Principles Before Personalities

For any alcoholic or addict newly introduced to the program of recovery, it is incredibly likely to hear the phrase “principles before personalities” at pretty much every meeting we attend. We’ll hear it said a lot in general. But what exactly does it mean? And what is it trying to tell us? Personalities Most of […]

How Can I Be Fearless?

In pretty much every action movie ever made, the hero is somebody fearless. Sometimes the world can seem like a pretty scary place, so of course we want to be fearless. It sounds great. To never be scared of anything ever again? Sign me up! But this is real life, not an action movie. The […]

Perfecting and Enlarging Our Spiritual Life

For many of us, our spiritual life is set on autopilot. We accept or reject a spiritual creed at some time in our youth and just leave it at that. Even for those of us who embrace spirituality, we often let it become a blank routine, like coffee every morning. We participate in it, but […]

What Can the 12-Steps Really Do for Me?

This is a really big question, and it’s got a pretty big answer. We’ll get to that shortly. This big question is probably the most common, and the truth behind the answer has to be experienced firsthand to really understand. But if you’re dying to know what the 12-Steps and the program of recovery can […]

Men’s Issues: Vulnerability

At Jaywalker Lodge, we deal exclusively with men seeking lasting recovery. Most of our men have also struggled with finding and maintaining recovery over the long term. That’s what makes us Jaywalkers, just like the parable in the book Alcoholics Anonymous. But in our efforts to help men in recovery and from our experience of […]

How Can I Get Out of My Rut?

Are you feeling like lately you’ve been stuck in a rut? Are you unable to find the energy to break a self-destructive pattern? Maybe you’re just plain old-fashioned bored. Or maybe things have been particularly hard since, say, March of last year? Well, you’re not alone. Everybody feels stuck in a rut at least once […]

We Believe #9: Fostering an Environment of Honesty, Intimacy, and Trust

At Jaywalker Lodge, we focus on helping men find lasting recovery from alcoholism and addiction with a passion for helping those who have stumbled in previous attempts. This is not just what we do, it’s who we are. Most of us were once people in the exact same position, and that’s why our hearts so […]

Outside Issues: Emotional Health

Emotional health is an important issue to address, especially for alcoholics and addicts in recovery. So often, our emotional health gets misplaced or swept up by our mental health and spiritual health practices. It’s a common pattern to focus on our mental and spiritual health in recovery because if we get too far off course […]

Resting on Our Laurels

“Resting on Our Laurels” – This may not be a commonly used phrase anymore, but it still gets a lot of airtime in the rooms of recovery. The words may sound old-fashioned or even silly, but they illuminate an attitude about actions that can be very subversive and potentially very destructive. We may not even […]

Using Hope as a Tool in Treatment

It is nothing less than heartbreaking to suffer from alcoholism and addiction. Not only for those afflicted directly but all who know and love them. It is a devastating disease that wreaks complete havoc on so many lives. It is precisely this aspect of alcoholism and addiction that calls for nothing less than real and […]