Ep 180. Come Back to Yourself: A Mini Life Update + 10 Minute Guided Meditation with Ash Butterss

Ep 180. Come Back to Yourself: A Mini Life Update + 10 Minute Guided Meditation with Ash Butterss

Curious about how others navigate their sobriety journey? This episode of Behind The Smile brings a warm mix of holiday chaos, recovery wins and a gentle reset for anyone feeling a bit frazzled. Ash Butterss shares a fresh life update from a recent trip to Bali, where a two-week holiday was built around the local AA convention.

She laughs at how past-Ash would have found "a room with recovering Alcoholics for a whole weekend" horrifying, yet now calls it "so much fun" thanks to the shared humour, unspoken connection and powerful stories from international speakers.

For anyone anxious about sober travel, her reflection hits home: "I remember thinking to myself when I was getting sober, how am I ever going to be able to travel without a drink again?" Ash talks about rewiring those old airport-and-plane drinking habits, and how flying sober eventually became second nature – to the point where the drinks trolley barely registers.

There’s also a very human detour into Bali belly, complete with a 4am wake-up, a house-call doctor, a painful injection and a cancelled water cleansing ceremony. Instead of spiralling, she borrows her friend’s mantra, "what a gift", and reframes the setback as protection and a reminder to act quickly and look after herself.

Back home, Ash is honest about struggling to restart her morning spiritual routine after getting sick, and how meditation keeps calling her back as a simple, low-effort way to feel better. That leads to the heart of this episode: a brand-new, 10-minute guided "reset" meditation designed for anyone needing clarity and calm at any time of day – whether they’re seated at home or walking in the park.

If you’ve been craving a gentle nudge back to yourself, this mix of story, humour and practice might be exactly the pause you’ve been waiting for.