Podcasts by Deconstructing Yourself

A Conversation with Sam Harris from 2023-12-02T21:05:34

Host Michael Taft speaks with author, philosopher, and neuroscientist Sam Harris about the fusion of vipassana and nondual practice as the “gold standard” for practitioners, insights into selfl...

The Power of the Imaginal with Stephen Aizenstat from 2023-11-04T14:59:13

Host Michael Taft talks with “Boss Jungian of Planet Earth” Stephen Aizenstat about diving into the depths of our authentic creativity, finding purpose in the imaginal, engaging "an imagination ...

Nondual Love with A. H. Almaas from 2023-10-30T15:25:20

Host Michael Taft speaks with teacher, author, and founder of the Diamond Approach to Self-Realization A. H. Almaas on the topic of Nondual Love, the qualities of awareness itself, the five dime...

Tantra and Embodied Awakening with Christopher Wallis. from 2023-09-29T20:23:58

Host Michael W. Taft speaks with Tantra scholar and teacher Christopher Wallis about the word “enlightenment” in English and the words in Sanskrit it is typically the translation for; the differ...

Reverse Meditation with Andrew Holecek from 2023-08-23T20:02

Join host Michael Taft as he speaks with meditation teacher and author Andrew Holecek about “reverse meditation,” the Mahamudra-based practice of using difficult experiences as the focus of our ...

A Conversation with Kati Devaney from 2023-07-13T14:11:34

Host Michael Taft talks with neuroscientist and Executive Director of the Alembic, Kati Devaney about meditation, the neuroscience of meditation, predictive processing, the wonder of travel, psy...

A Few Stray Points about Nonduality with Jake Orthwein from 2023-04-18T05:57:06

Your host Michael Taft is interviewed by Jake Orthwein about the various kinds of nonduality, the difference between monoism and nondualism, fundamental confusions about nondual practice, the ma...

Exploring Nondual Shaiva Tantra with Christopher Wallis from 2023-03-20T01:55

Join host Michael Taft as he talks with Tantrik scholar and practitioner Christopher Wallis about the tradition of Nondual Shaiva Tantra, the full void pregnant with possibilities, savoring the ...

The Magic of Vajrayana Part 2 with Ken McLeod from 2023-02-27T18:00:08

Join host Michael Taft as he continues his talk with translator, author, and teacher Ken McLeod about Ken’s new book: The Magic of Vajrayana, and issues around receiving initiations and...

The Magic of Vajrayana with Ken McLeod from 2023-02-14T06:20:59

Join host Michael Taft as he talks with translator, author, and teacher Ken McLeod about Ken's new book: The Magic of Vajrayana, particularly the tripartite practice st...

Meditation and the Bayesian Brain with Shamil Chandaria from 2022-12-17T15:25:48

Host Michael Taft talks with philanthropist, serial entrepreneur, technologist, and meditator Dr. Shamil Chandaria about predictive processing as it relates to meditation, our p...

John Vervaeke on Relevance Realization from 2022-10-05T21:45:27

Host Michael Taft speaks with professor John Vervaeke about relevance realization—the process by which we decide what matters in any given situation—and its application to meditation, how we gai...

A Conversation with Rosa Lewis from 2022-09-06T15:20:53

In this episode, host Michael Taft talks with Rosa Lewis about spirituality, creativity, working with trauma, embracing the darkness, the inner critic, the power of meditation, and more.

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Changing Minds with David McRaney from 2022-07-24T15:46:41

Host Michael Taft speaks with author, science journalist, and psychology nerd David McRaney about what sorts of conversations actually cause human beings to change their minds; the fascinating o...

A Conversation with Guy Sengstock from 2022-06-01T20:46:13

Host Michael Taft speaks with artist, bodyworker, and philosopher Guy Sengstock about the origin and creation of Circling practice, how the asynchronous qualities of new technol...

