Awake in the World Podcast

Michael sits down with physician and abortion provider Pat Smith for a thoughtful conversation on the principle of non-harming. Together, they explore the space where ethics meet politics, how our bel...

17 Jan 38min

In this week’s episode, we explore a deceptively simple question: How do you be interconnectedness? It’s drawn from the first video in Michael’s online course, "Embodying Ethics & Vows in Modern Life...

11 Jan 40min

In this talk, Michael explores anatta (not-self) and emptiness as lived practices rather than abstract ideas. He shows how our thinking is often shaped by storytelling and emphasizes the role of sitti...

4 Jan 1h

Using the metaphor of time travel, Michael explores the inner journey described by the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th limbs of yoga. Rather than traveling through years or lifetimes, this “time travel” moves ...

28 Des 202557min

Michael invites the sangha to take a good look at the elephant in the room by sharing their habits, strong emotions, and patterns of reactivity while exploring the “Lookout Tower” and “Riding the Wave...

21 Des 20251h 8min

In this podcast episode, Michael discusses the relationship in our daily lives between form and formlessness as it relates to creativity and karma. Wisdom is not separate from who we are. It’s like be...

12 Des 202547min

In this Best of episode, Michael discusses the relationship between awareness and morality or mindfulness and ethics. When we are faced with the unprecedented and unrepeatable complexities of this mom...

7 Des 202537min

In this 30-minute guided meditation, Michael explores how to work with thoughts during sitting practice, focusing on the breath in a way that reduces clinging, reduces rejection. The breath doesn’t de...

25 Nov 202531min