In his latest book, Kevin Griffin adds to his Buddhism & the Twelve Steps series with SOUGHT THROUGH MEDITATION: Exploring Step Eleven Through the Lens of Dharma. This is the most succinct and practical guide yet for those who want to incorporate meditation into their recovery work. Here he examines the traditional Twelve Step view of meditation before telling us about his own journey of discovery. Then he gives us clear and direct guidance on how to start and sustain a meditation practice. We learn about various forms of meditation as well as how to deal with some of the challenges we may face. Finally a set of guided meditations shows us exactly how we can practice. This book will be an invaluable tool for every Twelve Step participant, as well as anyone else who wants to understand how to meditate.
The book contains a collection of guided meditations. Here is the page with links to audio versions of those practices.
From the Preface:
“This is the shortest of my books. That’s not because I don’t have a lot to say about meditation, but because I wanted to get to the heart of things and trim away any of the extras. Here, I am offering you the essence of my understanding of mindfulness meditation, the heart of Buddhist practice, framed within the Twelve Step context. No doubt, this is a complicated topic, but at the end of the day, the most important thing is to do it, to sit, to practice. If you use this book to learn to meditate, I have no doubt that you will be curious to read more, to hear other teachers, to go deeper with your practice. At the same time, I believe that you will find enough in these pages to carry you a long way.”
“June, 1985
“It’s my first AA meeting. It’s not my first day sober. That was a couple weeks ago. I wasn’t ready to jump into this whole program thing. I’m not a joiner. Never even was a cub scout. But it feels almost superstitious to be here, like I better do this or maybe I’ll drink. Even though I have no desire. That just disappeared when I woke up that day. Weird, but I know it’s over.
“This meeting is called “Monday Night Venice” even though it’s a couple blocks south in Santa Monica. I guess you can’t expect a bunch of alcoholics to be great with geography.
“When they ask for “newcomers” to raise their hands, I don’t. I really don’t want the attention, all the clapping and staring and people giving you their phone number. As if I’d ever call one of these people. I just keep my head down. I’m not here to make friends.
“In the front of the room are hanging a couple of scrolls. One says, ‘Twelve Traditions’ and the other ‘Twelve Steps.’ So that’s the famous Twelve Steps. I begin to read them…powerless, God, inventory, I don’t know what they’re talking about. Until I get to eleven: meditation. That’s something I know about…“