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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.
Mountains & Rivers, Part 2
Michael describes the way mountains and rivers influenced Dōgen and the way they can teach us about our lives. Mountains and water teach us about time, flow, and solidity. Everything is nothing but a moment in time.
Mountains & Rivers, Part 1
Who was Dōgen? What were his main teachings? Michael introduces the teachings of the 13th-century Japanese Zen master Dōgen and his essay, Mountains and Rivers. Dōgen loses both his parents and wants to understand impermanence.
Basics of Buddhism, Part 2
Michael gives commentary on Buddhism and the Four Noble Truths in a series on the basic teachings of the Buddha — craving, suffering, enlightenment, and the Eightfold Path. Craving closes down the path.
Basics of Buddhism, Part 1
In this dharma talk, Michael aims to answer the question, “What did the Buddha teach?” by focusing on the Pāli Canon—the earliest known record of the Buddha’s teachings in India. The mind is like a tourist—taking pictures of the present
Yoga Sutra, Chapter 3: Devotion to Present Experience
Treat each movement of the mind as something we devote ourselves to, like the beloved, and then forgiveness happens naturally. Meditation is about going to the places deeper than ourselves, the place where forgiveness comes from. The final talk on
Guided Meditation
A guided meditation, recorded during the first night of year-end silent retreat, with a focus on the subtle body, breath, palette, tongue and skull.
Yoga Sutra, Chapter 3: The Silence Museum
Michael comes home from practice in Thailand and talks about travels, not buying things in plastic, and details about meditation techniques—some very good meditation instructions in this talk.
Yoga Sutra, Chapter 3: Compassion is a Superpower
It’s cool to be kind—it’s the new black dress. Loving-kindness is a ratio. If it’s about you, it’s about clinging. If it’s only about the other, you lose yourself. The best kind of love is actually conditional. At the core
Yoga Sutra, Chapter 3: Superpowers
Meditation opens us up to levels of experience that are non-human. Michael goes through Patanjali’s description of superpowers and how they happen in meditation practice. Then he talks about calmness and what can lead people into trouble if they don’t
Yoga Sutra, Chapter 3: A Moment in Time
Can you see each thing in your life—whether objects or the people around you—as a moment in time? The mind is like a tourist constantly taking photos; meditation allows for the coming and going of everything. What’s happening is really
So, What Really Matters?
Michael begins talking about the death of his mentor—maverick psychologist James Hillman. When death comes the only thing that’s important is your heart, not your accomplishments. So what really matters?
Yoga Sutra, Chapter 3: Samskara and Neuroplasticity
Drawing on research with people who have healed from stroke, Michael compares the Sanskrit term samskara with modern neuroscience and ties this into the genetic level of meditation practice. “Meditation turns genes on and off in each moment restructuring genetic
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