In this Ask Me Anything episode, I respond to listener questions that dig into the real texture of Taoist practice. Not theory. Not abstraction. Real life.
We talk about Chapter 50 of the Tao Te Ching and what Lao Tzu meant by the “one in ten” who has no death place. Not as mysticism or superstition, but as a way of moving through the world without creating unnecessary friction, fear, or blind spots.
This episode is about how people get themselves into trouble without realizing it, how awareness changes the risks we face, and what it actually means to live awake instead of tense, driven, or checked out. If you’ve ever felt like life keeps knocking you sideways even when you’re trying to do the right things, this conversation brings some clarity.
AMA episodes are where we slow things down, answer real questions from real listeners, and translate Taoist ideas into language that works in modern life.
If you enjoy these deeper conversations, make sure you’re subscribed or following the podcast so you don’t miss future episodes. New episodes drop regularly, and your questions help shape what comes next.
Listen in, walk steady, and stay present.
This week we’re talking about detours. Not the ones on a map, but the ones we build for ourselves. The distractions, side quests, and mental loops that feel safer than taking the next clear step on the path in front of us. We call them delays, but most of the time they’re protection. They keep us busy so we don’t have to face the real thing that wants our attention.
In this episode, we look at why the straight path feels threatening, why the long way around feels comforting, and how to recognize the moment you’ve wandered. Not with judgment or pressure, but with clarity. There’s a difference between exploring and avoiding, and that difference shapes the way we move through change, choice, fear, and growth.
If you’ve been drifting, overthinking, or stalling out on something you know you need to do, this conversation will help you see it for what it is and guide you back to solid ground.
Listen on any platform or ask your smart speaker to play The Modern Taoist.
https://linktr.ee/daoananda
Life gets loud fast. We stack responsibilities, expectations, and distractions until we can’t tell what actually matters and what we picked up out of habit. This episode looks at what happens when you strip things back to their real weight. Simplicity isn’t about owning less or doing less. It’s about seeing clearly. It’s about removing the noise that keeps you from noticing what is already working.
We talk about the pressure to complicate our lives, why people are afraid of quiet, and how simplicity sharpens both awareness and action. There is a difference between a full life and a cluttered one. There is a difference between peace and numbness. This episode opens those distinctions in a grounded way that you can feel in your day to day.
If you’ve been overwhelmed, scattered, or pulled in ten directions, this is the reset. A reminder that simplicity is not a downgrade. It is a return.
Starting again is not a failure. It’s part of being human. In this episode, we look at why we treat fresh starts like admissions of defeat and why that story needs to change. There’s no shame in resetting your path, shifting your direction, or admitting that something isn’t working. The Tao teaches us that movement is natural, seasons change, and nothing stays fixed. We talk about how to release the old storyline, how to return to yourself without guilt, and how to take your next step with clarity instead of pressure. This is a conversation about patience, honesty, and beginning again without carrying the weight of who you were yesterday.
Expectation is invisible until it breaks.
You think you’re just hoping, planning, preparing — but underneath, you’re building a world that has to go your way in order to feel right. And when it doesn’t, it hurts twice: once for what happened, and again for what you imagined.
In this episode, Kit explores how expectation quietly distorts our lives — in love, in work, in friendship, even in the way we see ourselves. Why we hold others to invisible standards, why we’re crushed when they don’t meet them, and how the Tao teaches balance through restraint.
Lao Tzu wrote, “Better to stop pouring than to fill to the brim.”
That’s the heart of this conversation — learning when to stop pouring, how to release the need for control, and how to meet life without the weight of constant prediction.
This isn’t about lowering your hopes or becoming indifferent.
It’s about holding them lightly — doing your work, showing up fully, and stepping back before it spills.
If you’ve ever found yourself disappointed and couldn’t explain why, this episode might show you where that story really began.
Change doesn’t wait for your permission — it just arrives. Sometimes it’s a move, a breakup, a loss, or the slow unraveling of what used to make sense. We call it chaos, but in the Taoist view, it’s simply life doing what life does: shifting form.
In this episode, Kit unpacks what really happens when everything familiar starts to move. Why we resist even the changes we secretly asked for, how our evolution ripples through the people around us, and what it means to keep walking when there’s no going back.
