Living the Tao-A Spiritual Podcast

In this subscriber episode of Living the Tao, Taoist Master Mikel Steenrod explores the “bedrock” beneath Taoist cultivation and asks a deceptively simple question: What should a person actually build within themselves?

The discussion examines the original meaning of Wu Wei beyond passivity, the dangers of spiritual status-seeking, and the Taoist concept of Ling — the subtle spiritual presence tied to harmony, karma, nature, and authentic development.

The episode also explores how natural gifts emerge from one’s substrate, why some people unconsciously suppress their own development, and why community interaction plays such a critical role in spiritual growth within Taoist practice.

Topics include:

Wu Wei and naturalness

Spirituality vs social status

Ling as spiritual presence

Karma and the use of personal gifts

Community and Taoist cultivation

The Taoist view of authentic human development

Subscriber Episode:

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In this special trailer for Living the Tao Episode 1-178, Master Steenrod explores the ancient Taoist symbolism of feathers, thunder, and liberation.

What does it mean to shake off the “red dust” of the world? Why were feathers associated with transcendence, freedom, and the feathered immortal? And how did older Taoist traditions understand thunder as a force capable of breaking emotional and spiritual obstruction?

Blending traditional symbolism, esoteric concepts, and oral teaching methods, this brief preview introduces one of the more atmospheric and reflective episodes of the series.

Feathers, Thunder, and Liberation — available now on Living the Tao.

 Unlock the full episode now on Supercast.  Subscribe now at  https://living-the-tao.supercast.com

What does Taoism say about manifestation? And why doesn’t Taoism actually use that word?

In this episode of Living the Tao, we explore the Taoist concept closest to manifestation: invocation. Rather than wishing for outcomes, Taoist practice focuses on directing choice and karma within a universe shaped by probability. The discussion looks at why some changes are easier to bring about than others, why small outcomes often succeed where large ones fail, and how energy limits what can be created.

We also explore the Taoist view that the universe is equal but not fair, why abundance and karma are not the same thing, and why most people struggle to change outcomes. The conversation compares invocation with prayer, explains why invoking need can create more need, and examines how classical Taoist practice approaches shaping reality.

This episode provides a grounded Taoist framework for understanding manifestation without superstition, focusing instead on choice, energy, and practical limits.

🌐 Explore more Taoist Invocation teachings:

https://www.the-taoism-for-modern-world.com/taoist-invocation-meaning-practice-and-examples/

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Intro music: “Finding Movement” by Kevin MacLeod — licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Source: incompetech.com

Is consistency really the key to success?

In this Shorts episode of Living the Tao (2-21), Taoist Master Mikel Steenrod examines one of the most common ideas in modern self-improvement—and challenges it from a Taoist perspective.

Through a discussion on repetition, flexibility, and human behavior, this episode explores:

Blending practical insight with classical Taoist thought, this episode offers a different way of looking at progress, effort, and purpose.

Video version of this episode can be found here: https://youtu.be/tCLIywBCuoU

Living the Tao Shorts are brief conversations exploring Taoist philosophy, perception, and practice in everyday life.

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Intro music: “Finding Movement” by Kevin MacLeod — licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Source: incompetech.com

What if everything you were trained to become… wasn’t enough?

In this subscriber-only episode of Living the Tao, Taoist Master Mikel Steenrod explores the ancient story of Wangziqiao—a Zhou-era prince who mastered the refined arts of order and discipline, only to walk away from them in search of something deeper.

After years of training in the mountains, he is given a simple object—a whistle carved from the bone of a crane. One breath, and the heavens answer. A crane descends. He mounts it and vanishes into the West.

This episode goes beyond the story to explore its deeper meaning, including:

This is a focused symbolic breakdown designed for listeners ready to go deeper into Taoist thought and practice.

👉 Unlock the full episode now on Supercast.  Subscribe now at  https://living-the-tao.supercast.com

In this subscriber-only episode of Living the Tao, Taoist Master Mikel Steenrod explores one of the most difficult and universal parts of life: waiting.

Drawing from the ancient wisdom of the I Ching, Steenrod examines why nearly 28% of its hexagrams deal with waiting, delay, or obstruction in some form. Focusing on Hexagram 12 — Standstill and Hexagram 5 — Waiting, he explains the profound difference between stagnation and preparation.

When is waiting a trap?

This episode explores the symbolism of the lines, the accumulation of pressure behind change, and the Taoist understanding of timing, patience, and action.

