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Wide-ranging talks on all things relating to spirituality, meditation, yoga, current affairs, politics and philosophy. contact me via info AT peteyates.uk.
Episodes
Monday Sep 18, 2023
Monday Sep 18, 2023
In this podcast, we discuss Chapter 80 of Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching. In this chapter, Lao Tzu considers and recommends a life of rural simplicity in a 'small is beautiful' culture. There are many resonances with some strands of current environmental thinking which we draw out. [Free. 28 minutes.] [Find out about our forthcoming live talks on zoom HERE.]
Friday Jul 14, 2023
Friday Jul 14, 2023
In this podcast, we discuss Chapter 73 of Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching. Themes covered include; the paradoxical and contradictory nature of the text, the practicality and creativity of alignment with the Tao, the meditation on forgetfulness, and more. Particularly, we describe how this chapter is a reminder against dogmatism. [Free. 35 minutes.]
Wednesday Jul 12, 2023
Wednesday Jul 12, 2023
In this podcast, we discuss Chapter 72 of Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching. Themes covered include; the nature of the sage and political leadership, the matter of interpreting texts, and the mediation of masks or personae in communication. [Free. 37 minutes.]
Wednesday Nov 30, 2022
Wednesday Nov 30, 2022
In this podcast, we consider Chapter 70 Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching. This chapter shows Lao Tzu in expansive mood, urging on us the absolute immediacy of the Tao and the ease with which it is available to us. Click this link to buy me a coffee :) [Free. 23 minutes.]
Sunday Sep 04, 2022
Sunday Sep 04, 2022
This podcast is a meditation on the contrast between natural ecstasies which affirm the human enterprise and can emphasise our connectedness to all things and the chaos engulfing the world as ecological, economic and cultural systems increase in instability, all at the same time. I arrive at a few practical suggestions which arise directly out of the meditation. Buy me a coffee by following the link. [Free. 18 minutes.]
Monday Jun 13, 2022
Monday Jun 13, 2022
In this podcast, discuss Chapter 63 of Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching. The main theme is how the sage negotiates life through wu wei, or non-doing. In astonishingly few words, Lao Tzu imparts a very detailed account of wu-wei. [Free. 37 minutes.]
Wednesday Jan 19, 2022
Wednesday Jan 19, 2022
In this podcast, we discuss Chapter 56 of The Tao Te Ching in which Lao Tzu advises us of our orientation to life, advising quietly recognising our connectedness with others. [Free. 9 minutes.]
Wednesday Jun 16, 2021
Wednesday Jun 16, 2021
This short podcast offers some preliminary reflections on questioning and curiosity. [Free. 13 minutes.]
Saturday May 29, 2021
Saturday May 29, 2021
In this podcast we discuss Chapter 51 of Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching. This chapter deals with Lao Tzu's vast vision of the cosmos and its origins. We suggest that this vision is acquired through a particular meditation which we recommend as both useful to us collectively in our current situation and as a beautiful and sublime good in its own right for individuals. [Free. 15 minutes.]
Wednesday Mar 24, 2021
Wednesday Mar 24, 2021
This podcast engages with Chapter 47 of The Tao Te Ching which deals with solitude and meditation. The style of meditation alluded to is a letting be rather than a cultivation and gives rise to an intuitive knowledge, a sense of the bigger picture. We suggest how acquaintance with this wonderful meditation can produce social goods and is sorely needed in these interesting times. [Free. 16 minutes.]