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Pastor Stephen De Young recently appeared on Tucker Carlson to talk about everything from Giants and Nephilim to Lost civilization and artificial intelligence. At one point in the interview, he incorrectly describes the universal fertility rituals that have been practiced by countless cultures. He asserts that the Japanese today are using these rituals as part of the imperial ascension process, which he says involves the emperor having sex with the sun goddess. However, according to Japanese sources like the Kokugakuin University, the ritual in question is called Daijōsai — the great Thanksgiving. In fact, “the emperor neither touches nor faces the deity's rest space.” He offers rice and sake, and then has communion. The themes in this triune ritual are like many of the other aspects of Shinto and far eastern religions: they're part of a universal human tradition, rooted in every culture around the world. Further, these facts have been known to scholars for a very long time. Why do modern religious officials then dismiss them and underhandedly make such ignorant comments?https://museum.kokugakuin.ac.jp/files/user/2019_daijosai_english.pdf*The is the FREE archive, which includes advertisements. If you want an ad-free experience, you can subscribe below underneath the show description.
Can transcendence still make philosophical sense after modernity? John Vervaeke speaks with philosopher William Desmond about Platonism as a living tradition, the meaning of strong transcendence, and Desmond's philosophy of the metaxu: the between. The conversation builds from John's proposal that relevance realization and transjectivity are philosophically grounded in Desmond's ontological account of the between. John begins by distinguishing modern psychological accounts of transcendence from the ancient and Platonic sense of strong transcendence. In this stronger sense, transcendence is not merely a better state of mind. It discloses truths that are otherwise unavailable and changes the knower's relation to reality. That claim challenges modern assumptions about flat ontology, the buffered self, representational cognition, and the fact-value split. Desmond responds through Plato. He presents Plato not as a dry theorist of two worlds, but as a philosophical artist of the between: a thinker of mimesis, eros, mania, dialogue, singularity, and participatory transformation. Plato's dialogues are not ornamental containers for arguments; their drama, characters, and dialogical movement are part of the philosophy itself. The later conversation opens into deep memory, imagination, eternity, possibility, God, Daoism, intercultural philosophy, pilgrimage, and the life-world. Desmond and Vervaeke converge on the need to move beyond the view from nowhere and return philosophy to transformative practice, embodied dwelling, and a richer contact with the sources of intelligibility. Key Insights Strong transcendence has epistemological and ontological significance, not only psychological benefit. The metaxu, or between, names a porous relation before, beneath, between, and beyond modern dichotomies. Modernity's fact-value split risks producing default atheism or default nihilism. Participatory knowing offers an alternative to treating cognition as internal representation of an external world. Plato's dialogical form is integral to his philosophy; the drama cannot simply be stripped away to extract arguments. Mimesis involves relation between image and original without collapsing their difference. Eros and mania point to two directions of transcendence: from below upward and from above downward. Deep memory is a source of imagination and ontological depth, not merely storage of past facts. Possibility should not be reduced to logical possibility; living possibility points toward enabling power. Pilgrimage and theoria are linked: philosophical transformation requires being on the way, not merely observing from nowhere. Timestamps 00:00 Welcome and setup 01:00 Relevance realization and the philosophy of the between 02:00 Platonism as living tradition 02:40 The need for strong transcendence 03:50 Transcendence after modernity 04:40 William Desmond introduces his work 05:00 Between system and poetics 06:00 The Western tradition as conversation partner 08:00 John's paper on strong transcendence 09:20 Psychological transcendence in modern thought 10:00 Truths disclosed through transcendence 11:00 Flat ontology and layered reality 12:30 The buffered self 14:00 Fact-value dichotomy and default atheism 15:10 Contact epistemology and participatory relation 17:20 Being realized as you realize 18:20 Anagoge and the cave 18:40 Interior, exterior, and superior transcendence 20:10 Autonomy, heteronomy, theonomy, and theosis 21:30 Desmond responds 22:00 Plato's philosophical art and the Sophist 22:30 Art, origins, and otherness 23:40 Originality, creativity, and modern art 25:20 Mimesis and the difference between image and original 28:20 Plato as thinker of the metaxu 29:00 Eros and self-transcendence 30:00 Mania and divine inspiration 31:30 Inspiration as transmission 33:20 Metaxology and Hegel 34:40 The Sophist and participatory knowing 36:40 The who of the sophist 38:10 Periagoge and the turning of the soul 39:40 Philosophy as a way of life 40:30 Exiting modernity's frame 43:20 The dialogue form is not ornamental 45:30 Socrates as an image of courage 46:20 Dialogos and method 48:00 Diaphanous logos 49:00 Singular incarnation and witness 51:10 Theoria as contemplation and pilgrimage 52:00 John's dialectic-in-dialogos practice 53:20 Anamnesis in practice 54:20 The logos beyond the participants 55:20 Deep memory and imagination 57:00 Muses, memory, and hidden springs 58:20 AI and outsourced memory 59:00 Memory as ontological depth 01:00:30 Eternity and the other to time 01:02:40 Inward otherness and ultimate otherness 01:04:50 Plato's sun and enabling light 01:06:20 Porosity and the buffered self 01:07:00 Living possibility 01:09:00 Possibility, transcendence, and God 01:10:40 What makes intelligibility intelligible? 01:11:40 Eastern and Western approaches to possibility 01:13:30 Coming to be and becoming 01:15:40 Nicholas of Cusa 01:17:00 Wu wei and giving way 01:18:20 Daoist practice and Socratic midwifery 01:20:20 Philosophical Silk Road 01:22:10 The intimate universal 01:23:20 Against philosophical tourism 01:25:30 Elemental porosity 01:26:00 Pilgrimage and practice 01:27:40 Being underway 01:29:30 Theoria as metanoetic passage 01:30:10 Symphonic language 01:34:00 The life-world 01:35:40 Rejecting the view from nowhere 01:36:20 Closing Resources William Desmond, Being and the Between William Desmond, Ethics and the Between William Desmond, God and the Between William Desmond, Art, Origins, Otherness: Between Philosophy and Art Plato, Symposium, Ion, Sophist, Republic, and Laches Plotinus and Proclus Hegel Charles Taylor Catherine Pickstock, Aspects of Truth Paul Tillich Thomas Aquinas Nicholas of Cusa Pierre Hadot Henry Corbin Frank, Gleiser, and Thompson, The Blind Spot Follow John Vervaeke: Website: https://johnvervaeke.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@johnvervaeke/videos X: https://x.com/DrJohnVervaeke Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/johnvervaeke
Across decades of reading and travel, something has struck me again and again: wildly different traditions, from Daoism to Hinduism to Christianity, converge on a threefold or Trinitarian model of ultimate reality. In this talk I trace that pattern through philosophy, theology, and modern physics, and suggest it reflects something fundamental about the nature of things.Many churches will be celebrating the Holy Trinity on Sunday May 31, Trinity Sunday.This talk was recorded live at St James's Church London, May 13th, 2026 as part of the Alternatives programme. The full video with human readable transcript is available on substack.
Interview starts at 31:25 Interstellar Contact, Taoism, and the Future of Humanity with Monk Yun-Roe Explore the intriguing intersection of Taoist philosophy, extraterrestrial life, and personal transformational experiences with Monk Yun-Roe. Discover how ancient wisdom aligns with modern UFO phenomena and the potential future of human evolution. Introduction: In this episode, Monk Yun-Roe shares his journey from a Hollywood screenwriter to a Taoist monk, his visionary experiences involving alien contact, and insights on humanity's evolution and cosmic interconnectedness. Why understanding ancient philosophies and embracing the unknown can shape our future. The Author: Yun Rou has been called the "Zen Gabriel Garcia-Marquez" for his works of magical realism. Born Arthur Rosenfeld in New York City, he received his academic background at Yale University, Cornell University, and the University of California and was officially ordained a Taoist monk in Guangzhou, PRC. His award-winning non-fiction works on Taoism bridge science, spirituality, and philosophy, while his novels have been optioned for film in both Hollywood and Asia. Yun Rou lives in the American Southwest with his wife. He is an international teacher of Tai Chi and Daoism and travels frequently in the Far East. https://a.co/d/0fDNXvXl monkyunrou.com Main Topics: The connection between Taoism and interstellar contact Personal visionary experiences involving ET and cosmic consciousness The concept of ontological shock and its global relevance Humanity's potential for evolution and the possibility of collective non-corporeal existence The role of conflict, interconnectedness, and consciousness in our evolution Updates on Monk Yun-Roe's 1990s book and its prophetic parallels with current events The importance of integrated holistic practices like Tai Chi for health and longevity The ongoing dialogue about alien interference, government secrecy, and future contact Key Insights: Ancient Taoist principles may offer a framework for understanding contact with extraterrestrial civilizations. Monk Yun-Roe experienced a profound visionary coma, where he was shown humanity's future in a vessel teeming with life, suggesting our evolution may lead to non-physical existence. The concept of ontological shock is a shared experience across cultures and might be a universal trigger for cosmic awakening. Tai Chi and Chinese medicine exemplify how spiraling energy flow can enhance health and align us with universal rhythms, possibly echoing cosmic principles. Our current era mirrors a cyclical pattern of crises, requiring global evolution amidst universal risks. The mysterious re-emergence of Monk Yun-Roe's early work hints at messages or messages embedded in the universe's unfolding narrative. Become a Lord or Lady with 1k donations over time. And a Noble with any donation. Leave Serfdom behind and help Grimerica stick to 0 ads and sponsors and fully listener supported. Thanks for listening!! 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DisasterMap, VolcanoSim, AsteroidSim, ShipwreckMap, UFOMap etc https://www.amazon.com/Unlearned-School-Failed-What-About/dp/1998704904/ref=sr_1_3?sr=8-3 Support the show directly: https://open.spotify.com/show/2punSyd9Cw76ZtvHxMKenI?si=ImKxfMHgQZ-oshl499O4dQ&nd=1&dlsi=4c25fa9c78674de3 Watch or Listen on Spotify https://grimericacbd.com/ CBD / THC Gummies and Tinctures http://www.grimerica.ca/support https://www.patreon.com/grimerica http://www.grimericaoutlawed.ca/support Our audio book website: www.adultbrain.ca Check out our next trip/conference/meetup - Contact at the Cabin www.contactatthecabin.com www.grimerica.ca/shrooms and Micro Dosing Darren's book www.acanadianshame.ca Join the chat / hangout with a bunch of fellow Grimericans Https://t.me.grimerica grimerica.ca/chats Discord Chats https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/grimerica-outlawed Sign up for our newsletter https://grimerica.substack.com/ SPAM Graham = and send him your synchronicities, feedback, strange experiences and psychedelic trip reports!! graham@grimerica.com Purchase swag, with partial proceeds donated to the show: www.grimerica.ca/swag Send us a postcard or letter http://www.grimerica.ca/contact/ Episode ART - Napolean Duheme's site http://www.lostbreadcomic.com/ MUSIC https://brokeforfree.bandcamp.com/ - Something Galactic Felix's Site sirfelix.bandcamp.com - Should I Timestamps: 00:00 – Introduction to Monk Yun-Roe and his work 02:00 – Taoism's perspective on creation without a divine creator 04:00 – The idea of ontological shock in Western and Eastern contexts 06:00 – Humanity's interconnectedness observed by astronauts and UFO witnesses 08:00 – Monk Yun-Roe's background in UFO research, writing, and visionary experiences 12:00 – The concept of UFOs as beings waiting for human evolution 16:00 – The tragic loss and rediscovery of his manuscript 20:00 – Near-death experience, vision of galactic preservation, and non-physical existence 30:00 – The philosophical implications of conflict and peaceful energy flow in alien perspectives 40:00 – Monk Yun-Roe's visions of future human evolution and cosmic destiny 50:00 – Reflection on cosmic interconnectedness and universal consciousness 58:00 – Practical insights into Tai Chi as a tool for health and spiritual alignment 64:00 – Closing thoughts, upcoming books, and the importance of sharing knowledge
— In this episode, we delve into how mindfulness and meditation serve as vital tools in connecting with the present, and how therapy cultivates openness to new possibilities. We explore key topics such as defining mental health and human suffering, the role of mindfulness in therapy, and the art of rewriting personal narratives to alleviate anxiety and depression. Samantha shares her insights on nurturing our inner child, transforming language and perception, and utilizing art as a healing medium. Our conversation touches on the complexity of suffering, how simple changes in our environment help combat overstimulation, and the profound impact of finding fullness in stillness. We also discuss the concept of "glimmers" in nature, experiences to cherish before death, and how they aid in overcoming triggers. Throughout the discussion, Samantha shares how mindfulness, creativity, and a simplified life help us embrace authenticity and clarity. Valeria interviews Samantha Maederer — She is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in Florida, with over a decade of experience. With a background in Art Therapy from Florida State University, her unique path intersects art and mental health. Samantha began her career by co-creating a public art installation highlighting patient voices from the Florida State Psychiatric Hospital, and now encourages creativity in her clients to navigate challenges. She spent 12 years in community mental health, offering therapy to survivors of sexual trauma and postpartum clients. Samantha's approach is informed by her own mental health journey and a belief in art as a tool to process experiences. She integrates Zen Buddhism and Daoism principles, helping clients embrace non-judgment and reality awareness. Samantha specializes in working with women with complex trauma histories. She employs somatic work, mindfulness, and focuses on anxiety, panic, and OCD. Her therapeutic approach includes helping clients reconnect with their younger selves. Outside of therapy, Samantha enjoys gardening, kayaking, and promoting a holistic approach to mental health, emphasizing focus and the mind-body connection. Learn more about Samantha Maederer and her work.
What does it mean to say the world is fundamentally open for play - and why does it take something to even have to say it at all? In this episode - the third and final in a live-recorded three-part series with Ethan Hsieh, Taylor Barratt, and John Vervaeke - the conversation centers on Ethan as he unpacks the distinction between teaching and facilitation, the purpose of TIAMAT, and the deep personal why that drives his work. John maps the teacher/facilitator divide onto Aristotle's sophia and phronesis, while the group works through how theory and practice function as mutual correctives - each able to expose the other's blind spots. They examine phenomenological adequacy (how a theory can be causally sound yet fail to account for what's actually showing up in lived practice), the necessity of an ecology of practices over any single panacea, and why no closed overarching theory can substitute for genuine interdisciplinary dialogue. Ethan unpacks TIAMAT's purpose as psycho-education toward a good life - affording self-knowledge and heightened religiosity (bindedness to self, other, and world) without becoming a religion - and walks through the SPIRE framework (Service, Pilgrimage, Inquiry, Ritual, Enlightenment). The conversation deepens into the primordial nature of relationality, the actor training roots of TIAMAT, and Ethan's core conviction: that serious play - wrestling fully with what matters, using every faculty of one's being - is the most human way to stay genuinely coupled to a reality that always exceeds our grasp. The episode closes on joy: not pleasure, not comfort, but contact. Ethan Hsieh is the Director of Community Development and Partnerships at the Vervaeke Foundation. He comes from an acting background focused on character development. LinkedIn Taylor Barratt is the Director of Practice and Education at the Vervaeke Foundation. He has over a decade of experience in relational leadership through Authentic Relating Toronto. LinkedIn X 00:00 Welcome to the Lectern 01:30 Introducing Ethan - the third and final session 03:00 Teaching vs. facilitation - the core distinction 04:20 The knowing-doing and being-becoming questions 06:30 What truly distinguishes a teacher from a facilitator? 08:00 Responsibility, longitudinal tracking, and development 09:00 Training containers vs. drop-in practice 11:10 Sophia and phronesis - Aristotle on wisdom 12:30 Self-correction and attachment to theory or practice 14:10 Adaptive fit vs. adaptive transfer 17:30 When to bring theory in as a leader 20:00 Theory as legitimation of practice 22:00 Does practice challenge theory? Practice as research 24:00 Phenomenological adequacy - what theory can miss 26:00 Being too precious about theory or practice 27:00 Voice work and the emotional dimension as data 28:30 Deficit, excess, and the normativity of practice 30:30 Ecology of practices as pedagogical design 32:20 Why there's no closed theoretical system 33:00 Why there's no panacea discipline 35:00 TIAMAT as a living, evolving system 35:50 Predictive processing, CBT, and Jungian thought 36:30 Propositional knowledge must afford participation 38:10 What's ours to do? Defining scope of practice 41:20 What is TIAMAT actually for? 43:00 Pathological vs. positive psychology 46:10 TIAMAT: psycho-education for a good life 47:00 Religiosity without religion 48:30 SPIRE - Service, Pilgrimage, Inquiry, Ritual, Enlightenment 49:30 Enriching religio and relationship 50:20 Relationality is primordial - all of it is real 52:00 Depersonalization and the world-as-instrument trap 54:00 Why Taylor does this work 56:40 "The world is open for play" 58:00 Joy as good 59:00 Serious play as anamnesis - recovering what was forgotten 01:00:00 Joy vs. pleasure - genuine coupling to reality 01:01:00 Daoism, Zen, and the blurry line with philosophy 01:02:00 Actor training as the origin of TIAMAT 01:03:30 Anger and sadness at unnecessary suffering 01:08:30 "Why do I have to tell you that you matter?" 01:10:00 Holding the suchness of where someone is 01:11:10 Joy as developing relationship - closing thoughts The Vervaeke Foundation is committed to advancing the scientific pursuit of wisdom and creating a significant impact on the world. Become a part of our mission. Join Awaken to Meaning to explore practices that enhance your virtues and foster deeper connections with reality and relationships. Follow John Vervaeke: Website | Twitter | YouTube | Patreon Thank you for listening!
