Awake in the World Podcast
by Michael Stone
Awake in the World Podcast is a library of talks 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. 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. Michael Stone (1974-2017) was a Buddhist teacher, author, and mental health advocate. His legacy is stewarded by Carina Stone. Podcast funded by Patreon (patreon.com/michaelstone).
Episodes
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Best of Awake in the World: The Authoritarian Structures of the Mind
In this Best of Awake in the World podcast episode Michael explores the “negation section” of the Heart Sutra (no eye, no ear, no nose, no tongue...) and how the story-telling and I-making functions of the mind contract and cling, leading us away from intimacy. Drawing on poems by John Cage and...
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Best of Awake in the World: Guided 20min. Meditation on Receptive Breathing
Guided meditation on Receptive Breathing with Michael Stone. Recorded in 2016 at the Meditation Facilitation Training, Vancouver, 20 min. The Awake in the World podcast is brought to you by the generosity of our amazing Patreon supporters, making it possible for us to keep Michael's archive of...
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Best of Awake in the World: Standing Motionless
Michael talks about the goal of practice as being yourself. He tells the Zen story of T’ing being slapped and explores trusting yourself, not telling black and white stories about those we love and hate, and how meditation is the same as art. Chapin Mill, New York, 50 min. The Awake in the World...
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Best of Awake in the World: The Environment in Trauma Awareness ft. Molly Boeder Harris
Trigger Warning: Talks of Sexual/Assault and Trauma An expansion of the discussion with Molly Boeder Harris as she co-teaches with Michael on trauma sensitivity during the Meditation Facilitation Training in Vancouver, 25 min. Recorded in 2016 If you would like to learn more about Healing Trauma...
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Best of Awake in the World: Trauma Sensitivity in Meditation, Mindfulness & Yoga ft. Molly Boeder Harris
Trigger Warning: Talks of Sexual/Assault and Trauma Molly Boeder Harris co-teaching with Michael on trauma sensitivity during the Meditation Facilitation Program. Vancouver, 46 min. Recorded in 2016 If you would like to learn more about Healing Trauma with the Body, we offer an inclusive six-week...
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The Middle Path & The Basics of Buddhism
Michael's talk on the core teachings of the Buddha and how they relate to being a self, letting go, repeating the past, investing too much in the future, and being stuck. Recorded on September 28, 2012. Please note, the end of the talk and discussion is cut-off.
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Best of Awake in the World: Buddhism Before Religion
The Buddha’s stance is anti-religious in a certain way. He uses what’s in religious practice to undo religious belief. The Buddha creates strategies, not dogmas. The more you go back into the old texts, the further away you get from religion. What we don’t need at this moment is another religion....
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Best of Awake in the World: Zen Koan MU
In this Best of episode, Michael Stone gives his final talk at Centre of Gravity on the famous Zen Koan MU. Michael begins with discussing meditation on the breath and then goes deeply into seeing how practice is about being unconditional with yourself. Recorded at Centre of Gravity, Toronto on…
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Best of Awake in the World: Conscientiousness and the Practice of Attentiveness
A dharma "pep-talk" by Michael Stone. Has the powerful but ineffable energy of strong emotions, attachment and aversion reduced us to servitude? A gruff old man takes up yoga and experiences momentary freedom from painful thoughts. Has anyone else been gripped by sorcery lately? Recorded on...
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Best of Awake in the World: 20 min. Guided Meditation: Receptive Listening
Michael guides a 20 minute meditation. He brings attention to calm and the body. Exploring the balance between vitality and tranquility in the body while allowing the ears to open to the movements of sound. The Awake in the World podcast is brought to you by the generosity of our amazing Patreon...
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Best of Awake in the World: Not Giving Up On Ourselves & Fully Inhabiting Our Lives
Michael teaches from the Lojong Training in Compassion. What’s happening right now in our lives can be the raw material that shows us the path of awakening & compassion. He reminds of the vows we've made to be awake, to wake up others and be available for others and learn skills to reduce...
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Best of Awake in the World: A True Person of No Status
In this Awake in the World podcast, recorded during the afternoon practice session on New Year’s Eve 2009, Michael gives a few words of encouragement around “realizing the mystery” in the ordinariness of your life. Recorded December 31, 2009. The Awake in the World podcast is brought to you by…
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Best of Awake in the World: Where’s My Treasure House?
In this Best of Awake in the World podcast episode Michael relates the story of Daiju and Baso from the Gateless Gate (21) and explores the treasure of trusting yourself. Recorded on December 31, 2009. The Awake in the World podcast is brought to you by the generosity of our amazing Patreon...
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Best of Awake in the World: Taking Care of Ourselves, Taking Care of the World
Michael Stone explores the integration of yoga and Buddhism, and how we can live a life fully engaged with the suffering of the world while also taking care of ourselves. Recorded during a day-long workshop and fundraiser for New Leaf Foundation (newleaffoundation.com) at the University of…
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Best of Awake in the World: Fear, Whirlpools & Recalling the Past
Michael explores the Buddha’s experience of absorption in the forest, and how he turned to the experience of pleasure in his body to stabilize during anxiety and dread. Recorded in Green Bay, WI, on March 27, 2017. The Awake in the World podcast is brought to you by the generosity of our amazing...
