The Modern Taoist

This week we’re talking about detours. Not the ones on a map, but the ones we build for ourselves. The distractions, side quests, and mental loops that feel safer than taking the next clear step on the path in front of us. We call them delays, but most of the time they’re protection. They keep us busy so we don’t have to face the real thing that wants our attention. In this episode, we look at why...

Life gets loud fast. We stack responsibilities, expectations, and distractions until we can’t tell what actually matters and what we picked up out of habit. This episode looks at what happens when you strip things back to their real weight. Simplicity isn’t about owning less or doing less. It’s about seeing clearly. It’s about removing the noise that keeps you from noticing what is already working...

Starting again is not a failure. It’s part of being human. In this episode, we look at why we treat fresh starts like admissions of defeat and why that story needs to change. There’s no shame in resetting your path, shifting your direction, or admitting that something isn’t working. The Tao teaches us that movement is natural, seasons change, and nothing stays fixed. We talk about how to release t...

Expectation is invisible until it breaks. You think you’re just hoping, planning, preparing — but underneath, you’re building a world that has to go your way in order to feel right. And when it doesn’t, it hurts twice: once for what happened, and again for what you imagined. In this episode, Kit explores how expectation quietly distorts our lives — in love, in work, in friendship, even in the way...

Change doesn’t wait for your permission — it just arrives. Sometimes it’s a move, a breakup, a loss, or the slow unraveling of what used to make sense. We call it chaos, but in the Taoist view, it’s simply life doing what life does: shifting form. In this episode, Kit unpacks what really happens when everything familiar starts to move. Why we resist even the changes we secretly asked for, how our...

What happens when we stop fighting our feelings and start listening to them? In this episode, we explore what Taoism teaches about emotion — not as weakness, but as movement. Anger, sadness, joy, frustration… they all flow through the same current if we let them. The trouble starts when we dam the river, name it “bad,” and try to control its course. Through the lens of Taoist practice, we look at...

We spend so much of our lives chasing approval — from family, friends, co-workers, even strangers online. Sometimes it comes sharp, in the form of criticism, and sometimes it’s imagined, a chorus of voices we rehearse in our own heads. Either way, the weight of other people’s opinions can bend us away from our own path. In this episode of The Modern Taoist , we look at why approval-seeking takes s...

In this second AMA, I’m answering your questions head-on. We talk about how Taoism meets the weight of grief, where to find guidance when you don’t have a mentor, and the very real challenge of telling your boss “no” without burning the bridge. These aren’t abstract concepts, they’re the kinds of moments that test us in everyday life. No script, no filter — just an open conversation about how Taoi...

Artificial intelligence and robotics are no longer science fiction—they’re part of our everyday lives. But how do we meet this new world without fear or fantasy? In this episode, we explore the Taoist perspective on technology: how to remain human in a time of machines, how to adapt without losing balance, and how to practice Wu Wei—effortless alignment—even when the pace of change feels overwhelm...

The holidays can feel like celebration and stress at the same time. In this episode, we look at Taoist ways to navigate the season with perspective — noticing what nourishes you, letting go of what drains you, and finding presence in the middle of it all.

Competition is everywhere—at work, in school, in sports, even in how we measure our own worth. But what does Taoism really say about competing with others? In this episode of The Modern Taoist , we explore how competition shapes our lives and why the Tao offers a very different perspective. We’ll look at the ways rivalry can drain us, how comparison steals clarity, and why forcing ourselves to “wi...

In this special Ask Me Anything episode of The Modern Taoist, we set aside themes and verses to answer your questions directly. From the simple to the mysterious, from daily practice to the afterlife, Taoism has room for it all. In this bonus conversation, I take on questions like: 🌿 What does a Taoist daily practice look like for a beginner? 🌿 How do you find Tao in the middle of a city of conc...

Negativity has a way of digging in deep. It can become a habit, a lens, even an identity—and when that happens, it colors everything around us. In this episode of The Modern Taoist , we explore what it means to live with “chronic negative” energy, how it takes root, and why Taoist practice offers a different way forward. Instead of fighting darkness with more darkness, Taoism teaches us how to ste...

There’s a low sound many of us live with — not in our ears, but in our lives. A restlessness that hums beneath the surface. It’s not quite fear, not quite anger, not quite exhaustion. It’s that steady unease that keeps us scrolling, keeps us moving, keeps us from ever really settling. In this episode, we explore what Taoism has to say about that hum. Where it comes from. How modern life amplifies...

Are There Taoist Superheroes? A listener asked a playful but serious question: “Are there any Taoist superheroes?” In this episode of The Modern Taoist , we dive into ancient Chinese legends, modern comic book icons, and the Tao itself to explore what heroism really means. From Zhong Kui the demon-queller to Doctor Strange on the big screen, we ask: what does Taoism teach us about strength, restra...

Hate is loud. It shows up in politics, in online arguments, in family conversations, and in the quiet ways people carry bitterness in daily life. The question is: how do we live alongside that energy without letting it become ours? In this episode of The Modern Taoist , we explore Taoist ways of meeting hate with clarity instead of fear, and with balance instead of absorption. We’ll talk about the...

In this listener-requested episode, Kit Mann explores Chapter 6 of the Tao Te Ching — the verse of the “valley spirit” and “mysterious female.” At first glance, Laozi’s words may sound mystical or abstract, but they carry profound relevance in a modern world obsessed with hustle, scarcity, and endless growth. Together, we look at how the valley spirit offers a model for renewal, steadiness, and qu...

What does it mean to live without forcing? In this episode of The Modern Taoist Podcast , we explore the Taoist principle of wu wei — often translated as “non-doing,” but better understood as the art of effortless action.  From its roots in the Tao Te Ching to what it looks like in daily life, we’ll talk about how wu wei can shift the way you approach stress, success, relationships, even technolog...

In this episode of The Modern Taoist Podcast , we explore one of Laozi’s most challenging but liberating teachings: “In pursuit of the Tao, every day something is dropped.” What if the way forward isn’t about adding more — more apps, more systems, more goals — but about letting go? We’ll talk about the Taoist paradox of less: why subtraction creates space, how to simplify without retreating from l...

In this episode of The Modern Taoist , we take a hard look at how the West has repackaged Taoism, Buddhism, yoga, and meditation into bite-sized products. From Taoist quotes on coffee mugs, to yoga as a workout routine, to karma turned into a cosmic scoreboard, these traditions often get flattened into something marketable but shallow. We dig into what gets lost in translation — how the real teach...

In this episode of The Modern Taoist , we take on a question people ask again and again: Does the Tao allow that? From alcohol to tattoos, from meat to horror movies and punk rock, we explore how Taoism approaches life’s choices without commandments or dogma. The Tao doesn’t hand down rules — it reflects patterns. What brings balance? What drags us out of harmony? Join us as we break down misconce...

In the debut episode, Kit introduces the podcast and lays out what listeners can expect. He shares why Taoism matters to him, how it shaped his life, and why these ancient ideas still work in modern chaos. This first episode acts as a roadmap: personal stories, Taoist wisdom, and practical experiments anyone can test — without the robes, incense, or preaching.

Episode 2 – The “Matrix” Is Closer Than You Think We all know the Matrix — or at least, we think we do. But what if it isn’t robots and green code? What if it’s the everyday patterns you don’t even realize you’re stuck in? In this episode, I explore the “real” Matrix: the invisible net of routines, expectations, and autopilot thinking that can quietly swallow whole years of your life. I share the...