Ken Liu graces ChinaTalk with his presence. He is the author of the Dandelion Dynasty silkpunk fantasy series and a brilliant short fiction writer — one of his stories was recently adapted into Sam Altman's favorite show, Pantheon. We all know his translation work on the first and third volumes of the Three-Body Problem trilogy, but even better was his absolutely brilliant translation and commentary of the Dao De Jing. As much as I hoped that project would get him fully on the classical Chinese translation train, he followed it up with a very different direction — a techno-AI thriller, All That We See or Seem, released late last year. Irene Zhang of ChinaTalk joins us to co-host. In a wide-ranging conversation, Ken Liu argues that: Technology is the most human thing we do — humans have always externalized our minds into the world and then allowed those creations to reshape who we are. AI “slop” won't stop humans from making art that matters, and the real distinction isn't quality versus slop, but between desire-fulfilling machines and artists who draw from the collective unconscious. The deeper danger of AI isn't machines replacing humans, but systems that train humans to behave like machines. Science fiction isn't prophecy, but mythology — and ideologies are just mythology's cheaper, hack cousins. Orwell, Shelley, Tolkien, and Le Guin endure not because they predicted the future, but because they gave us metaphors powerful enough to think with across generations. Large language models are intelligent, but can't be wise. Drawing on Laozi and Zhuangzi, Ken explains why everything that truly matters lies beyond language. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Ken Liu graces ChinaTalk with his presence. He is the author of the Dandelion Dynasty silkpunk fantasy series and a brilliant short fiction writer — one of his stories was recently adapted into Sam Altman's favorite show, Pantheon. We all know his translation work on the first and third volumes of the Three-Body Problem trilogy, but even better was his absolutely brilliant translation and commentary of the Dao De Jing. As much as I hoped that project would get him fully on the classical Chinese translation train, he followed it up with a very different direction — a techno-AI thriller, All That We See or Seem, released late last year. Irene Zhang of ChinaTalk joins us to co-host. In a wide-ranging conversation, Ken Liu argues that: Technology is the most human thing we do — humans have always externalized our minds into the world and then allowed those creations to reshape who we are. AI “slop” won't stop humans from making art that matters, and the real distinction isn't quality versus slop, but between desire-fulfilling machines and artists who draw from the collective unconscious. The deeper danger of AI isn't machines replacing humans, but systems that train humans to behave like machines. Science fiction isn't prophecy, but mythology — and ideologies are just mythology's cheaper, hack cousins. Orwell, Shelley, Tolkien, and Le Guin endure not because they predicted the future, but because they gave us metaphors powerful enough to think with across generations. Large language models are intelligent, but can't be wise. Drawing on Laozi and Zhuangzi, Ken explains why everything that truly matters lies beyond language. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In this episode Randel and Owen continue their talk with Hai Yang about his martial journey, Qi Gong, Chen Taiji and Xingyi and training and teaching.From the Dao I Podcast:"Master Hai Yang, born and raised in Tianjin, China, began his Xing Yi training at the age of 6 under the guidance of his grandfather, Yang Qinglin, a disciple of Zhang Zhaodong. In his adolescent years, he also began practicing Cheng-style Ba Gua, Xing Yi - Ba Gua Palm, also under his grandfather's guidance, Chen-style Tai Chi from Master Ma Hong and his own uncle, Yang Fengwu, different practices of Qi Gong such as Zhineng and Wild Goose, and of course, Daoism. Till date, he has amassed close to 50 years worth of practice experience, almost 40 of which also include extensive teaching experience in China, Canada, the US, Europe, as well as online. Since May 2020, Master Yang has been regularly publishing lecture videos on his YouTube channel covering theoretical as well as practical aspects of the Internal Martial Arts, Daoism and Qi Gong.Master Yang founded the Daoist Arts Organization International (DAOI) a couple of years ago with the aim of bringing together practitioners in the community and elevating the overall standard of practice within the community."Contact Master Hai Yang:YouTubeFacebookDaoist Arts Organization International (DAOI)Need More From Kung Fu Conversations (KFC)?KFC EmailKFC InstagramKFC FacebookKFC Buy-Me-A-CoffeeKFC MerchNeed Kung Fu Training?Xingyi and Bagua in Colorado - Boulder Internal ArtsWing Chun in Colorado - Red Forest Chinese Boxing#kungfupanda #taichi #kungfu #kungfuconversations #meditation #qigong #haiyang #wingchun #baguazhang
The second-longest reigning emperor of the Ming Dynasty was an out-too-devout follower of religious Daoism.Support the show
In this episode:We discover how modern life may be pulling us out of alignment with our natural rhythms, and what it really means to reconnect. You'll hear a thought-provoking framework for understanding stress, disconnection, and the brain's role in shaping our experience, along with practical ways to return to a more grounded, integrated way of living.Aldrich Chan, Psy.D., is a neuropsychologist, psychotherapist, and founder of the Center for Neuropsychology and Consciousness. He is an adjunct professor for the doctoral and master's program at Pepperdine University and author of the award-winning book Reassembling Models of Reality and most recently, 7 Principles of Nature. Dr. Chan has publications on mindfulness, trauma, creativity, and novel psychotherapeutic approaches. He hosts weekly meditation groups and has been practicing meditation with special interests in Daoism and Zen for over a decade.Links mentioned during this episode:Dr. Chan's book: https://amzn.to/4aHYTynDr. Chan's Instagram: www.instagram.com/draldrichanFree Initial Consultation with Dr. Megan: https://p.bttr.to/3a9lfYkLyons' Share Instagram: www.instagram.com/thelyonsshareJoin Megan's newsletter: www.thelyonsshare.org/newsletter
In this episode, I chat with Mark Forstater, the producer of over 30 films, including Monty Python and the Holy Grail. He is the author of a number of books, including The Spiritual Teachings of Marcus Aurelius, The Spiritual Teachings of Seneca, and The Living Wisdom of Socrates, as well as books on yogic philosophy and Daoism. His most recent book, The 7th Python: A Twat's Tale, documents his experience of working with the Pythons, and a protracted legal battle that he found himself fighting, and winning, decades later.Stoicism: Philosophy as a Way of Life is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Highlights* How did you get into Marcus Aurelius and Seneca? What motivated you to adapt them for modern readers and what are the main ideas that you take from their writings?* You've also written about Socrates, how do you feel he compares with the Stoics as a guide today?* What, if anything, do you think that working in movies can teach us about how the mind works?* Have you found Stoic ideas helpful during stressful periods in your own life? During your legal battles for example?* Could you imagine there being another movie about Marcus Aurelius?Links* Goodreads profile* The Spiritual Teachings of Marcus Aurelius* The Spiritual Teachings of Seneca* The Living Wisdom of Socrates* The 7th PythonThanks for reading Stoicism: Philosophy as a Way of Life! This post is public so feel free to share it. Get full access to Stoicism: Philosophy as a Way of Life at donaldrobertson.substack.com/subscribe
There's a little red Japanese fire truck rolling around all over San Francisco. But instead of putting out fires, Kiri the Japanese Fire Truck is spreading joy and inspiring smiles. In this episode, meet and get to know Todd Lappin, the human being who brought Kiri from Japan to the US—Bernal Heights specifically. We start with Todd's life story in Part 1. He has lived in the 94110 ZIP code for 34 years. But he's originally from New Jersey. "Even after 34 years, New Jersey is like a stain that doesn't wash out," he says. He grew up in what he calls the "Ohio part" of the state. I call it "the pretty part," meaning not New York City-adjacent. Todd is a self-described Gen Xer—growing up mostly in the Eighties, latch-key kid, etc. Most of the growing up happened in Hackettstown, NJ, one of the places where M&M's are made. It's not far from the eastern end of I-80, also. NYC was an hour away and Todd spent plenty of time there as a kid. In addition to being born in New York and raised in New Jersey, Todd spent one year in Oakland as a kid when his navy dad got stationed in Alameda. He's long held a fascination with cars, specifically what are known as "working vehicles." Think of them as cars people use for jobs. He appreciates the aesthetic honesty of such automobiles. Though it was and still is small, Hackettstown served as a hub for surrounding farmland and even smaller nearby towns. When Todd was in high school, one of those surrounding towns' volunteer fire department sold a Cadillac ambulance for $600. He didn't buy it, and regrets that to this day. It's his "Rosebud," so to speak. When he was young, he also started getting deep into Asian culture. For Todd, this fascination stemmed from diving more into the US war in Vietnam. He learned about Confucianism. He ended up going to Brown University for college and getting even deeper into Asian history and culture—focusing first on Chinese, then moving onto Japanese. Todd did a semester abroad in Japan, in fact. He didn't love the school part of his time there, but ended up traveling around the country on his own. Those travels eventually led him into China. After this, he pivoted from studying modern Japan to digging into ancient China, with a specific focus on Daoism. He ended up with a degree in Chinese intellectual history. Going back to Todd's Bay Area connections, besides that one year in Oakland when he was little, he'd visited with his parents when he was a teenager. When he graduated from Brown, he was dating a woman from here. But it was a high school spring break visit that really cemented it for him—this is where he wanted to be eventually. For young Todd in the Eighties, San Francisco felt urban in a way that reminded him of his time in NYC. After that, it was the beauty, the thoughtfulness, as he puts it, that hooked him. Six years or so after that spring break visit, Todd put down roots in SF. The two of us digress to talk in some depth about differences between SF and NYC. One way that Todd characterizes it is: The East Coast anoints. The West Coast creates. I can see what he means. Todd still loves Providence, RI, where Brown is. But a year after graduating and staying there, that SF "hook" pulled him here. When he landed in early-Nineties Mission (1991), it felt like Providence, so there was a familiarity to his new hometown. Zine culture was still big at the time, and Todd did a little writing, much of it journalistic. One of those gigs was to edit a book by one of his mentors—Orville Schell, who was once the dean of the UC Berkeley journalism school. Like Todd, Schell studied Chinese history and culture. So, that was 34 years ago. Todd doesn't think the 94110 has changed, or, as he puts it, hasn't changed enough. The City has grown, but the Mission and Bernal for him are mostly the same. He eventually got a job at and worked for Wired for a while. Years later, he launched Bernalwood, a blog about his neighborhood. This is where Todd's and my worlds first intersected. Todd sees blogs as a natural progression from zines—both have low barriers to entry and so foster a more-independent spirit than established or corporate news orgs. I agree, having been part of the blogging world myself. At this point, we turn to the topic of this episode—Kiri, the tiny Japanese fire truck. Todd shares that story with us all here. Going back to his pivot from studying Japanese to studying Chinese culture, Todd says at that point, he felt he was done with Japan. But in 2004, a friend who was going through a divorce mentioned wanting to visit Japan and Todd accompanied him. This trip brought it all back for him. He had enough of the language stored in his brain to be able to function and had a terrific time. With that flame reignited, Todd has visited Japan "nonstop" since then. On one of those trips, he met someone who'd become something of a "car creator," meaning he was making content around cars and publishing it on YouTube. Todd had been driving Jeeps and SUVs back in the US, automobiles that he'd outfitted to look like company trucks. This is where Telstar Logistics—a fictitious company he created—comes in. But that new friend who made videos about cars introduced him to a Nissan Skyline R32 while he was in Japan. Todd was so taken by the car that he bought and imported one back to California. Through that importation process, he learned that any car that was 25 years or older could be brought to the US from another country. There were some other California-specific hoops he had to jump through, metaphorically, but he had learned what it took. Check back Thursday for Part 2 to hear how Todd locked sights on the automobile that became known as Kiri. We recorded this episode at Pinhole Coffee in Bernal Heights in February 2026. Photography by Nate Oliveira
What does Star Wars have to do with building wealth? More than you'd think. In this episode, Anastasia introduces Bill to the core framework from James Clear's bestselling Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones. This wide-ranging conversation connects several threads like Daoism, Newton's First Law, and what Yoda would say, to help you establish your best financial habits. Bill shares three real patterns he has seen across 40+ years of working with clients and the small mistakes that can quietly derail wealth building over time. Why "I am someone who builds wealth" is fundamentally different from "I want to save more money" and the ancient philosophy behind it. Anastasia and Bill disagree on what they have seen when it comes to money beliefs. The specific moment when people damage the compounding curve without fully understanding what they've lost. The single financial habit Bill recommends above almost everything else and the small salary move Anastasia says will compound your wealth. Why starting is the hardest part, what a gym story about 100 lbs has to do with your savings account, and what Social Security and AI have to do with urgency right now. Listen in to learn how Atomic Habits by James Clear applies to your financial life. Creating Wealth is hosted by Anastasia Taber, CFP®, and her father Bill Taber, a 40-year investment advisor. New episodes every other Friday.
