Balance May 2018 - 26

TO
S

B R A N D AWA R E N E S S

A CHANGE FOR THE BETTER

TALKING
ABOUT MY
PROBLEMS
IS A BIG PART
OF MY LIFE

LOVE

PEACE
OF MIND

Talk of blissful domesticity is delightful, but there's a
section of the book where Russell admits he still "toys"
with his old way of life, adding without the 12 steps,
nothing would hold him here, not even fatherhood.
I think of Laura. Her trust in Russell's structured
existence must be absolute, or she'd spend her life
fearing this might be the day his demons reclaim
control. So, does he ever feel the urge to be unfaithful?
"Recovery is about having a degree of awareness,
about the relationship between impulse and what
impulse means. In meditation, the belief is you are not
your thoughts; your thoughts are activity, so you can
become an observer. It gives you a bit of time. It doesn't
mean you're not going to have food, sex or buy stuff."
A complex, independent and perspicacious thinker,
Russell is also spiritual. Once a practising Buddhist, he
now believes in a higher power and practices yoga and
Transcendental meditation twice daily. The stillness is
necessary to distance him from "the world, its people
and opinions." Once hooked on fame as much as any
narcotic, his 2013 special Messiah Complex was so titled
because, he claimed, he was "a little bit like Jesus", with
Hollywood success and a short-lived marriage to pop
star Katy Perry making him a global star.
These days, he tries - and sometimes fails - to not
obsesses over "external things", like seeking approval
and notoriety. In keeping with step 12 of the programme,
which encourages you to look at life less selfishly,
he now dedicates much of his time to helping other
addicts and insists there is no longer a place in his life
for self-centredness. He meets up with a therapist - his
"mentor" - every couple of weeks. "It's a big part of
my life, talking about other people's problems and my
problems," he says. Would he applaud mental health
lessons in schools? Absolutely. "That's a good idea,
because there would be less shame around it."
Before I bid Russell farewell, I ask him about #MeToo,
the campaign which has drawn attention to sexual
harassment. "It's a positive movement, adjusted in an
extraordinarily short amount of time," says Russell. As
part of his "amends" step, he too is repairing years of
promiscuity by supporting a "litany of women's causes".
"It's important in the way men and women relate to
each other and reset the rules in ways beneficial to both
for a long time to come. We're in this together."
Some might wonder where Russell Brand has gone,
the bloke who resigned from Radio 2 after Sachsgate. The
dangerously offensive Russell has moved on, replaced
by a more balanced and contented man than he ever
dreamed possible. "My priority is my little family," says
Russell, wistfully. "But I'm going to do some films, carry
on doing comedy... and showing off."
Some things never change. Thank goodness for that. B
Recovery: Freedom From Our Addictions by Russell Brand is
out in paperback on 17 May (£8.99, Bluebird).

May 2018 BA LA N CE

27



Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Balance May 2018

Balance May 2018 - 1
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