---
title: Blog | John MacDougall (2)
description: "John MacDougall is the Spiritual Care Coordinator at The Retreat.
\nHis book, “Being Sober and Becoming Happy” is available from Amazon.com (2)"
---
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## John MacDougall
John MacDougall is the Spiritual Care Coordinator at The Retreat.
His book, “Being Sober and Becoming Happy” is available from Amazon.com
Find me on:
[\[fa icon="facebook-square"\]](https://www.facebook.com/theRetreatonline) [\[fa icon="twitter-square"\]](https://twitter.com/theretreatmn)
## Recent Posts
[](https://blog.theretreat.org/keeping-our-focus-on-sobriety)
## [Keeping Our Focus On Sobriety](https://blog.theretreat.org/keeping-our-focus-on-sobriety)
\[fa icon="calendar'\] Mar 4, 2020 12:00:00 AM / by [John MacDougall](https://blog.theretreat.org/author/john-macdougall) posted in [alcoholism](https://blog.theretreat.org/topic/alcoholism), [12 step program](https://blog.theretreat.org/topic/12-step-program), [Recovery](https://blog.theretreat.org/topic/recovery), [AA meetings](https://blog.theretreat.org/topic/aa-meetings)
[\[fa icon="comment"\] 0 Comments](https://blog.theretreat.org/keeping-our-focus-on-sobriety#comments-listing)
I’m writing this on a morning in March when the news media is full of coronavirus, or Covid-19 stories. Today’s Star-Tribune newspaper reports that the Costco store near [The Retreat](https://www.theretreat.org/) is out of toilet paper and won’t have any more for five days. They are also out of hand sanitizer, plastic gloves, and bleach wipes. The food aisles are decimated, as well, with non-perishables in short supply. It isn’t a full and complete panic, but it is certainly a lot of anxiety for a state that has no known cases of the virus.
[Read More \[fa icon="long-arrow-right"\]](https://blog.theretreat.org/keeping-our-focus-on-sobriety)
[](https://blog.theretreat.org/intensive-work-with-other-alcoholics)
## [Intensive Work With Other Alcoholics](https://blog.theretreat.org/intensive-work-with-other-alcoholics)
\[fa icon="calendar'\] Feb 5, 2020 9:00:07 AM / by [John MacDougall](https://blog.theretreat.org/author/john-macdougall) posted in [substance abuse](https://blog.theretreat.org/topic/substance-abuse), [12 steps of aa](https://blog.theretreat.org/topic/12-steps-of-aa), [AA Big Book](https://blog.theretreat.org/topic/aa-big-book), [Older Adult Recovery Programs](https://blog.theretreat.org/topic/older-adult-recovery-programs), [Drugs Adiction](https://blog.theretreat.org/topic/drugs-adiction)
[\[fa icon="comment"\] 1 Comment](https://blog.theretreat.org/intensive-work-with-other-alcoholics#comments-listing)
One of the difficulties I have with staying [sober](https://www.theretreat.org/programs/the-retreat-residences) is that I like to drink. I also like my drugs: Valium, Percodan, and other opiates, benzodiazepines, and barbiturates. For me, drinking and drugging is forever natural. Being clean and sober is forever unnatural. Even though my sobriety date is July 4, 1989, and I have been sober for 11,173 days, a day at a time, sobriety has never become natural for me. I rely on the “Big Book” of Alcoholics Anonymous and I do what it says to do.
