What is karma — really?
In this episode (1-91) of Living the Tao, Taoist Master Mikel Steenrod reframes karma not as a moral scoreboard, but as power — the power to make choice and experience its consequences.
Karma is not learned from books.
It is learned in the doing.
This episode explores why spiritual growth requires action, risk, and engagement with reality rather than passive belief. Mikel challenges the simplified good-versus-evil models of karma and instead presents a Taoist perspective rooted in awareness, adaptability, and personal responsibility.
Topics include:
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Why karma is about power, not reward or punishment
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Why great karma requires risk
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The three minds: intellect, emotion, and intuition
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Stillness as “permission for a holiday”
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The Hybrid Mind and post-clarity integration
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The Dung Heap Principle — why you are bound by the rules of your environment
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Flexibility versus preserving a “perfect spiritual state”
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Why Taoism does not place humanity at the center of creation
This episode is a direct reminder that the universe does not favor you — and it does not oppose you. It simply responds to your choices.
Engage. Act. Learn from the doing.
🌐 Explore more Taoist teachings:
https://www.the-taoism-for-modern-world.com
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Intro music: “Finding Movement” by Kevin MacLeod — licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Source: incompetech.com
11 days ago
I don’t know if this question can be answered here, but Master Steenrod has referred to the 24-hour meditation several times. I’m just wondering does the practitioner have to stay awake for the full 24 hours in the state of calm stillness? Like if they doze off... does that mean they aren’t ready yet?