In this episode Randel and Owen talk with Hai Yang about his martial journey, Qi Gong, Chen Taiji and Xingyi and training and teaching.From the Dao I Podcast:"Master Hai Yang, born and raised in Tianjin, China, began his Xing Yi training at the age of 6 under the guidance of his grandfather, Yang Qinglin, a disciple of Zhang Zhaodong. In his adolescent years, he also began practicing Cheng-style Ba Gua, Xing Yi - Ba Gua Palm, also under his grandfather's guidance, Chen-style Tai Chi from Master Ma Hong and his own uncle, Yang Fengwu, different practices of Qi Gong such as Zhineng and Wild Goose, and of course, Daoism. Till date, he has amassed close to 50 years worth of practice experience, almost 40 of which also include extensive teaching experience in China, Canada, the US, Europe, as well as online. Since May 2020, Master Yang has been regularly publishing lecture videos on his YouTube channel covering theoretical as well as practical aspects of the Internal Martial Arts, Daoism and Qi Gong.Master Yang founded the Daoist Arts Organization International (DAOI) a couple of years ago with the aim of bringing together practitioners in the community and elevating the overall standard of practice within the community."Contact Master Hai Yang:YouTubeFacebookDaoist Arts Organization International (DAOI)Need More From Kung Fu Conversations (KFC)?KFC EmailKFC InstagramKFC FacebookKFC Buy-Me-A-CoffeeKFC MerchNeed Kung Fu Training?Xingyi and Bagua in Colorado - Boulder Internal ArtsWing Chun in Colorado - Red Forest Chinese Boxing#kungfupanda #taichi #kungfu #kungfuconversations #meditation #qigong #haiyang #wingchun #baguazhang
What if the source of your best writing isn't something you control — but something you learn to collaborate with? How can ancient ideas about the muse, the daimon, and creative genius transform the way you approach your work? And what might happen if you stopped fighting the silence and let it become your greatest creative ally? With Matt Cardin, author of Writing at the Wellspring. In the intro, thoughts on bookstores and Toppings; 20 ways authors can signal humanity and build reader trust [Wish I'd Known Then]; Learning from Silence – Pico Iyer; ProWritingAid spring sale; Bones of the Deep – J.F. Penn. Today's show is sponsored by Draft2Digital, self-publishing with support, where you can get free formatting, free distribution to multiple stores, and a host of other benefits. Just go to www.draft2digital.com to get started. This show is also supported by my Patrons. Join my Community at Patreon.com/thecreativepenn Matt Cardin is the multi-award-nominated author of eight books at the convergence of horror, religion, and creativity. His latest book is Writing at the Wellspring: Tapping the Source of Your Inner Genius, which is fantastic. I actually blurbed it as follows: “A guide for writers who welcome the dark and hunger for meaning. . . . If the page is a threshold, this book will show you how to cross.” You can listen above or on your favorite podcast app or read the notes and links below. Here are the highlights and the full transcript is below. Show Notes How Matt balances a full-time academic career with his creative writing life The ancient concept of the genius, the muse, and the daimon, and why creativity is about collaboration with something beyond yourself Why the silences that come into our creative lives, including writer's block and inertia, might actually be gifts rather than obstacles The stages of the creative process Living into the dark, and embracing uncertainty How Substack and blogging can organically grow into books You can find Matt at MattCardin.com or www.livingdark.net. Transcript of the interview with Matt Cardin Joanna: Matt Cardin is the multi-award-nominated author of eight books at the convergence of horror, religion, and creativity. His latest book is Writing at the Wellspring: Tapping the Source of Your Inner Genius, which is fantastic. I actually blurbed it as follows: “A guide for writers who welcome the dark and hunger for meaning. . . . If the page is a threshold, this book will show you how to cross.” It is a great book. So welcome to the show, Matt. Matt: Well, thank you, Jo. It's really a pleasure to be here, especially since, as you and I were briefly acknowledging before we started recording, we have overlapping interests to a great degree. So it's really great to make official contact with you. Joanna: Indeed. So, first up, before we get into the book itself— Tell us a bit more about you and how you got into writing. Matt: Well, I'm one of those people whose story is probably typical in some ways, in that I really wanted to do it from the time I was a child. My father was a great writer, although he was an attorney. He wasn't a professional writer. Something about books and reading when I was a child really seriously enchanted me. I was very frustrated when I was so young—and I vividly remember this—that I couldn't read, because I loved the books that were read to me. I craved being able to read them for myself. So as soon as I gained that ability in school, it was off to the races, so to speak, and for some reason, a desire to tell stories myself came along with that. Being a “writer” was one of the earliest life desires, job or career desires, that I expressed. I was one of those young people really into fantasy, horror, and science fiction. So I was reading a lot of it and trying to emulate it and write a lot of it. There was a cinematic component—I was a movie fanatic as well. I won a local Authors' Guild short story writing contest when I was a senior in high school and began trying to write stories seriously in college. Then my interest in horror and religion became dominant over time, and that's what I ended up writing about. Joanna: Has your interest turned into paid work? That's the other thing, because there's an interest and then there's making writing more of your income and your business. Matt: Right. Well, actually, although I have made and do make money from my writing, it has always, always, always remained on the side. My main career, as far as my moneymaking life, first started off in video and media production, which is formally what I got my undergraduate college degree in. Then I switched into education. I taught high school for some years, and then now for the past, good Lord, 18 years, I have been in higher education. First as English faculty who also taught some religion courses, and then now for the past several years in the administration. I'm Vice President of Academic Affairs at a college. My writing has been something that I pursued as an avocation. As far as earning money from it, that didn't happen even with my first publication, which happened on the internet in 1998, I believe, with a horror story titled “Teeth.” It was just free—I didn't get paid. That led to paid publication of that story three or four years later, when it appeared as my very first print publication in a Lovecraftian horror anthology from Del Rey titled The Children of Cthulhu. It appeared as the final story, and that was the first time I had received a paycheck. It was a professional per-word rate. Since then I've had several books published and more stories and essays and that kind of thing. I've had income sometimes from writing and sometimes I haven't. My first book came out of that story. I attended the World Horror Convention in 2001, actually before that Lovecraftian anthology was published, but it had been placed. At the World Horror Convention, which was in Seattle that year, I met one of the two editors of that book, and that led to me having my first short story collection, Divinations of the Deep, which was not for much money, but it attracted a lot of good attention and some good reviews. So it's been like that all along. I mean, I've made a couple of runs at saying I would love to just be an author, as it were, but that doesn't seem to be in the cards for me. And honestly, I'm glad it's not. I have made the most money from some academic editing projects that I've done. I created and edited a two-volume encyclopedia of the history of horror literature, for instance, for a big academic publisher. Those are work-for-hire projects that I get paid for. Making money on my own creative vision and my own creative work has been intermittent. It really has proven over time that not having my primary creative, spiritual, and philosophical drive hooked to what I earn my bread by has been a blessing. I don't want to take this thing I love and make it be how I have to grind to earn my money. I want to keep it in a protected space. That has been spontaneously what's happened with my writing career. Joanna: Yes. I think as you say, there are a lot of benefits of that, especially where you are writing at this convergence of horror, religion, and creativity. Your writing is very deep. I would say it's on the edge of academic. I don't want to say it's completely academic, because a lot of people will find that difficult. But I think Writing at the Wellspring goes very deep while still being open to non-academic readers. As you say, I think if you had wanted to make a living with your books, you would've had to have gone in at a lighter level, perhaps. Do you think that makes sense? Matt: Yes, I know what you mean. I want to specify, I know that neither you nor I are saying anything about this as any kind of criticism or condescension to anyone who does make their living as a writer. I mean, I believe you do. Joanna: Yes, exactly. Matt: And that's fine. There really are people who have had significant commercial success from books or other things they've written that don't appear to be making huge concessions to being commercial. You can make a living as a writer, I think, and really follow your muse and not feel like you have to pander or cater or cheapen it. Then there are people who have perfectly happily decided to commercialise their work and tune it in whatever way is currently popular. That's fine. Every writer, every creative person should do what is right for him or her, in my opinion. In my particular case, I think what you said is right. I do think that I might have needed to change some things, to back off, to word them differently. Whenever I've tried to exert deliberate control like that, it just turns out that it's not something that my creative spirit wants to do. I don't really feel like I'm in contact with the work anymore. I'm fine with that. I don't think I'm doing a sweet lemons type thing. It really is the way it just needs to be. If it ever proves that me doing it strictly the way I want to do it, going however deep I want regardless of trying to appeal to a paying readership—if it turns out that at some point aligns with boatloads of money coming in, that's fine. That's perfectly fine. I'd be open to that. Joanna: Yes. Matt: I would be open to that. Joanna: You mentioned muse there, and with Writing at the Wellspring, the subtitle is “Tapping the Source of Your Inner Genius.” So I think this is a good place to talk about it. As you mentioned, you are leaning into your muse and your inner genius, and you use other terms—daemon or daimon. I think sometimes people find the word “genius” particularly very difficult because it has the connotation of brilliance in some form. So how can people think about this? How can we lean into this [genius] side of ourselves? Matt: Honestly, one thing that I would suggest people do is I would refer them to the TED Talk that Elizabeth Gilbert gave some years ago—was it 2009, 2010, 2011? It's one of the more popular TED Talks. Elizabeth Gilbert spoke about. I think it's sometimes given the title “Your Elusive Creative Genius” or something like that. Her whole talk is about the way in her own creative life, and as she recommends to others, it has been very important for her to seize on the older model that we're talking about. The most clear articulation of it is that it used to be the case—and we're talking about in ancient Western history, back to the Romans and even earlier to the Greeks—that genius was not something that you identified a person as being. It was something that a person had. And I would also say importantly, maybe had them too. In ancient Roman culture surrounding art and poetry and that kind of thing, the genius was the spirit that might, say, live in an artist's studio and would provide the same service to that artist as the Greek muses provided to someone who was writing epic poetry or history or something like that. That understanding of it has continued in various ways down through history. But there was a fateful transition as Western culture went through what we commonly call the Enlightenment and the Renaissance as well. This was where the term “genius,” while it didn't lose all those connotations of being an inspiring spirit—something that a person both has and maybe has hold of them—did become internalised to the point where we speak of people as being geniuses., which is exactly what you're talking about. I agree, some people listening to this probably have some reservations about this. They don't want to call themselves a genius because we tend to mean that's a super brilliant person, some kind of prodigy who is possessed of amazing artistic, creative, or intellectual skills. Again, that is the result of a cultural, philosophical, psychological, historical transition that occurred several centuries ago. And you still see the older meaning of it being attached sometimes. You think of people who we call geniuses being touched by something. Well, the older version—where you think of the genius, which in the way I use it in this book and also in my first book on creativity, A Course in Demonic Creativity—the genius is equivalent to the muse, which is equivalent to that other figure that you mentioned, the daemon or the daimon. It refers to a separate—what seems for all the world to be a separate—centre of intelligence or entity or influence. The thing that gives you both your creative drive and also your ideas, and serves as the source of what comes to you naturally to write. It's more than just ideas. When you talk about the ancient Greek daimon, there was a whole well-developed tradition of that in ancient Greek philosophy and religion. A daimon was, in one famous sense, a spirit that you were born with, that the gods had given you. It was like your double, your higher self. It was the thing that represented your character, your interests, the blueprint and the outline that your life was supposed to follow. There are great books written about that. There's a book by the psychologist James Hillman titled The Soul's Code. A lot of people have read it. It lays out the daimon theory and gives it application to modern instances. The idea is that everybody has a genius or has a muse or has a daimon. For writers, my recommendation is to say, whether you believe it or not, whether you take it as a metaphor—which is fine—or whether you want to get somewhat mystical and delve into the idea that maybe there's really a spirit or something, it doesn't matter. Productively, with practical, measurable results, you can learn to relate to your creative impulse as if you are collaborating internally with someone else. It's the centre of why you're interested in writing what you want to write, why you want to write the way you want to write, and even the types of things that unfold in the course of your career—both your creative career and the rest of your life, in the mould of the ancient daimon. I have found that to be a vein of great power and meaning in my own life. I do it exactly the way I'm describing. I don't actually believe it, but I don't disbelieve it. I find that in experience, it really doesn't matter. It works and it may as well be true. Joanna: I mean, obviously the book has a whole load of ways we can tap into that, but I did like that you talk about stillness and silence, because I feel like that is actually increasingly difficult as authors. Obviously it's noisy online and we're meant to be doing things like social media or interacting with people online. And then the world is just noisy. The news is noisy. There's lots of things. How can we use this idea of stillness and silence? Also, any other ways we can practically tap into this side? Matt: Sure. One thing that wanted to say itself in this book was some things I had been thinking and feeling about silence for a long time. As you say, it can be difficult these days to find what feels like the silence that we need to even get our work done. We're talking about the muse or the genius. How can we even hear it when it seems like the clamour of all the pulls that we have on our outward attention has become truly a cacophony? We have opted for this in many ways through our engagement with social media or other things, but in other ways seems like it's been thrust upon us. What I want to point out, that has been of extreme importance to me, is that many silences come into our lives as creatives that we resist. It's not just that we can't find the silence and the space that we feel like we need so as not to drown out our creativity. It's that we have unwanted silences come in, like writer's block. Or even if it doesn't feel like a block, just inertia. Just stasis. I don't know about you, but I have many, many times found myself grappling with what, for all the world, feels like a totally natural, organic sense of wanting to slip into complete inertia, just total stillness. And that feels like it has been in conflict with my creative drive. It's like I have this residual desire and also a sense of duty that I really should be writing. Maybe I have an idea in mind and I'm just not working on it. Or maybe I'm in the middle of a project and I feel like I'm abandoning it. Or maybe nothing's coming up, but I feel like it should be. I'm pushing myself, but there's a division in me where I also just want to leave it alone. Whether that means actually just sitting there silently at my writing table or in meditation, or maybe just going about regular daily life and forgetting about trying to fulfil this creative calling. I really think there's a vein of gold to be tapped in the silences that come to all of us. Because as I said, that can be in the middle of daily activity. We have this kind of franticness, some of us, about our creativity. We get wrapped up in it. We feel bound to it. The thing that so much of the time we want to think is a gift—we're proud of it, we cherish it, we like our writing—also becomes a burden. This fantasy of just chucking it all, of just saying, “I would love to be free of it. It's like something that's weighing me down. I'm sorry that I roped myself into it. I would love to just sink into complete silence.” This sort of meditative thing, or just muteness—hey, that is valid to hear. That's valid to heed when it comes up. I mean, sometimes we have gotten ourselves into situations where we have external responsibilities and deadlines, and it's important to try and honour those and not be a bad person on the level of just fulfilling practical obligations. It's also important to recognise you've got silence offering itself to you in all kinds of ways. The more important silence is paradoxically the one that we so often resist if we're creative people and feel like we have to be making. The more important silence is not whether or not your outward conditions seem like they're a clamour and they're chaotic and they're distracting and they're full of pressure. It's that inner silence. So I recommend paying attention to when it comes up. And for practical ways—they are endless. Take advantage of early mornings. A lot of people have found great value in getting up earlier than they are used to and making a practice of that, and either just meditating or free writing. Maybe using, for example, Julia Cameron's famous practice of morning pages, which has been valuable to me sometimes. Or doing things like—as I've said about the muse and the genius and the daimon—personify your unconscious mind and maybe write down a dialogue between yourself and your creative spirit, whether about your current project or just about your life and your creativity as a whole. There are various tricks to get in touch with this unconscious part of you, and I really am convinced out of practical personal experience that it's not necessary to have outer silence and outer spaciousness when you can find it within yourself. You can find it through some of these exercises for getting in alignment with what your creativity wants to do. You can get in touch with it if you're paying attention to what you might not recognise as a gift—offering it to yourself. If things go quiet and you think, “Oh no, I should be doing something”—why not let that be a place where things can germinate? Why not let that be the silence that you might not be able to find on the outside? Joanna: Yes, and I'm feeling guilty here because of course we are producing a podcast episode for people to listen to. I find personally that one of the places I can find silence is when I walk. It's not obviously silent outside, but I am definitely guilty of always listening to podcasts, often at very fast speed as well. Sometimes when I go for a walk, I just deliberately do not listen to anything—don't listen to an audiobook, don't listen to a podcast—and a lot comes up there. I have my phone with me, and when I get back from those walks and jot down things that come up in my mind, I will have so many notes of things that have come up in my brain during the walk. It's really difficult, isn't it? Because I know you also love input. You do a lot of research. As I said, your books have a lot of research in them, and so we both like doing the research. But also I definitely find that has to be balanced with the time for letting it come out again in some form, with that mental silence. You also talk about being uncomfortable, and I feel like sometimes that silence can be uncomfortable as well. Matt: Yes, it can be. There's no telling what might come up when you are faced with silence. Again, it's one of those things—even the outer kind that we think we crave. Sometimes it's a bit frightening when it comes up, which is why we try to fill it with things, like this podcast episode for example. There's a threshold that you can notice you cross sometimes, where what was a natural desire to connect with something that you heard about and found interesting becomes a bit frantic. Where now, really, what might be good is if you shut off—didn't go for the next podcast episode or didn't go for the next click to the website—if you just shut the browser and just sat there and did something else. You're kind of, with a little desperateness, trying to fill the void. What you described about needing to get quiet and let things happen—yes. I love reading and research, but the classic stages of the creative process—first codified, I think, by Graham Wallas, if I remember correctly—they still work. It's really good sometimes to have a model and understand how it works. You have what's sometimes called the preparation stage. All the input, all the research, all the brainstorming, all that kind of thing. Then the incubation stage can be vastly important. That can get frightening, both because the silence seems somehow threatening, like something about you is going to be exposed. Or maybe that you're going to lose the thread of whatever it was and it's never going to come out. But really, if you just stop and let your muse, let your genius do its thing, let your unconscious do its thing, it will suggest itself again. It will come up on its own. Ideas will come back. You'll realise, “Oh, I didn't know what I was going to do with that character. I didn't know how these ideas were going to come together. I didn't even know what this idea for a story, a book, or an essay was going to be.” It comes back up, and with you working with it, it shows what it wanted to be all along. This whole thing about doing the preparation and then allowing it to incubate and germinate and then sprout when it wants to, that still works. Part of the reason that we're scared of the silence, I'm convinced, is because each of us operates in our psychological selves as a closed system. It's like we each comprise our own cosmos, so to speak. I know you know that I have worked in horror literature, the literature of cosmic fear. In cosmic horror, as laid out by the likes of Lovecraft and others, the basic effect has been analysed as constituting a disturbance of the universe. That's the horror of cosmic horror—the world is transformed into this nightmarish thing in a cosmic horror