Kevin Griffin > Quotes

“The spiritual experience isn’t one of filling ourselves up— with either religious or intellectual beliefs—but of emptying ourselves so that we can experience what is, directly, unfiltered.”
― Kevin Griffin, A Burning Desire: Dharma God and the Path of Recovery

“Alcoholism is a disease of faith. Alcoholics often develop a cynical attitude toward life, not seeing anything to believe in. When you persistently feel the need to change your consciousness through drugs or booze, you are expressing a lack of trust in life itself. And, in some ways, you are expressing a lack of trust in yourself, in your ability to tolerate life undiluted, to find value in your own, unadulterated experience.”
― Kevin Griffin, One Breath at a Time: Buddhism and the Twelve Steps

“these words fit best my sense of a Higher Power: a vast, subtle energy pervading all things—a Great Spirit.”
― Kevin Griffin, One Breath at a Time: Buddhism and the Twelve Steps

“Learning to live with desire may be the single most important act for an alcoholic. Our relationship to pleasure and self-gratification was distorted, and until it becomes relatively balanced, we will suffer, just as the Buddha said.”
― Kevin Griffin, One Breath at a Time: Buddhism and the Twelve Steps

“In, Out                   Deep, Slow                   Calm, Ease                   Smile, Release                   Present Moment, Wonderful Moment.”
― Kevin Griffin, Recovering Joy: A Mindful Life After Addiction

“Both Buddhism and the Twelve Steps present our spiritual journey as a process, a movement from pain and confusion to happiness and wisdom. The process they describe is not, I think, unique to either of them, but reflects each tradition's attempt to solve the human riddle of suffering. As such, I think that they each tap into something deeper than the forms, language, cultural trappings, and historical context from which they spring. I believe that they each express something archetypal, a path deeply embedded in human consciousness that has been explored by seekers since humans awakened to their own mortality.”
― Kevin Griffin, Buddhism & The Twelve Steps Workbook: A Workbook for Individuals and Groups

“The Buddha said everything starts with thoughts; that we speak and act based on thoughts; that our words and actions turn into habits—or addictions; and that those habits shape our character into something inflexible. So, he says, “Watch the thought and its ways with care, and let it spring from love born out of concern for all beings…. As the shadow follows the body, as we think, so we become.” This”
― Kevin Griffin, One Breath at a Time: Buddhism and the Twelve Steps

“The spiritual experience isn’t one of filling ourselves up— with either religious or intellectual beliefs—but of emptying ourselves so that we can experience what is, directly, unfiltered. This”
― Kevin Griffin, A Burning Desire: Dharma God and the Path of Recovery

“to counter negativity in the mind is a classical Buddhist teaching called “replacing with the opposite”;”
― Kevin Griffin, One Breath at a Time: Buddhism and the Twelve Steps

“When I told one friend that I objected to the idea of “false gods,” that I thought it was about “My God is better than your God,” he told me that rather than taking the First Commandment literally—“Thou shalt have no other gods before me”—he found it to be a powerful image of his addiction. His false god was alcohol. He lived for that god, he “turned his will and his life over” to that god.”
― Kevin Griffin, A Burning Desire: Dharma God and the Path of Recovery

“Turning our will and our lives over to this power means living in accordance with what is true; it means acting out of compassion and kindness; pursuing our noblest goals; seeking truth in all things; it means striving for perfection of heart and mind while bowing to the truth of who we are, with all our imperfections and failings.”
― Kevin Griffin, One Breath at a Time: Buddhism and the Twelve Steps

“fact that we are going to grow older, and all the difficulties inherent in aging; the fact that we are going to get sick; the fact that we are going to die; the fact that everything around us is going to keep changing and will eventually disappear. So, no matter how much exercise I get, or how much organic food I eat, I’ll die. All the vitamins and supplements in the world can’t keep me from sometimes catching cold or the flu, getting cancer or heart disease (or even the disease of alcoholism!). Plastic surgery, herbal elixirs, and skin creams can’t stop the fact of my aging; my car will eventually wear out, my roof will leak, my children will grow up and leave me, and my parents will die. I’m powerless over all these things. The Buddha saw how much suffering we create fighting with these facts, resisting and trying to circumvent aging, illness, death, and loss, and he realized that clear understanding and acceptance was the key to letting go of that suffering.”
― Kevin Griffin, One Breath at a Time: Buddhism and the Twelve Steps

