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Living the Tao-A Spiritual Podcast: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Mikel Steenrod
Find calm, clarity, and spiritual wisdom with Living the Tao. Taoist Master Mikel Steenrod shares ancient teachings made practical for modern life. Each episode explores mindfulness, meditation, philosophy, and personal growth—helping you reduce stress and live with balance.🎧 New full episodes release the first Friday each month, with biweekly Living the Tao Shorts for quick inspiration.🌐 Learn more about Taoist practice and teachings: https://www.the-taoism-for-modern-world.com📖 Explore dozens of articles and Qi Gong videos: https://www.watermountainvirtual.com
Latest Episodes
The most recent episodes — sign up to get AI-powered summaries of each one.
- 2 days ago11 min
Shorts | Tai Chi vs. Qigong: Build Power Without Breaking Your Body
What is the difference between tai chi and qigong—and why does that distinction matter? In this episode of Living the Tao Shorts, Master Mikel Steenrod and Morgan explain how qigong predates tai chi and how tai chi combines health-building qigong principles with a complete martial system. The discussion soon reaches a larger question: Should training produce a brief period of peak performance, even if the body pays for it later? Or should strength and power grow from a healthy foundation that can support you throughout your life? They explore longevity, the hidden martial side of tai chi, the importance of small stabilizing muscles, and why visible strength does not always equal lasting physical health. As Master Steenrod puts it, “You have to look at your lifespan when you’re looking at a life plan.” Video version here: https://youtu.be/ggUou5KaMmQ 🌐 Explore more Taoist teachings: https://www.the-taoism-for-modern-world.com 🎧 Listen to more Living the Tao Shorts & full episodes: https://podcast.the-taoism-for-modern-world.com -From Beginner to Expert, examine our collection of free videos and articles on qi gong: https://www.watermountainvirtual.com/qi-gong-collection/ Premium Episodes, Full Catalog (4x the content), and episode commentary: https://living-the-tao.supercast.com Intro music: “Finding Movement” by Kevin MacLeod — licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Source: incompetech.com
- 6 days ago1 min
Trailer | The Legend of Huang Di and the Dragon
A golden dragon descends from heaven. Huangdi, the Yellow Emperor, mounts its back and begins to rise beyond the human world. His ministers rush forward, grabbing his robes and clinging to the dragon’s whiskers—but they have not completed the work required to follow him. In this subscriber-only episode, Taoist Master Mikel Steenrod examines one of the most enduring legends surrounding Huangdi. He explores the emperor’s four legendary teachers, the possibility that they were different forms of a single shape-shifting dragon, and the ancient connections between cultivation, medicine, sexuality, alchemy, and immortality. The episode also examines the great tripod, the Bow of Wailing, the symbolism of the light body, and the deeper meaning of Huangdi’s departure. A teacher may guide the student, preserve knowledge, and reveal the path—but no one can ascend by borrowing another person’s attainment. Living the Tao, episode 1-190, The Legend of Huangdi and the Dragon, is available exclusively to subscribers. Available now for subscribers on Supercast. Subscribe now at https://living-the-tao.supercast.com
- 1 weeks ago1 min
Trailer | Lessons From the Swimmer and Water
Confucius watches a man enter the violent waters beneath a towering waterfall and assumes he is trying to die. Instead, the swimmer emerges downstream with his hair loose, singing and completely at ease. In this trailer for Living the Tao, Episode 1-189, Daoist Master Michael Steenrod introduces the classical story of Confucius and the swimmer at Lüliang. The swimmer survives not by overpowering the water or surrendering helplessly to it, but by understanding its movement. He enters with the descending whirl, rises with the current, and refuses to impose himself where cooperation will carry him farther. The full episode examines Daoist learning through familiarity, immersion, and repetition, while challenging modern interpretations that reduce “being like water” to passive surrender. Listen to Episode 1-189, Lessons from the Swimmer and Water. Available now for subscribers on Supercast. Subscribe now at https://living-the-tao.supercast.com
- 2 weeks ago14 min
Shorts | You Can Have Energy and Still Be Powerless
Can you have plenty of energy and still be powerless? In this Living the Tao Short, Master Mikel Steenrod and Morgan explore the difference between Qi and karma. Qi is life energy — the force connected to health, vitality, and the feeling of being alive. Karma, in this teaching, is something different. Karma is the energy of choice. This episode looks at why some choices fail even when they seem possible, why a person can burn through their available karma trying to force a result, and why big goals are often better approached through smaller successful steps. The discussion also explores why successful choices release karma, why distant or overly complex goals may fail to produce a yield, and why nature often works through repeated small actions rather than giant abstract plans. A clear and practical short on Qi, karma, choice, power, and the hidden cost of trying to make something happen before the power is there. Video version here: https://youtu.be/ggUou5KaMmQ 🌐 Explore more Taoist teachings: https://www.the-taoism-for-modern-world.com 🎧 Listen to more Living the Tao Shorts & full episodes: https://podcast.the-taoism-for-modern-world.com -From Beginner to Expert, examine our collection of free videos and articles on qi gong: https://www.watermountainvirtual.com/qi-gong-collection/ Premium Episodes, Full Catalog (4x the content), and episode commentary: https://living-the-tao.supercast.com Intro music: “Finding Movement” by Kevin MacLeod — licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Source: incompetech.com