story, where there's a haunting, threatening presence that's out of the ordinary and it's somehow bound up with the narrator's interior world. Life reveals itself as supernaturally or ontologically something nightmarish—there are awful forces that are about to erupt all the time. And whether anybody's into cosmic horror or not, I think it's pretty accurate to say that we each constitute our own world, our own cosmos. A lot of the noise that we make—the mental noise and the complications we introduce into our own lives—is, usually unconsciously, trying to stave off confrontation with the otherness that is outside the barrier of our personal sense of self. The weird thing is that that otherness is actually in us, and in fact, we can approach it in the figure of the daemon or the daimon or the muse. So creativity is fraught. You're dealing with something that you might want to think, “Oh, this is great, it's going to be the source of my ideas, it's going to fulfil my creativity.” Well, yes, but it is frightening to think about the fact of something about yourself being beyond yourself and perhaps being out of your conscious control and somehow guiding your destiny. A lot of people have trouble getting along with their own unconscious, which is another way to put it. There's a horror, a fear, a dread effect that comes when we feel like we are out of control. We all face that ultimately—when it comes to our death, for example. There are some spiritual traditions that talk about dying before you die, that being basically the way to enlightenment in those traditions. Recognising and coming to terms with the fact that this thing that is you, that you call yourself, is transitory. It is only there by being enclosed within and swamped from without by this thing that is not you, which is a sort of void to which you'll return. In the book, I deal with some of that, and I talk about it from a non-dual spiritual viewpoint, because ultimately for me, these creative questions have become inseparable from spiritual questions. Joanna: Yes. And obviously people know about my book Writing the Shadow, which is how we really connected around this Jungian idea of the shadow and the darkness. I agree with you—there's some really interesting things at the juxtaposition of all of these topics, which we could talk about for a long time. I do want to ask you around your idea of “living into the dark.” Because I feel like you do take things beyond just the writing into this idea of living into it. So maybe talk a bit about that. And obviously synchronicity, which is a Jungian psychology concept. Matt: Living into the dark is the thing that forms the overarching ethos or perspective for me of all this. I got the term from “writing into the dark,” which actually comes from the American science fiction and fantasy author Dean Wesley Smith. He wrote a book titled Writing Into the Dark, subtitled “Writing Without an Outline.” It's a great book. I recommend it to anyone. It is about forsaking and foregoing the felt need to outline writing in advance and trusting your creative mind to be able to make up a story in real time. That draws on the deep nature of storytelling to come out right. Therefore you write into the dark, as if you're walking down a road where you have a lantern and you can only see one step ahead. You haven't mapped out the territory. It was a great metaphor. I had already been thinking in that direction about life and about creativity for some time when I first came across that book. I devoured it and recognised it described how I had already been writing anyway, which is one reason it was so powerful for me. Then it edged out into a broader understanding for me that I had also been coming up with, that I just ended up calling “living into the dark.” None of us knows where anything is going, that much is obvious. But living into the dark goes farther than that, to embrace this understanding. I think of this in connection with what so many people, either personally or because of jobs they have where they're required to think like this. I think of this in terms of the famous five-year plan that so many of us want to draw up. There's nothing wrong with a five-year plan or a ten-year plan or a one-year plan. You can come up with that for practical purposes and try and chart where you're going, but we too often forget that that's just a fantasy exercise. We are not actually thinking into the future, nor are we ever actually thinking into the past. Remembering the past, predicting or projecting the future—both are events that are happening right now, in this moment, which is always now. It's no less now than it was when you and I first started this conversation. Past and future are projections—mental projections right now. And everything is unfolding in the present in real time, which effectively means what's going to come next is coming out of—well, we don't know where it's coming out of. Darkness. Living into the dark is living with full-on contact with, and awareness of, and embrace of this fact that we don't know what's coming up. That encompasses all of life and all of creativity. That same darkness, if it's helpful for you to take on this emotional tenor—which it is for me—can relate to the darkness in cosmic horror fiction, or to some of the rich traditions of darkness, like in Daoism with the yin contrasted with yang. Yin is the dark, moon, feminine aspect of things—the receptive source of the universe. This idea of living into the dark, of just accepting that we're all on this journey on a path where we can only see one step ahead, even if that far, has been meaningful to me. It's been meaningful to my creativity, and I recommend it to anybody to whom it appeals. It takes a lot of pressure off. I think that's a guiding meta-theme for me—trying to take the pressure off us from trying to control things that can't be controlled, and more stepping into that flow of understanding: what's going to come to me is going to come to me, and my posture toward it, whether I align with it or not, is what's going to determine my experience of it. You mentioned synchronicity. It's interesting. It's verifiable. I know a lot of people have verified it for themselves. Maybe some people listening to this have too. It's verifiable that when you really get in tune with this present-moment thing and get in tune with your creativity—and you can tell when you're aligned and not, when you feel blocked or when you feel resistance or not—when these things align on their own sometimes, strange coincidences do happen. Jung talked about synchronicity as an acausal connecting principle. That was probably due to the fact that the psyche is not separate from the fabric of the world that gives rise to it, so that we might have subjective things—impressions, fantasies, dreams—that we rather uncannily see mirrored in objective events. Like the famous thing that clarified and coalesced that for him: a psychotherapy session with a patient who was describing a dream she'd been having about a scarab beetle. Then he heard a tapping at the window of his office and he went there and opened it, and there was a European beetle—a kind of scarab beetle, much like the Egyptian scarab—that was there. He held it up and said to the woman, “Is this your beetle? Here is your beetle.” It just blew her mind. It opened new levels of the therapy that she was receiving. Those kinds of things happen. I've had them happen. Joanna: Me too. Matt: If you're a long-time writer or reader, you're familiar with the library genie—the library daemon, we sometimes refer to it as—the book that, just at the moment you think of it and realise, “Oh yes…” You're doing your study, and it doesn't have to be a library, it could be on the web or whatever. You finally realise what it is that you need, what you've been looking for, and in some cases it literally falls off the shelf onto someone's head. What do you make of those when they happen? At the very least, it rattles your cage. You might enter a state of suspended judgement about whether we really are living in a kind of magical cosmos full of real correspondences. It's a bit like the daimon or the muse: is it a metaphor? Is it just an interpretation, or is it something real? Probably the best place is one of profoundly, actively embraced agnosticism, and just take it for what it is. Joanna: Yes, and leaning more into your intuition. I think you definitely demonstrate that in the book as well, really exploring a lot of very interesting topics. Now, we are almost out of time, but you do have a Substack, The Living Dark, where you publish essays, and you've also got all kinds of really interesting books. I want people to go have a look at some of the other stuff you've written, especially if you enjoy horror and religion and all of that kind of thing. So just to ask, how do you decide when something is an essay on The Living Dark, and how do you decide when you are going to put it in a book or in some other way? I feel like a lot of authors are thinking about Substack but don't necessarily know what to put on it. I think I first connected with you on your Substack, where I was like, “Oh, this guy's writing interesting, weird stuff.” How do you use Substack as opposed to writing for your books? Matt: Sure. Let me answer by first talking about what happened previously with that first book on creativity that I mentioned, A Course in Demonic Creativity. I had all kinds of thoughts and ideas coming up, seeded over many years of practice and reading about the daimon and the daemon and the genius and the muse. In 2009 I founded a blog—it was just a WordPress blog—and I titled it Daemon Muse. I attended to it for two to three years. A lot of people ended up reading it. I really did not have any plans, not even any back-burner plans, of taking the material that I published in posts there about this way of creativity and making it a book. I did realise about a year and a half in that essentially I had a book I had already written in those posts. So it took some work, and I spent six months making it all into a coherent book. By the way, that book was only ever published as a PDF, which is still free on my website, MattCardin.com—although plans for the first-ever print edition of it are in motion right now. That was published in 2011. When I went to Substack and started my newsletter there in 2022—and by the way, it wasn't originally called The Living Dark; my first title was “Living Into the Dark,” and then I changed it about a year, year and a half in—I kind of am doing the same thing. It's been a while since I took anything and thought, “I'm writing a book with it.” I write what comes to me to write. You know how Substack Notes is Substack's own version of social media, kind of like Twitter used to be or like X kind of is now. It happens all the time that I write things that just stay in contact with people as a Substack Note—some short thing. And then I realise I wanted to say more about that. Or you have what happened just this morning. Three or four hours before you and I were talking, I started writing a Substack Note and it got so long I realised I had something that could be a post to The Living Dark. So I switched over and finished it that way. The book Writing at the Wellspring came together after I had written things for a couple of years at The Living Dark and realised that I could trace a path through about a third of the posts that I had ever published there, and had the makings of a book. So that, plus other material from earlier in my life—there are things from my private journals from years ago in Writing at the Wellspring—plus some new material, ended up turning into that book. So I'm not thinking about the difference, is what I'm saying. I find writing at my Living Dark newsletter to be a needful and enjoyable creative outlet, partly because I have some 3,800 readers now and it feels good to be in contact with them and to have that audience and to know that there's that eye on what I'm writing. That's partly because I just have the freedom to work it out to my satisfaction and publish it there. I'm already halfway forming another book that will be of a different focus, to come from things that I have published there. So for me, there's an organic relationship between Substack writing, or any kind of blogging, and the writing of books. If people haven't thought about that, they might want to consider it. If you have one already or if you're thinking of starting a blog on Substack or anywhere else, maybe you have things that can guide you to a book that already exists and you just haven't realised it. Joanna: So where can people find you and your books and everything you do online? Matt: Well, The Living Dark that we're talking about is at www.livingdark.net—and it does require the three Ws at the beginning to get there. Then my author website is MattCardin.com, and you can go to the books page there to get a link to all the books I've published and read about them. Joanna: Great. Well, thanks so much for your time, Matt. That was fantastic. Matt: Thank you, Jo. I really appreciate the invitation.The post Writing At The Wellspring: Tapping The Source Of Your Inner Genius With Matt Cardin first appeared on The Creative Penn.
What if the patterns driving today's global instability have been repeating for far longer than we realize?I sit down with Alex Sachon, a philosopher trained in the social sciences who uses ancient philosophy to make sense of the rapidly shifting social, cultural, and geopolitical landscape we're living through. His work brings together esoteric philosophy, historical analysis, and a systems-level view of civilization to explain how we arrived at this moment.We trace how early exposure to Daoism and Zen Buddhism opened the door to deeper questions about consciousness, and how that eventually intersected with the study of empire, financial systems, and the evolution of power structures. His recent book, The Coming World Nation, outlines a model of social hierarchy and offers a revisionist look at the last 200 years of American history.If you've ever felt like something about the current system doesn't add up, but couldn't quite articulate why, this conversation helps connect those dots. It's especially relevant for people who question mainstream narratives, think in systems, and want a deeper framework for understanding where we might be headed next.You'll Learn:[00:00] Introduction[07:26] Why humans keep choosing rulers, even when it destroys them[17:02] The one thing keeping the masses from organizing against the elite[28:44] Soft power, hard control, how empire stopped needing soldiers[40:38] Free energy, anti-gravity, and why even the ruling class was kept in the dark[01:01:50] What's really behind UFO disclosure, and who's engineering it[01:19:04] Atlantis, astrology, and a 25,000-year pattern we're living through today[01:35:39] Karma, cosmic justice, and why the elite's arrogance is already their punishment[01:43:41] What you bring with you when you die, and how psychedelics show you first[01:53:12] Shakespeare, Masonry, and a secret lineage hiding in plain sight[02:21:51] Philosophy, science, religion; why all three collapse without each otherFull show notes at https://lukestorey.com/wisdomResources Mentioned:Read: Tao Te Ching by Laozi | BookThe Century of the Self | IMDb Westworld | IMDbCarl Jung, Stanislav Grof, and the Science of the Soul by Sachon, A. | Article Read: The Collected Works of C. G. Jung, Vol. 10: Civilization in Transition by C. G. Jung | BookRead: The Scientist in the Crib: What Early Learning Tells Us About the Mind by Alison Gopnik | BookRead: The Secret Teachings of All Ages by Manly P. Hall | BookRead: Manly P. Hall: The Maestro of Esoteric Philosophy by Alex Sachon | BookCracking the Shakespeare Code: The Seven Steps to Mercy | YouTubeRead: The Lost Keys of Freemasonry: The Legend of Hiram Abiff by Manly P. Hall | BookFind more from Alex:Alex Sachon | WebsiteThe Wisdom Tradition | Substack | Instagram | YouTubeFind more from Luke:Luke Storey | Instagram | Facebook | X | YouTube | LinkedInTHE LIFE STYLIST IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY:QUANTUM UPGRADE | Visit lukestorey.com/quantumupgrade and use code LUKE15 to get your 15-day free trial.REAL PROVISIONS | Visit RealProvisions.com/luke and enter the promo code LUKE to get a free bag of Venison Chips with your order.BIOPTIMIZERS | Visit bioptimizers.com/luke to save 15% off sitewide.BON CHARGE | Use the code LIFESTYLIST for 15% off at boncharge.com/lifestylist.Get Alex's book, The Coming World Nation: Why Global Government Is Inevitable.
Does the universe have a specific purpose for your life? In this Living the Tao Shorts episode (2-18), Master Mikel Steenrod and Morgan explore a question often associated with the Buddhist idea of dharma—the belief that each person has a role or destiny within a larger cosmic plan. But does Daoism see life that way? Daoist philosophy offers a surprisingly simple perspective. Human life generally moves in one of two directions: cultivating a reasonably happy and durable life, or exploring the deeper nature of existence itself. The discussion examines why people often feel they should be searching for something more, the hidden trap inside the “meaning of life” question, and why Daoism ultimately places the responsibility for meaning on the individual rather than on the universe. Instead of discovering a predetermined purpose, Daoism suggests something both liberating and challenging: Each person carves their own direction through life.
Is life meaningless? Is everything a matter of interpretation, perspective? In this episode, Danny and Randy discuss why Camus thought life is absurd.Subscribe to ESP's YouTube Channel! Thanks for listening! Do you have a question you want answered in a future episode? If so, send your question to: existentialstoic@protonmail.com
Sunday school class on Religions of the World (Part 3): Daoism, taught by Elder Pat Devine. March 15, 2026.
Self-help books tell us to go after the life we want, but what if that's wrong? Is it possible to want the life you get? In this episode, Danny and Randy discuss how to want the life you get.Subscribe to ESP's YouTube Channel! Thanks for listening! Do you have a question you want answered in a future episode? If so, send your question to: existentialstoic@protonmail.com
I sat down with my friend Jordyn [Last Name Redacted] to discuss the history of anarchism, an important subject that's tangential to the 20th century's struggle between nationalism and globalism. We also talked a bit about the history of Daoism, as well as the subject of Jordyn's upcoming podcast: dead malls. Apologies for the poor audio quality. I have lots of experience running my own personal microphone, but have never mic'd a whole room before. Clearly, there is much to learn. SUBSCRIBE TO RELEVANT HISTORY, AND NEVER MISS AN EPISODE! Relevant History Patreon: https://bit.ly/3vLeSpF Subscribe on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/38bzOvo Subscribe on Apple Music (iTunes): https://apple.co/2SQnw4q Subscribe on Any Platform: https://bit.ly/RelHistSub Relevant History on X: https://bit.ly/3eRhdtk Relevant History on Facebook: https://bit.ly/2Qk05mm Official website: https://bit.ly/3btvha4 Episode transcript (90% accurate): There is no script for this episode, as it is an interview. Music credit: Sergey Cheremisinov - Black Swan
This episode is a replay from The Existential Stoic library. Enjoy! Are you stuck in your comfort zone? Are you limiting yourself? In this episode, Danny and Randy discuss why your comfort zone is killing you.Subscribe to ESP's YouTube Channel! Thanks for listening! Do you have a question you want answered in a future episode? If so, send your question to: existentialstoic@protonmail.com
Could nature-based principles outperform modern productivity hacks? This episode, Dr. Aldrich Chan connects neuroscience, Daoist wisdom, & bioharmonized living to help high achievers move out of survival mode & into a more grounded, adaptive, & high-performing state. Meet our guest Dr. Chan is a neuropsychologist, psychotherapist & award-winning author of Reassembling Models of Reality & 7 Principles of Nature: How We Strayed & How We Return. He is the founder of the Center for Neuropsychology & Consciousness in Miami, with a background in research on Alzheimer's disease, trauma & the Default Mode Network, plus experience teaching at Pepperdine University. His work integrates neuroscience, psychotherapy, mindfulness, creativity & long-standing study of Daoism & Zen. Thank you to our partners Outliyr Biohacker's Peak Performance Shop: get exclusive discounts on cutting-edge health, wellness, & performance gear Ultimate Health Optimization Deals: a database of of all the current best biohacking deals on technology, supplements, systems and more Latest Summits, Conferences, Masterclasses, and Health Optimization Events: join me at the top events around the world FREE Outliyr Nootropics Mini-Course: gain mental clarity, energy, motivation, and focus Key takeaways Modern suffering stems from separation, alienation, & discord (SAD) as brain networks drive disconnection in today's world Living by CPR West—Creativity, Process, Relationship, Wholeness, Equilibrium, Spontaneity, & Transformation—provides a blueprint for optimal living Creativity reflects change & adaptation, not artistic talent, with every mind wired for continual reinvention Prioritizing process over perfection invites presence by engaging with life's constant flow instead of rigid routines or identities Challenges like ADHD reflect evolutionary mismatch or misalignment with natural principles rather than simple disorders to suppress Intuition functions as rapid unconscious processing that guides strong decisions in complex or uncertain situations Human connection synchronizes biology & brain function with people & nature, supporting mental & physical health Growth emerges from accepting all parts of the self, including unwanted traits, & channeling them productively Regulating aspirational, selfish, & survival desires reduces overwhelm by simplifying choices Playfulness, flexibility, & continual adaptation drive true performance, with transformation remaining an ongoing process Episode highlights 01:17 Identify why modern life creates suffering 05:39 Use nature-based principles to restore function 09:57 Apply creativity & process for adaptive performance 36:14 Strengthen relationship & wholeness 54:27 Maintain equilibrium without rigidity 01:01:06 Activate spontaneity & transformation Links Watch it on YouTube: https://youtu.be/-HLS8qYAY_M Full episode show notes: outliyr.com/248 Connect with Nick on social media Instagram Twitter (X) YouTube LinkedIn Easy ways to support Subscribe Leave an Apple Podcast review Suggest a guest Do you have questions, thoughts, or feedback for us? Let me know in the show notes above and one of us will get back to you! Be an Outliyr, Nick
Are good and evil moral absolutes — or are they something else entirely? In this episode (1-165) of Living the Tao, Taoist Master Mikel Steenrod presents the Daoist view of good, evil, and neutrality as energetic positions, not moral judgments. Rather than focusing on right and wrong, Daoism examines how actions affect energy, probability, and personal power. This conversation explores why Daoism was never designed as a social or moral control system, how karma functions energetically rather than morally, and why neutrality may offer the greatest potential for influence and change. Topics include: The Daoist rejection of moral hierarchy Why judgment creates false polarities How karma actually works in classical Daoism Why destruction releases energy faster than creation The role of neutrality in spiritual cultivation How Qi Gong relates to energy outside moral frameworks This episode is ideal for listeners interested in Taoism, spirituality, philosophy, and anyone questioning traditional good-versus-evil thinking. In this episode (1-160), Taoist Master Mikel Steenrod explains why positivity is not about denying reality or forcing optimism. Instead, it's about where you place your attention, how you process experience, and how much failure you can tolerate without giving up. Topics include: Why negativity often feels justified—but limits your life The difference between motivation and long-term damage How childhood conditioning shapes what you focus on The Taoist idea of fail tolerance and endurance Why most people set goals that guarantee failure A practical, no-nonsense discussion of positivity as a trainable skill, not a personality trait.