“Both ask you to look at the painful realities of life, to understand them, and to use this understanding as the foundation for developing peace, wisdom, faith, and compassion. Both systems culminate in an “awakening” or “enlightenment.”
― Kevin Griffin, One Breath at a Time: Buddhism and the Twelve Steps

“Language is always an issue in spiritual teachings. First of all, as I’ve talked about, these teachings are trying to explain something that goes beyond language; words are only an attempt to represent reality, they are not reality itself. But still we must speak, we must try to find a way to communicate our understanding. Language always comes out of a particular time and place, a particular culture. Inevitably it becomes dated. How do we respond to that? One way is to preserve and study the original texts, as is done with Shakespeare and Chaucer. Both the Buddhist and the Twelve Step literature have been preserved in this way.”
― Kevin Griffin, One Breath at a Time: Buddhism and the Twelve Steps

“Prayer: I turn my will and my life over to the Higher Power of Karma. I vow to live in harmony with the moral laws of the universe and to use the power of Karma to support my spiritual and worldly growth.”
― Kevin Griffin, A Burning Desire: Dharma God and the Path of Recovery

“Perhaps the most useful advice comes from Suzuki Roshi who says, “When you are practicing zazen [meditation], do not try to stop your thinking. Let it stop by itself. If something comes into your mind, let it come in and let it go out. It will not stay long. When you try to stop your thinking, it means you are bothered by it. Do not be bothered by anything.”
― Kevin Griffin, Buddhism & the Twelve Steps Daily Reflections: Thoughts on Dharma and Recovery

“Sometimes we simply can’t let go because we are so habituated to our fears, resentments, and grief.”
― Kevin Griffin, Recovering Joy: A Mindful Life After Addiction

“What we learn in meditation isn’t so much to stop thoughts, but to change our relationship to them. We learn to be less reactive, less ruled by our thoughts, and to see that they aren’t all true. “You don’t have to believe your thoughts,” one of my teachers says. What a revelation! When I see my thoughts more clearly, I’m able to make choices to act or not act based on what I see; I can exercise Right Intention to steer my life in the direction I want to go. Sometimes thoughts and emotions seem overwhelming, even in the context of mindfulness. At these times you might fall back on compassion—not pity—for yourself, for the great task you are attempting: facing down the demons of the heart and mind. Perhaps then you can begin to forgive yourself and your failures. THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS The Four Noble Truths are at the core of all Buddhist teachings.”
― Kevin Griffin, One Breath at a Time: Buddhism and the Twelve Steps

“mother, Protects with her life Her child, her only child. So with a boundless heart Should one cherish all living”
― Kevin Griffin, One Breath at a Time: Buddhism and the Twelve Steps

“As long as we live in our illusions, both about ourselves and about the world, we have no chance of growing or changing. In the recovery world, this illusion is called "denial," the unwillingness to acknowledge our problem; in Buddhism it's called "wrong view," a distorted understanding of reality and ourselves. And so, the starting point for these twin paths is revealing ourselves-to ourselves and to others. We must look deeply and honestly at our thinking and our actions and admit our failings and our suffering. Until we take this first, often painful, step, we have no chance at recovery or happiness. Once we make these admissions, though, we discover that this self-revealing is actually the most freeing thing we can do.”
― Kevin Griffin, Buddhism & The Twelve Steps Workbook: A Workbook for Individuals and Groups