[Read More \[fa icon="long-arrow-right"\]](https://blog.theretreat.org/intensive-work-with-other-alcoholics)
[](https://blog.theretreat.org/how-treatment-becomes-a-part-of-our-disease)
## [How Treatment Becomes a Part of Our Disease](https://blog.theretreat.org/how-treatment-becomes-a-part-of-our-disease)
\[fa icon="calendar'\] Jan 3, 2020 1:04:48 PM / by [John MacDougall](https://blog.theretreat.org/author/john-macdougall) posted in [Alcoholics Anonymous](https://blog.theretreat.org/topic/alcoholics-anonymous), [Recovery](https://blog.theretreat.org/topic/recovery), [substance abuse](https://blog.theretreat.org/topic/substance-abuse), [AA meetings](https://blog.theretreat.org/topic/aa-meetings), [Sober Housing](https://blog.theretreat.org/topic/sober-housing), [alcohol abuse](https://blog.theretreat.org/topic/alcohol-abuse), [AA Big Book](https://blog.theretreat.org/topic/aa-big-book)
[\[fa icon="comment"\] 2 Comments](https://blog.theretreat.org/how-treatment-becomes-a-part-of-our-disease#comments-listing)
Step One of Alcoholics Anonymous tells me that I am powerless over alcohol when I drink it. Step One of Al-Anon tells me that I am powerless over alcohol when other people drink it, or when other people want to drink it. Both treatment programs, and The Retreat (which is not a treatment program) are powerless over alcohol and addiction when the people in them want to drink.
[Read More \[fa icon="long-arrow-right"\]](https://blog.theretreat.org/how-treatment-becomes-a-part-of-our-disease)
[](https://blog.theretreat.org/gratitude-and-resentment)
## [Gratitude and Resentment](https://blog.theretreat.org/gratitude-and-resentment)
\[fa icon="calendar'\] Dec 5, 2019 8:00:00 AM / by [John MacDougall](https://blog.theretreat.org/author/john-macdougall) posted in [Alcoholics Anonymous](https://blog.theretreat.org/topic/alcoholics-anonymous), [Recovery](https://blog.theretreat.org/topic/recovery), [substance abuse](https://blog.theretreat.org/topic/substance-abuse), [alcohol abuse](https://blog.theretreat.org/topic/alcohol-abuse), [Older Adult Recovery Programs](https://blog.theretreat.org/topic/older-adult-recovery-programs)
[\[fa icon="comment"\] 0 Comments](https://blog.theretreat.org/gratitude-and-resentment#comments-listing)
In the early 1970’s I drove a taxi in New York City. The fare meters were mechanical, not electronic. They were driven by two moving cables. One cable measured time, and the other measured distance. Whichever cable moved faster drove the fare. If the cab was stuck in traffic, the fare still went up, driven by the “waiting time”. If the cab was moving briskly, the meter went up, pushed along by the distance driven. That image comes to mind when I think of gratitude and resentment.
[Read More \[fa icon="long-arrow-right"\]](https://blog.theretreat.org/gratitude-and-resentment)
[](https://blog.theretreat.org/a-real-man-in-beverly-hills)
## [“A Real Man in Beverly Hills”](https://blog.theretreat.org/a-real-man-in-beverly-hills)
\[fa icon="calendar'\] Nov 7, 2019 6:00:00 AM / by [John MacDougall](https://blog.theretreat.org/author/john-macdougall) posted in [Alcoholics Anonymous](https://blog.theretreat.org/topic/alcoholics-anonymous), [12 step program](https://blog.theretreat.org/topic/12-step-program), [AA meetings](https://blog.theretreat.org/topic/aa-meetings), [12 steps of aa](https://blog.theretreat.org/topic/12-steps-of-aa), [Older Adult Recovery Programs](https://blog.theretreat.org/topic/older-adult-recovery-programs)
[\[fa icon="comment"\] 1 Comment](https://blog.theretreat.org/a-real-man-in-beverly-hills#comments-listing)
It’s Friday, November 1st, and I took the day off. I flew with my wife, Priscilla to Los Angeles. This fall I joined “The Magic Castle” in Hollywood. It is a private club in a castle, located in the Hollywood Hills. I sponsor a 94 year old psychologist who lives in California, and he both introduced me to the Magic Castle, and sponsored me for membership.
