The Dharma Is Like an Avocado
Based on Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra (1.19) and a poem by Gary Snyder Michael talks about death, self-concept, rebirth versus reincarnation, karma, abhinivesa and “aiming for the gap.” Recorded on October ...
19 Feb 202343min
Religion as Conversation
Michael talks about applying a lens of Western Psychology to Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra and the Dharma, and how these different thought-systems can compliment and converse with one another. At the same ti...
12 Feb 202344min
Tell Me, Who Is That Other?
Based on a koan (Case Forty-five from the Gateless Gate) this talk delves into the complex ways that we create a self and create an “other,” and how the two processes can be deeply intertwined. Record...
5 Feb 202359min
Concealed and Wrapped in Thought
Michael explores the line from the Rig-Veda that he chose as the epigraph to The Inner Tradition of Yoga. (The recording is cut short, but we thought it was still worth a listen.) Recorded on October ...
29 Jan 202330min
What’s Left (When You’re Not Thinking)
Beginning with a quote from Gary Snyder, Michael teaches about non-reactivity, letting go of clinging and how awareness is revealed through practice. Recorded on October 6, 2009.
22 Jan 202348min
The Breath Is Doing the Breathing
Michael leads a thirty-minute guided meditation on mindfulness of breathing. Recorded on October 6, 2008.
15 Jan 202330min
The Groundless Ground
In this talk Michael describes how practice helps us become conscious of our viewpoints and can show us where we are caught. He argues that we’re waking up from restricted, self-centered views as oppo...
8 Jan 202354min
The Faith to Doubt
In this talk about the first pada of the Yoga Sutra (line 20), Michael considers the relationship between faith (sraddha) and doubt, as well as the importance of enthusiasm (virya), mindfulness (smrti...
1 Jan 202347min