“As I described in Step Two, my first understanding of God came with my Catholic upbringing. God was apparently a man—or looked like a man—and was kind of like a combination between Santa Claus and a punishing parent: he’d give you great stuff sometimes if you asked for it, and smack you down if you broke one of his Commandments. He seemed a little irrational. He was supposed to be loving, and yet could really make people suffer; sometimes he punished little kids for no apparent reason. Buddhadasa, the great twentieth-century Thai Buddhist master, calls this, “the God of people language,” and equates it with a childish understanding. He goes on to say that people who have this misunderstanding of God “do not yet know God in the true sense of the word, the God that is neither person, nor mind, nor spirit, but is the naturally self-existent Dhamma, or the Power of Dhamma.”
― Kevin Griffin, One Breath at a Time: Buddhism and the Twelve Steps

“there’s a certain wisdom in being skeptical. But we need to hold our skepticism lightly, with a willingness to explore before dismissing outright”
― Kevin Griffin, One Breath at a Time: Buddhism and the Twelve Steps

“When we think that we are separate, we put ourselves in constant conflict, trying to get ours, always in fear of losing what we have, alienating others whom we use for our selfish purposes, lying and cheating to make sure that we aren’t left behind.”
― Kevin Griffin, A Burning Desire: Dharma God and the Path of Recovery

“Balancing Wisdom and Faith means keeping an open heart and an open mind. Not closing ourselves off from the unknown, from possibilities yet unexplored; and not seeking quick fixes or supernatural solutions to our problems. Life is a mystery; the mind an enigma; the possibilities for spiritual growth endless, if only we are willing to explore. As human beings we have amazing abilities to think, to feel, and to experience wonder. Step Three sets us firmly on the path of freedom, connecting us to the great mysteries of life and the heart. Our job is to keep opening to the mystery, with joy, gratitude, and bright attention.”
― Kevin Griffin, One Breath at a Time: Buddhism and the Twelve Steps

“Of course, writing songs isn’t exactly a character defect. My creative life is my passion, my bliss. There’s nothing inherently wrong with thinking about music. It’s just that when you are practicing meditation, you are trying to drop discursive thought and bring the mind into the present. When we try to do this, to empty the mind, the habitual thought patterns fight back. It’s these patterns that create our sense of self, our ego, and when stillness begins to pervade the mind, this sense of self is threatened.”
― Kevin Griffin, One Breath at a Time: Buddhism and the Twelve Steps

“Buddhadasa says there are two other components to God besides “nature” and the laws of nature: the responsibilities of humans in relation to the laws, and the fruits of fulfilling those responsibilities. This means that if we make certain choices, we will get certain results. If we align ourselves skillfully with the Law of Karma, we will have pleasant results—the fruits. In the Steps, this is what is meant by “the care of God.” This is not a God who takes care of us just because he’s a nice guy. It’s far more impersonal than that. Instead, we fulfill our karmic responsibilities, and we receive the karmic results. Every”
― Kevin Griffin, One Breath at a Time: Buddhism and the Twelve Steps

“Integration of values and behavior; that is, we live up to our own moral and ethical standards without “shadow” behaviors. We’re not hiding any part of our lives from those close to us.           •  Satisfying interpersonal relationships, be they with a partner, friends, family, or coworkers; our spiritual community; and our teachers, sponsors, and other healers.           •  Satisfying work that both challenges us and allows us to use our intelligence and creativity to their fullest extent.           •  A rich inner life that includes a sense of connection to something greater than ourselves, be that a religious or spiritual connection, or simply a sense of connection with the human race, other beings, or just nature. This may include meditation or a creative practice.           •  An element of fun in our lives. As adults, many of us neglect this vital element of happiness.           •  A healthy relationship to money and basic financial security, and good self-care of our bodies, including diet and healing.           •  A sense of purpose and our own value. This may express itself through our work and how we see ourselves contributing to the world, or it may express itself in our relationships—the way we help and care for others.”
― Kevin Griffin, Recovering Joy: A Mindful Life After Addiction

“When we are numbed by the constant inflow of sense experiences that our culture provides, it can become hard to feel anything more than superficially.”
― Kevin Griffin, Recovering Joy: A Mindful Life After Addiction

“Mindfulness is fundamentally about being present for our life, for each moment in a wholehearted, nonreactive, inquisitive, and intuitive way.”
― Kevin Griffin, Recovering Joy: A Mindful Life After Addiction