?
We need to build our faith in order to navigate this material world, especially if we are burdened with sicknesses of the heart and mind and addiction. If those we are close to do not understand our addictions, what to speak of our faith in Krishna, can they really reach the depths of our need?
If you need someone to lean on who understands where you’re coming from as an individual soul struggling in a human body and struggling as an addict while desiring to live this life as a Bhakta, Jiva is your person.
Jiva will give you expert advice from a life lived walking the walk, talking the talk and working the work. She will support you lovingly through personal meetings, Bhakti Recovery Group meetings (BRG) and the 12 steps. She will share the advice of our gurus, our acharyas, and our wisdom literature through the mood of love and service as a devotee. And as you form this faithful friendship and mentorship with Jiva, Krishna will also be there, providing His shoulder and His mercy through this special meeting of souls.
Your feelings of loneliness will fade as you come to realize Jiva can be counted on to always be there and as you meet others in BRG meetings and retreats. The sacredness of making our bodies and minds healthy - these temples that Krishna has provided for us - will come into focus as the foundation of our lives. And this foundation will become stronger with every listen, every share and every healing heart.
Work toward your goals, rebuild your material life, rediscover your strengths and realize the strength of Krishna is always with us - reach out to Jiva today."
- Dani K.
"The Bhakti Recovery Group is an anonymous, safe space for sharing honestly. When I share, I feel held by the group. There is a mood of respect and reverence when sharing happens. I love going to meetings. I feel at home and my heart is lifted every time.
Because the BRG is sanctified with spiritual energy this fact has helped me to feel safe and secure to allow myself to look within instead of being easily and constantly distracted by the many sense gratification choices from the material energy.
My chanting has drastically improved because I am working my steps and in regular positive association with those who are actively in recovery and improving their chanting. We encourage each other and share in our love for pleasing Krsna. Now I sincerely look forward to chanting.
It is not easy to look at things I’ve unconsciously avoided all my life. The BRG has cultivated a bright, sweet space to allow this inevitably dark, minutely inner investigation to take place.
The 12 steps are simple and practical. When I worked my step 4 – I was physically exhausted and mentally drained. I came to the shocking awareness that my thinking had caused a lot of my suffering in my adult life. My daily, personal sadhana helps me to stick with the digging process. I can now feel my heart for the first time ever. This is huge. Maybe this is the purification process taking place.
I love the pairing of the 12 steps with Vedic literature. They complement each other perfectly. The 12 step literature points out the practical steps to consistently take daily in the material world. While the Vedic literature nourishes my soul and feels so good within my heart. I don’t want to be whimsical in my recovery or my sadhana. If I know better, I must do better. To me, the BRG makes the most sense – it methodically yokes the superior knowledge of Vedic wisdom to the daily mundane, material existence. It helps me to reaffirm my true identity as a pure spirit soul in a material body covered by Maya while in good association.
This path is intense and it can get “uglified” and “disgustified”. I am willing to do the work. The BRG is a very potent seed for self-realization – depending on how high I want to go. I am ready for change. I am done spinning in circles waiting for others to do for me what only I can do for myself. The Bhakti Recovery Group is EXACTLY what I need to LEVEL UP. I long for Krsna Prema.
Every soul needs the BRG. So if you are thinking about it – just do it. You have nothing to lose. Try it :)
From the depths of my soul Thank you JivaG, Lex and the BRG Family –
JivaG inspires me to be better because she holds herself to very high standards and I deeply respect her for that. She has ignited a puny spark within my chest that wants to catch ablaze. She is fierce and loyal. JivaG I love you deeply.
To my newly found luminescent BRG Family – I absolutely love and adore all of you and I am so grateful to be in your sweet association =) HariBol!!!"
-Pure Spirit Soul in Recovery, Lady Di (Diana)
