Rev. Celeste's guest is recovery coach, author, renown vocalist, speaker, and recording artist, Ester Nicholson (Ester Nicholson – Recovery Coach • Author • Speaker • Recording Artist (wordpress.com). As a vocalist, she has worked with Rod Stewart, Bette Midler, Brenda Russell, Al Green, Faith Hill, Beyonce, Carol King, Barbara Streisand and many others.
Ester's story is about a girl who wanted to be accepted. She didn't feel that she was good enough, and that she didn't belong. She smoked marijuana with the kids. She got pregnant at the age of 16. She also was addicted to the attention of men. Her father died. And she wanted to feel safe. Then, she got introduced to and addicted to crack cocaine for 6 years. She had to give up her daughter for two years so she would not drag her in the streets in the middle of the night looking for crack - because she couldn't stop.
Ester became afraid of living that demeaning life. When she decided to go into recovery, she used the 12 steps to establish a relationship with God. On November 1st, she will be sober for 35 years.
Ester made a decision to turn her will and her life over to the care of a Power greater than her - God. The God of her father, the Baptist minister, of her mother and community wasn't personal to her. She knew she had to get "home" to God. Something in her soul was remembering who she was. The spiritual principles of the 12 steps (What are the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of AA? (alcoholicsanonymous.com) allowed her to have a personal relationship with God. She had a spiritual experience that transformed her life. She was God.
She started to release the energy that was blocking her from that experience. She discovered that she had to keep going deeper. A lady she sponsored invited her to Agape. Ester started taking classes at Agape (Agape Live – AgapeLive). Ester came to understand God was in her and was her. That education and being around that consciousness shifted her. Ester was led to bridge the gap between metaphysical teachings and the 12 steps of recovery. She became a licensed spiritual practitioner (What is a CSL Licensed Practitioner? - Spiritual Development) and she has been now for 26 years.
One must be in alignment with God rather than rely on other people's jargon and dogma. Ester has to check in a few times a week to remain in alignment with God. She is a testimony of what is possible when you make yourself available to God.
Ester's book: "Soul Recovery: 12 Keys to Healing Addiction" follows the 12 steps. Step one says when one's life has become unmanageable, allow yourself to be divinely guided and directed. The first key is to get out of your own way. The second key is to be restored to your True Self. You can find the book and more about Ester at estermail.com and her community there. And you can also find the book on Amazon (Soul Recovery - 12 Keys to Healing Dependence: The 12 Steps for the Rest of Us—a Path to Wholeness, Serenity and Success).
Ester was terrified with the 11th step because it required her to meditate. Once she did, it was orgasmic and she was hooked. She later became mindful of her attitude outside of meditation.
Ester has written a few songs that came through divine inspiration in meditation.
Ester will be part of "Celebrating Our Soul" in August 2022.
Listen to Rev. Celeste's poem: "The Uncovered Soul"