Living the Tao-A Spiritual Podcast

Is it better to become highly specialized… or to remain adaptable? Modern society often pushes us toward specialization. We are encouraged to develop a narrow skill, become highly useful, and build our lives around productivity. But Taoist philosophy has long offered a different perspective. In this episode of Living the Tao (1-170), Master Mikel Steenrod explores an ancient debate that mirrors a...

Are dreams the same thing as spiritual vision? In this episode of Living the Tao Shorts (2-17), Taoist Master Mikel Steenrod and Morgan explore the important difference between dreams and Taoist Vision—two experiences that are often confused but arise from very different processes. Dreams largely reflect subconscious activity and mental processing. Taoist Vision, however, emerges through meditatio...

Acceptance is often misunderstood. Many people believe it means giving up, surrendering, or resigning themselves to circumstances they cannot change. In reality, acceptance is something very different. In this episode (1-169) of Living the Tao, Taoist Master Mikel Steenrod and Morgan explore what acceptance really means and why it plays such an important role in both everyday life and deeper spiri...

In this episode (1-168), Master Mikel Steenrod explores one of the most misunderstood components of the Four Ascendant Tradition model: the Martial Body Sphere. In the ancient world, travel meant risk. Banditry was common. Central authority was distant. Periods of famine and collapse brought about cannibalism. In such an environment, physical capability was not recreational — it was necessary. Why...

Are Chinese herbs working because of chemistry… or because of Qi? In this episode of Living the Tao Shorts, Daoist Master Mikel Steenrod explores the difference between nutritional value and essence value — and why two foods that look identical on a label may affect your energy very differently. You’ll hear: How Qi is absorbed from both food and environment Why some herbs function biochemically li...

What is power? In this episode (1-167) of Living the Tao, Taoist Master Mikel Steenrod challenges the modern assumption that power means dominance or control. Instead, he reframes power as something far more fundamental: the ability to make a decision and see it reach fruition. This teaching focuses on the first of the Four Ascendant Spheres — the Social Sphere — the domain of language, persuasion...

I Ching Dyad: Beginning and Folly Subscriber Episode Preview Most failures don’t happen at the end. They happen at the beginning. In this preview of a subscriber-only episode, Taoist Master Mikel Steenrod examines two closely linked hexagrams from the I Ching: Difficulty at the Beginning and Youthful Folly. These two states describe what happens when structure is trying to form — and when we don’t...

We’re often told to “think for ourselves.” But what if that’s only half the story? In this Living the Tao Short (2-15), Taoist Master Mikel Steenrod explores a deeper and often forgotten form of freedom: learning to feel for yourself. Drawing from Taoist practice and ancient cultural understandings of purpose, this short looks at how joy, harmony, and meaningful relationships emerge when the inter...

Are good and evil moral absolutes — or are they something else entirely? In this episode (1-165) of Living the Tao, Taoist Master Mikel Steenrod presents the Daoist view of good, evil, and neutrality as energetic positions, not moral judgments. Rather than focusing on right and wrong, Daoism examines how actions affect energy, probability, and personal power. This conversation explores why Daoism...

In this trailer for Living the Tao – Episode 1-164, Mikel Steenrod introduces a traditional Taoist mind-training drill drawn from the oral tradition. The exercise begins with a simple image: a group of people seated comfortably around a table, discussing what the outdoors is like. A door stands nearby. Everyone knows it leads outside. Anyone could open it. Yet no one does. From this setup emerges...

Many cultures have a tradition of the vision quest. In Taoism, a related practice is known as Biguan. In this short episode of Living the Tao, Master Steenrod explains Biguan as a retreat from the social mind—the accumulated pressure of identity, expectations, and unconscious influence often described metaphorically as “red dust.” This is not an extreme or monastic practice. Biguan, especially for...

In this trailer for Living the Tao (1-163), Taoist Master Mikel Steenrod introduces a subscriber-only episode on lay talismanic practice—what it is, why it exists in Taoism, and where its real limits are. Talismans were never meant as superstition or shortcuts. They developed as practical tools for people who do not possess the energetic capacity to act directly on reality, and who are not part of...