What if healing wasn't something you had to earn, fix, or outsource — but something you could remember?In this episode of Rewiring Health, Kelly sits down with Daoist guide and self-healing practitioner Sifu Boggie (Paul Brighton) to explore what it truly means to heal from within.With over 40 years of experience in Daoism, Qi Gong, and embodied healing arts, Sifu Boggie shares why ancient practices like Qi Gong and Tai Chi are not outdated — they're essential tools for navigating modern stress, emotional overload, and disconnection from the body.Together, they explore:Why true healing is about guidance, not fixingHow Qi Gong and Tai Chi regulate the nervous system and restore energetic balanceDaoist philosophy as a grounded, practical approach to modern lifeCommon misconceptions about ancient healing practices — and why they still workHow life experience, playfulness, and curiosity deepen self-trustWhat it means to be a guide rather than a master on the healing pathThis conversation is for anyone who feels overwhelmed, disconnected, or tired of trying to “get it right” — and is ready to reconnect with their own inner wisdom, safety, and natural flow.✨ You are not broken. You are remembering.Connect with Sifu: LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sifuboggieFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/2sifuboggieInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/sifu.boggie/Connect with Kelly:drkellykessler.comIf you know something needs to change, but find yourself still overriding your needs, explaining when you don't have to, or keeping the peace at your own expense, this is for youI created a free guide called The Self-Abandonment Audit to help you identify where you're losing yourself in the name of connection, and why insight alone hasn't been enough to change it.Download it here:
We're going to play our favorite game, GUESS THAT EASTERN RELIGION BASED ON THE QUOTE PROVIDED!!! In order to do this, I need to provide a very basic intro for Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism.
A weekly magazine-style radio show featuring the voices and stories of Asians and Pacific Islanders from all corners of our community. The show is produced by a collective of media makers, deejays, and activists. Tonight's Host Miko Lee speaks with authors who have used their personal lives to tell their stories. They both talk and write about trauma, joy and resilience but in two very different ways. First up she chats with Chanel Miller. Many folx might know of Chanel's best selling first book Know My Name which expands on the powerful victim impact letter she wrote to Brock Turner who brutally sexually assaulted her on the Stanford Campus. We talk about her latest work – two delightful books for young people. Then Miko talks with Kazu Haga who weaves his spiritual practice and trauma healing with a deep lineage of nonviolent social change. In his books, Fierce Vulnerability and Healing Resistance he shares with us his personal journey and offers some insightful visions for our current tumultuous world. Links to the Author's work: Kazu Haga Fierce Vulnerability Kinship Lab, Chanel Miller Chanel Miller The Moon Without Stars Purchase Chanel's books at East Wind Books and Kazu's books at Parallax Press SHOW TRANSCRIPT APEX Opening: Apex Express. Asian Pacific Expression. Community and cultural coverage. Music and calendar. New visions and voices. Coming to you with an Asian Pacific Islander point of view. It's time to get on board the Apex Express. Miko Lee: Good evening. Welcome to apex express. This is your host, Miko Lee. Join us as you hop along the apex express. Tonight I speak with authors who have used their personal lives to tell their stories. They both talk and write about trauma, joy, and resilience, but in two very different and distinct ways. First up, I chat with Chanel Miller. Many folks might know of Chanel's bestselling first book Know My Name, which expands on the powerful victim impact letter she wrote to Brock Turner, who brutally sexually assaulted her on the Stanford campus. But tonight we talk about her latest work, two delightful books for young people. And then I talk with Kazu Haga, who weaves his spiritual practice and trauma healing with a deep lineage of nonviolent social change. In his books Fierce vulnerability and Healing Resistance, he shares with us his personal journey and offers some insightful visions for our current tumultuous world. First off, listen to my conversation with Chanel Miller. Welcome, author Chanel Miller to Apex Express. Chanel Miller: Thank you so much for having me. It's a delight to be here with you. Miko Lee: I'm really excited to talk to you, and I wanna start with my first question, which I ask all of my guests, which is, who are your people and what legacy do you carry with you? Chanel Miller: Oh, I have so many people. Today, you're my people who continue to help guide me forward. I grew up in the Bay Area and I feel like honestly all of my books are attempts at saying thank you to the people who raised me, the English teachers in my public schools. For helping me stay aligned with myself and never letting me drift too far. And so even though I tell very different stories for different demographics, I think if you look at the root of everything that I write, it's gratitude because they are the people who protected my voice in the first place. Miko Lee: Thank you so much. So we're talking about your third book. Your first book was amazing. Know my name, which is really powerful memoir about surviving sexual assault at Stanford, and this incredible public reclamation of your voice. And then you move from that very personal, internal, very adult work to your second book, which was so lovely and sweet. Magnolia Woo unfolds it all, which was an illustrated book set New York about a little girl and her friend who reunite people with their lost socks. From this all the way to this young person's book and your latest book, the Moon Without Stars, your second, YA novel is based in middle school. So talk to me a little bit about this journey from personal memoir to elementary school to middle school books. Chanel Miller: Yeah, so like you said, the first book was so internal and gutting to write. I knew I needed. Something that would help me breathe a little easier and get in touch with playfulness again. I wrote Magnolia Woo Unfolds it all. It's perfect for kids ages seven to 12. My goal was just to enjoy the process of writing and story making. And it was confusing because I thought if I'm not, you know, during the memoir, I would be like crying while I was writing and it was just taking everything out of me. And I was like, if I'm not actively upset. Is the writing even good? Like, like, you know, does it count? And it turns out, yes, you can still create successful stories and have a good time. So I did that book for myself really. And the kid in me who always wanted to, who was always, writing stories unprompted. Like you said, it was a book about a sock detective and pursuing socks makes no sense. It's almost impossible to return a missing sock in New York City. But I loved the idea of these. This little girl in pursuit of something, even if she doesn't know what the outcome will be. Right. It's just trying even if you're not promised a reward, I love this. And for me it's like I keep attempting to love my reality, right? Attempting to go out into the world with an exploratory lens rather than a fearful one. And so that was very healing for me. After I finished that book, I spent the next year writing this new book, the Moon Without Stars. It's for slightly older kids, like you said in middle school. So my protagonist Luna, is 12 years old and she's biracial like me, goes to middle school in Northern California like I did in Palo Alto. I was just reflecting on my. Upbringing, I would say, and really sitting back and letting memories come to the surface. Trying to see how much, was just unexplored. And then sitting down to, to figure out what it all meant that I remembered all of these things. Miko Lee: So how much of Luna is inspired by Chanel? Chanel Miller: A fair amount, I'd say. And it's not always an intentional, I think fiction deals a lot with the subconscious and you end up writing about yourself on accent luna in the book. She is the campus book doctor, is what I call it. Because when kids are going through something, they'll come to her and she'll prescribe them a book that'll help them for whatever phase of life they're going through. And I know for me from a very young age, I loved reading, writing, and drawing. It's all that I ever wanted to do and I was so mad in school that we had six different subjects and you know, the Bay Area was very tech. Centered, STEM centered. And so I felt all this pressure even through high school to take AP Science classes. In retrospect, I thought, why was I trying so hard to be good at it? Everything. This is impossible. And so for Luna, I own her gifts early. And understand that they were gifts at all. The fact that she loves to read and then she shares her gifts and she takes pride in the things that she's passionate about. She's not ashamed that she's not so hot about math. Miko Lee: So the hating math part is a little Chanel inspired also. Chanel Miller: The hating math part is fully me. I'm sorry to say. Miko Lee: No worries. I think that stereotype about Asians and math is so highly overrated. I'm wondering if there was a Scott for you, a bestie that was also an outcast, if there was someone like that for you when you were growing up. Chanel Miller: Yeah, so in the book, Luna is best friends with Scott. They've been friends since childhood, and as Luna starts to get more attention, their relationship is threatened and it begins to dissolve. I was really interested in how, Luna obviously loves Scott as a friend and she would never. Mean to hurt him, right? It's not inflicting intentional emotional pain, but Scott gets very hurt. I think about how sometimes when we're growing up, we get drawn to certain crowds or paid a kind of attention and we have this longing to be desired to fit in. we sometimes make choices that we're not very proud of, but this is a part of it, right? And so I wanted Luna to reckon with maybe some of the emotional harm she's causing and not run away from it. But also think about like, why am I making these choices and what is important to me? We're all kind of constantly reevaluating our value systems, trying to keep our relationships alive, like this is, starts at a very young age and I wanted her to learn some of the self gifts that maybe I didn't give myself when I was that age. Miko Lee: So in a way, she's a little bit of a remedy for your young self or a gift to your young self. Do you think? Chanel Miller: Oh, that's a nice way of putting it. Yeah, I would definitely say so. I think all writing is, is remedy in some form, at least for me, but I like the, it being a gift to little Chanel. Miko Lee: It's been compared to the classic. Are you there god, it's me, Margaret? What is it like for you to hear that? Chanel Miller: It's an honor, obviously. I think what's most stunning is a lot of the themes that were contested in that book. You know, talking about bodily changes, menstruation like. A lot of that is still kind of hush hush, and I'm surprised by the things that haven't changed , or how our society hasn't completely evolved. I really wanted middle school so hard physically, emotionally, and. It can feel so humiliating that you're trying to solve a lot of your issues in private, and I wanted to take the shame out of it as quickly as possible and just say, this is a universal experience. Everyone goes through these things. It's totally okay to talk about it, even if books get banned. Find a way, find your people. Find a way to have these conversations. Miko Lee: For me, it's so much better than, are you there? God, it's me, Margaret, because it's set in a contemporary. There's a young biracial Asian American girl who's a outcast and really it's about belonging and getting your first period and all the things you have to go through in middle school. That seems really. Relatable for a young woman in our society. I appreciate that. Thank you so much. I read it really quick one night, easily read 'cause it's so lovely. I'm wondering about your process because you illustrated, your last book and then also the cover of this book. And on the cover it's sweet because it has all these cute little zines that she writes about are encapsulated on the cover of the book, which you only realize after you read it. I'm wondering for you as an artist, what comes first in the story, the image or the words? Chanel Miller: That's a great question. Yeah. I like to illustrate my books. Sometimes I'll think of a, something I do wanna draw and then think, how can I build a story around that, or like a visually rich scene. Then I come up with writing to allow myself to draw the thing. Other times I will just write, but I, I will say that when I'm writing, I never have a plot. I'm not an outliner. I am very much an explorer. I'm okay with not knowing for long periods of time where the book is gonna go, what it's about , and how it's gonna end. I don't know any of these things. And luckily I have a very gracious, agent and editor and my editor. I had two editors, Jill and Juan, and they let me just submit chunks of writing for six months. Scenes that didn't go together, that were completely out of order , to show them I'm attempting to build this world and this school full of kids, but I don't know how it's all gonna play out yet. And then after six months, we had enough material to, to begin to identify like who the primary characters were gonna be, what the essential conflict was gonna be. I'm saying this because I want people to know that you don't have to know much before you sit down to write. And the knowing comes with the practice of doing every day, and then slowly things start to reveal themselves. Miko Lee: Oh, I appreciate that. So you don't have a linear timeframe. You kind of just let things come to you. Sometimes they're in images, sometimes they're in words. Chanel Miller: Yes. And then your job is to capture them and be curious about them and then make more until you have enough. Then you can edit, but you edit too early, you're gonna , kill the spirit of the thing. Miko Lee: When do you know you have enough? Chanel Miller: When you fulfill the word count in your contract? No, no, I think it's, it's like you can. Sort of start to feel things click into place or a voice is emerging that's very strong. Even Scott know, Luna's best friend, I didn't have him at the very beginning, I don't think originally. Originally, I think Luna had a sister. It was gonna be a sister book, and then it became a friend. You're just open to it evolving, and then suddenly you're like, oh, I can, I can see this relationship. Can see them existing within the structure. It feels more real to you and at that point you can just go in and start revising Miko Lee: Did you create images for know my name? Chanel Miller: I actually tried to, at the very end, I made a bunch of drawings and I said, can we put these at the start of each chapter? And my editor, who's incredible, she said, you know, when I look at your drawings, they have a different voice than your writing voice. And I was like, that is true. Like, that's a great critique. So instead I went to New York, they were like about to send the book to print and I was like, okay, but I need like one drawing. They said, okay, if you can do it at lunch, like have it done by the end of lunch, we'll put it in the acknowledgement. So I dedicated the book to my family and. I sat at the desk and just did this little, these four little creatures that represented my immediate family and cut it outta my notebook. They scanned it in and sent it off to print with a book. So I did get, I did get it. Miko Lee: And how is the illustrator's voice different from the author's voice? Chanel Miller: The illustrator's voice can be very loose, whimsical, playful, whereas the writing, you know, was so measured and heavy and intentional, and so. I liked that edit, and I also, my editor was confident that I would have more opportunities in the future to write and draw, whereas I felt so vulnerable. It's my first book, it's my only chance to say or do anything, but that's not true. Now I understand like I have time to make all kinds of things. You don't have to shove it all into one project. Miko Lee: And are these, more youth-focused books? Do you feel like that's more a combination of your illustrator and your author voice? Chanel Miller: Totally. The medium like allows you to do both. It kind of asks for images also. Who knows, maybe, I still wanna write, contemporary fiction for adults and maybe I'll adults like visuals too. Absolutely. Miko Lee: Absolutely. Yeah. I'm wondering what you want young readers to walk away with after reading the, your latest book. Chanel Miller: Things smooth out in really unexpected ways. And that you can never truly mess up. Like I messed up so many times growing up or would get a really bad grade. I really would think like, this is the end. Like my future just disappeared. I just can't recover from this, and I always would, and I'm here now, like there, there are so many times I guess, that I thought my life was totally and completely over and, it was never the case. Sure, life could be sour for a bit, or you could be really stressed out, but it's not the end. Different things will change. People will be introduced to help you. Like you just keep showing up in whatever way you can. You won't be stuck in that place. It's been a nice thing to learn, as you get older. I just remember when I felt young, it felt so impossible sometimes, and I promise it's not, Miko Lee: I imagine that with Know my name. Many people came up with you, survivors came up and shared their stories with you, and I'm wondering if that was the same with your second book, if people came up and just told stories about, being a kid detective or what their, if it brought things up for them in a totally different realm. Chanel Miller: Oh yeah, absolutely. In the book, Magnolia's parents are Chinese and, , they're working at a laundromat and a customer comes in and there's, microaggressions happen and, I think with microaggressions you can always. Justify them in your head and say, it's not as bad as explicit violence or something, where it's not a truly a crime. And so you kind of push them to the side, push them to the side, but over time, like they do really stick with you and they're so hurtful and they accumulate and they're not okay to begin with. And I wanted my little character, Magnolia to. Just feel that anger that I often suppress and be like, it's not okay for people to talk to you like that. Like we are allowed to say something about it. It's dehumanizing and it's unacceptable. I wanted to give her the opportunity to confront that emotion and really express what, how it made her feel. Miko Lee: You're just starting your book tour right now. Is that right? For the Moon Without Stars. Chanel Miller: My book comes out January 13th. I'll go on a two week book tour. I'll have two stops in the Bay area. One at, book passage in Cord Madera. One in Los Altos at a church. It's sponsored by Linden Tree Books. We're just doing the event offsite, so if you're in the bay and wanna come say hello, please do that. Miko Lee: Yay. Excited to hear about that. I'm curious, I'm really curious what kind of stories people will tell you about their kind of middle school bully experience or their standing up to bullies and wanting to be in the popular crowd and what's that like? It's such a common middle school experience. Chanel Miller: I'm just really happy that people like have the opportunity to remember, 'cause it's not what we talk about every day. I just love that things are coming up for people and you're like, wow, I never would've thought about that or. I, I, that's why writing is so fun. You get to remember. Miko Lee: It's definitely not what we talk about every day, but definitely that middle school time really, helps shape who we are as adults. That's a really tough time because there's so many hormones going crazy in your body. So