Kevin Griffin is best know as the author of One Breath at a Time: Buddhism and the Twelve Steps (Rodale Press 2004) He has published four other books: A Burning Desire: Dharma God and the Path of Recovery (Hay House 2010), Buddhism & The Twelve Steps Workbook (One Breath Books 2014), Recovering Joy: A Mindful Life after Addiction (Sounds True 2015), and Living Kindness: Buddhist Teachings for a Troubled World (One Breath Books 2018). An audio version of One Breath at a Time was released in 2017.

A longtime Buddhist practitioner and 12 Step participant, he is a leader in the mindful recovery movement and one of the founders of the Buddhist Recovery Network. Kevin has trained with the leading Western Vipassana teachers, among them Jack Kornfield, Joseph Goldstein, and Ajahn Amaro. His teacher training was as a Community Dharma Leader at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Marin County, CA.

Kevin teaches internationally in Buddhist centers, treatment centers, professional conferences, and academic settings. He specializes in helping people in recovery connect with meditation and a progressive understanding of the 12 Steps. His events range from evening classes, to daylong workshops, and longer silent retreats. Get more information on his schedule here.

Kevin was raised Catholic in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, the youngest of five brothers. He dropped out of high school in the late sixties to pursue a career as a rock guitarist. In his twenties he lived in New England and played the club circuit until moving to LA in 1979 with an Afrobeat band called Zzebra. When the band crashed and burned, Kevin found Buddhism and began to explore the spiritual life. After getting sober in 1985, he returned to school, earning his BA in English from UC Berkeley and MFA in Creative Writing from UC Irvine. He began teaching meditation in 1996 while working as a technical writer. He now divides his time between writing, teaching, and family time with his wife and daughter. He still plays and writes music and released his CD Laughing Buddha in 2013 a collection of dharma-related rock songs.

Learn more about Kevin Griffin: https://www.kevingriffin.net/

00:00:32 – Sean’s introduction and welcome to Kevin Griffin
00:04:27 – Kevin Griffin’s plan for the session
00:07:12 – Bringing out the inherent joy during meditation
00:08:26 – Becoming aware of how we are holding our body in meditation
00:11:19 – Guided meditation practice led by Kevin Griffin
00:27:00 – Kevin’s approach to guiding mindfulness meditation
00:34:10 – Feeling the whole body as a single unit while also feeling the multiplicity of sense experience
00:37:27 – The power of unrecognized mood and emotion
00:46:29 – Addressing the question, “How can I stop thinking?”
00:50:20 – Concentration practice – 5 phrases aligned with the breath (Thich Nhat Hanh)
00:59:54 – Addressing the reasons that people come to meditation
01:04:52 – Teaching Mindfulness Powerpoint presentation
01:05:54 – What does it mean to “teach” mindfulness?
01:11:33 – What experience and qualities does a mindfulness teacher need?
01:14:47 – The importance of mindful listening
01:19:48 – Cultivating sensitivity to different populations
01:24:30 – Mindfulness of trauma in teaching
01:37:17 – List of basic topics to cover when introducing meditation
01:40:44 – Using mindfulness to be with the experience of pain
01:47:37 – List of mindfulness topics beyond the basics
01:59:31 – Closing remarks and connecting with Kevin Griffin