The Power of Non-sleep Deep Rest with Kelly Boys from 2022-05-04T02:07:12

Host Michael Taft speaks with meditation teacher and author Kelly Boys on the practice of non-sleep, deep rest—a modern name for the ancient practice of yoga nidra, using limina...

A Conversation on Nonduality with Andrew Holecek from 2022-04-25T16:45:35

Host Michael Taft iterviews Tibetan Buddhist meditation teacher and author Andrew Holecek on nondual practice and theory, finding your way back to the true nature of mind, the d...

Nondual Teachings of LinJi, with Shinzen Young from 2022-03-14T14:57:03

Host Michael Taft speaks with meditation master and neuroscience consultant Shinzen Young on the background and history of Zen Master LinJi (aka Rinzai, in Japanese), the meaning of his famous p...

Can People Really Change? with Tina Rasmussen. from 2022-01-19T23:23:18

Host Michael Taft talks with meditation teacher and author Tina Rasmussen about how psychology and meditation practice can work together to help people heal, working with trauma, the importance ...

Meditation, Insight, and Predictive Processing with Ruben Laukkonen from 2022-01-04T02:03:31

Host Michael Taft talks with neuroscientist and meditator Ruben Laukkonen about the phenomenology of the insight experience, how the sequence of deepening meditative practices maps onto the mode...

Eco-Aesthetics and the Poetry of Longing with Rick Jarow from 2021-11-30T18:31:40

What can ancient Sanskrit poetry of love and longing teach us about our own deepest spirituality? Join host Michael Taft as he explores this question with professor, author, and teacher Rick Jar...

Vision, Visualization, and Vajrayana, with Chandra Easton from 2021-11-01T00:55:54

Host Michael Taft speaks with Dorje Lopön Chandra Easton about her recent work with the 21 manifestations of the Goddess Tara, some aspects of Green Tara, and especially the role of vision and v...

Talking about Zen Koans with Henry Shukman from 2021-08-18T22:24:04

Zen teacher, author, and poet Henry Shukman talks with host Michael Taft about Mountain Cloud Zen Center, Henry’s series on the Waking Up app, meditation for awakening vs. medit...

Vajrayana as a Living Practice, with Ken McLeod from 2021-07-20T22:01:03

Host Michael Taft talks with teacher and author Ken McLeod about his insights into Vajrayana, spiritual practice as "choosing a way to live," the Tibetan idea of lam khyer, the power of...

Dimensions of Nonduality with Tina Rasmussen from 2021-06-30T16:42:11

Host Michael Taft talks with meditation teacher and author Tina Rasmussen about ways to understand nondual awareness and the progress of nondual meditation, including her own unique comparison b...

Meditation and Communication with Shinzen Young from 2021-06-02T16:28:30

Shinzen Young talks with host Michael Taft about his new ideas around applying the systematic mindset of mindfulness meditation and the scientific method to the many challenges of human communic...

Spiritual Bypassing and the Spiritual Friend from 2021-05-17T14:15:17

Host Michael Taft talks about the phenomenon of spiritual bypassing, what it is, what it means for our practice, and whether it is as big of an issue as many seem to think, as well as the import...

Meditation and Healing Trauma with Thomas Hübl from 2021-04-01T00:56:49

Host Michael Taft speaks with spiritual teacher and author Thomas Hübl about trauma and healing, aspects of collective and cultural trauma, Jungian psychology, meditation, spirituality, and much...

A Conversation with Spring Washam from 2021-03-12T15:16:43

Host Michael Taft speaks with meditation teacher and shamanic practitioner Spring Washam about the "dharma of Harriet Tubman," the inner vs. the outer journey of finding liberation, how the "med...

Talking with People about Things, with David McRaney from 2021-02-03T17:40:54

Host Michael Taft speaks with science journalist, author, and podcaster David McRaney about how people do (and do not) change their minds, how brains form their view of reality, conspiracy theor...

Soulmaking Dharma, with Catherine McGee from 2020-12-08T23:55:30

Host Michael Taft speaks with meditation teacher Catherine McGee about Soulmaking Dharma; her journey into meditation practice; using the word “soul” in a Buddhist context; working with the ener...

Dreams and the Spiritual Imagination, with Steve Aizenstat from 2020-11-06T15:02:59

Depth Psychologist Steve Aizenstat speaks with host Michael Taft about dreams, the living image of dreams and their innate intelligence, the healing and creative power of the deep imagination; h...

Love Unveiled with A. H. Almaas from 2020-10-07T14:04:31

Spiritual teacher A. H. Almaas speaks with host Michael Taft about the centrality of love to our spiritual nature, how to tell the difference between emotional love and spiritual love, how the w...

Vajrayana and Deity Yoga with Chandra Easton from 2020-09-21T17:58:49

Buddhist Teacher and author Lopön Chandra Easton talks with Michael Taft about Vajrayana, her own pilgrimage and experiences in India, the struggle to bring motherhood, sexuality, the feminine, ...

Evolving Ground with Rindzin Pamo and Jared Janes from 2020-08-25T14:16:47

Host Michael Taft speaks with Rin’dzin Pamo and Jared Janes about their new project, entitled “Evolving Ground,” which is a community of practitioners that seeks to reinterpret and revitalize Va...

A Conversation with Ken McLeod from 2020-08-03T21:11:52

Writer, translator, teacher, and business consultant, Ken McLeod speaks with host Michael Taft about the chaos unleashed by new forms of communication, dedicating your whole life to meditation a...

Paranoia, Conspiracy, and Covid, with Erik Davis from 2020-07-14T14:30:29

Author, podcaster, award-winning journalist, and cultural historian Erik Davis speaks with host Michael Taft about QAnon as a new religion, Gnostic psychology and the power of the secret truth, ...

Effortlessness in Meditation, with Jud Brewer from 2020-06-07T17:47:33

Neuroscientist and mindfulness expert Jud Brewer speaks with host Michael Taft about his research into the four steps of Rigpa (with teacher and psychologist Dan Brown), effortlessness in medita...

Awakening and the Path of Liberation, with Dan Brown from 2020-05-20T21:00:14

Psychologist, author, translator, and meditation teacher, Dan Brown talks with host Michael Taft about the three levels of practice from a taste of awakening to "full buddhahood," the details of...

Vajrayana, Compassion, and the Importance of the Teacher, with Ken McLeod from 2020-04-22T21:10:25

Writer, translator, teacher, and business consultant, Ken McLeod speaks with host Michael Taft about Coronavirus, social distancing, nature doing what it does, overcoming cultural conditioning, ...

Why Do Narcissists Become Spiritual Teachers, with Stephan Bodian from 2020-03-21T13:39:30

Nondual teacher and psychotherapist Stephan Bodian and host Michael Taft discuss how and why narcissists rise to the top of spiritual organizations, the ways that nondual tradit...

Questioning Assumptions about Buddhism, with Evan Thompson from 2020-02-16T02:14:01

Evan Thompson discusses his new book, “Why I Am Not a Buddhist” with host Michael Taft. Topics include the myth of Buddhist exceptionalism, how Buddhist modernism presented a false picture of Bu...

The Nondual Heart, with John Prendergast from 2020-02-07T23:49:24

Nondual teacher and psychotherapist John Prendergast speaks with host Michael Taft about the heart area as an opening to infinite space, contacting the “dark matrix” of the grou...

Nonduality and Awake Awareness, with Loch Kelly from 2020-01-26T15:11:11

Nondual teacher and psychotherapist Loch Kelly speaks with host Michael Taft about what nondualism is, schools of effort vs. non-effort (and those in between), the five foundations of effortless...

Meditating with Buddhist Sutras, with Michael Owens from 2019-12-28T15:28:11

Host Michael Taft speaks with Michael Owens, a Buddhist teacher and author, about being a monk in Taiwan, Buddhist sutras as portals to alternate realities, understanding dependent origination, ...

