Awake In The World Podcast

What’s happening right now in our lives can be the raw material that shows us the path of awakening & compassion. In Portland, Michael teaches from the Lojong Training in Compassion. Portland, Oregon. Recorded December 2, 2016.

Michael explores how mindfulness and meditation practice can heal shame and trauma and how these symptoms manifest in relationship. Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Recorded on November 20 2016.

In Berlin Michael talks about Zen Case 55 of the Blue Cliff Record “Tao Wu's Condolence Call.” He talks about the Yoga Sutra, not being afraid, and how an awakened person has a very wide palette of emotion, it’s just they don’t grasp so much. Recorded at YogaSpirit in Berlin, Germany on October 20, 2016.

A ship is safe in the harbour, but that’s not what ships are built to do. Michael talks about the ways that we can balance calmness with vitality, how not to be afraid of our power, and how balanced energy can have superhero qualities. Recorded in Copenhagen, September 27 2016.

Using a Zen koan about the Pang family, Michael talks about wholehearted activity, compassion, and throwing yourself to the ground when someone falls down. He ties this into the refugee situation in Europe, racism, and how to take compassionate action when we have no idea what to do. Recorded in Copenhagen on September 25, 2016.

Describing the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th limbs of yoga, Michael offers a very clear talk on the self, the ego and the emptiness of what we cling to. At the core of the personality we are trying to create permanence because we’re trying to come to terms with how fluid things really are. Recorded in Stockholm on September 9, 2016.

Michael lectures on the end of 2nd chapter of the Yoga-Sutra and then gets into a very precise mapping of what happens to the ego when you get into deeper states of calm and how to practice without dissociating. Recorded in Stockholm, September 8, 2016.

Based on a Zen story, Michael talks about wholehearted activity, compassion, and throwing yourself to the ground when someone falls. He ties this into the refugee situation in Europe, racism, and how to take compassionate action when we have no idea what to do. Recorded in Stockholm, September 7, 2016.

Caitlin Lambstrom gives a dharma talk on silent retreat about avoiding burnout, using effort wisely, getting rest, and being inspired by something greater than yourself. Salt Spring Island, Canada. 40 min. Recorded August 26, 2016.

Michael speaks about the ways that being mindful of the body helps us make ethical choices and how our hostility and poor conduct only happen when we have lost track of the body. An interesting exploration at the nexus of ethics and breathing. Recorded at the Eight-day Silent Meditation Retreat on Salt Spring Island, August 24, 2016.

Michael speaks about composure, waiting 5 breaths when we are aggravated, and how patience is not about waiting for something, it’s really a matter of being where you are. The talk begins with a story about his young son and ends with a sing-along. Salt Spring Island, Canada. 50 min. Recorded August 25, 2016.

Michael suggests that you need to get deeper than cognition and stories, in order to heal trauma. It’s what we have created in the wake of painful events, that need healing. Knowing when to name our symptoms and then when to drop the pathology. Meditation Facilitation Program, London, 40 min. Recorded on July 31, 2016. Listen to Part 1, Symptoms of Trauma: http://bit.ly/2lhkCDI

Michael details fear, dissociation, and shame, and how they impact the body, mind, and relationships. Very clear talk about the strategies we use to protect ourselves and create recognizable symptoms. Michael ends with a story about generational trauma. Meditation Facilitation Program, London. Recorded on July 30, 2016. Listen to Part 2, Healing Trauma Through the Body: http://bit.ly/2kke4WB

How to work with your thoughts through labeling practice. Recorded at the Meditation Facilitation Program 2016 in London, UK.

Using mindfulness of thinking to hold mental states more lightly. Meditation Facilitation Program, London, 50 min. michaelstoneteaching.com

**BONUS** A tender and personal talk Michael gives during silent retreat about his father, forgiveness, and how we need to practice forgiveness all the time. He talks about how, and why. He talks about the painter Hellen Frankenthaller's death and practicing in good times and bad. This podcast episode is from our archive and was recorded Dec 29, 2011.

An hour before New Year's Michael gives a quiet talk on the Heart Sutra and Forgiveness. "When I hold someone's hand as they are dying I chant the Heart Sutra. Or when I watch my son sleeping." A tender and quiet talk on silent retreat. This podcast episode is from our archive and was recorded on Dec 31, 2011.

Michael gives a talk on New Year's Silent Retreat on Dogen and how to practice meditation without memory and imagination. Learn to step back and turn your light inwards. Living in your small grass hut, covered in weeds. This podcast episode is from our archive and was recorded on Dec 30, 2012.

**BONUS** Michael Stone talks on silent retreat about how meditation works over the long-haul, how to practice with a teacher that encourages independence, and how to live without gain. This is the second last talk of the year and the group was in deep silent practice, and it was snowing. This podcast is from our archive and was recorded Dec 30, 2013, at Sugar Ridge Retreat Centre in Midland, Ontario.

Michael Stone talks during the New Year's Silent Meditation Retreat about the depth of meditation, an old koan about bowing, Zen master Dogen, and Edward Snowden. This powerful talk wraps up 2013. This podcast episode is from our archive and was recorded Dec 31, 2013, at Sugar Ridge Retreat Centre in Midland, Ontario.