
The Power of the Heart with Stephen Snyder
From Deconstructing Yourself by Michael W. Taft
January 29, 2026 · 46 min · Episode 109
About this episode
Michael Taft speaks with Stephen Snyder about the significance of heart-based practices and various spiritual concepts.
Host Michael Taft speaks with Stephen Snyder Sensei about the two “missing” brahmaviharas, Innate Goodness practice, heart wisdom vs. mind wisdom, the magic of the “group heart”, the paradox of the Heart Sutra, learning to become receptive, God and the nondual, entities, bodhisattvas, deities, the three types of forgiveness, and the “terrible importance” of heart-based practice. Stephen Mugen Snyder, Sensei began practicing daily meditation in 1976. Since then, he has studied Buddhism extensively—investigating and engaging in Zen, Tibetan, Theravada, and Western non-dual traditions. He was authorized to teach in the Theravada Buddhist tradition in 2007 and the Zen Buddhist schools of Soto and Rinzai in 2022. Stephen is a senior student of Roshi Mark Sando Mininberg and a transmitted teacher in the White Plum Asanga—the body of teachers in the Maezumi-roshi lineage. Stephen is the author of many books, including Trust in Awakening, Demystifying Awakening and Buddha’s Heart . You can support the creation of future episodes of this podcast by contributing through Patreon . See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at…
People in this episode
Host: Michael Taft
Guest: Stephen Mugen Snyder
Topics covered
- brahmaviharas
- Innate Goodness practice
- heart wisdom
- mind wisdom
- group heart
- Heart Sutra
- receptivity
- God
- nondual
- entities
- bodhisattvas
- deities
- forgiveness
- heart-based practice
Keywords
- Buddhism
- Zen
- Tibetan
- Theravada
- Western non-dual traditions
- meditation
Mentioned in this episode
Products: Trust in Awakening, Demystifying Awakening, Buddha’s Heart
Books & works: Trust in Awakening, Demystifying Awakening
Places: California
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- Nonduality and the Ego with Jake Orthwein · September 21, 2025 · 1h 2m
- Talking about Deity Yoga with Peter McEwen · August 29, 2025 · 55 min
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