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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.
What Is This? Short Guided Meditation
An 8-minute guided meditation with Martine Batchelor. Recorded in Toronto, March 28, 2010.
From Fear to Sympathy
How to meet others who are in fear or anxiety, how to help anxious kids, how to validate the feelings of other people without exacerbating what’s going on for them, and how to develop concentration practice.
Fear, Dread & Anxiety: The Buddha in the Forest
On retreat, Michael speaks about the Buddha’s instructions for practicing alone in the wilderness, how past actions haunt the body, how to turn towards anxiety and a moving story about his son and autism. Recorded March 25, 2017, in Wisconsin.
20 min. Guided Meditation on Thinking
For the purposes of meditation, what you’re thinking about is not important. But as we pay attention to thinking in meditation, you might notice other aspects of the process of thinking besides the content. So, for example, if you’re thinking
20 min. Guided Meditation: Unstable Emotions
See if you can find out where in your body that emotional state or mood is most manifested, most expressed. What sensations or feelings in your body let you know that you’re having this emotional state? See if you can
20 min. Guided Meditation: Feeling the Sensations of the Body
Nothing needs to be refused. Let the breath travel the body without picking up speed. The clouds of thought haul across the sky. Let them come and go. Let the breath move the way blood moves: let it find its
20 min. Guided Meditation: Tuning into Breath in the Nostrils
A 20-minute guided meditation on tuning into the breath in the nostrils to explore subtle sensations and bring the mind into its natural state.
20 min. Guided Meditation: Mindfulness of the Breathing Body
A 20-minute guided meditation on mindfulness of the breathing body in the abdomen to settle thoughts. Recorded in 2017.
20 min. Guided Meditation: Receptive Listening
A 20-minute guided meditation on receptive listening using sound as an anchor to ground attention.
You Can’t Make A Person Into a Buddha
Michael explores practicing without an idea of gain, the Universal Self, Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, Pattabhi Jois, the Buddha and Shunryu Suzuki. How can you blend your breath with the larger self? Recorded at Moksha Westshore on February 18, 2017.
Spiritual Bypassing & Mindfulness of Thinking
Michael integrates a discussion of spiritual bypassing (using practice to avoid dealing with painful feelings and unresolved emotional habits) with a teaching on using labeling to let go of ruminating thoughts and overthinking.
My Body is My Teacher Now
How to not leave your body, even when it feels untrustworthy. We can always turn to the body in pain, grief, and even in altered states of consciousness. Anxiety, compassion, and equanimity always play out in your body.
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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.