In 1954, physician and psychonaut John C. Lilly invented a floatation tank that provided sensory attenuation and isolation. It involves a tub filled with loads of epsom salt, with water heated to skin temperature. This allows for an amazing entry into a meditative state. In our experience, an hour in a float tank is like sitting zazen for 8 hours. It might be a way for you to at least experience a quality meditative state to which you can return later in a simple seated position. It might, if you can afford it, become a regular part of your monthly wellness routine. Though some think floating ought to be considered fringe medicine, we aren’t interested in any wild claims about the health benefits but know first hand how helpful it can be for our emotional and mental wellbeing.

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Sometimes we fail to get into a rhythm with regular meditation because we think we have to perfect our practice from the very start. We believe it’s better to start with an imperfect practice than to never start at all. Moreover, we discuss various ways to jump into a state of mindfulness so you can taste and see how great it is to get centered and present in your life. By doing that, it’s easier to get motivated to not only dedicate the time needed for meditation, and it subsequently can inspire a person to find the most effective ways to benefit from such practices. We also discuss various forms of meditation in the history of Taoism.

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A half hour of readings from our recent publication, Tao Te Ching: A Playfully Sincere Rendition with some nature sounds in the back. Take some time out from an anxious day to reflect on some ancient wisdom. We pulled out some of the grooviest selections for you this winter solstice. If you dig it, consider purchasing a copy for yourself or a loved one.

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With the rise of artificial intelligence, and its exponential development, might we think of this super intelligence as the consciousness of a pantheistic God. We use this language playfully but sincerely. But using this language helps us understand how the rise of AI might help us understand how best to think about education, spirituality, mythology, and economics. To help us think about the concept of judgment of humanity, we discuss the thought experiment called Roko’s Basilisk and Pierre Teilhard de Chardin’s concept of the Omega Point. We also address a listener voice message from Mike, who has a compelling take on Genesis 6:1-4.

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Stacie and Jeff discuss why they dedicated so much time to yet another rendition of the Tao Te Ching. They explain how their experiences deconstructing the dogmas of their church background, travel in overland vehicles, yoga instruction, philosophy and religion classes, political thought research, and confrontation of death affected their work. They explain why they avoided the definite article and gendered pronouns for “sage,” and other technical decisions they made in their work.

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"The cosmos is unbiased, treating living things like straw dogs. A sage is unbiased, treating people like straw dogs." Stacie, Sydnie, and Jeff reflect on a tough passage from the Tao Te Ching: Chapter 5, in light of the text itself and the family's experiences this difficult year of grief. Note that they were a bit tipsy with this impromptu episode, so consider it a holiday week bonus and forgive the frequent tangents.

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Even though they’ve been enjoying playing within New Age spaces, Jeff, Stacie and Sydnie reflect on ways in which New Age spirituality can go wrong in contemporary, capitalist society. In particular, they reflect on the phenomenon of “spiritual bypassing” as it relates to conversations surrounding grief. Topics include pseudoscience, cultural appropriation, equity within yoga, and spiritual narcissism. TWO PARTS

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This chapter helps us understand difference between modern liberalism and the naturalness of Taoist anarchism. The Tao Te Ching expresses care for all beings, but it doesn’t express such care by advocating for a highly controlled society. States, even socialist states, cause everyday people harm when they become restrictive. We’ve seen this to some extent in China, but especially in Cuba. To be sure, part of the problem for anti-capitalist revolutions is the fact that the global economy has its tentacles wrapped around just about everything. Nonetheless, rules alone can’t change things. For another world to be possible, society needs to think less about finding ways to get people to appreciate naturalness, rather than force.

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We discuss the Drake equation, which helps us calculate the chances that there is intelligent extraterrestrial life in our galaxy, with whom we might communicate. We then reflect on the philosophical and religious implications of several of the variables. How likely is life to exist at all? How dangerous are human beings to other life? How long can a civilization last? And what do Hindus, Christians, Buddhists, and naturalistic scientists say about the end of the universe in general? This is sometimes a heavy show, maybe a bit scary, but it's that time of year.