[Read More \[fa icon="long-arrow-right"\]](https://blog.theretreat.org/a-real-man-in-beverly-hills)
[](https://blog.theretreat.org/were-as-sober-as-our-driving)
## [We’re As Sober As Our Driving](https://blog.theretreat.org/were-as-sober-as-our-driving)
\[fa icon="calendar'\] Aug 6, 2019 12:37:42 PM / by [John MacDougall](https://blog.theretreat.org/author/john-macdougall) posted in [Recovery](https://blog.theretreat.org/topic/recovery), [Sober Housing](https://blog.theretreat.org/topic/sober-housing), [alcohol abuse](https://blog.theretreat.org/topic/alcohol-abuse), [AA Big Book](https://blog.theretreat.org/topic/aa-big-book), [Alcohol & Health](https://blog.theretreat.org/topic/alcohol-health)
[\[fa icon="comment"\] 2 Comments](https://blog.theretreat.org/were-as-sober-as-our-driving#comments-listing)
### “I don’t mean driving under the influence of alcohol, I mean driving under the influence of anger, resentment, and ego. “You’re in MY lane!” “You’re in MY way!” “You cut ME off!”"
[Read More \[fa icon="long-arrow-right"\]](https://blog.theretreat.org/were-as-sober-as-our-driving)
[](https://blog.theretreat.org/celebrating-my-freedom-on-independence-day)
## [Celebrating My Freedom on Independence Day](https://blog.theretreat.org/celebrating-my-freedom-on-independence-day)
\[fa icon="calendar'\] Jul 3, 2019 2:17:50 PM / by [John MacDougall](https://blog.theretreat.org/author/john-macdougall) posted in [Alcoholics Anonymous](https://blog.theretreat.org/topic/alcoholics-anonymous), [alcoholism](https://blog.theretreat.org/topic/alcoholism), [AA meetings](https://blog.theretreat.org/topic/aa-meetings), [12 steps of aa](https://blog.theretreat.org/topic/12-steps-of-aa), [AA Big Book](https://blog.theretreat.org/topic/aa-big-book)
[\[fa icon="comment"\] 0 Comments](https://blog.theretreat.org/celebrating-my-freedom-on-independence-day#comments-listing)
### “What has God done for me, that I could never do for myself? On Independence Day, 2019, I get to celebrate 30 years of continuous sobriety in the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous."
[Read More \[fa icon="long-arrow-right"\]](https://blog.theretreat.org/celebrating-my-freedom-on-independence-day)
[](https://blog.theretreat.org/becoming-self-supporting)
## [Becoming Self-Supporting](https://blog.theretreat.org/becoming-self-supporting)
\[fa icon="calendar'\] Jun 5, 2019 11:21:11 AM / by [John MacDougall](https://blog.theretreat.org/author/john-macdougall) posted in [Alcoholics Anonymous](https://blog.theretreat.org/topic/alcoholics-anonymous), [Older Adult Recovery Programs](https://blog.theretreat.org/topic/older-adult-recovery-programs), [Men's Sober Residential](https://blog.theretreat.org/topic/mens-sober-residential), [Women's Sober Residential](https://blog.theretreat.org/topic/womens-sober-residential), [Drugs Adiction](https://blog.theretreat.org/topic/drugs-adiction)
[\[fa icon="comment"\] 0 Comments](https://blog.theretreat.org/becoming-self-supporting#comments-listing)
### “Every A.A. group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions.”
[Read More \[fa icon="long-arrow-right"\]](https://blog.theretreat.org/becoming-self-supporting)
[](https://blog.theretreat.org/the-grouch-and-the-brainstorm)
## [The Grouch and The Brainstorm](https://blog.theretreat.org/the-grouch-and-the-brainstorm)
\[fa icon="calendar'\] May 1, 2019 7:32:17 AM / by [John MacDougall](https://blog.theretreat.org/author/john-macdougall) posted in [Sober Housing](https://blog.theretreat.org/topic/sober-housing), [12 steps of aa](https://blog.theretreat.org/topic/12-steps-of-aa), [AA Big Book](https://blog.theretreat.org/topic/aa-big-book), [Men's Sober Residential](https://blog.theretreat.org/topic/mens-sober-residential), [Women's Sober Residential](https://blog.theretreat.org/topic/womens-sober-residential)
[\[fa icon="comment"\] 9 Comments](https://blog.theretreat.org/the-grouch-and-the-brainstorm#comments-listing)
Most weekdays I work at [The Retreat](https://www.theretreat.org/) as the Spiritual Care Coordinator. Most of the time I am meeting with men and women who have already identified themselves as alcoholics and addicts who need recovery and want recovery, using the Twelve Steps and the Big Book of alcoholics anonymous. They understood that what The Retreat has is a thirty day immersion into the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous. What The Retreat does not have is radio, television, computers, cell phones, and much in the way of entertainment. We take people who need recovery, put them with people who have recovery, and let everyone benefit from shared experience.
