One Breath at a Time : Buddhism and the Twelve Steps

Rating:
Summary: Spiritual Practice in the real life of a real person
Review: One can be sure there are more "definitive" guides to Buddhism and the 12 Steps out there, but what I found most useful in this straightforward, and deceptively simple book, were the accounts of the author's own experience - written in the first person - the application of his understanding of the principles of Buddhism and the 12 steps, in his own life. The voice is that of one who has been there, and actually applied the spiritual principles of the two traditions to real problems in a real life. Unlike many texts that purport to lay out spiritual teachings for the general reader, there was no hint of condescension here - the writer bases his authority on the lessons he has personally learned through failure. For those struggling along their own paths, this is book is a mighty gift.



Rating:
Summary: A very personal and enlightening account worth reading
Review: The first question to come to my mind with this title was what is the relationship between Buddhism and the twelve step program? Author Kevin Griffin answers this question succinctly when he points out that the Buddha said the cause of suffering is desire and the twelve steps program tries to heal people from the most extreme of desires - addiction.

This book is about Mr. Griffin's personal path to addiction recovery and how integrating Buddhism and the twelve steps allowed him to become at peace with himself. He explains Buddhist meditation and the Buddhist eight-fold path as it parallels the twelve step path. While the twelve step program allows for a lot of flexibility in terms of the "Higher Power" you reach out to, many groups have a Christian focus. Kevin Griffin provides an alternative for those who are uncomfortable with a Christian focus but want to overcome alcoholism and co-dependency. "One Breath at a Time" is a deeply personal story of one man's journey and he invites you to travel his path from realization that he had a problem to freedom and shares how you can take the same path.

Rating:
Summary: A very personal and enlightening account worth reading
Review: The first question to come to my mind with this title was what is the relationship between Buddhism and the twelve step program? Author Kevin Griffin answers this question succinctly when he points out that the Buddha said the cause of suffering is desire and the twelve steps program tries to heal people from the most extreme of desires - addiction.

This book is about Mr. Griffin's personal path to addiction recovery and how integrating Buddhism and the twelve steps allowed him to become at peace with himself. He explains Buddhist meditation and the Buddhist eight-fold path as it parallels the twelve step path. While the twelve step program allows for a lot of flexibility in terms of the "Higher Power" you reach out to, many groups have a Christian focus. Kevin Griffin provides an alternative for those who are uncomfortable with a Christian focus but want to overcome alcoholism and co-dependency. "One Breath at a Time" is a deeply personal story of one man's journey and he invites you to travel his path from realization that he had a problem to freedom and shares how you can take the same path.

Rating:
Summary: Heartfelt, personal, moving and helpful
Review: While I've never been through a 12-step program, I have been meditating for 8 years. During that time I've read many wonderful books about Buddhism and meditation. But this book is special in two ways.

First, by writing with honesty, courage and humor about his own difficult path in life - Mr. Griffin creates a connection with the reader that goes way beyond the 'conceptual' focus of many books on the subject. Yet at the same time, it never devolves into a confessional. It's still a book that teaches, not rants. It's full of excellent practical advice, insight, and some very useful exercises. But it teaches from an unusually personal and vulnerable place.

It's other great strength is Mr. Griffin's ability to make difficult and exotic concepts accessible. Although I've read a lot, attended retreats, etc., there are some ideas - for example 'no-self' - that always have been too foreign and 'other-worldly' for me to really connect to emotionally. At best I'd get a vague intellectual understanding of what was being discussed. But this book made many of these ideas simple and clear. Quite a few times, while reading it, I found myself going 'oh THAT'S what they've all been talking about.'

Unlike many of our best and most revered Buddhist teachers, Mr. Griffin hasn't spent years living in Asia. He's slogged through life in Western society, and has had to find his peace and insights while simultaneously dealing with the same day-to-day problems of career, love, marriage, parenthood, etc. as the rest of us. To me that relieves his work of a subtle disconnect I sometimes feel with other Buddhist writers and teachers. There's no sense of: 'yes, they can be calm and happy - they spent 5 years in a rainforest. But I'll never get there unless I abandon my life and start over.' Mr. Griffin, and the new generation of Western teachers he belongs to are showing that it is possible to move down the path towards peace, joy and freedom from where we are now. And that is an important gift.