Podcast

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.

How We Rescue Each Other

Michael begins with talking about finding simplicity in meditation practice; stepping back from the details of thinking to notice the subjective experience of awareness; and then he launches into a discussion about grieving and loss and how we can never

Master Ma Is Unwell (Part 2)

Rage, nonviolence, and embracing what’s unbearable. Michael begins by talking about embracing the limits of our lives and then explores how to be with what is unbearable without turning it into destructiveness or someone else’s problem. The last part of

Master Ma Is Unwell (Part 1)

A master is dying & a student asks him how he is feeling. Michael uses this Zen story to explore letting go of expectations and blame. He also talks about being too diffuse or too sharp in our reactivity.

Hatha Yoga (2)

Michael explains how kundalini, moksha and other Hatha Yoga terms are metaphors for awakening. He then talks about intimacy, creativity and the false self. A very clear talk about common haha yoga terms.

Hatha Yoga (1)

During a 5-day intensive Michael explores key terms from a 15th century text on yoga and talks about mental habits, yoga postures, and the ways that the habits of mind and body are actually the path. Michael explains savasana, corpse

Family Wakes Us Up Book Launch

Michael reads from his new book and then opens up in a very personal talk about fathering, his doubts about the nuclear family, co-parenting in a split-family, his relationship with writing about family, and his friendship with Matthew Remski.

Mind Your Life

Sofia Forman gives her first dharma talk on trust, death and her process of practice. Recorded during the Silent New Year’s Retreat in Chapin Mill, New York.

Save A Ghost!

Michael speaks about modern Buddhism as a “culture of awakening,” and then talks on the Zen koan “Save a Ghost.” We are broken. That’s why meditation is an ambulance service for love. Mindfulness is a practice of mourning. The dead

Reverence

Michael Stone gives a talk at the New Year’s Silent Retreat in New York on depression, mental health, the negativity bias in the brain, and how we can have reverence for every moment of our lives. He talks about the