Zen, Coffee and Alcohol-free living
I recently sat down with Billy Wynne, co-founder of Awake, one of the first sober bars in the U.S, author of the upcoming book, The Empty Path, and husband of my friend and fellow TNMI coach, Christy Wynne.
Billy shares his personal journey of how he gave up alcohol and how all roads started with his Zen Buddhist practice. Billy recalls that initially, like many of us, he made up rules about his drinking, one of which was ‘never drink alone’. He realized after a few weeks that he wasn’t drinking at all, as Christy had stopped drinking a few weeks before. This led him to acknowledge that drinking didn’t really have a place in his life and, in fact, he felt liberated from alcohol vs. deprived.
He shares the story of Awake and his experience with opening one of the first sober bars in the U.S. He readily admits to not having any restaurant or bar experience, which proved challenging and also, they opened the doors in 2020! Nonetheless, Awake showed that the U.S. was ripe for more NA options, and he found so much appreciation and encouragement from both the NA and traditional purveyors. Awake closed in 2022, but not before sparking new ideas for many.
We also chatted about:
- Equanimity and mindfulness meditation
- Presence-based coaching
- Bias vs. intuition
- Zen and Buddhism
- The art of Savoring
- Time, Parenting and Travel
Billy Wynne is the author of The Empty Path: Finding Fulfillment through the Radical Art of Lessening. A student of Buddhism and mindfulness for 30 years, he received meditation teaching certificate under Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach and lay Zen Buddhist ordination from the Zen Center of Denver, where he now teaches classes and serves on the board. He lives in Denver with his wife, children, and shih-poos, Oscar and Archie. Visit him online at billywynne.com
Here’s a link for book pre-orders of The Empty Path on Amazon