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Best of Awake in the World: Nobody's Life Is Just Their Own
In this episode, Zoketsu Norman Fischer and Shoken Michael Stone explore how the Dharma is taking root in Western culture and finding expression through mainstream media. Their conversation examines the ways Buddhist teachings are shaped by language, culture, and contemporary experience, raising...
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The Mind as a Process
In this Best of episode of Awake in the World Michael gives advice and practical tips for dealing with some of the struggles that come up during sitting practice, such as sleepiness, rumination, or difficult emotions like anger. The Business of our mind can both humble and motivate us to practice...
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Best of Awake in the World: It's not about figuring it out
In this episode Michael continues his discussion of The Five Powers of the Mind and offers some thoughts on tradition and yoga, the interpretation of the word faith, ethics, and the strong need for self-care. Recorded August 14, 2009. The Awake in the World podcast is brought to you by the...
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Best of Awake in the World: The Five Powers of the Mind
In this Best of Awake in the World podcast episode Michael discusses Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras with an emphasis on The Five Powers of the Mind (outlined in the first pada, line 20). He touches on the fundamental teaching of Right speech and subtle forms of violence, and focussing on bringing new...
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Best of Awake in the World: Gotta Make A Living, Part 2
Michael talks about how our work should be energetic, industrious, diligent and skilful. We should live within our means and keep good company. When you really, really want something, you might ask: How central is this for becoming a good version of myself? Recorded at Centre of Gravity on March…
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Best of Awake in the World: Gotta Make A Living, Part 1
Michael unpacks teachings from the Buddhist tradition on how to make a living, and how to make ethical decisions around money in a financial world that revolves around extraction and exploitation. Recorded at Centre of Gravity on March 1, 2014. The Awake in the World podcast is brought to you by...
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Best of Awake in the World: To Stop the Estrangement Between Us
In this Best of Awake in the World episode about the Heart Sutra, Michael explores how it functions to counter what John Cage calls “the authoritarian structures” of our minds, including the tendency to create “frames” and contract around our sense of separateness. Recorded on March 31, 2009. The...
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Best of Awake in the World: 15 minute Guided Meditation on the Breathing Body
Michael leads a 15 minute guided meditation class with the focus on grounding and bringing distractions back into the beginning of the inhale, relaxing the eyes, and feeling the sensations of breathing in the nostrils without visualizing the breath. Recorded January 17, 2017 in Victoria, B.C. The...
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Best of Awake in the World: How Illness Deepens Us
Michael gives a talk on the ways illness strengthens our heart. He guides us through simple breath techniques to start, then to expand into finer, granular insight for strong concentration as our meditation practice becomes long-term. He tells the story of how Dongshan was ready to die. He said...
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Best of Awake in the World: Mindfulness of Feeling Tone
Michael teaches the 2nd foundation of mindfulness and how all of our experiences comes down to pleasant and unpleasant feeling tone in the body and how important it is that we know how to feel the unpleasant. He also speaks about anger and how a heightened awareness in the middle of our original...
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Best of Awake in the World: A More Liquified Existence
In this Best of Awake in the World podcast episode Michael explores the “post-negation” section of the Heart Sutra, focusing on the lines, “with no hindrance in the mind. No hindrance, therefore no fear.” He describes hindrances as mental barriers, the walls constructed by the mind, and…
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Best of Awake in the World: Radical Open-ness
Guest speaker, Dr. Lauren Corman gives a gripping talk on animals and non-violence, given during a 12-day intensive at Centre of Gravity, Recorded on July 19, 2012. Through classes in the area of Critical Animal Studies, which engages an intersectional approach to, "the question of the animal."…
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Best of Awake in the World: The Neighbour's Dog is Barking
In this Awake in the World podcast Michael begins by stating that “this practice is a matter of life and death” and describes how yoga can help us see our patterns of conditioning, and help us to embrace both the light and the dark aspects of our lives. Recorded on January 23, 2007. The Awake in...
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Best of Awake in the World: Intensifying Relationships and the Politics of Love
In this Best of Awake in the World episode Michael explores the difference between mindfulness and being self-conscious, Shantideva's practices for exchanging your self with others, and suggestions for long-term practice. Recorded on March 12, 2013. The Awake in the World podcast is brought to…
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Best of Awake in the World: Clouds in the Sky
In this Best of Awake in the world episode Michael leads a thirty-minute guided meditation focuses on noticing and letting go of commentary. Recorded on November 4, 2008. The Awake in the World podcast is brought to you by the generosity of our amazing Patreon supporters, making it possible for…
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Best of Awake in the World: Tell Me, Who Is That Other?
in this Best of Awake in the World podcast episode based on a koan (Case Forty-five from the Gateless Gate) this talk explores the complex ways that we create a self and create an “other,” and how the two processes can be deeply intertwined. Recorded on October 12, 2008. The Awake in the World...