Reversing the Stack— A Nondual Practice Map, with Michael Taft from 2019-11-22T03:03:50

In this episode, host Michael Taft remixes his map of deconstructing sensory experience, and talks about how to use it to work in nondual traditions. Essentially the idea is to reverse the stack...

What Does Dreaming Have to Do with Meditation? with Andrew Holecek from 2019-10-23T14:01:25

Host Michael Taft speaks with Dream Yoga expert Andrew Holecek about how the dream state (and dreamless sleep) can effect meditation practice. Topics include: the fantasy-filling model of lucid ...

Deconstructing Sensory Experience, with Michael Taft from 2019-09-24T12:43:29

In this episode, host Michael Taft shares a map of deconstructing sensory experience. This is intended to help orient you to your vipassana meditation practice; helping you to understand where y...

Vajrayana, Engineering, and Jiu Jitsu, with Rin’dzin Pamo from 2019-08-13T15:23:57

Host Michael Taft speaks with Vajrayana teacher Rin’dzin Pamo about Vajrayana meditation practice currently, adapting practices for our times, their practice of The Mind Illuminated, th...

Why Metadharma?, Pt. 2, with Vincent Horn from 2019-07-31T03:52:36

Why Metadharma? is an unusual episode of the Deconstructing Yourself podcast, in that it’s Part 2 of a joint interview between Vince and Michael Taft. Listen

Meditation, Emotions, and the Bio-Emotive Framework with Douglas Tataryn from 2019-07-14T12:13

Host Michael Taft speaks with clinical psychologist and life coach, Douglas Tataryn, Ph.D. about meditation and psychology. Topics include his work with meditation teachers such as Culadasa, the...

Loch Kelly on Awareness, Freedom, and Effortless Mindfulness from 2019-07-03T20:54:41

Host Michael Taft speaks with Loch Kelly on nondual practices, contemporary forms of ancient awareness techniques, dzogchen, mahamudra, advaita, the role of psychotherapy in awakening, the need—...

Culadasa on Meditation and Therapy from 2019-06-02T13:21:08

In this special episode, Culadasa talks about the domains of meditation and psychotherapy, where their areas of effectiveness overlap and where they don’t. He also shares a powerful personal sto...

Meditation for the End of Civilization, with Rick Hanson, Ph.D. from 2019-04-21T14:35:49

Host Michael W. Taft speaks with bestselling author and meditation teacher Rick Hanson about how to maintain resilience in the face of the coming potential collapse of civilization, the problem ...

The Liberating Practice of the Fire Kasina, with Daniel Ingram from 2019-03-27T13:52:42

Author and meditation teacher Daniel Ingram speaks with host Michael W. Taft about how the Fire Kasina practice can be used as an insight practice. Subjects include: the background of kasina pra...

Meditation, Madness, and Psychology, with Tucker Peck from 2019-03-08T01:03:09

Tucker Peck, meditation teacher and clinical psychologist, talks with host Michael Taft about how whether awakening (both in the traditional “stream entry” sense or in other def...

Embodying Awakening, with Mukti from 2019-02-11T00:12:19

Nondual spiritual teacher Mukti talks with host Michael Taft about the debate between the Direct and Progressive paths of realization, working with energetics and embodiment, her childhood backg...

Deconstructing the Heart Sutra, with Jayarava Attwood from 2019-01-20T11:12:09

Buddhist scholar Jayarava Attwood speaks with host Michael Taft about the history of the Pali Canon, how ideas about karma & dependent arising contradict each other, the shifting grounds und...

Robert Anton Wilson, High Weirdness, and Buddhist Meditation, with Erik Davis from 2018-12-14T15:49:23

Michael Taft speaks with Erik Davis about author Robert Anton Wilson, anarchism in the 1970s, Terrence McKenna, P.K. Dick, psychedelics, cultures of awakening now and then, Zen ...

What Can AI Tell Us about the Human Mind? with Joscha Bach from 2018-11-18T18:41:02

Host Michael Taft speaks with Joscha Bach about artificial intelligence; the sense of self; building a civilizational intellect; what it is like to be a mind?; the relationships between motivati...

Doubt, Faith, and Fun in Meditation Practice, with Daniel Ingram from 2018-10-23T01:17:02

Daniel Ingram and Michael Taft talk about the Fire Kasina practice, how making mental objects the focus can lead to deep awakening, balancing wisdom and faith, processing trauma with meditation ...

Feminism, Sexual Misconduct, and the Guru in Buddhism, with Chandra Easton from 2018-10-11T00:24:29

Chandra Easton and Michael Taft talk about gender and sexual misconduct in Buddhism, why compassion must be a part of spiritual practice, and the place of the guru in modern culture. Chandra sha...

Deconstructing Michael, with Erik Newton from 2018-09-18T23:37:19

Turning the tables on the usual show format, host Michael Taft gets interviewed by Erik Newton. They talk about the meaning of awakening, the paradox of suffering, the end of seeking, the value ...

Emptiness, Liberation, and Beauty, with Rob Burbea from 2018-08-27T14:58:20

In this episode host Michael Taft speaks with Rob Burbea about Rob’s book, Seeing That Frees, the power of perception (ways of seeing), his creative methods of working with meditation p...

Walking, Nature, and Engaged Buddhism, with Christopher Titmuss from 2018-08-14T03:36:33

In this episode, host Michael W. Taft speaks with senior dharma teacher Christopher Titmuss about yatra—meditative pilgrimage without a destination—the power of nature, the importance of deconst...

Lucid Dreaming, Meditation, and Consciousness, with Evan Thompson from 2018-06-30T19:53:31

In this episode, philosopher, author, and meditator, Evan Thompson speaks with host Michael Taft. Topics include: the meaning of awakening; lucid dreaming and noticing the construction of the wa...

Are More People Achieving Stream Entry These Days? with Culadasa from 2018-06-11T17:26:01

In this episode host Michael Taft speaks with meditation teacher, neuroscientist, and author John Yates, also known as Culadasa. Topics covered include: Are more people achieving stream entry th...

Emotions, Stress, and Heartbreak, with Eve Ekman from 2018-05-29T16:27:17

In this episode emotions researcher and meditation teacher Eve Ekman speaks with Michael W. Taft about embodied emotions, the difference between suppression and healthy expression, impermanence ...

Why Good Teachers Go Bad, with Shinzen Young from 2018-05-18T14:36:44

In this special one-year anniversary episode, Shinzen Young talks with host Michael W. Taft about becoming a meditation teacher, the unrealistic paradigm about what meditation delivers, Shinzen’...

Deconstructing Dependent Arising, with Leigh Brasington from 2018-04-29T14:42:44

Leigh Brasington speaks with host Michael W. Taft about Dependent Arising. Dependent Arising, also called ...

Seeing Your Blind Spots, with Kelly Boys from 2018-04-15T00:39:45

Kelly Boys talks with Michael Taft about integral restoration, nondual awakening, the work of Kahneman, spiritual bypassing, gendered aspects of awakening and spiritual teaching, when knowing le...

Popping the Bubble of Projection, with Daniel Ingram from 2018-04-02T14:10

Daniel Ingram talks with Michael W. Taft about teacher-student models, graduate school models of practice, creating meditation peer groups, working with “co-adventurers” on the spiritual path, o...

Standing at the Edge, with Roshi Joan Halifax from 2018-03-15T05:20:48

Roshi Joan Halifax speaks with host Michael W. Taft about her new book, Standing at the Edge, the shadow sides of altruism, empathy, integrity, respect, engagement, and rays of hope in ...

Eddies in the Mind Stream, with Rick Hanson, Ph.D. from 2018-03-01T15:44:42

Rick Hanson and I discuss the tension between accepting how you're feeling and changing how you're feeling, spiritual bypassing, how to cultivate positive states of mind, the quivering potential...

Diving Deep into the Jhanas, with Leigh Brasington from 2018-02-05T03:32:25

Concentration master Leigh Brasington talks with Michael W. Taft about the jhanas, a Buddhist system of eight altered states of consciousness that arise in states of high concentration. The conv...

Enlightened Sexuality, with Jessica Graham from 2018-01-22T03:39:24

In this episode, I talk with Jessica Graham about her book Good Sex, the #MeToo movement, the power of self love and acceptance, a beginner’s guide to spiritual awakening through sexuality, mind...

Consciousness, Spirituality, and Intellectual Honesty, with Thomas Metzinger from 2017-12-29T06:13:01

Thomas Metzinger and Michael W. Taft discuss having moral integrity with yourself, intellectual honesty in the pursuit of spirituality, the overlapping goals of science and spirituality, the pos...

Reality Let Loose, with A. H. Almaas from 2017-12-14T20:44:18

In this episode, host Michael Taft speaks with spiritual teacher and author Hameed Ali, more often known by his pen name, A. H. Almaas.

Almaas is the creator of theListen

Attention, Awareness, and the Great Adventure, with Culadasa from 2017-12-04T17:35:31

Culadasa talks with Michael W. Taft. After decades of Buddhist practice, Culadasa exploded on the scene a few years ago with his groundbreaking book The Mind Illuminated, an inc...

The Craving Mind, with Judson Brewer from 2017-10-25T01:40:07

What do the neurocorrelates of enlightenment, the activation of the posterior cingulate cortex, and the extinction of craving all have in common? They relate to the work of Judson Brewer. Jud ta...

Meditation, Magick, and the Fire Kasina, with Daniel Ingram from 2017-09-27T09:05:16

In this session, host Michael W. Taft and radical dharma author and practitioner Daniel Ingram discuss the Fire Kasina practice, meditation and magick, working with archetypal forces and entitie...

Enlightenment’s Evil Twin, with Shinzen Young from 2017-09-08T05:00:30

Meditation teacher and neuroscience consultant Shinzen Young and host Michael W. Taft talk about what mindfulness teachers are getting wrong, Shinzen’s Periodic Table of Happiness Elements, info...

Pattern and Nebulosity, with David Chapman from 2017-08-07T17:11:13

Scientist, programmer, and author David Chapman talks with Michael W. Taft about metarationality, emptiness and form, nihilism, tantrism, dzogchen, Kegan’s stages of development applied to medit...

The Great Unbundling, with Vincent Horn from 2017-07-14T22:52:32

In this episode I talk with mindfulness teacher and co-founder of the Buddhist Geeks project, Vincent Horn. Vince is part of new generation of teachers translating age-old wisdom into 21st centu...

Feather Light&Paper Thin, with Shinzen Young from 2017-06-14T01:35:10

Meditation teacher Shinzen Young and host Michael W. Taft talk about the relationship between mindfulness practice (as it is usually defined) and nondual-type practices (or non-practices, if you...

Masters of Oblivion, with Kenneth Folk from 2017-05-22T01:24

Pragmatic dharma teacher and host Michael W. Taft feel the power of the dark side, talk about nirvana, deconstruct the concept of nirvana, dive deep into the reality of death, look at the denial...

The Cosmic Joke, with Kenneth Folk from 2017-05-22T01:19:07

Pragmatic dharma teacher Kenneth Folk and host Michael W. Taft discuss what it means to be mindful, various definitions of being mindful in the moment, the trouble with remaining mindful during ...

Am I Mindful Right Now? with Kenneth Folk from 2017-05-22T01:13:39

Pragmatic dharma teacher Kenneth Folk and host Michael W. Taft discuss what it means to be mindful, various definitions of being mindful in the moment, the trouble with remaining mindful during ...