many changes that I think a lot of people have big feelings about middle school. Tell us what's next for you. Chanel Miller: I still love writing middle grade like this age is so sweet. It's so rich, emotionally rich. I would like to do something that's, you know, this one was more contemporary realism and I would love to do something that, not pure fantasy, but like breaks the rules of reality a little bit. Just really see where my imagination can go. A little magical realism perhaps. Yeah, absolutely. Miko Lee: I would just encourage you, I really love the Scott and Luna characters and seeing them patch their relationship up in high school as friends and how they can grow. Oh, I think would be a really sweet story also, and how they could explore maybe through magical realism. Some of the, book Doctors Zine World would be fun. Yeah. Yeah. I like those characters, is what I'm saying. I think there's more to come outta those characters and their friendship. Chanel Miller: Oh, that's really sweet. You don't wanna say goodbye to them yet. Miko Lee: Yeah, that's right. Well, it has been a delight chatting with you. Thank you so much for sharing your stories and your work and it's very powerful. Appreciate chatting with you. Chanel Miller: I really appreciate the platform you provide and how you're making room for these genuine conversations. So thank you so much. Jalena Keane-Lee: Next up, listen to blues scholars ode to Yuri Kochiyama. That was Blue Scholars, Ode to Yuri Kochiyama. Miko Lee: Yuri Koyama said, we are all part of one another, and that relates so well to my conversation with author, organizer and teacher Kazu Haga. Welcome, Kazu Haga to Apex Express. I'm so glad to have you with us. Kazu Haga: Yeah, thanks so much for having me. Miko Lee: I'm gonna start with a question that I ask all of my guests because I'm a curious person, and my question is, who are your people and what legacy do you carry with you? Kazu Haga: Oh, wow. Well, when you ask the second question, the immediate response is that I am Japanese. There's a lot of important legacies that come with that. Of course there's so much of my Japanese ancestry that I'm proud of and want to continue to deepen in and understand better. But I'm also aware that, you know, being Japanese, I come from colonizer people, right? And I'm so aware of the. Harm that my ancestors caused to so many people, whether dating back all the way to indigenous. I knew people in Japan, or a lot of the violence that my ancestors committed during the war to Zan Korean communities and Chinese communities and Filipino communities. I feel like in addition to all the beauty and the amazing things that I love about Japanese culture, that's a legacy that I carry with me and a lot of my work has to do with trying to understand what it means to carry that legacy and what it means to try to heal from that legacy and how I take that approach into my own personal life as well as into my activist work. Miko Lee: Thank you so much for recognizing that history and sharing a little bit about your path. I can see so much of how that turns up in your work. So I've had the pleasure of reading your two latest two books. I'm sure there'll be many more to come, I hope. Can you speak a little bit about what inspired you to create healing resistance? Kazu Haga: Yeah, so healing resistance is my interpretation of a set of teachings called kingian non-violence, and it's a philosophy that was based on the teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King. And I have the great privilege to have been mentored by a lot of elders who work very closely with Dr. King and were some of the most instrumental leaders in the civil Rights movement. I started my kind of activist career back in 1999 or something like that when I was 18, 19 years old. And for the longest time, the word non-violence didn't have a lot of meaning to me. But when I was 28 years old, I think I took this two-day workshop on this philosophy called King Non-Violence, and that two-day workshop just completely changed my life forever. I thought after 10 years of doing nothing but social justice movement building work, that I had some idea of what the word non-violence meant and some idea of who Dr. King was. But that two day workshop taught me that I knew nothing about what the word non-violence meant. Since I took that workshop, I feel like I've been on this never ending journey to better understand what it means to practice non-violence and incorporate that as a value into my life. And so healing resistance is, yeah, just my spin on the teachings of Dr. King told through the stories of my life experiences. Miko Lee: I really appreciated how you wove together your personal journey with your, understanding of movement building and how you incorporated that in. I'm wondering, I think it was in this book, but I read both of your books close to back to back, so I might be mixing them up, but I wonder if you could talk a little bit about the salt protestors that happened in India and the two years of training that it took them to be able to stand up and for our listeners, just like really back up and explain what that protest was about, and then the kind of training that it took to get there. Kazu Haga: It was actually more than two years. So, you know, everyone, or a lot of people know about the Salt March. It's the thing that I think a lot of people look to as the thing that really sparked the Indian Independence Movement, similar to the Montgomery Bus boycott in the US Civil Rights Movement. It's when a group of people marched across India all the way to the ocean. Engaged in an act of civil disobedience was, which was to go into the water and make their own salt. Salt is something that had been heavily controlled and taxed by the British Empire, and so the people who lived even on the coast of the ocean were not allowed to make their own salt. And so it was an act of civil disobedience to break a British colonial law saying that we are reclaiming this ancestral cottage industry for ourselves. And one of the reasons why it was so powerful and drew so many millions of people out into the street was because when Gandhi envisioned it. He didn't just put out an open call and said, anyone who wants to join the March can join. Ultimately, that's where they landed. But when the March started, he selected, I think it was about 76 of his followers, and he chose these 76 people and said, you all are gonna start the Salt March. And he chose those 76 people because they had lived in Astrom. And did spiritual practice and engaged in creative nonviolent direct action together for 16 years before they embarked on the salt march. So it was 16 years of kinda like dedicated residential spiritual training , and nonviolent direct action training that allowed these people to become the type of leaders that could draw out millions and millions of people into the street. And so it's one of the things that I really learned about the legacy of nonviolence is the importance of training and understanding that preparing ourselves spiritually to lead a movement that can transform nations is a lifetime of work. And to not underestimate the importance of that training and that rigor. Miko Lee: Thank you so much for correcting me. Not two but 16 years and a really a lifetime to, that's right. To develop the skills. I wonder if you've been following the Buddhist monks that are walking across the US right now. Kazu Haga: Yeah. And the dog, right? Miko Lee: Yeah. Whose dog and that dog. And I wonder what your thoughts are on that. Kazu Haga: I've really come to this place where I understand injustice and state violence, not as a political issue, but as a manifestation of our collective trauma. Like all the forms of state violence and injustice that we see, they happen because collectively as nation states and as communities and as a species, we have unresolved trauma that we haven't been able to heal from. And I think if we can see injustice less as a political issue and more as a manifestation of collective trauma, then perhaps we can build movements that have the sensitivity to understand that we can't just shut down injustice that when you're responding to a trauma response, what you need to do is to try to open things up. Things like spiritual practice and spiritual worldviews, like what, however that word spiritual lands on people. I think that there's a broad understanding of spirituality that doesn't have to include any sort of religious stigma. But when we ground ourselves in spiritual practice, when we ground ourselves in this larger reality that we belong to something so much larger than ourselves as individuals, then a lot more is possible and we're able to open things up and we're able to slow things down in response to the urgency of this moment, which I think is so necessary. When I look at these Buddhist monks spending however months it's gonna take for them to reach Washington dc the patience. The rigor and the slowness. How every step is a prayer for them. And so all of those steps, all of that effort is I think adding to something that has the possibility to open something up in a way that a one day protest cannot. So I'm really inspired by that work. Miko Lee: And it's amazing to see how many people are turning out to walk with them or to watch them. And then on the same hand, or the other hand, is seeing some folks that are protesting against them saying, that this is not the right religion, which is just. Kind of shocking to me. Grew up in a seminary environment. My dad was a professor of social ethics and we were really taught that Jesus is a son of God and Kuan is a daughter of God. And Muhammad, all these different people are sons and daughters of God and we're all under the same sky. So it seems strange that to me, that so many folks are using religion as a tool for. Pain and suffering and injustice and using it as a justification. Kazu Haga: Yeah. It's sad to hear people say that this is the wrong religion to try to create change in the world because I think it's that worldview that is at the heart of what is destroying this planet. Right. It's, it's not this way. It has to be that way and this binary right. Wrong way of thinking. Miko Lee: Yeah. Kazu Haga: But yeah. The first spiritual book I ever read when I was 16 years old was a book by Thích Nhất Hanh called Living Buddha, living Christ. Yes. And in that book he was saying that the teachings of the Buddha and the teachings of Jesus Christ, if you really look at the essence of it, is the same thing. Miko Lee: That's right. Yeah. This brings us to your book, fierce Vulnerability, healing from Trauma Emerging Through Collapse. And we are living in that time right now. We're living in a time of utter collapse where every day it seems like there's a new calamity. We are seeing our government try to take over Venezuela right now and put police forces into Minnesota. It's just crazy what's going on. I wonder if you can just talk a little bit about this book. Clearly it's the Times that has influenced your title and [00:34:00] in influenced you to write this book can be, share a little bit more about what you're aiming to do. Kazu Haga: Yeah, and you know, it's also Greenland and Cuba and Colombia and Panama, and it's also the climate crisis and it's also all of these other authoritarian regimes that are rising to power around the co, around the world. And it's also pandemics and the next pandemics. And we are living in a time of the poly crisis. A time that our recent ancestor, Joanna Macy calls the great turning or the great unraveling so we can get to the great turning where all of these systems are in a state of collapse and the things that we have come to, to be able to rely on are all unraveling. And I think if we are not grounded in. Again, I use this word spirituality very broadly speaking, but if we are not grounded in a sense that we are connected to something so much larger than ourselves as individuals, I think it's so easy to just collapse and get into this trauma response state in response to all of the crises that we are facing, and so fierce vulnerability. It's at the intersection of spiritual practice, trauma healing, and nonviolent action, and understanding that in response to all of these crises that we are facing, we need powerful forms of action. To harness the power necessary to create the transformations that we need to see. And at the same time, can we see even forms of nonviolent resistance as a form of, as a modality of collective trauma healing? And what are the practices that we need to be doing internally within our own movements to stay grounded enough to remember that we are interdependent with all people and with all life. What does it take for us to be so deeply grounded that even as we face a possible mass extinction event that we can remember to breathe and that we can remember that we are trying to create beauty, not just to destroy what we don't like, but we are trying to affirm life. What does that look like? And so if fierce vulnerability is an experiment, like we don't have all the answers, but if I could just put in a plug, we're about to launch this three month. Experiment called the Fierce Vulnerability Kinship Lab, where we'll be gathering across the world. Participants will be placed in small teams, that are regionally based, so you can meet with people in person, hopefully, and to really try to run a bunch of experiments of what is it gonna take to respond to state violence, to respond to these crises in a way that continues to affirm life and reminds us that we belong to each other. Miko Lee: That sounds amazingly powerful. Can you share how people can get involved in these labs? Kazu Haga: People can check it out on my website, kazu haga.com, and it'll link to the actual website, which is convene.community. It's K-I-N-V-E-N-E. It's a combination of the idea of kinship and community. It's gonna be a really cool program. We just announced it publicly and France Weller and Ma Muse and Kairo Jewel Lingo, and it's gonna be a lot of great teach. And we're trying to just give people, I know so many people are yearning for a way to respond to state violence in a way that feels deeply aligned with their most sacred beliefs and their value systems around interdependence, and peacemaking and reconciliation, but also recognizes that we need to harness power that we need to. Step out of the comfort of our meditation cushions and yoga centers and actually hit the streets. But to do so in a way that brings about healing. It's our way of creating some communities where we can experiment with that in supportive ways. Miko Lee: What is giving you hope these days? Kazu Haga: My daughter and the community that I live in. Like when I look up at the world, things are in a state of collapse. Like when I watch the news, there's a lot of things that are happening that can take away my hope. But I think if we stop looking up all the time and just start looking around, if I start looking around in, not at the vertical plane, but at the horizontal plane, what I see are so many. Amazing communities that are being birthed, land-based communities, mutual aid networks, communities, where people are living together in relationship and trying to recreate village like structures. There are so many incredible, like healing collaboratives. And even the ways that we have brought song culture and spirit back into social movement spaces more and more in the last 10, 15 years, there are so many things that are happening that are giving birth to new life sustaining systems. We're so used to thinking that because the crisis is so big, the response that we need is equally big. When we're looking for like big things, we're not seeing movements with millions of millions of people into the in, in the streets. We're not seeing a new nonprofit organizations with billions of dollars that have the capacity to transform the world because I think we keep looking for big in response to big. But I think if we look at a lot of wisdom traditions, particularly Eastern Traditions, Daoism and things like that, they'll tell us that. Perhaps the best way to respond to the bigness of the crises of our times is to stay small. And so if we look for small signs of new life, new systems, new ways of being in relationship to each other and to the earth, I think we see signs of that all over the place. You know, small spiritual communities that are starting up. And so I see so much of that in my life, and I'm really blessed to be surrounded by a lot of that. Miko Lee: I really appreciate how you walk the walk and talk, the talk in terms of teaching and living in a collective space and even how you live your life in terms of speaking engagements and things. Can you share a little bit about the gift economy that you practice and what's that about? Share with our audience what that even means. Kazu Haga: Yeah. I love this question. Thank you. So the gift economy to me is our attempts at building economic structures that learn from how natural ecosystems share and distribute its resources, right? It's an alternative model to the market system of economics where everything is transac. If you look out into nature, nothing is transactional. Right? All of the gifts that a mycelial network gives to the forest, that it's a part of the ecology that it's a part of. It's given freely, but it's also given freely because it knows that it is part of a deeply interdependent ecosystem where it will also receive everything it needs to be nourished. And so there's a lot that I can say about that. I actually working on, my next book will be on the Gift Economy. But one of the main manifestations of that is all of the work that I do, I try to offer as a gift. So I don't charge anything for the work that I do. The workshops that I organize, you know, the Convene three month program that I told you about, it's a three month long program with world renowned leaders and we are asking people to pay a $25 registration fee that'll support the platform that, that we're building, the program on. And. There's no kind of set fee for the teachers, myself, Francis Weller, mam, all these people. And people have an opportunity to give back to the ecosystem if they feel called and if they're able to try to sustain, to help sustain our work. But we really want to be able to offer this as a gift. And I think in the market economy, a three month virtual training with well-known teachers for $25 is unheard of. Of course $25 doesn't sustain me. It doesn't sustain all of the teachers that are gonna be part of this, but I have so much faith that if we give our work freely and have faith that we are doing the work that we're meant to be doing, that the universe will come together to sustain us. And so I am sustained with the generosity of a lot of [00:42:00] people, a lot of donors, a lot of people who come to my workshop and feel called to give, not out of a sense of obligation, but because they want to support me in my work. Miko Lee: Thank you for sharing and I was so impressed on your website where you break down your family's whole annual budget and everything that you spent funds on. Everybody talks about transparency, but nobody really does it. But you're actually doing it. And for reals, just showing something that's an antidote to the capitalist system to be able to say, okay, this is us. This is our family, this is how we travel, this is what we do, and. I found it really charming and impressive in our, it's hard to rebel against a system where everything has been built up so that we're supposed to act a certain way. So appreciate you. Absolutely. Yeah. Showing some alternatives and I didn't know that's gonna be your next book. So exciting. Kazu Haga: Yeah, I just started it. I'm really grateful that I have a partner that is okay with sharing all of our family's finances transparently. That helps because it is a big thing, you know? Yeah. But one of the things that I really learned. But the gift economy is that if there isn't information, if there isn't transparency about what the system's needs are, then it becomes dependent on every individual to figure out. How much they want to give to that system. And I think the gift economy is trying to break outta that the model of individualism and understand that we