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Published on:

17th Jul 2025

The Tao Is Already Here: Contentment Without the Chase

In this segment of The Living Conversation, we explore Lao Tzu’s vision of contentment: a village where sharp weapons are never used, where carriages sit still, and where people live fully without needing to go anywhere.

This is not minimalism. It’s a radical teaching about presence, about realizing the Tao is already here, not somewhere else, not after effort.

We also reflect on the tension between logic and experience, the role of critical thinking in spiritual inquiry, and the Eastern philosophical approach to truth that can’t be grasped, only lived.

Featuring a story about teaching students who resist “wordless wisdom,” a passage from Heinrich Zimmer on enlightenment, and a conversation on what happens when we stop trying to chase the sacred and start recognizing it in our ordinary lives.

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About the Podcast

The Living Conversation
Exlporing wisdom, practice, and the art of living well — East and West, then and now.
The Living Conversation is a podcast on philosophy, clarity, and the art of living well.

Hosted by Adam Dietz and Anthony Wright, it blends Eastern and Western wisdom, from Confucius and Socrates to the questions we face today.

We explore how to live with sincerity, presence, and joy; not in theory, but in daily life.

This show airs biweekly on KWMR, alternating with Dr. Wright’s program Attunement, and appears here in podcast form with added reflections and ways to stay connected.

For those drawn to a more thoughtful way of living, we invite you to join the conversation.

https://thewaybetween.substack.com?>thewaybetween.substack.com
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About your host

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Adam Dietz

Adam Dietz, PhD, is a philosopher, writer, and teacher exploring how wisdom can live in the modern world. His work bridges East and West: from Socrates and Confucius to Zen and contemporary life. Adam hosts The Living Conversation and The Way Between, projects devoted to the art of living well.