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Best of Awake in the World: The Jhanas (4 stages of concentration)
In this “Best Of” episode, we revisit a powerful conversation where Michael breaks down the fundamentals of Jhana practice (the 4 stages of deep concentration). He explores the inner “maps” that guide absorption and offers insight into how practitioners can move into increasingly profound states....
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Best of Awake in the World: The World is its Own Mantra
In this Best of episode Michael explores the magic mantra that concludes the Heart Sutra, one of the most famous teachings in the Buddhist tradition. In this one-hour talk, he reflects on how this ancient mantra points to a profound shift in the way we meet our lives. Through stories…
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Best of Awake in the World: Hope Without Optimism
On Silent Retreat Michael Stone explores the Zen koan “Why Can’t the Tail Pass Through” along with thoughts on hope, optimism, and despair. He describes “mindfulness as a political tool” and how we don't need a revolution, we need “embodied, moment-to-moment rebellion.” True North Insight, 45…
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Best of Awake in the World: The Three Levels of Ethics: Literal, Compassionate, Koan
One of the last days of the 6 month Precepts course. Following chanting the Heart Sutra, five students present on the five ethical values of the course, and then Michael discusses three ways of thinking about ethics. And how to look at a flower and smile. Recorded on April 7, 2011. This episode…
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Best of Awake in the World: Mindfulness & Situational Ethics
In this episode, Michael explores the intersection of mindfulness and situational ethics, unpacking how awareness can guide us through the complex moral landscapes of everyday life. Drawing from a 2015 lecture in an earlier version of his online course, Embodying Ethics & Vows in Modern Life,...
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Consent, Connection & Ethics: A Modern Guide to Brahmacharya with Jessy Wollen
In this week's episode, we continue our deep dive into The Five Ethics with a modern exploration of brahmacharya, often translated as the wise use of energy. What does this ancient ethical guideline have to do with our sexuality, relationships and personal boundaries? We are joined by Jessy…
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Best of Awake in the World: Generosity & Not Being Possessive
Michael interviews Simone Moir, Registered Psychotherapist, on the precept of aparigraha (non-greed) and the practice of generosity. They discuss what comes up around possessiveness, addiction and obsession, embracing impermanence, the importance of relationship and knowing the importance of...
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Best of Awake in the World: Asteya (Being Satisfied)
In this week’s Best Of episode, Michael explores the ethic of not stealing, (asteya). The Zen master Dōgen offers a beautiful translation: “The self and the things of the world are just as they are. The gate of freedom is open.” At its heart, this teaching is about being content with what we…
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Best of Awake in the World: Satya (Become Honesty)
In this week’s Best Of episode, Michael reflects on satya, the practice of honesty. Satya isn’t an abstract ideal, it’s a lived experience that arises in real time through our relationships and daily lives. At the core of all meaningful practice is a commitment to honesty; without it, principles...
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Best of Awake in the World: Ahimsa (Non-harming)
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 beliefs and values shape the way we move through the world, and the role formal meditation can play…
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How Do You Be Interconnectedness?
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," a nine-week program weaving Buddhist and yogic ethics into the fabric of daily life. We are...
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Best of Awake in the World: I had to Stop Reading
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 sitting practice in moving beyond language to directly examine the mental habits that cloud...
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Best of Awake in the World: The Self Has No Self What to do with the Ego
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 inward, through memory, identity, awareness, and ultimately into stillness. In this talk, Michael...
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Best of Awake in the World: Your Crushing Elephant Mind
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” practices. He makes a powerful connection between formal sitting meditation and everyday life,...
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Best of Awake in the World: Wisdom & Spontaneity
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 beads rolling on a tray: sudden, ready, uninhibited. Recorded in 2008. The Awake in the World…
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Best of Awake in the World: Awareness & Morality
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 moment, the question is not, “What is the right thing to do?” but “What is the compassionate thing…
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Best of Awake in the World: Finding a Path (30 min guided meditation)
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 decide good or bad: it is kind to our body, our nervous system, our habits. Recorded April 23, 2010
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Best of Awake in the World: Make This Country Safe For Poetry!
Annual Poetry Evening. Erin Robinsong, Sarah Selecky, Michael Stone read from their favourite poems. A wonderful evening of words to support practice. Recorded Nov. 30, 2010. Image of Waves & Water: A Collection of Poems by Michael Stone. Photo by Andréa de Keijzer. The Awake in the World podcast...
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Best of Awake in the World: Radically Simple
In this Awake in the World podcast episode, Michael references the Middle-Length Discourses of the Buddha, reads a koan from The Book of Serenity, and explores how Buddhist practice is radically simple and relates to the whole of our lives. Recorded April 26, 2010. Photo by Andréa de Keijzer, New...
About this show
Awake in the World Podcast is a library of talks 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. 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. Michael Stone (1974-2017) was a Buddhist teacher, author, and mental health advocate. His legacy is stewarded by Carina Stone. Podcast funded by Patreon (patreon.com/michaelstone).
Hosted by
Michael Stone
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