are interdependent and we live in this rich ecosystem of interdependence. And so if people's needs aren't transparent, then it's hard for people to figure out how they want to engage in that relationship. Miko Lee: Can you share a little bit more the example of Buddhist monks and how they have the basket and. Share that story a bit for our audience. Kazu Haga: Yeah. So historically, in a lot of, particularly south and southeastern, Asian countries, Buddhist monks, they go around, they walk their community every morning, begging, quote unquote for alms. They ask for donations, and the people in that village in that town will offer them bread or rice or whatever it is. That's kind of the food that, that monks and monastics eat. And so if a Buddhist monk is walking around with a bowl and you see that their bowl is already full, you have a sense, oh, this monastic might not need any more food, but the next monastic that comes along might. And so it's this transparent way of saying, oh, this person's needs are met, so let me hold on to the one piece of bread that I have that I can donate today and see if the next person will need it. And so in that way. If I share my finance transparently, you know, if my financial needs for the month or for the quarter are met, then maybe people who attend my workshops will feel like, oh, I don't have a lot of money to give. Maybe I don't need to give to support Kazu Haga, but maybe I can support, the facilitator for the next workshop that I attend. And so, in that way, I'm hoping that me being transparent about where my finances are will help people gauge how they want to be in relationship with me. Miko Lee: Thank you. I appreciate it. You talk a lot about in your work about ancestral technology or the wisdom, our ancestral wisdoms and how powerful that is. It made me think about the day after the election when Trump was elected. I happened to be in this gathering of progressive artists in the Bay Area and everybody was. Incredibly depressed. There was even, should we cancel that day or not? But we pulled together, it was at the Parkway Theater in Oakland and there was an aone leader and she talked about the eighth fire and how we are in the time of the eighth fire and you write about the fires in your book, and I'm wondering if you can talk about the seven fires and the prophecy belt. Kazu Haga: Yeah. So through a strange course of events, I had the incredible privilege early on in my life when I was in my early teens, 11, 12, 13, 14 years old, to spend every summer going to the Algonquin Reservation, Anishnabe Nation, way up in Northern Quebec, and spend my evenings sleeping in the basement of Chief William Commander, who was the holder of the seven Fire Prophecies Wampum Belt. This is a prophecy that told the story of the seventh fire that we are in the time of the seventh fire. And this is a moment in the history of our species where we can remember what it means to be human and to go backwards and to reclaim our spiritual path. If we are able to do that, then we can rebuild a new world, the eighth fire and build a world of lasting peace. But if we are unable to do that and continue down this material journey, that will lead to a world of destruction. And this is, prophecies like this one and similar indigenous prophecies that speak the same exact things are the things that were. Just surrounded, that I was surrounded by when I was younger, and I'm so grateful that even though I didn't really believe this kind of stuff when I was younger, it was like the, you know, crazy hippie newey stuff that my mom was into. I'm so grateful to have been surrounded by these teachings and hearing these teachings directly from the elders whose lives purpose. It was to share these teachings with us because when I look out at the world now, it really feels like we are in a choice point as a species. Like we can continue to walk down one journey, one path, and I could very easily see how it would lead to a world of destruction. But we have an opportunity to remember who we are and how we're meant to live in relationship with each other and to the earth. And I have a lot of faith that if we're able to do that, we can build such a beautiful future for our children. And so I think this is the moment that we're in. Miko Lee: Yeah. Thank you so much. Can you share a little bit about your mom? It seems like she was a rule breaker and she introduced you to so many things and you're appreciating it later as an adult, but at the time you're like, what is this? Kazu Haga: Yeah. You know, she was. She grew up in Japan. We were all born in Japan, but she spent a year overseas in the United States as ex as an exchange student in high school. And she always tells me when she went back to Japan, she was listening to the Beatles, and she shaved her legs and she was this like rebellious person in Japan. But yeah, my mom is never been a political activist in the same way that, that I've become. But she's always been deeply, deeply grounded in spiritual practice. Miko Lee: Mm-hmm. Kazu Haga: And for various reasons have always had deep relationships with indigenous elders in North America and Turtle Island. And so I'm always grateful. I feel like she sowed a lot of seeds that when I was young, I made fun of meditation and I was not into spiritual practice at all. 45 years into my life, I find myself doing all the same things that, that she was doing when I was young, and really seeing that as the foundation of the work that I do in the world today. Miko Lee: And have you, have you talked with her about this? Kazu Haga: Oh yeah. I live with her, so we regularly Oh, I Miko Lee: didn't realize Kazu Haga: that.Yeah, yeah, yeah. So she's read the book and Yeah. We have a lot of opportunities to, to yeah, just talk and, and reminisce and, and wonder at. How life has a tendency to always come back full circle. Miko Lee: Mm. The paths we lead and how they intertwine in some ways. Definitely. Mm, I love that. I let you know before we went on air is that I'm also interviewing the author Chanel Miller in this episode. You shared with me that you are familiar with her work. Can you talk about that? Kazu Haga: Yeah, so, you know, I talk quite a bit in both of my books about how one of the great privileges that I have is to do restorative justice and trauma healing work with incarcerated people, mostly through the prisons in California. And one of the programs that I've had the privilege to be a part of is with the Ahimsa Collective, where we work with a lot of men who have an experience with sexual violence specifically, both as survivors of sexual harm and as perpetrators oftentimes. And in that program we actually used the letter that she wrote and published as an example of the power of what it could mean to be a survivor speaking their truth. And we used to read this letter in the groups with incarcerated people. And I remember the first time I ever read it, I was the one that was reading it out loud. I broke down into tears reading that, that letter, and it was so powerful. And it's one of those written statements that I think has helped a lot of people, incarcerated people, and survivors, oftentimes, they're both the same people, really heal from the scars that they've experienced in life. So yeah, I have a really deep connection to specifically that statement and her work. Miko Lee: Yeah, it's really powerful. I'm wondering, given that how you use art as a tool to heal for yourself. Kazu Haga: You know, I always wished I was a better poet or a better painter or something like that, but I do really feel like there are certain deep truths that cannot be expressed in just regular linear language. It can only be spoken in song or in dance or in poetry. There's something mystical. There's something that, that is beyond the intellect capacity to understand that I think can be powerfully and beautifully expressed through art. I think art and spiritual practice and prayer and things like that are very like closely aligned. And so in that way I, I try to touch the sacred, I try to touch spirit. I try to touch mystery in the things that I can't quite articulate. Just through conversation and giving in a lecture or a PowerPoint presentation, to, yeah, to touch into something more, more important. Miko Lee: And is your spiritual practice built into your every day? Kazu Haga: To the extent possible. One of the traditions that I have really learned a lot from and love is the Plum Village tradition founded by Thich Nhat Hanh. And they're so good at really reminding us that when we wash our dishes, that can be a spiritual practice, right? I'm the father of a young child. And so it's hard to actually sit down and meditate and to find time for that. And so, how can I use. My moments with my daughter when I'm reading her a book as a spiritual practice, how can I, use the time that I'm picking up the toys that's thrown all around the house as spiritual practice. So in that way, I really try to incorporate that sort of awareness and that reminder that I belong to something larger and everything that we do. Miko Lee: After hearing Ty speak one time, I tried to practice the chewing your food 45 times. I could not do it. Like, how does he do Kazu Haga: that? Some food is easier than others. If you eat oatmeal, it's a little harder, but Miko Lee: like that is some kind of practice I cannot do. Kazu Haga: But, you know, I have, a meditation teacher that years ago taught me every time you get inside your car. The moment that you turn the keys and turn on the ignition in your car, just take that moment and see if you can notice the texture of the keys and see if you can really feel your muscles turning to turn the key. And it's in these little moments that if we bring that intention to it, we can really turn what is like a, you know, a mindless moment into something with deep, deep awareness. Hmm. Miko Lee: Thank you for that. That's an interesting one. I have not heard that one before. Kazu Haga: Nowadays I just like push a button so it's even more mind less. Miko Lee: That's right. There's just a button Now. Keys, there's not even the time anymore to do that. That's right. What is it that you'd love folks to walk away with from being familiar with your work? You, there's so many aspects. You have different books that are out, you lead workshops, you're speaking, you are everyday walking through the world, sharing different things. What is one thing you'd love people to understand? Kazu Haga: Between both of my books and all the work that I do, so much of the essence is to try to help us remember. We belong to each other. I think the fear of isolation, the fear that we do not belong, is one of the most common fears that every human being has. Right? At some point in our lives, we felt like we don't belong. And while that is such a real fear, it's also a delusion. Like in an interdependent world, there is nothing outside of belonging, right? And so we already belong. We are already whole, we are already part of the vastness of the cosmos. There is so much power in remembering that we are part of the infinite universe, and I think the delusion that we do not belong to each other is like is the seed that creates the us versus them worldview, and it's that us versus them worldview that is at the heart of what is destroying our planet. In our efforts to create social change, how can we do so in a way that reminds us that even the people that are causing harm is a deeply critical interwoven web of relationships. That we are all in this web of relationship, that there's nobody outside of that, and how can we go about trying to create change in a way that reminds us of that? Miko Lee: Thank you. And my last question is, I'm wondering if there's something that you're learning from your child these days. Kazu Haga: Yeah, the, just the, the pure presence, right? That each moment is so deeply, deeply real, and each moment is to be honored. Like I am amazed at, we were eating asparagus the other day, and she was eating a whole bowl of asparagus, and she desperately needed me to get her the one piece of asparagus that she wanted. She was so frustrated that I couldn't find the one asparagus that she wanted, and so she was crying and screaming and throwing asparagus across the room, and then the moment I was able to find the one asparagus that she wanted, everything is fine. Everything is beautiful. She's smiling, she's laughing, and so just to. Not that we should be like throwing things around if we're not getting exactly what we want, but how can we honor our emotions every moment in a way that in that moment there is nothing outside of that moment. That sort of presence, is something that I really try to embody and try to learn from her. Miko Lee: Thank you so much for sharing with me. I really appreciate reading your books and being in community with you and, we'll put links to your website so that people Awesome. Thank you. Can find out more. And also, I really appreciate that you're having your books published by a small Buddhist press as and encouraging people to buy from that. Kazu Haga: Yeah. Shout out to ax. Miko Lee: Yes, we will absolutely put those links in our show notes. And thank you so much for joining us on Apex Today. Kazu Haga: Thank you so much for having me. Miko Lee: Thank you so much for joining me on this evening conversation with two different authors, Chanel Miller and Kazu Haga, and my little pitch is just to keep reading. Reading is such a critical and important way we learn about the world. I was just reading this thing that said the average Americans read 12 to 13 books a year. And when I checked in with friends and family, they said that could not be true. That they think they know many people who don't read any books. And I am just encouraging you all to pick up a book, especially by an Asian American Pacific Islander author, hear our perspectives, hear our stories. This is how we expand and understand our knowledge around the world. Grow closer to the people in both our lives and people around the world. So yea to reading, yea to Chanel Miller and Kazu Haga. And check out a local bookstore near you. If you wanna find out more information, please check out our website, kpfa.org, black slash programs, apex Express, where I will link both of these authors and how you can purchase their books at your local independent bookstore. Thank you very much. Goodnight. Please check out our website, kpfa.org. To find out more about our show tonight. We think all of you listeners out there. Keep resisting, keep organizing, keep creating and sharing your visions with the world because your voices are important. Apex Express is produced by Ayame Keane-Lee, Anuj Vaidya, Cheryl Truong, Isabel Li, Jalena Keane-Lee, Miko Lee, Nina Phillips, Preeti Mangala Shekar and Swati Rayasam Tonight's show was produced by me, your host, Miko Lee. Thank you so much for joining us. The post APEX Express – 1.15.26 – Chat with Authors appeared first on KPFA.
We delve into the exploration of ancient wisdom, particularly Daoism, and its connections to various cultural and religious paradigms. We reflect on the significance of conscience in personal development and how cultural backgrounds influence one's spiritual journey. Paul Fredric emphasizes the importance of understanding and respecting one's roots while navigating modern beliefs and the challenges of contemporary spirituality. Chapters 00:00 Exploring Ancient Wisdom: Daoism and Beyond 05:05 Cultural Resonance and Personal Conscience 10:02 The Role of Conscience in Personal Development 15:04 Navigating Modern Beliefs and Personal Truths
Is Daoism something you're supposed to feel rather than understand? Does talking about it ruin the experience? In this Living the Tao Short (2-12), Master Steenrod examines a common modern belief—that authentic Daoism requires no study, no method, and no examination. He explains where this idea comes from, why it doesn't hold up historically, and how Daoist development has always depended on effort, method, and choice. Nature can teach—but it isn't the Dao. And walking away from method comes with consequences.
Overpowering Emotions Podcast: Helping Children and Teens Manage Big Feels
Big feelings don't always need more rules and structure. Sometimes they need play, movement, and a bit of silliness.In this episode of Overpowering Emotions, Dr. Caroline is joined by Sifu Boggy (Paul Brighton), a Taoist teacher who blends Qigong, Tai Chi, humour, and “sacred child” energy to support healing.They talk about why kids are the real teachers, how fidgeting and wild play help release stress from the body, and why shutting down movement can actually lock in tension, anxiety, and trauma. You'll hear how Qigong supported Sifu through bullying, depression, and suicidality as a teen, and how simple standing exercises can help kids and adults regulate today.This conversation is especially helpful for:Educators trying to make room for movement, play, and regulation in classroomsParents & caregivers of anxious, “fidgety,” intense, or neurodivergent kidsMental health professionals looking for body-based and playful tools that fit well with emotion regulation workThey get into:The “sacred child” and why we're not meant to grow out of playHow fidgeting, noise, and big movement can be healthy discharge, not misbehaviourQigong as “moving self-massage” that helps clear stored emotional tensionHow adults' stress responses teach kids how to handle their ownSimple, practical ways to bring more play and movement into homes, sessions, and schoolsIf you work with kids who are anxious, shut down, “too much,” or always on the move, this episode will give you a warm, playful way to see them—and yourself—differently.Homework Ideas
Richard Wickes is an energy worker and healer based in Chiang Mai. Richard shares his journey from martial arts to studying Daoism in China and how witnessing things he thought impossible steered him towards his work today. ALSO the nature of self, nothingness/flow, traumatic psychic perception, psychosis and schizophrenia through a spiritual lens, finding balance and the power of intention to affect energy.
Are the methods of warfare proposed in the famous Art of War an example of “applied Daoism”?
Life is not merely a series of challenges to conquer; rather, it is an intricate dance to embrace, replete with its myriad twists, falls, and unexpected turns. In this enlightening discourse, we are graced by the presence of Sifu Boggie, a Daoist guide, healer, and storyteller, whose extensive journey through diverse disciplines and experiences instills a profound understanding of the natural flow of existence. With over four decades of expertise in energy work and Eastern philosophy, Sifu Boggie deftly blends ancient wisdom with contemporary practices, empowering individuals to unlock their inherent healing potential. His approach encourages us to move beyond the notion of fixing oneself and instead focus on rediscovering our authentic selves, fostering a harmonious relationship with life's ebb and flow. Join us as we delve into the transformative practices of Qi Gong, Tai Chi, and Daoist Shamanism, inviting you to embrace the adventure of life with renewed meaning and purpose.Takeaways: Sifu Boggie emphasizes that life should not be viewed as a problem to solve, but rather as an adventure to embrace, inviting us to dance with its unpredictable nature. With over four decades of experience, Sifu Boggie integrates ancient Daoist wisdom into modern practices, such as Qi Gong and Tai Chi, to foster personal development and healing. The essence of Daoism is to thrive in any circumstance, and Sifu Boggie encourages individuals to unlock their own healing potential rather than seeking external fixes. A fundamental principle discussed is the interconnectedness of all beings, which suggests that our state of mind and body is influenced by our thoughts and feelings, highlighting the importance of mindfulness. Listen on Apple, Spotify or your favorite listening platform; visit us on our YouTube channel Find everything "One More Thing" here: https://taplink.cc/beforeyougopodcastThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy
An interview on the pervasive use of the yin-yang relational pair in classical Chinese thought generally, and in Daoism in particular.
