Thousands of years ago, Siddhartha Gautama (who would come to be known as the Buddha) stumbled upon a truth about the universe. The truth was about the danger of extremes. At the point that he discovered that truth, he was very much living a life of extremes. He had dedicated his life to the path of asceticism. This way of life was so extreme that it was said he grew thin enough that he could feel his hands if he placed one on the small of his back and the other on his stomach. While seeking enlightenment in this way, he overheard a teacher speaking of music. He heard the teacher say, “If the strings on the instrument are set too tight, then the instrument will not play harmoniously. If the strings are set too loose, the instrument will not produce music. Only the middle way, not too tight and not too loose, will produce harmonious music". This perspective changed everything for the Buddha. As a result of this awareness, he developed an entirely new spiritual practice that he called the “middle path”.
One could easily say that the middle path is a practice of balance through moderation. But when we think of balance through moderation, we think of taking away from extremes so as to achieve a kind of equilibrium. As a spiritual teacher myself, I have never liked the idea of balance through moderation. Trying to find or create balance in your life through moderation is a difficult task and it is a task that slows expansion. It causes people to temper themselves. For example, if I want a balance between work and play and in my life, I must cut back on work. Often when following the traditional practice of the middle path, it feels internally like you are putting the brakes on.