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
3 months ago
Oh my goodness, I am so deeply honored with this response. It is very helpful . Thank you so much for all your wisdom and teachings 😊🙏
3 months ago
Hello Josh, The 24 hour is used essentially as one of the fitness tests for entering into Mind of Clarity. Success indicates an acceptable likelihood of success in the Mind if all other qualifiers are met. It is never intended to be an entrance exam. It is also used at least annually by advanced practitioners as a form of hygiene. That being said, the states a person passes through in the prolonged session can touch upon sleep, but shouldn’t dwell in sleep. If an individual sleeps, it is almost always because there is a deep need for sleep or an avoidance of an underlying psychological/emotional/spiritual issue. In the event of deep need, that is an indicator that the body isn’t receiving the care it requires, and so the sleep debt is being paid at that time. If it is an issue, the work needs be done to correct the issue before attempting to progress further. Mind of Clarity can only be achieved when a person has met the lower levels of the needs hierarchy. Both of the above conditions indicate that a person hasn’t met basic need. In short, the 24 hour cycle shouldn’t be arduous. Challenging, yes. A torment, no. Some minor sleep in the free flow of mental states during this time is fine, but there isn’t a hard measure of time. Hope this was helpful! -MS
3 months ago
Hello Josh, I’m an assistant to Master Steenrod. Due to the technical nature of the question, I’ve passed it to Master Steenrod. It may take him a couple of days to respond as he is often out of the virtual world. -HW
3 months 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?