What if the future is already visible in the present?

In this trailer for Living the Tao Episode 1-197, Master Mikel Steenrod introduces one of the simplest—and most demanding—skills in Taoist training: observation.

He explains why his teacher could often predict what was about to happen simply by watching carefully, how judgment interferes with perception, and why learning to see what is actually there can become a form of Taoist practice.

The episode then moves into advanced Qigong training and the practice of blessing, where thousands of repetitions can expose an uncomfortable question: is what you believe about yourself actually true?

Watching, Blessing, Living explores observation, wu-wei, symbolic truth, qi, and the difference between reality and the stories we tell ourselves.

This full episode is available to Living the Tao subscribers on Supercast. 

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What if karma isn’t a cosmic system of reward and punishment?

In this Living the Tao Short (2-30), Taoist Master Mikel Steenrod and Morgan unpack the idea of the karmic nursery—a condition in which actions may have social consequences without accumulating the kind of karmic weight that produces lasting power.

That protection comes with a tradeoff: no consequence also means no power.

Steenrod explains why karma, in this framework, is not the universe handing out justice. Instead, karmic accumulation depends on consistency. A person may act positively, negatively, or neutrally—but without consistency, little accumulates. Leave the nursery, and actions begin to add up. They can build power, diminish it, move you toward what you seek, or move you away.

The conversation also explores why someone might choose to return to the nursery, why doing so can mean living a “much smaller life,” and why the karmic nursery is not simply a product of the social mind.

A short discussion about consequence, responsibility, ling, and what it means for your actions to truly matter.

hat if the future already exists—and your choices still matter?

In this Living the Tao Short, Taoist Master Mikel Steenrod and Morgan explore the Taoist concept of nonlinear time: a model in which past, present, and future are not simply points moving along a single line.

The conversation moves from memory and our ordinary experience of time into much stranger territory. If every moment remains part of existence, does that mean everything is predetermined? Steenrod argues that it does not. Change, in the Taoist model he describes, does not necessarily depend upon linear time.

Along the way, they examine why our sense of the past may be tied to fading memory, why every action may remain part of existence, why Taoism resists placing the individual at the center of creation, and why nonlinear time was traditionally a subject reserved for more advanced practice.

The future has already happened.

And somehow, you may still be writing it.

Prefer the video format?  That's here: https://youtu.be/gI1MFRJGASs

🌐 Explore more Taoist teachings:

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-From Beginner to Expert, examine our collection of free videos and articles on qi gong: https://www.watermountainvirtual.com/qi-gong-collection/

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Can Qi stop a bullet?

That question opens a much larger discussion about the Four Spheres and a common human mistake: trying to solve a problem with the wrong kind of tool.

In this episode (1-196), Taoist Master Mikel Steenrod explores why physical force, social influence, intelligence, Qi practice, and other approaches each belong to different kinds of problems. The issue is not simply whether one sphere is “stronger” than another, but whether the method being used actually fits the situation.

Along the way, Steenrod and Morgan look at Taoist martial skill, surgeons and swordsmen, negotiation, asymmetric warfare, intelligence networks, revolution, and why force often becomes most useful only after better options have already disappeared.

And then there is Camelot: Arthur, the Round Table, Merlin, the dream of the perfect kingdom—and Steenrod's observation that he owns shirts that have apparently lasted longer.

A practical discussion about timing, strategy, Qi, and why lasting change usually begins before the crisis does.

Prefer to watch rather than listen? https://youtu.be/-6_6SYmIn8Q

🎧 Listen to more Living the Tao Shorts & full episodes:

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

What happens when your questions become part of the show?

The Living the Tao AMA gives Supercast subscribers a place to ask about Taoist practice, the I Ching, spiritual development, unusual experiences, and the questions that do not always fit neatly into a regular episode.

In the August AMA, Taoist Master Michael Steenrod takes up questions about changing interpretations of the I Ching, choosing among too many possible paths, becoming the complete human, and how we decide whether something is real.

Some questions get a brief answer. Others open a much larger door—and can become the basis for future episodes.

This AMA episode is available exclusively to Living the Tao subscribers on Supercast.

Bring your questions.

Premium Episodes, Full Catalog (4x the content), and episode commentary: https://living-the-tao.supercast.com

What if the future already exists—and your choices still matter?

In this Living the Tao Short, Taoist Master Mikel Steenrod and Morgan explore the Taoist concept of nonlinear time: a model in which past, present, and future are not simply points moving along a single line.

The conversation moves from memory and our ordinary experience of time into much stranger territory. If every moment remains part of existence, does that mean everything is predetermined? Steenrod argues that it does not. Change, in the Taoist model he describes, does not necessarily depend upon linear time.

