Awake in the World Podcast

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 Juni 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 Maj 20221h 12min

In this talk (on the first lines of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra) Michael explores the mistakes we make as we try to ground ourselves and construct identities based on stories, desires and fears. Recorded o...

22 Maj 20221h 13min

In this talk Michael argues that yoga and mindfulness are best practiced via the body versus striving for the attainment of philosophical or intellectual concepts. He encourages trusting that the body...

15 Maj 20221h 28min

This week we're revisiting a favourite Awake in the World podcast episode. Michael interviews Pat Smith, physician and abortion provider, on the precept of non-harming. Michael and Pat discuss ethics ...

8 Maj 202238min

Michael explores the line in the Heart Sutra: “With no hindrance in the mind. No hindrance therefore no fear.” He covers the three “traditional” hindrances: karma, the kleshas and anaya, and talks abo...

1 Maj 202246min

In this talk about the Heart Sutra Michael explains how it functions to counter what John Cage calls “the authoritarian structures” of our minds, including the tendency to create “frames” and contract...

24 Apr 202258min

This week we're revisiting a favourite Awake in the World podcast episode. On retreat, Michael speaks about the Buddha’s instructions for practicing alone in the wilderness, how past actions haunt the...

17 Apr 20221h