This isn’t about “embracing change” or pretending it doesn’t hurt. It’s about learning to move through it with honesty — to stop negotiating with the past, to trust the current, and to notice what remains when everything else falls away.
If you’re in the middle of a major life shift — or standing on the edge of one — this episode is your reminder that change isn’t the end of stability. It’s the return of movement.
What happens when we stop fighting our feelings and start listening to them? In this episode, we explore what Taoism teaches about emotion — not as weakness, but as movement. Anger, sadness, joy, frustration… they all flow through the same current if we let them. The trouble starts when we dam the river, name it “bad,” and try to control its course.
Through the lens of Taoist practice, we look at how to sit with what arises without turning it into identity. You’ll hear why emotional balance isn’t about staying calm all the time — it’s about being honest enough to feel everything without drowning in it.
This one is for anyone who’s ever been told to “get over it,” “stay positive,” or “calm down.” Sometimes the most Taoist thing you can do is feel something all the way through.
Listen to The Modern Taoist wherever you get your podcasts, or visit daoananda.org to explore more.
We spend so much of our lives chasing approval — from family, friends, co-workers, even strangers online. Sometimes it comes sharp, in the form of criticism, and sometimes it’s imagined, a chorus of voices we rehearse in our own heads. Either way, the weight of other people’s opinions can bend us away from our own path.
In this episode of The Modern Taoist, we look at why approval-seeking takes such a toll, where those voices really come from, and how Taoist practice can help us hear them without carrying them. You’ll learn how to notice the difference between truth and noise, how to retrain the reflex to seek validation, and how to walk your path without apology.
Because freedom doesn’t come from getting everyone to clap — it comes from not needing the applause in the first place.
In this second AMA, I’m answering your questions head-on. We talk about how Taoism meets the weight of grief, where to find guidance when you don’t have a mentor, and the very real challenge of telling your boss “no” without burning the bridge. These aren’t abstract concepts, they’re the kinds of moments that test us in everyday life.
No script, no filter — just an open conversation about how Taoist practice shows up when life gets heavy, complicated, or unfair.
Listen in, and maybe you’ll hear a piece of your own question in the mix.
Artificial intelligence and robotics are no longer science fiction—they’re part of our everyday lives. But how do we meet this new world without fear or fantasy? In this episode, we explore the Taoist perspective on technology: how to remain human in a time of machines, how to adapt without losing balance, and how to practice Wu Wei—effortless alignment—even when the pace of change feels overwhelming.
We’ll look at the difference between working with the flow of innovation versus being consumed by it, and how to ground yourself in Taoist practice while navigating the reality of automation, algorithms, and artificial companions. This isn’t about resisting the future or blindly embracing it—it’s about walking the middle path, where wisdom and presence shape how we live with AI and robots.
The holidays can feel like celebration and stress at the same time. In this episode, we look at Taoist ways to navigate the season with perspective — noticing what nourishes you, letting go of what drains you, and finding presence in the middle of it all.
Competition is everywhere—at work, in school, in sports, even in how we measure our own worth. But what does Taoism really say about competing with others? In this episode of The Modern Taoist, we explore how competition shapes our lives and why the Tao offers a very different perspective.
We’ll look at the ways rivalry can drain us, how comparison steals clarity, and why forcing ourselves to “win” often leads us away from balance. More importantly, we’ll dig into how Taoist practice invites us to move without striving, to improve without obsessing, and to find strength without turning life into a constant contest.
This is not about rejecting achievement—it’s about shifting the lens. Taoism shows us how to step out of endless competition and step into flow, presence, and alignment with the Tao itself.
In this special Ask Me Anything episode of The Modern Taoist, we set aside themes and verses to answer your questions directly. From the simple to the mysterious, from daily practice to the afterlife, Taoism has room for it all.
In this bonus conversation, I take on questions like:
🌿 What does a Taoist daily practice look like for a beginner?
🌿 How do you find Tao in the middle of a city of concrete?
🌿 Do Taoists believe in destiny, or is it all chance and choice?
🌿 What does Taoism say about the afterlife?
🌿 Do Taoists fast—and if so, why?
🌿 Who created the yin–yang symbol, and why does it appear in so many traditions?
Taoism doesn’t always give neat, final answers—but it offers ways to live into the questions. My hope is that in hearing these, you’ll discover your own questions echoed, and maybe even sparked anew.