If you’ve ever felt blocked, uncertain, or trapped in a period of delay, this episode offers an ancient lens through which to understand what kind of waiting you’re experiencing—and what to do next.

Subscribe now on Supercast for full access to this episode and the full archive of subscriber-only teachings.

🎧 Listen to the full subscriber episode on supercast.  Subscribe now at  https://living-the-tao.supercast.com

Why don’t we see spirits, demons, dragons, and other beings described in Taoist traditions? Are they somewhere else — or are we simply not perceiving them?

In this Living the Tao Short, Master Mikel Steenrod and Morgan explore how assumptions shape reality and how the social mind filters what we experience. The discussion moves through expectation, normalization, and the idea that perception is limited not only by our senses, but by awareness, choice, and energy.

Using memorable analogies — floating beside someone, a dragon appearing on the path, and fish unaware of the giant outside their bowl — the conversation builds toward a central Taoist position: reality may be far broader than what we allow ourselves to notice.

This episode also introduces the Taoist relationship between perception, awareness, and choice, and explains why energy accumulation plays a role in what a person can perceive. A concise but thought-provoking look at unseen layers of reality and why they may remain unseen.

Living the Tao Shorts are brief conversations exploring Taoist philosophy, perception, and practice in everyday life.

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Intro music: “Finding Movement” by Kevin MacLeod — licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Source: incompetech.com

Most people approach qi as something to be gained—more energy, more vitality, more power.

But the reality is more complicated.

In this subscriber episode (1-175) of Living the Tao, Taoist Master Mikel Steenrod explores the Qi Sphere within the Four Ascendant Sphere framework and the often overlooked truth behind internal development: the ability to accumulate qi is not determined by technique alone, but by behavior.

As practitioners move beyond human-to-human interaction and into direct relationship with the life force itself, underlying weaknesses begin to surface. Without the internal structure to support it, increased qi does not elevate—it destabilizes.

This episode examines the historical shift from external alchemy to internal cultivation, and why Taoist practice ultimately turned inward. It also outlines the practical implications for those seeking real progress, and why transformation of the self is not optional when working with the life force.

Exploring the Qi Sphere is a focused look at the relationship between power, behavior, and stability—and what it actually means to engage with qi in a meaningful way.

Full episode available to subscribers, along with AMA access, commentary, and community discussion.

🎧 Listen to the full subscriber episode on supercast.  Subscribe now at  https://living-the-tao.supercast.com

In this subscriber-only episode (1-174), Taoist Master Mikel Steenrod explores the turtle as an organizing force within Taoist thought. Beginning with a classic teaching story of a turtle withdrawing beneath a storm, the discussion expands into the turtle’s deeper symbolic and practical roles across Taoist tradition.

The episode examines how the turtle shell became an early tool for extracting order from chaos through divination practices that predate the I Ching, and how its structured form influenced cosmological thinking. Mikel also discusses the ancient Daoist board game Liubo, modeled after the turtle’s undershell, which functioned as both entertainment and a symbolic map for understanding movement through the universe.

The turtle’s association with longevity, containment, and the preservation of qi is explored, along with its comparison to jade as a storage medium for essence. The discussion then connects these ideas to Taoist cosmology, including the emergence of differentiation from chaos and the need for ordering devices to understand reality.

This episode presents the turtle as a model for survival, perception, and energetic containment, offering a practical and symbolic framework for navigating chaos while preserving vitality.

Full episode available to subscribers, along with AMA access, commentary, and community discussion.

🎧 Listen to the full subscriber episode on supercast.  Subscribe now at  https://living-the-tao.supercast.com

Free will is usually treated as a human question — do we have it, or are we determined? In this Living the Tao Short, the discussion moves in a different direction entirely.

Starting from a Taoist premise that everything is Dao, the conversation explores what that means for equality, change, and the nature of choice. If the Dao neither favors nor disfavors anything, then how does anything happen? The answer leads to a surprising conclusion: choice is the mechanism of change, and choice exists everywhere — not just in human thought.

Along the way, this short episode challenges several assumptions:

Instead, choice is framed as an energetic process expressed differently across all things. Humans experience it one way, but the same principle applies universally.

Even a rock, in its own way, may be exercising choice.

A brief conversation designed for reflection.

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Access the video form of the episode here: https://youtu.be/-eeaty6QARM

Intro music: “Finding Movement” by Kevin MacLeod — licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Source: incompetech.com