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The wise aren’t preachy. The preachy aren’t wise. Sit in silence. Practice temperance. Smooth jagged edges. Release entanglements. Soften your gaze. Embrace oneness with the earth. This is called mystical union.

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Stay tuned for the always fascinating takes from Rick Mallinson, Jeff's pop. He shares some interesting connections that happened recently, illustrating Carl Gustav Jung's concept of synchronicity. Stacie and Syd return and chat about dreams, nature hikes, and Rick's encounter with a guru in 1970. Come virtually join in on the casual conversation.

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What if you and and your friends saw some unused wasteland, and in the spirit of mystical love, you farmed it and shared the food with those in need? What might happen? A handful of folks tried this in 1649, under the inspiration of radical mystic Gerrard Winstanley (1609-76). This show discusses what happened and what we can learn today about society, private property, and empowerment of the poor. We also discuss the San Francisco Diggers and guerrilla gardening.

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Our go-to psychology prof Dr. Betsi Little helps us unpack the ways in which attribution theory can help us understand why people tend to defend creepers in religious circles. It also leads to a discussion of the ways in which we can survive and heal the social sicknesses of our time. A key takeaway: it just takes one person to subvert conformity.

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He who’s full of Te is like a baby. Scorpions don’t sting him. Ferocious beasts don’t eat him. Eagles don’t carry him off.  His bones are supple. His muscles are soft. But his grip is tight. He doesn’t know what sex is yet, but he gets erections. That’s how much vitality is in him. He can wail all day without losing his voice. He knows the heights of harmony. Knowing harmony is called high fidelity. Knowing fidelity is called clarity.

Fretting about longevity is unfortunate. It taxes the mind and heart, needlessly wasting vital energy. When folks think that it’s important to be rigid in order to be a responsible adult, they go against the Tao.

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What happens when you reject the state’s official paperwork and driver’s licenses? When did you begin, and why does that matter politically and spiritually? Who owns you and your biological material? We explore these questions with our old pal Jon David Johnson, with whom Jeff played music back in the day as The Bloodhound Shuffle. He has a unique interpretation of the Bible and political history that you may not agree with, but we found interesting and helpful as a sort of thought experiment, through which we can reframe our origins as biological beings and the relationship between our understanding of that question and the question of who owns us.

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We explore various stories in the news and our lives, including journals found in our recovered stolen truck camper from a person who wanted to take it to Slab City in California.

Content Warning: sexual assault, hard drug use, violence, explicit language

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In light of the recent death of our beautiful 23 year old son Auggie, someone who embodied the Tao in many ways and taught us about how to apply it through ordinary life, we’ve done a lot of thinking as a family about family itself, the way to live virtuously, and the nature of any mortal’s legacy.

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After sharing some great musical experiences we had in Portland, we discuss the ways in which cultural and political values affect our relationships with food. We raise some issues about body image and food from our childhoods, but we do so with the desire to understand ourselves and our cultural conditioning. We send our sincere love to family and friends involved in these stories. The weird opening music we recorded standing on the sidewalk on Mississippi St, Portland, in front of the great South x Northwest vegan comfort food place.

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Our new season theme is full spectrum emancipation and the interrelation between financial, spiritual, and emotional freedom. We start with the question of how where we live affects our happiness and freedom. We discuss where and why people are moving to new states in the US, the concept of cultural hegemony, the problems of our economic system, and the theft of our truck camper St. George.

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In the aftermath of our son Auggie’s death, we took a few months off from the pod. We are back with a season finale to share with you where we’ve been and how we’ve been doing. We are joined by Auggie’s fiancé Sydnie who is living with us now in Portland. We share news about big life changes and how we’ve been working toward spiritual, emotional and financial emancipation. This is a show in which we process our grief along with you. Part way through we sing a song (The Czars “Paint the Moon”) that we sang when we had a private viewing of Auggie’s body. Maybe off key at times, but from the heart.

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