Young Urban Zen SF

This is a reupload of Michael’s talk a couple weeks ago, both with improved quality and to let you know about his workshop happening this month on AI and what it means to be human. Please see below for the original description:

Tomorrow evening I'll be leading the Young Urban Zen gathering, and it will be a preview of this online workshop that I'm teaching in August: Being Human in the Age of AI. Please feel free to sign up or ask me any questions about this online offering.

This is a course that I've been teaching for about three years, and it is constantly being updated, as you can imagine. I look forward to turning the subject over with all of you.
























Being Human in the Age of AI (reupload)

Young Urban Zen

Eli explores Attention in an Age of Distraction. Before asking what distracts us, we’ll look at what captures our attention in the first place particularly the subtle ways our preferences, what we like and don’t like, shape where our attention goes and how we experience the world.
























Attention in an Age of Distraction

Young Urban Zen

This week's theme is "The heart of Zen teachings - Grandmotherly Mind". Zen practice isn't about becoming a better version of yourself—it's about learning a radically different way of relating to the person you already are. This talk explores the Zen teaching of Grandmotherly Mind: a compassionate, clear, and courageous way of meeting ourselves and others that transforms how we navigate work, relationships, and everyday life. Drawing on the teachings of the great Zen master Eihei Dōgen, we'll explore how this ancient practice speaks directly to the challenges of modern life.
























Grandmotherly Mind

Young Urban Zen

Tonight Tim Wicks will speak about accumulation. We collect lots and lots of stuff. For some of us shopping can be an addiction. A lot of it gets thrown away.
Greed is one of the three poisons that we work with in Zen, it is an obstacle to our awakening. Here we discuss…
























Accumulation

Young Urban Zen

In a culture that often measures human worth by productivity and output, this talk explores what is distinctly and irreducibly human—our capacity for empathy, our unique perspective, our ability to be present with difficulty, and our power to connect. Drawing on Zen practice, neuroscience, and contemplative wisdom, Sozan Michael McCord examines our relationships with technology, with each other, and with the processes that fill our days.
























Being Human in the Age of AI

Michael McCord