Negativity has a way of digging in deep. It can become a habit, a lens, even an identity—and when that happens, it colors everything around us. In this episode of The Modern Taoist, we explore what it means to live with “chronic negative” energy, how it takes root, and why Taoist practice offers a different way forward.
Instead of fighting darkness with more darkness, Taoism teaches us how to step aside, to create distance, and to let light in without force. We’ll look at real-world situations, everyday habits, and practical Taoist tools to break the cycle—without falling into toxic positivity or denial.
This is an episode about clarity, compassion, and reclaiming your own presence.
There’s a low sound many of us live with — not in our ears, but in our lives. A restlessness that hums beneath the surface. It’s not quite fear, not quite anger, not quite exhaustion. It’s that steady unease that keeps us scrolling, keeps us moving, keeps us from ever really settling.
In this episode, we explore what Taoism has to say about that hum. Where it comes from. How modern life amplifies it. And most importantly, how Taoist practice — breath, balance, and clarity — can help you quiet it without forcing it away.
This isn’t about ignoring the world. It’s about moving differently within it. Because the hum doesn’t disappear when you pretend it isn’t there. It softens when you learn to flow with the Tao.
👉 Listen now and join the practice: https://linktr.ee/daoananda
Are There Taoist Superheroes?
A listener asked a playful but serious question: “Are there any Taoist superheroes?”
In this episode of The Modern Taoist, we dive into ancient Chinese legends, modern comic book icons, and the Tao itself to explore what heroism really means. From Zhong Kui the demon-queller to Doctor Strange on the big screen, we ask: what does Taoism teach us about strength, restraint, and clarity in a world obsessed with domination?
You might not find a Taoist in a cape, but you will find a different vision of heroism — one rooted in balance, humility, and compassion. And maybe, you’ll see that Taoist superheroes aren’t just in myths or movies… they can live in the choices you make every day.
🌐 Listen here: https://linktr.ee/daoananda
Hate is loud. It shows up in politics, in online arguments, in family conversations, and in the quiet ways people carry bitterness in daily life. The question is: how do we live alongside that energy without letting it become ours?
In this episode of The Modern Taoist, we explore Taoist ways of meeting hate with clarity instead of fear, and with balance instead of absorption. We’ll talk about the difference between compassion and approval, why distance is not weakness, and how to walk away without shame when the world demands you fight every battle.
This isn’t about pretending hate doesn’t exist. It’s about remembering that hate belongs to the one who carries it — and you don’t have to pick it up.
In this listener-requested episode, Kit Mann explores Chapter 6 of the Tao Te Ching — the verse of the “valley spirit” and “mysterious female.” At first glance, Laozi’s words may sound mystical or abstract, but they carry profound relevance in a modern world obsessed with hustle, scarcity, and endless growth.
Together, we look at how the valley spirit offers a model for renewal, steadiness, and quiet power — not just in personal life, but in relationships, work, and society itself. From handling exhaustion and uncertainty to resisting our culture’s obsession with peaks, Kit shows how Taoist wisdom can guide us toward balance that never runs dry
What does it mean to live without forcing? In this episode of The Modern Taoist Podcast, we explore the Taoist principle of wu wei — often translated as “non-doing,” but better understood as the art of effortless action.
From its roots in the Tao Te Ching to what it looks like in daily life, we’ll talk about how wu wei can shift the way you approach stress, success, relationships, even technology. Along the way, we’ll explore the idea of becoming a Wu-Wei Warrior — someone who meets challenges with strength, calm, and adaptability rather than struggle and control.
This isn’t philosophy locked in the past. It’s wisdom you can practice today — in traffic, at work, at home, and in the way you move through the world.
🌿 The river already knows the way. The art is learning to trust it.
In this episode of The Modern Taoist Podcast, we explore one of Laozi’s most challenging but liberating teachings: “In pursuit of the Tao, every day something is dropped.”
What if the way forward isn’t about adding more — more apps, more systems, more goals — but about letting go? We’ll talk about the Taoist paradox of less: why subtraction creates space, how to simplify without retreating from life, and how living with less opens the door to more presence, more breath, and more joy.
If you’ve been feeling stretched thin, this conversation will remind you that the Way isn’t about chasing — it’s about returning.