- 2 weeks ago1 min
Trailer | Money See, Monkey Do
What if the habits that shaped you were never taught with words? You watched them. You copied them. Over time, they became part of the mind you call your own. In this trailer for Living the Tao, Episode 1-188, Taoist Master Mikel Steenrod introduces emulation—the natural process behind “monkey see, monkey do.” The episode explores how the Social Mind is imprinted, whether better models can replace destructive ones, why nature can serve as a teacher, and how gratitude helps build karma. If emulation helped create the problem, can it also help undo it? Monkey See, Monkey Do is available now for subscribers. Available now for subscribers on Supercast. Subscribe now at https://living-the-tao.supercast.com
- 3 weeks ago27 min
Laozi, Utopia, and the Double Donkey Salute
What would a Daoist utopia actually look like? A perfect society? A better political system? A sacred rulebook everyone finally agrees to follow? Not exactly. In this free episode of Living the Tao (1-187), Master Mikel Steenrod and Morgan explore the Daoist view of utopia, and why Taoism begins with personal liberation rather than social control. The conversation moves through the Tao Te Ching, Confucianism, Laozi as the fed-up scholar leaving society behind, and the uncomfortable truth that humans may be building machines faster than they are developing wisdom. Along the way, the episode asks a sharper question: What if the reason humanity cannot build a perfect world is that humans have not yet developed enough to imagine one? This is a talk about Taoism, technology, failed ideologies, personal freedom, and the double donkey salute of Laozi riding out of a broken system. In this episode: Why the Tao Te Ching did not create Taoism The difference between personal liberation and social rule-making Why Daoism is not apolitical, but anti-political How technology can outpace human development Why old “isms” keep failing What a Taoist utopia might actually require Watch the video version of this episode: https://youtu.be/6H5JFASQ10Q 🎧 Listen to more Living the Tao Shorts & full episodes: https://podcast.the-taoism-for-modern-world.com The supercast version of this episode has extensive commentary: https://living-the-tao.supercast.com Intro music: “Finding Movement” by Kevin MacLeod — licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Source: incompetech.com
- Jun 30, 202615 min
Shorts | Don’t Fight the Storm. Sink Beneath It
In this Living the Tao short (2-25), Master Mikel Steenrod and Morgan explore the role of animals in Taoism. Cranes, deer, cats, turtles, tortoises, three-legged crows, and many-tailed foxes all appear as symbols, teachers, guides, or mythic beings. But the strongest lesson comes from the turtle. When the storm comes, the turtle does not fight it. It sinks below the turbulence, spends the least energy possible, and rises again when the storm has passed. This short looks at animals as part of nature, what they can teach us about adversity, and why Taoism asks us to consider whether our actions fit our nature, preserve our energy, and serve a real purpose. Sometimes wisdom is not resistance. Sometimes wisdom is knowing when to sink beneath the storm. Video version here: https://youtu.be/0hOPHx9tYRY 🌐 Explore more Taoist teachings: https://www.the-taoism-for-modern-world.com 🎧 Listen to more Living the Tao Shorts & full episodes: https://podcast.the-taoism-for-modern-world.com Premium Episodes, Full Catalog (4x the content), and episode commentary: https://living-the-tao.supercast.com Intro music: “Finding Movement” by Kevin MacLeod — licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Source: incompetech.com
- Jun 26, 20261 min
Trailer | Exploring the Tao Sphere
In this trailer for the subscriber-only episode (1-186) of Living the Tao, Master Steenrod introduces the Tao Sphere, the highest sphere in the Four Ascendant Sphere system. The Tao Sphere is not an escape from ordinary life. It contains the Social Sphere, the Martial Body Sphere, and the Qi Sphere. To approach it, a practitioner must bring the whole self into relationship with the Tao. This episode explores balance, avoidance, self-love, the limits of the social mind, and the difference between prayer and invocation. Available now for subscribers on Supercast. Subscribe now at https://living-the-tao.supercast.com
About Living the Tao-A Spiritual Podcast
Find calm, clarity, and spiritual wisdom with Living the Tao. Taoist Master Mikel Steenrod shares ancient teachings made practical for modern life. Each episode explores mindfulness, meditation, philosophy, and personal growth—helping you reduce stress and live with balance.🎧 New full episodes release the first Friday each month, with biweekly Living the Tao Shorts for quick inspiration.🌐 Learn more about Taoist practice and teachings: https://www.the-taoism-for-modern-world.com📖 Explore dozens of articles and Qi Gong videos: https://www.watermountainvirtual.com
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