Along the way, they examine why our sense of the past may be tied to fading memory, why every action may remain part of existence, why Taoism resists placing the individual at the center of creation, and why nonlinear time was traditionally a subject reserved for more advanced practice.

The future has already happened.

And somehow, you may still be writing it.

Prefer the video format?  That's here: https://youtu.be/4KQ6FH6UNZc

🌐 Explore more Taoist teachings:

🎧 Listen to more Living the Tao Shorts & full episodes:

-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

What if happiness is not found in pushing life to its limits?

In Living the Tao, Episode 1-194 — The Method of Happy Living, Taoist Master Mikel Steenrod introduces the ancient idea that a good life is built through balance, adaptability, and the preservation of your ability to act upon the future.

Drawing from the Yellow Emperor’s Inner Classic and the Taoist Art of Living, the episode explores why health, relationships, resources, and moderation are not merely practical concerns—they form the foundation from which deeper spiritual development becomes possible.

Life will have extremes. The question is whether you can return from them.

“Extremes are a nice place to visit, but you don’t want to live there.”

Full episode with commentary is now avaialble on supercast.

Subscribe now at  https://living-the-tao.supercast.com

What happens when an ancient text survives, but the people and traditions that once explained it are pushed aside?

In this trailer for Living the Tao, Episode 1-193: “The Headless Text,” Taoist Master Mikel Steenrod introduces the problem of the orphaned—or headless—text: words that remain while their original interpretive context disappears.

From misunderstood text messages to Christianity, the rapture, and the Western reception of the Tao Te Ching, the episode explores how old texts can acquire radically new meanings when earlier authorities are removed or discredited.

The larger question is simple: How do you interpret an ancient text honestly when the original speaker can no longer tell you, “That’s not what I meant”?

Listen to the full episode of Living the Tao.  Now avaialble on Supercast.

Subscribe now at  https://living-the-tao.supercast.com

What if your karma could keep growing even when you weren’t actively doing anything?

In this episode of Living the Tao Shorts (2-28), Taoist Master Mikel Steenrod and Morgan explore the Taoist idea of neutrality—not as indifference or social disengagement, but as an internal position that can steadily build karma and strengthen one’s ling.

Using the metaphor of compound interest, Master Steenrod explains why the neutral path may produce small but continuous returns throughout everyday life. How you treat yourself, how you respond to your senses, and how quickly you form opinions can all affect that process.

The episode also explores the relationship between neutrality, wu wei, karma, and ling, and why Taoist practice often favors establishing the right internal conditions rather than relying only on dramatic acts of effort.

Sometimes the biggest gains come from simply being in the right place internally—and not interfering with the process.

Prefer the video format?  That's here: https://youtu.be/AaJkSIMwL3A

🌐 Explore more Taoist teachings:

🎧 Listen to more Living the Tao Shorts & full episodes:

-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

Artificial intelligence is being blamed for replacing workers, devaluing human effort, spreading misinformation, and threatening humanity. But did AI choose any of that—or did people choose to use the tool that way?

In this episode of Living the Tao (1-192), Taoist Master Mikel Steenrod and Morgan examine AI through the lenses of Taoism, social mind, human responsibility, and the ancient problem of the mechanical man.

Master Steenrod describes AI as an intelligent, interactive library: a tool built from humanity’s accumulated knowledge, arguments, errors, and wisdom. It can save time, expand human capability, and help address problems too complex for ordinary methods. Yet it lacks discretion, lived experience, and the ability to test its conclusions directly against reality.

The real danger may not be artificial intelligence itself. It may be the human tendency to turn every useful tool toward control, profit, displacement, and destruction.

The discussion asks whether humanity now needs AI to survive the problems it has created, whether social mind could become an unlikely safeguard against technological self-destruction, and why people both fear and desire an authority greater than human authority.

The Taoist response is neither blind acceptance nor automatic rejection. Use AI as a tool. Observe what it produces. Question the people directing it. And do not confuse the machine with the intentions of the person holding it.

🎧 Listen to more Living the Tao Shorts & full episodes:

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

What if qi is not merely energy flowing through the physical body, but part of a complete body with its own structure, anatomy, and purpose?

In Exploring the Energy Body (episode 1-191), Taoist Master Mikel Steenrod introduces a deeper model of the human being. By challenging the usual assumption that the physical body is primary, the episode explores how the physical, energetic, and Tao or karmic bodies interact to create the complete person.

The full episode examines the traditional channel-and-vessel model of qi, the cohesive structure of the energy body, and the advanced implications of recognizing that energetic anatomy is not simply a reflection of physical anatomy.

You are not simply one body.

You are your bodies.

The complete episode is available now to Living the Tao subscribers.

Subscribe now at  https://living-the-tao.supercast.com