Awake in the World Podcast

This talk, given to a group of clinicians, begins with a meditation practice (ending at 12:07). What follows is a wide-ranging discussion about mindfulness techniques, their origin in the Satipatthana...

17 Jul 20221h 11min

This week we're revisiting a favourite Awake in the World podcast episode. In the Zen tradition, there is a saying, “Reaching the mystery is nothing but breaking through and grabbing an ordinary perso...

10 Jul 202253min

This week we're revisiting a favourite Awake in the World podcast episode. Michael integrates a discussion of spiritual bypassing (using practice to avoid dealing with painful feelings and unresolved ...

3 Jul 202249min

In this talk Michael explores anatta (not-self) and emptiness as strategies versus “things.”He argues that sitting practice is required to get beyond language and investigate the habits of mind that o...

26 Jun 20221h

Michael considers the final lines of the first pada of the Yoga Sutra through the lens of a Buddhist koan: Case 62 of the Book of Serenity. Recorded on May 25, 2010.

19 Jun 202254min

In this talk Michael looks at the five kleshas and their corresponding cultural samskaras through the practice of working with a koan–an exercise in not knowing. He also describes Bernie Glassman and ...

12 Jun 202242min

This meandering talk starts with a story about “Entering the Way” and flows around asana practice, pranayama, the role of a teacher, the five kleshas and the importance of healthy doubt (the kind that...

5 Jun 20221h 24min

Michael gives a talk on the ways mindfulness meditation can help with the spectrum of mental illness and also some signs to watch out for as practice deepens. Part of a series of talks on Shantideva’s...

29 Mai 20221h 12min