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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.
From Blame to Gratitude
Michael unpacks different kinds of blame, both inward and outward, followed by a description of projection and the link between blame and projection and how they cover over underlying feelings. Then he describes how we can make room for gratitude,
All Roads Run Right Through the Capital
Deep listening, wisdom, and the ability to do extraordinary things. Recorded on Salt Spring Island, BC, December, 2016.
Turning Things Around
Tibetan Buddhist Teachings for transforming what’s unpleasant, letting go of grasping, and the 3 treasures of awakening, reality and community. Recorded in Portland, Oregon on December 4, 2016.
Tonglen: Sending & Receiving Practice
A talk, followed by a guided meditation on inhaling suffering and exhaling peace. A practice of learning how to exchange your happiness for someone else’s suffering – how to train your heart to do what it doesn’t want to do.
Don’t Get Stuck on Peace, See Everything as A Dream
A lively discussion on meditation and the Tibetan Lojong Practices for Training in Compassion. Recorded in Portland, Oregon on December 3, 2016.
Not Giving Up On Ourselves & Fully Inhabiting Our Lives
What’s happening right now in our lives can be the raw material that shows us the path of awakening & compassion. In Portland, Michael teaches from the Lojong Training in Compassion. Recorded in Portland, Oregon on December 2, 2016.
Shame, Perfectionism, and the Pre-Cognitive Dimension of Trauma
Michael explores how mindfulness and meditation practice can heal shame and trauma and how these symptoms manifest in relationship.
I Can’t Say, I Can’t Say
In Berlin Michael talks about Zen Case 55 of the Blue Cliff Record “Tao Wu’s Condolence Call.” He talks about the Yoga Sutra, not being afraid, and how an awakened person has a very wide palette of emotion, it’s just
Superhero Practice: Balanced Energy, Improvisation, and The Vow to Serve Others
A ship is safe in the harbour, but that’s not what ships are built to do. Michael talks about the ways that we can balance calmness with vitality, how not to be afraid of our power, and how balanced energy
What Do You Do When People Fall Down?
Using a Zen koan about the Pang family, Michael talks about wholehearted activity, compassion, and throwing yourself to the ground when someone falls down. He ties this into the refugee situation in Europe, racism, and how to take compassionate action
The Self Has No Self: What to do with the Ego?
Describing the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th limbs of yoga, Michael offers a very clear talk on the self, the ego and the emptiness of what we cling to. At the core of the personality we are trying to create
Allowing For Experience: Practicing Non-Separation
Michael lectures on the end of 2nd chapter of the Yoga-Sutra and then gets into a very precise mapping of what happens to the ego when you get into deeper states of calm and how to practice without dissociating.
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