What is the best mood? In this subscriber-only episode of Living the Tao, we explore mood not as a virtue or flaw—but as a functional tool that shapes qi, perception, action, and health. Drawing from Taoist practice and Natural Form and Essence Qi Gong, this episode examines three core mood states—joyful, neutral, and disdain—and the specific advantages and limitations of each. Rather than promoti...

What if reality isn’t about right and wrong — but about how real you actually are? In this Living the Tao Short, we explore the Taoist Ching scale, an ancient framework that measures existence as a balance between reality and symbol. From the Dao as pure, undifferentiated potential, down through gods, dragons, humans, and animals, this scale reveals how power, change, and perception work in Taoist...

Order, Chaos, and Hundun — Subscriber Episode Preview Most discussions of reality frame life as a movement between order and chaos. In Taoist thought, that binary is incomplete. This trailer introduces Hundun—the undifferentiated state that precedes structure itself. Not confusion, not disorder, but the condition from which form emerges. In the full subscriber episode, Master Steenrod explores why...

What does positive power actually mean in Taoism? In this episode (1-160), Taoist Master Mikel Steenrod explains why positivity is not about denying reality or forcing optimism. Instead, it’s about where you place your attention, how you process experience, and how much failure you can tolerate without giving up. Topics include: Why negativity often feels justified—but limits your life The differe...

Is Daoism something you’re supposed to feel rather than understand? Does talking about it ruin the experience? In this Living the Tao Short (2-12), Master Steenrod examines a common modern belief—that authentic Daoism requires no study, no method, and no examination. He explains where this idea comes from, why it doesn’t hold up historically, and how Daoist development has always depended on effor...

In this subscriber-only episode (1-159) of Living the Tao, Master Steenrod examines a quiet but widespread problem: why clarity, restraint, and spiritual insight seem to disappear when life becomes stressful — even when we understand the teachings. From a Taoist perspective, the issue is not discipline, belief, or willpower. It’s energy. This episode explores how higher thought, ethical behavior,...

Originally released as Episode 10, Poison of Immortality remains one of the most powerful teachings in the Living the Tao archive. In this brief trailer, Taoist Master Mikel Steenrod offers a sharp preview of the timeless insights within—on mortality, time, and the path to clarity. If you missed it the first time, or you're ready to revisit it with fresh ears, now is the time. The updated episode...

Living the Tao — Winter Tales (Subscriber Episode) Winter has long been a season for Taoist storytelling — a time when teachers set aside instruction and let stories do the work. In this short trailer, Master Steenrod introduces a subscriber-only episode(1-158) of Living the Tao built around three traditional winter Taoist tales: a man untouched by cold, a hermit who sits through winter snow, and...

Why do Taoist masters fly in legends—but not in real life today? In this Living the Tao Short, Master Mikel Steenrod explores the idea that some extraordinary abilities once attributed to Taoist practitioners depended on conditions that no longer exist. Rather than fantasy, the discussion focuses on history, training, and the Daoist principle of time and place. This short episode separates cinemat...

Living the Tao – Episode 1-157 (Subscriber Trailer) I Ching Dyad: Following (17) & Repairing What Has Been Spoiled (18) There are times when following an established path leads to success—and times when that same path begins to fail. In this short trailer for a subscriber-only episode of Living the Tao, Taoist Master Michael Steenrod introduces a classical I Ching dyad that frequently appears...

Why do some people seem to catch every break while others struggle no matter how hard they try? In this free episode (1-156) of Living the Tao, Master Steenrod explains the Taoist view of luck, prosperity, and synchronicity—and why “good fortune” is far more structured than most people realize. You’ll learn: • Why luck isn’t random or a moral reward • How prosperity and abundance actually behave i...

What is Taoist power really—and how do you recognize it in your own life? In this episode of Living the Tao Shorts (2-10), Taoist Master Mikel Steenrod explores De, the form of spiritual power described in the Daodejing. Instead of treating De as serendipity or good luck, Master Steenrod explains how true Taoist practice produces alignment, insight, and direct Dao interaction. Inside this episode:...

Discover the Taoist meaning behind giving. In this exclusive subscriber-only episode, Taoist Master Mikel Steenrod explores a classic teaching story about generosity, sincerity, and the unseen forces that shape the outcome of every act of giving. In this trailer, you’ll hear a preview of the ideas discussed in the full episode—including why Taoism views gifts as something far deeper than objects e...