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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.
Labeling Thoughts & Acknowledging What’s Present (Diamond Sutra 4)
Michael talks about wedding Vows in community, labeling our thoughts so we can honour them, and how generosity is about the way we give our attention. The most profound gift we can give others is our attention. It’s a form
Attuning to Ourselves & Others (Diamond Sutra 3)
The benefit of our practice must be wider than the benefit to our body. How wide do you draw the circle of self? Self-soothing. Michael talks about “a secure base” and how to manage reactivity that’s both inside and outside.
How Does a Buddha Stand, Walk & Control Thoughts? (Diamond Sutra 2)
What does being alive feel like? Michael tells the story of Subhuti and the questions he asks the Buddha about how to practice. Haven’t we been blessed with greatest of trusts? Aren’t we all blessed? Isn’t meditation learning how to
The Diamond of Practice (Diamond Sutra 1)
The first in a series of six talks on the Diamond Sutra. Michael speaks on the three aspects of ourselves we can let go of through practice: Possessiveness (This is mine); Conceit (This is me); and Beliefs about what the
Can You Return to the Breath?
As the breath becomes smooth and slow, the mind settles and we become less interested in wanting “an experience.” Be kind to yourself, cultivate an un-agitated heart, and live a life that connects. London.
Anxiety & Meditation
Michael explains how we can cultivate a field in which anxiety can arise and change, surrounded by spaciousness. We have forces of good inside us, we aren’t fated to live out our history, and we are loveable just as we
The World Is Its Own Magic
Michael talks about the magic mantra that ends the Heart Sutra. Transforming fear, cultivating compassion, not-knowing, how mantras work.
Labeling & Noting Thoughts
How to meditate when your are thinking a lot. Michael also explores language and emotions in children and how this gets internalized in adults. A very clear talk on mindfulness practices for transforming overthinking and identification with thoughts.
The Ego, The Self, and the Existential Dimensions of Settling the Mind
Drawing on Freud, Jung, and the Buddha, and various ways of understanding what the ego is, how it develops, and why working with settling thoughts becomes a spiritual practice over time.
Not Identifying With Your Moods
How to become interested in how the mind functions rather than being caught in the content of our stories. Meditation is a physical practice and we use breathing to settle the mind and heart.
25 Minute Guided Meditation on Mindfulness of Thinking
Shift away from the content of the mind to the process of thinking. Mindfulness of thinking while sitting like a mountain.
Guided Corpse Pose for Safety
If you feel unsafe or unstable, this is a gentle 10 minute guided meditation in corpse pose, for taking care of yourself. Recorded in Vancouver.
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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.