Awake in the World Podcast
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
Mentioned books
Sep 24, 2017 • 38min
Aim & Allow: How Mindfulness of Breathing Helps Us Manage Expectations
In meditation we need “initial application of attention,” then “sustained application” so that we cultivate a spacious field in which thoughts and sensations can come and go. Sometimes blessings are all over the place and we miss them. Toronto, Ontario. Recorded May 3, 2017.
Sep 17, 2017 • 34min
Raw Fear is a Dot in Space
More people are afraid of uncertainty than they are of physical pain. If we do something about our own pain, we can connect with the pain of others. 50% of our practice should be inward and 50% in our environment. Green Bay, Wisconsin. Recorded March 28, 2017.
Sep 10, 2017 • 43min
The Secular Buddha
Stephen Batchelor reflects upon secular Buddhism and revisits the Four Noble Truths, primary Buddhist ideals, assumptions and dogmas. Centre of Gravity, Toronto. Recorded March 28, 2010.
Sep 4, 2017 • 25min
Fear, Rebirth, and the 3 Insights
Describing how the Buddha met fear, Michael maps out how concentration practice unfolds, then offers a mind-opening view of rebirth and reincarnation. Wisconsin. Recorded March 26, 2017.
Aug 27, 2017 • 10min
What Is This? Short Guided Meditation
An 8-minute guided meditation with Martine Batchelor. Centre of Gravity, Toronto. Recorded March 28, 2010.
Aug 20, 2017 • 47min
From Fear to Sympathy
How to meet others who are in fear or anxiety, how to help anxious kids, how to validate the feelings of other people without exacerbating what’s going on for them, and how to develop concentration (jhana) practice. Wisconsin. Recorded March 26, 2017.
Aug 12, 2017 • 1h
Fear, Dread & Anxiety: The Buddha in the Forest
On retreat, Michael speaks about the Buddha’s instructions for practicing alone in the wilderness, how past actions haunt the body, how to turn towards anxiety, and a moving story about his son and autism. Wisconsin. Recorded March 25, 2017.
Aug 6, 2017 • 24min
20 min. Guided Meditation on Thinking
For the purposes of meditation, what you’re thinking about is not important. But as we pay attention to thinking in meditation, you might notice other aspects of the process of thinking besides the content. So, for example, if you’re thinking words or images, what’s the quality of the inner voice? What’s the quality of the pictures that you see? Recorded 2017.
Jul 31, 2017 • 26min
20 min. Guided Meditation: Unstable Emotions
See if you can find out where in your body that emotional state or mood is most manifested, most expressed. What sensations or feelings in your body let you know that you’re having this emotional state? See if you can notice how the emotional state is expressed through your body, through sensations in your body. Recorded December 2017.
Jul 23, 2017 • 26min
20 min. Guided Meditation: Feeling the Sensations of the Body
Nothing needs to be refused. Let the breath travel the body without picking up speed. The clouds of thought haul across the sky. Let them come and go. Let the breath move the way blood moves: let it find its own rhythm. Recorded 2017.