George Thompson is a filmmaker, Tai Chi practitioner, and creator dedicated to inspiring balance for both people and planet. After experiencing anxiety and burnout, George embarked on a transformative journey that took him from the Wudang Mountains in China to the wilderness of Scotland. In this conversation, we explore: — Why discovering Tai Chi was a pivotal moment in his trajectory — How compassion naturally arises from true understanding — The power of investigating our thoughts and feelings as messengers of unmet needs — How to cultivate playfulness and sincerity without being serious — George's journey from atheism to panpsychism and how this shift changed his relationship with nature And more. You can learn more about George's work through his YouTube channel or his website: https://www.balanceispossible.com. --- George Thompson is a filmmaker, storyteller, and educator dedicated to making ancient wisdom practical for modern life. As the founder of Balance Is Possible!, he leads a global team sharing teachings on Tai Chi, Daoist philosophy, and the art of living in harmony with oneself and nature. After years of struggling with anxiety and disconnection, George travelled to China's Wudang Mountains, where he studied Tai Chi and Daoism under Master Gu. There, he discovered that balance isn't about perfection—but about learning to move with life's natural flow. Through his courses, films, and online community, George helps people reconnect to purpose, clarity, and inner peace. His unique teaching style blends humour, emotional honesty, and spiritual insight, making profound ideas accessible and engaging. Today, George's work reaches millions worldwide through films like The Subtle Art of Losing Yourself and the world's largest online Tai Chi school. Supported by mentors such as Chungliang Al Huang and Deng Ming Dao, he continues to inspire others to embrace their full potential and live with compassion, creativity, and balance. -- Interview Links: — George's website: https://www.balanceispossible.com/ — George's recommended books: https://bit.ly/472aEh7
This episode is a replay from The Existential Stoic library. Enjoy! Do you struggle with organization? Would you like less ‘stuff' in your life? In this episode, Danny and Randy discuss tips for how to tidy up. Listen now and start dropping the stuff that is holding you back! Subscribe to ESP's YouTube Channel! Thanks for listening! Do you have a question you want answered in a future episode? If so, send your question to: existentialstoic@protonmail.com
Long before Daoism became philosophy, it was survival.In this episode (1-148), Taoist Master Steenrod traces the ancient, shamanic roots of Daoism — a time when humanity faced energetic predators and learned to fight back.Through humor and history, he reveals how early “supernatural combat” shaped the Daoist path: a tradition built on observation, proof, and endurance. What began as the defense of life became a way to understand it — and to walk in balance with forces far beyond the human world.Intro music: “Finding Movement” by Kevin MacLeod — licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Source: incompetech.com
On A Short History of Decay (1949), a pessimist/existentialist somewhat text from the most famous Romanian philosopher. Cioran's short essays touch on art, humor, God, salvation, time, nostalgia, mourning, death, disease, suicide, revolt, freedom, Buddhism, Daoism, and the role of the philosopher. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion. Sponsor: Visit functionhealth.com/PEL to get the data you need to take action for your health.
The significance of the Laozi's use of opposing pairs, which are treated as complementary rather as exclusive dichotomies.
Many different cultures from China and Southeast Asia honor the dead on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month during the Hungry Ghost Festival, also known as Zhongyuan in Daoism and Yulanpen or Ullambana in Mahayana Buddhism. In this episode, we'll trace the origins of ancestor worship to ancient Shang Dynasty Oracle Bones, or “Dragon Bones,” which were used to inscribe petitions to ancestral spirits and hold the earliest evidence of Chinese writing. Then we'll explore how regional variations of those ancient beliefs blended with the Buddhist Ulambana Sutra (or Mulian Rescues His Mother from Hell), Daoist visions of the afterlife, and Confucian teachings on filial responsibility. Over time, these influences eventually gave rise to the Hungry Ghost Festival which has continued to evolve into modern celebrations that weave together ancient traditions and modern lifestyles to honor both personal ancestors and members of the community lost in historical tragedies.TranscriptsFor transcripts of this episode head over to: https://archpodnet.com/tpm/21LinksSee photos related to episode topics on InstagramLoving the macabre lore? Treat your host to a coffee!Learn More About Chinese History with the China History PodcastLos Angeles Hungry Ghost Festival 2025Video: Taiwan's “Ghost Grappling”Video: Mulian Saves His Mother Performance at Kiew Lee Tong Temple in SingaporeAcademic SourcesCampany, Robert F. 1991. Ghosts Matter: The Culture of Ghosts in Six Dynasties Zhiguai. Chinese Literature: Essays, Articles, Reviews (CLEAR) 13:15.Chan, Selina Ching. 2023. Unequal Inscriptions of the Hungry Ghosts (Yulan) Festival Celebrations as Intangible Cultural Heritage in Hong Kong. China Perspectives(132):49–59.Deutsch, Lauren W. Chinese Joss Paper Offerings.Liu, Jingyu. 2020. The Unimpeded Passage: The Making of Universal Salvation Rites and Buddho-Daoist Interactions in Medieval China.Shirin, Shakinah. 2021. Past and Present Rituals of Hungry Ghost Festival. Intercultural Communication.Zhao, Yin. Indian Cultural Elements on the Ullambana Festival.ArchPodNetAPN Website: https://www.archpodnet.comAPN on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/archpodnetAPN on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/archpodnetAPN on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/archpodnetAPN ShopAffiliatesMotion
******Support the channel******Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thedissenterPayPal: paypal.me/thedissenterPayPal Subscription 1 Dollar: https://tinyurl.com/yb3acuuyPayPal Subscription 3 Dollars: https://tinyurl.com/ybn6bg9lPayPal Subscription 5 Dollars: https://tinyurl.com/ycmr9gpzPayPal Subscription 10 Dollars: https://tinyurl.com/y9r3fc9mPayPal Subscription 20 Dollars: https://tinyurl.com/y95uvkao ******Follow me on******Website: https://www.thedissenter.net/The Dissenter Goodreads list: https://shorturl.at/7BMoBFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/thedissenteryt/Twitter: https://x.com/TheDissenterYT This show is sponsored by Enlites, Learning & Development done differently. Check the website here: http://enlites.com/ Dr. Ian James Kidd is an Associate Professor at the Department of Philosophy at the University of Nottingham. Most of his current research concerns epistemology, virtues and vices, misanthropy (on which he is writing a book) and pessimism, and south and east Asian philosophies, especially Buddhism, Confucianism and Daoism.In this episode, we talk about philosophical misanthropy. We first discuss what it is, the failing of humanity, and whether most people are decent. We then talk about the relationship between vices, corruption, and misanthropy; and religious and secular misanthropy. We discuss the different types of misanthropes: the activist, the enemy, the fugitive, and the quietist. Finally, we discuss if there could be a fifth type, who would simply embrace the evils of humanity, and how we can deal with humanity's malevolence without losing hope.--A HUGE THANK YOU TO MY PATRONS/SUPPORTERS: PER HELGE LARSEN, JERRY MULLER, BERNARDO SEIXAS, ADAM KESSEL, MATTHEW WHITINGBIRD, ARNAUD WOLFF, TIM HOLLOSY, HENRIK AHLENIUS, ROBERT WINDHAGER, RUI INACIO, ZOOP, MARCO NEVES, COLIN HOLBROOK, PHIL KAVANAGH, SAMUEL ANDREEFF, FRANCIS FORDE, TIAGO NUNES, FERGAL CUSSEN, HAL HERZOG, NUNO MACHADO, JONATHAN LEIBRANT, JOÃO LINHARES, STANTON T, SAMUEL CORREA, ERIK HAINES, MARK SMITH, JOÃO EIRA, TOM HUMMEL, SARDUS FRANCE, DAVID SLOAN WILSON, YACILA DEZA-ARAUJO, ROMAIN ROCH, DIEGO LONDOÑO CORREA, YANICK PUNTER, CHARLOTTE BLEASE, NICOLE BARBARO, ADAM HUNT, PAWEL OSTASZEWSKI, NELLEKE BAK, GUY MADISON, GARY G HELLMANN, SAIMA AFZAL, ADRIAN JAEGGI, PAULO TOLENTINO, JOÃO BARBOSA, JULIAN PRICE, HEDIN BRØNNER, DOUGLAS FRY, FRANCA BORTOLOTTI, GABRIEL PONS CORTÈS, URSULA LITZCKE, SCOTT, ZACHARY FISH, TIM DUFFY, SUNNY SMITH, JON WISMAN, WILLIAM BUCKNER, PAUL-GEORGE ARNAUD, LUKE GLOWACKI, GEORGIOS THEOPHANOUS, CHRIS WILLIAMSON, PETER WOLOSZYN, DAVID WILLIAMS, DIOGO COSTA, ALEX CHAU, CORALIE CHEVALLIER, BANGALORE ATHEISTS, LARRY D. LEE JR., OLD HERRINGBONE, MICHAEL BAILEY, DAN SPERBER, ROBERT GRESSIS, JEFF MCMAHAN, JAKE ZUEHL, BARNABAS RADICS, MARK CAMPBELL, TOMAS DAUBNER, LUKE NISSEN, KIMBERLY JOHNSON, JESSICA NOWICKI, LINDA BRANDIN, VALENTIN STEINMANN, ALEXANDER HUBBARD, BR, JONAS HERTNER, URSULA GOODENOUGH, DAVID PINSOF, SEAN NELSON, MIKE LAVIGNE, JOS KNECHT, LUCY, MANVIR SINGH, PETRA WEIMANN, CAROLA FEEST, MAURO JÚNIOR, 航 豊川, TONY BARRETT, NIKOLAI VISHNEVSKY, STEVEN GANGESTAD, TED FARRIS, HUGO B., JAMES, JORDAN MANSFIELD, AND CHARLOTTE ALLEN!A SPECIAL THANKS TO MY PRODUCERS, YZAR WEHBE, JIM FRANK, ŁUKASZ STAFINIAK, TOM VANEGDOM, BERNARD HUGUENEY, CURTIS DIXON, BENEDIKT MUELLER, THOMAS TRUMBLE, KATHRINE AND PATRICK TOBIN, JONCARLO MONTENEGRO, NICK GOLDEN, CHRISTINE GLASS, IGOR NIKIFOROVSKI, AND PER KRAULIS!AND TO MY EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS, MATTHEW LAVENDER, SERGIU CODREANU, ROSEY, AND GREGORY HASTINGS!
We're back and we're bold! In this Episode we tackle the first half of the second chapter of the Zhaunzgzi! Get ready for some heady, complicated, funny, philosophy!
The Laozi (Daodejing) refers to the winds, the rain and the waters. We discuss how these ideas express the Laozi's views on nature.
Hello, hello, hello everybody! We are back in the podcast studio, and Mason Taylor, founder of SuperFeast, is resuming his role as host. Joining him is Tahnee, co-host of the of the SuperFeast podcast, who will now make occasional appearances as a guest, especially focusing on women's health and cultivation practices. Mason and Tahnee dive into the fascinating stage of SuperFeast's existence, discussing how the business navigates commercial demands while upholding its foundational "source essence" – the ontological storytelling that defines its purpose: "to dramatically reduce disease and degeneration, creating super humans who may enter into the realm of elderhood." They explore the "birth pain" of growing a business and draw parallels between birthing a business and birthing a child, highlighting the unique "male opportunity" in creating something tangible that lives forever. The conversation delves into the core tenets of Daoism, particularly the concept of "from the Dao comes the one, then the two (yin yang), then the three (Jing, Qi, Shen), and from the three you get everything (the 10,000 things)." They emphasize the importance of not getting "trapped in the world of 10,000 things" – the endless details, protocols, and symptoms – and instead focusing on cultivating the "three treasures" (Jing, Qi, and Shen) for a well-rounded and meaningful life, aiming to "slide into the grave light" rather than deteriorating. Mason expresses his desire to re-engage with the "enjoyment of the 10,000" while always linking it back to the foundational three treasures. They discuss the importance of cleansing the "heart mind" and cultivating an inner antenna to navigate life's initiations and make authentic choices. The goal is to move beyond external validation and dogma, fostering a deeply personal cultivation practice that prepares one for elderhood and a "good death." The episode concludes with a look ahead at future topics, including interviews with practitioners and discussions about specific herbs, all framed within the context of the three treasures and the ultimate mystery of the Dao. Tahnee also shares about her "Birth Magic Course" and the upcoming "Daoist Energetics" course, inviting listeners to connect with them and stay tuned for regular episodes. It's a rich conversation about ancient wisdom applied to modern life, business, and personal well-being. Key Insight From This Episode: 00:00:00 - Introduction: Mason and Tahnee return to the SuperFeast podcast, discussing their roles and Tahnee's "Body of Wisdom" podcast. 00:02:31 - SuperFeast's Evolution: Navigating commercial growth while maintaining the business's "source essence" and purpose. 00:04:35 - The "Birth Pain" of Business: Parallels between birthing a business and birthing a child, and the "male opportunity" in creation. 00:11:42 - Daoist Core Tenets: Exploring the Dao, Yin Yang, Jing Qi Shen, and the 10,000 things, and the importance of cultivation over symptoms. 00:14:52 - Cultivating the Three Treasures: Protecting essence (Jing), activating energetic flow (Qi), and expressing unique spirit (Shen). 00:18:36 - Sovereignty and Inner Antenna: Moving beyond external dogma to cultivate a personal practice and make authentic choices. 00:24:04 - Re-engaging with the 10,000 Things: Mason's desire to find enjoyment in the material world while staying grounded in the three treasures. 00:30:43 - The Art of Dying Well: Discussing mortality, grief, and how cultivation prepares one for elderhood and a "good death." 00:04:35 - Tahnee's Offerings: Information on Tahnee's "Birth Magic Course" and the "Daoist Energetics" course. Mentioned In This Episode - "Body of Wisdom" podcast (Tahnee's podcast) - "Birth Magic Course" (Tahnee's course) - "Daoist Energetics" course (Tahnee's course) - Shennong Bencaojing (classical Chinese medicine text) - Wuxing (Five Phases/Elements concept) - The Red Hand Files (Nick Cave's email letter/blog)
What does “Daoism” refer to in a range of contexts, and how have excavated texts changed our understanding of the tensions between Daoism and Confucianism?
Beverley Kane, MD, is Adjunct Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at StanfordUniversity, Stanford, CA, USA. As Program Director for Medical Tai Chi, she teaches a wide range of subjects from critical thinking for Western medical research methodologies to Daoism to quantum theory-inspired tai chi. Her mission this lifetime is to bridge the worlds of science and spirit, making the numinous accessible to those who, like the at Stanford and Silicon Valley, are more accustomed to an intellectual approach to life.Since 2002, she has worked in the field of equine-guided psycho-spiritual development with a pastured herd of 70 horses on a 270-acre ranch in Northern California. There, she teaches Stanford Medicine and Horsemanship—communication, teamwork, leadership and self-care for medical students and Equine-imity Somatic Horsemanship Stress Reduction and Emotional Self-Regulation in the Company of Horses for Stanford employees and community members. Equine-imity uses qigong, a tai chi-like moving meditation, with and optionally on horses.Her Manual of Medicine and Horsemanship—Transforming the Doctor-PatientRelationship with Equine-Assisted Learning has been used by many other medicalcenters to replicate the Stanford Program. Her varied background (aka “checkered past”) includes a role as secretary of the San Francisco Parapsychology Research group; a sports medicine fellowship; corporate positions at Apple Health and Firness, Philips Medical Systems, and WebMD. Her interests extend to beekeeping, consciousness studies, quantum theory, and the channeled transmission of the Seth material through Jane Roberts and Robert F. Butts.Website: Horsensei Equine-Assisted Learning and Therapy (HEALTH)http://www.horsensei.comSocial Media: Somatic Horsemanship Association International (SHAINA)https://www.facebook.com/groups/188188499732560Send us a textSupport the showCan't get enough of the Journey On Podcast & it's guests? Here are two more ways to engage with them. Find exclusive educational content from previous podcast guests which include webinars, course and more: https://courses.warwickschiller.com If you want to meet your favorite podcast guest in person, you can attend our annual Journey On Podcast Summit either in person or via live stream: https://summit.warwickschiller.com Become a Patreon Member today! Get access to podcast bonus segments, ask questions to podcast guests, and even suggest future podcast guests while supporting Warwick: https://www.patreon.com/journeyonpodcastWarwick has over 900 Online Training Videos that are designed to create a relaxed, connected, and skilled equine partner. Start your horse training journey today!https://videos.warwickschiller.com/Check us out on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WarwickschillerfanpageWatch hundreds of free Youtube Videos: https://www.youtube.com/warwickschillerFollow us on Instagram: @warwickschiller
Dr. Adam Francisco, author, “One God, Many Gods” One God, Many Gods The post Christianity and Other World Religions: Confucianism, Daoism, Shinto and Sikhism – Dr. Adam Francisco, 6/2/25 (1532, Encore) first appeared on Issues, Etc..
In this enlightening conversation, Dr. Alisa sits down with Chuchu Wang, visionary leader, inspirational keynote speaker, and co-founder of Ceremonia—a leading spiritual sanctuary in Colorado dedicated to fostering global impact and planetary change.Chuchu shares her powerful journey from venture capital to becoming a sought-after guide for influential leaders, integrating ancient wisdom with modern innovation. Together, they explore the role of consciousness, psychedelics, mindfulness, and community in shaping transformational leadership.You'll discover how timeless practices like Daoism, Tantra, and Qigong can empower modern leaders to thrive in today's complex world, and how spiritual alignment fuels authentic impact. Chuchu also opens up about the mindset shifts that guided her path and her vision for a more connected and compassionate future.If you're ready to deepen your leadership and expand your mindset, this episode offers profound insights and actionable wisdom you won't want to miss.Connect with Chuchu Wang: