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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.
Yoga Sutra, Chapter 3: Making the Unwanted Wanted
What is meditation? How do you settle your attention on a moving field? Michael talks on the second line of the third chapter of the Yoga Sutra and how most of the world is operating in the realm of non-thinking.
Yoga Sutra, Chapter 3: The Other Shore will Come To You
Centre of Gravity re-opens after the summer break with a talk on the Yoga Sutra, meditation, and how to practice without making the other shore separate from us.
Lotus Sutra, Part 20: Forgiveness as the Heart of Practice
The deepest practice a bodhisattva can ever do is to listen deeply. The deepest thing we can ever experience is having a change of heart.
Lotus Sutra, Part 19 (2)
Discussion about contemplating someone in your life who you have a hard time seeing as a Buddha. Buddha Nature is your imagination and the way you can re-see people who have wounded you.
Lotus Sutra, Part 19 (1)
There is nowhere you can stand that is not a place the Buddha hasn’t practiced. The Buddha was enlightened right where you are standing. If you can see others as a Buddha, even animals and trees, you are a Buddha.
Lotus Sutra, Part 17
Grant Hutchinson and Carina Lof give a talk on Chapter 15 and 16 of the Lotus Sutra based on study group. Seeing what is actually in our lives not just what we want to see. If your kids won’t take
Lotus Sutra 16: The Empty Room
One day I can have such a killer exhale that I end as a puddle of bones on the floor and time passes instantly. A moving evening when Mike Holboom and Christine Koch give talks on Chapter 16 of the
Lotus Sutra 15: There is No Such Thing as an Atom
Everyone continually breaks down infinitely. How fast can a young woman get enlightened, especially if she is underwater? Michael unpacks some parables to explore the story of an 8-year-old who wakes up and touches every place in the Universe.
Lotus Sutra 13: We Need Bodhisattvas
We need people who can rub our back and say “it’s ok”, and everything they do is jeweled.
Lotus Sutra, Part 11: A Jewel in Your Coat
A man falls asleep at a party and someone sews a jewel into his coat. Some have done this for you, too. Can you realize your treasures?
Introduction to Meditation: Sometimes Awake, Sometimes Asleep
Sometimes awake, sometimes asleep; sometimes sun, sometimes moon. Michael teaches during a one-day introduction to meditation workshop on how you can turn anything into a practice, even a bike lock.
Lotus Sutra 9: What Ideas Do We Have Lying Around?
Michael talks about Milton Friedman, Emmanuel Levinas, and how when we don’t see another’s face, face to face, it’s easy to kill. This talk happens after Osama Bin Laden’s death and the Canadian election. It goes back and forth between
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