Podcast
Latest Podcast Episode
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or SoundCloud // Support the podcast on Patreon
The joke used to be that every time Michael opened his mouth what he said was archived here. We couldn’t be more grateful for that now because it is one of the best ways Michael’s teachings will live on.
The Awake in the World Podcast is the heart of the Community Library. Talks are on a wide-range of topics, including: bringing mindfulness and meditation practice into daily life; personal and community issues regarding mental health; and social change.
This podcast has been created so that anyone can have instant access to Michael’s teachings. It has been made possible due to generous donations from members of the community. In the six years that the podcast has been available, over half a million people have pressed play as a way to be more—like the name says—awake in the world.
Each podcast is between 30-60 minutes long. As always, you’re encouraged to follow along weekly as part of your practice. The podcasts were recorded at live events so you might hear coughing, airplanes, cars, sirens, laughter, and peoples’ questions—all part of the intimate experience.
You Can’t Come Home Without Leaving First
In this Awake in the World podcast episode Michael talks about the similarities between mindfulness and homecoming.
Touch the Mobile Part Two
In this Awake in the World podcast episode Michael asks “What are you committed to?” He discusses the relationship between restraint and samadhi, as well as ethics, karma and the importance of taking action.
Touching the Mobile
In this Awake in the World podcast episode Michael considers how we tease out the parts of practice that are evolving and changeable versus the parts that are non-negotiable if we want to decrease suffering for ourselves and others.
Best of Awake in the World: Shame, Perfectionism, and the Pre-Cognitive Dimension of Trauma
This week we’re revisiting a favourite Awake in the World podcast episode. Michael explores how mindfulness and meditation practice can heal shame and trauma and how these symptoms manifest in relationship.
It’s Not About Figuring It Out
In this Awake in the World podcast episode Michael continues his discussion of The Five Powers of the Mind and offers some thoughts on tradition and yoga, the interpretation of the word faith, ethics, and self-care.
The Five Powers of the Mind
In this Awake in the World podcast episode Michael discusses Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras with an emphasis on The Five Powers of the Mind (outlined in the first pada, line 20).
Noticing the Quality of Our Noticing
In this Awake in the World podcast episode Michael explains the meaning of taking refuge in Prajna Paramita (your heart), and your capacity to embrace your aliveness without being sidetracked by your storyteller.
You Are Your Refuge: Take Care of Yourself
In this Awake in the World podcast episode Michael considers the question: “If the boundaries of your self are conditioned and changeable, how do you know if you’ve stretched too far?” How do we balance the importance of boundaries and
Best of Awake in the World: Love, Death & Oak Trees
This week we’re revisiting a favorite Awake in the World podcast episode. In this talk, Michael describes the Buddha’s death and discusses the Zen koan “Oak Tree in the Garden,” meditation practice, and the politics of love.
Best of Awake in the World: The Role of the Body in Meditation Practice
This week we’re revisiting a favorite Awake in the World podcast episode. In this talk, Michael uses the teachings on emptiness to work with the body. He calls sitting “physical practice” and he describes yoga as “psychological practice.”
Best of Awake in the World: Bring Me Something That Isn’t Medicine
This week we’re revisiting a favorite Awake in the World podcast episode. In this talk, Michael discusses the Avatamsaka Sutra (The Flower Garland Sutra) and seeing everything as medicine. Meditation teaches us how to practice intimacy, even with old wounds.
Best of Awake in the World: The Whole World is Upside Down
This week we’re revisiting a favourite Awake in the World podcast episode. In this dharma talk, Michael talks about a Zen Master called Bird’s Nest Roshi who would go out on a limb and meditate in an abandoned bird’s nest.
Support the Library
The Community Library will continue as long as we have supporters. The more support we have, the more we can ensure that the teachings Michael left behind can be available for free to anyone in the world.