I continue this weeks discussion about the middle way with examples of how I see parallels between Buddhism and The 12-Step Program as well as some of the tools of spirituality I use to find balance in my life.

Upon enlightenment the Buddha is said to have found it in hearing a guitar or lute being played. He recognized that if the strings are too loose or too tight no music can be produced. So he postulated that life is also like this metaphorically and he began to teach the middle path. I learned this and have used it as one of the answers to life that I turn to.

The Four Noble Truths are the first teaching of the Buddha Shakyamuni. Today I bring my talks about Step 3 and Spirituality to where I was first introduced to the teaching of the Buddha. I share a beginning to my understanding and how I saw a relationship to the wisdom of the Program of AA and the 12 steps.

In today's show I take a daily meditation from my life and explain how I break it down so I can gain wisdom from it. It is a meditation that upon first glance seems to have a strong religious overtone because of the way it is worded. I show how I first remain open-minded and not brush it aside. Then I take the reading apart sentence by sentence to reveal how I interpret it to my beliefs and also show how the religious tone only exists at first glance. Staying open and having a closer look is all it takes.

Prayer for me is a tool to have a conversation with my Higher Power. It fills me with faith and leaves me feeling safe.

Today I give an example of how I can remain open-minded to any message from any religion. I look at God as simply Good Orderly Direction and rather than turn to Him I turn to it. In this way I can open myself up to become a virtuous individual living a principal driven life. I can combat my addictions and the selfishness that has brought me down in the past.

AA taught me to look at myself and take responsibility. I began to see that bad days only existed according to the meaning that I placed upon them. I could change my attitude and change my life and that's a lot of what the 12 steps of recovery we trying to tell me.

A little more about step 3 of Alcoholics Anonymous and my belief in the energy of the spirit of the universe.

In these latest episodes I am explaining what it is that I have believed and how I've followed that as my guiding spiritual force.

AA Step 3 is about turning over my will to God. When I was first working the steps I was an agnostic and found it difficult to just turn over to a belief in God. Well today I begin explaining how I was able to accomplish this step by first looking at what it was I believed up to that point.