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Nest Building
In this talk on awareness Michael uses the metaphor of a nest to describe our accumulation of narratives memories and viewpoints and argues that non attachment vairagya is crucial and viewpoint interruption is a practice in itself
Not Too Tight, Not Too Loose
Michael leads a thirty minute meditation focusing on the finer points of the posture form and explains how physiological details and psychological states affect one another
Best of Awake in the World: The Good Enough Meditator
This week we 8217 re revisiting a favourite Awake in the World podcast episode In this talk Michael highlights the hindrances to practice described in line 30 of the Yoga Sutras and then offers some techniques to work with them
Heart Sutra: Give Yourself a Break (eBook)
In the fourth talk Michael continues to unpack the Heart Sutra discussing self liberation three kinds of burnout thoughts without a thinker and more He shares the poem Bluebird by Charles Bukowski
Knowing the Unknowable
In this talk on the Third Foundation of Mindfulness from the Satipatthana Sutta Michael covers the Kleshas karma and learning to discern skillful versus unskillful mind states
An Army of Coolness
Michael gives a talk about the Buddha s Fire Sermon and connects it to practice being in relationship and the cultivation of generosity creativity and loving action
A Ball Thrown into a River
In this talk Michael covers part of the Ariyapasasana Sutta the Buddha s own account of his awakening the difference between Patanjali s definition of yoga and the Buddha s Second Truth recognizing and working with or against the momentum
A Case of Mistaken Identity
Michael argues that yoga citta vritti nirodha can be interpreted as the ending of our misidentification with the movement of consciousness and that our attempts to ground or reify our self identity lead to dissatisfaction and anxiety
Stormy Sea and Heaven’s River
Using a Haiku by Basho as a jumping off point Michael continues his exploration of Dogen s essay The Time Being
Best of Awake in the World: Not Picking & Choosing
This week we 8217 re revisiting a favourite Awake in the World podcast episode Michael uses an old Zen tale a troubled story about him falling in love with his wife and quotes from Shunryu Suzuki to describe the practice
Best of Awake in the World: Seals, Owls, and Letting Go of Destructive Relationships
This week we 8217 re revisiting a favourite Awake in the World podcast episode Michael explores the sensitive topic of knowing when to pull out of relationships kindness to one s self emptiness love and a story about appreciating that
Whatever is Needed
Michael talks about dukkha self care and activism He also describes several kinds of burnout and some methods to prevent being afflicted by them
About the Community Library
Michael was a great archivist and the Community Library was—and continues to be—a labour of love. Everything in the Community Library is available for free. Anyone, anywhere can have instant access to material that will help them deepen their practice and contribute to a culture of compassion and collaboration.
Libraries are places where we gather alone together. They are known to be places of refuge for seekers, as well as those who are marginalized. This library is no different. It helps us nourish our beautiful, international community without walls. Now, it will also help keep Michael’s legacy alive.