[Read More \[fa icon="long-arrow-right"\]](https://blog.theretreat.org/the-grouch-and-the-brainstorm)
[](https://blog.theretreat.org/that-s-how-you-get-to-be-an-old-pilot)
## [“That’s How You Get To Be An Old Pilot!”](https://blog.theretreat.org/that-s-how-you-get-to-be-an-old-pilot)
\[fa icon="calendar'\] Apr 2, 2019 6:00:00 AM / by [John MacDougall](https://blog.theretreat.org/author/john-macdougall) posted in [Alcoholics Anonymous](https://blog.theretreat.org/topic/alcoholics-anonymous), [Sober Housing](https://blog.theretreat.org/topic/sober-housing), [AA Big Book](https://blog.theretreat.org/topic/aa-big-book), [Older Adult Recovery Programs](https://blog.theretreat.org/topic/older-adult-recovery-programs), [Recovery Program](https://blog.theretreat.org/topic/recovery-program)
[\[fa icon="comment"\] 7 Comments](https://blog.theretreat.org/that-s-how-you-get-to-be-an-old-pilot#comments-listing)
[Read More \[fa icon="long-arrow-right"\]](https://blog.theretreat.org/that-s-how-you-get-to-be-an-old-pilot)
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- [DeAnna L. (4)](https://blog.theretreat.org/author/deanna)
- [Dede Armstrong (3)](https://blog.theretreat.org/author/dede-armstrong)
- [Jake Lewis (2)](https://blog.theretreat.org/author/jake-lewis)
- [Chris Nehotte (2)](https://blog.theretreat.org/author/chris-nehotte)
- [Alex Curtiss, M.A. (2)](https://blog.theretreat.org/author/alex-curtiss)
- [Jenna L. (2)](https://blog.theretreat.org/author/jenna-l)
- [Pam Broz (2)](https://blog.theretreat.org/author/pam-broz)
- [Nancy Kaley (1)](https://blog.theretreat.org/author/nancy-kaley)
- [Ellie Hyatt (1)](https://blog.theretreat.org/author/ellie-hyatt)
- [Rich Murphy (1)](https://blog.theretreat.org/author/rich-murphy)
- [Phil F. (1)](https://blog.theretreat.org/author/philip-farzanegan)
- [Lisa D. (1)](https://blog.theretreat.org/author/lisa-d)
- [Stephen Crane (1)](https://blog.theretreat.org/author/stephen-crane)
- [Paddy O (1)](https://blog.theretreat.org/author/paddy-o)
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- [Bob Bernu (1)](https://blog.theretreat.org/author/bob-bernu)
- [Lisa Speedling (1)](https://blog.theretreat.org/author/lisa-speedling)
- [Kevin J (1)](https://blog.theretreat.org/author/kevin-j)
- [Jake L (1)](https://blog.theretreat.org/author/jake-l)
- [Women in Recovery (1)](https://blog.theretreat.org/author/women-in-recovery)
- [Judge Shaun Floerke (1)](https://blog.theretreat.org/author/judge-shaun-floerke)
- [Peter H (1)](https://blog.theretreat.org/author/peter-h)
- [Deb Wuebker (1)](https://blog.theretreat.org/author/deb-wuebker)
- [Jay R. (1)](https://blog.theretreat.org/author/jay-r)
- [Cecil B (1)](https://blog.theretreat.org/author/cecil-b)
- [Lisa G. (1)](https://blog.theretreat.org/author/lisa-g)
see all
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