12 STEPS. 12 MONTHS.
Are you ready to BETRAY what betrays life?*
Move from compulsion to compassion in 12 months.
⭐ Now in our 6th cohort, guiding men through the steps for nearly a decade. ⭐
NOVEMBER: A GOOD BEGINNING
▶️ We connect and resource one another for the demanding journey.
DECEMBER: STEP ONE
▶️ We begin shedding the skins of denial, admitting what we cannot control on our own.
JANUARY: EMBODIED STEP ONE
▶️ We express our defeats, our pain, and our grief.
FEBRUARY: STEPS 2 & 3
▶️ We loosen our grip and practice trusting a strength greater than our own willpower.
MARCH: STEPS 4 & 5
▶️ We descend like spelunkers into our own stories, excavating both the wreckage & gold.
APRIL: STEPS 4 & 5
▶️ We bring what we’ve unearthed into the light and discover we’re still loved.
MAY: STEPS 6 & 7
▶️ We grow entirely ready to let go of what no longer serves us and reengineer our lives.
JUNE: STEPS 8 & 9
▶️ We tell the truth about who we’ve hurt and begin the hard, holy work of repair.
JULY: STEP 10
▶️ We keep a daily account, learning to live awake, aware, and agile.
AUGUST: STEP 11
▶️ We venture into wilder spaces to connect and listen to Life.
SEPTEMBER: STEP 12
▶️ Having been changed, we turn to help others find their way.
OCTOBER: HARVEST
▶️ We pause to harvest what the year has taught us and consider next steps.
MEET YOUR COMPANIONS
Matthew Ray Lyda has been guiding men through the Gentle Path Through the 12 Steps for more than 9 years. He is a certified Spiritual Director, Author, Retreat Leader, PSAP (Pastoral Sex Addiction Professional), RAE, husband of one, father of three, lover of lands, and pickleball player.
He has lived in Bangladesh and India and is trained by IITAP (International Institute for Trauma and Addiction Professionals) and Oasis Ministries. Matthew also serves as an initiator in Men's Rites of Passage work worldwide.
Dean Robertson is a gem of a human being, living in Seattle, Washington, as an artist.
As a leader within Illuman, Dean brings a thoughtful, inspiring, and vulnerable presence to the men he works with.
You can find his artwork, ForestLifeCreations, here.
THIS EXPERIENCE IS FOR YOU IF…
⭐ You’ve never worked the 12 steps (or been worked by them 😉)
⭐ You’re returning for a deeper turn through the 12 steps
⭐ Problematic sexual behavior is interfering with your commitments, integrity, or relationships
⭐ You’re drawn to an initiatory, nature-and-spirit-rooted approach, not simply a support group.
⭐ You are ready for the demanding initiatory experience of the 12 Steps Process.
WHY THIS WORKS…
⭐ Does the 12-Step Process Actually Work?
27 studies and over 10,500 participants show the success of the 12-Step process.
⭐ Why men need brotherhood, not willpower.
2024 review on the protective factor of structured community for men.
⭐ Nature promoting mental health
A systematic review on nature-based interventions associated with mental health.
⭐ Spirituality and Recovery outcomes.
2025 review linking spiritual practices like meditation to reduced compulsions.
THE APPROACH
> THE TRAUMATIC // TRAUMA-INFORMED
> THE SOMATIC // BODY-BASED
> THE COMPASSIONATE // HOSPITALITY
> THE VINTAGE // ANCIENT WISDOM
> THE RIDICULOUS // EMBRACING THE UNEXPECTED
> THE ORGANIC // BELONGING AGAIN
📖 Our main text ▶️ Dr. Patrick Carnes’ A Gentle Path Through the 12 Steps
Curious?
Schedule a free 20-minute call.
WHEN WILL WE GATHER?
First Monday* of the month / 7:30-9:30 pm Eastern
November 2026 - October 2027
Note: No live gatherings in June or July, but there will be teachings and coursework.
*April’s gathering will be on April 11th, 7:30-9:30 pm
GET READY TO MOVE🚣🏽♂️
+ from compulsion to freedom
+ from isolation to solitude
+ from empty to intimacy
+ from loneliness to friendship
+ from numbing to reflecting
+ from preoccupation to deep focus
+ from unhealthy risks to healthy risks
What men are saying about Sober Initiation
“A lifeline for preserving my relationship with my wife alive and even thriving when the chaos could have torn our relationship apart.”
“I finally got a breakthrough”
“The value of what I’ve learned in five months is what I was looking for for fifty years.”
What’s Included:
🫱🏽🫲🏿 20 hours of live online group connection
⚡️ Access to a robust and experienced recovery community
📓 Online email-based recovery immersion course (valued at $200)
💻 Access to more than 4 hours of exclusive online video teachings
“Not everything that is faced can be changed.
But nothing can be changed until it is faced”
James Baldwin
Choose your tuition
Generosity Rate
$1499
For those in a higher economic bracket who’d like to contribute to the wellness of others.
Note: There are no refunds available for this program
Community-Supported Rate
$549
For BIPOC folx of any economic bracket or those who have a financial hardship
In need of financial assistance? Reach out to matthew@recoverthewild.com
We are committed to finances not being a barrier to this essential conversation.
The problem is not being too wild. The ailment is domestication.
Perhaps we’ve been domesticated by the plastic, predictable and clickable.
Now’s the time to recover the wild, to recover your wildest, truest self.
“For the first time, I am free.
I have embraced this journey.”
- R. S. (South Carolina)
“We cannot selectively numb emotions, when we numb the painful emotions, we also numb the positive emotions”
- Brene Brown, The Gifts of Imperfection
