Timeless wisdom for modern dilemmas, combining yoga philosophy, practical insight and critical thinking. Hosted by Daniel Simpson. <br/><br/><a href="https://ancientfutures.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast">ancientfutures.substack.com</a>
Ancient Futures
Claim This Podcastby Daniel Simpson
4.8(12 reviews)
90 episodes
Updated Monthly
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Podcast Overview
Timeless wisdom for modern dilemmas, combining yoga philosophy, practical insight and critical thinking. Hosted by Daniel Simpson. <br/><br/><a href="https://ancientfutures.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast">ancientfutures.substack.com</a>
Language
🇺🇲
Publishing Since
3/1/2023
1 verified contact email on file for Ancient Futures
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Recent Episodes
July 29, 2026
What is Awakening? – Matthew Green
<p>Practically speaking, what does it mean to wake up? It’s literally the opposite of falling asleep, so it involves being aware. But since the Buddha’s name means he awakened, the bar seems quite high.</p><p>This conversation with my friend <a target="_blank" href="https://substack.com/profile/846024-matthew-green">Matthew Green</a> reflects on what we’ve learned from decades of practice – not least that it’s ultimately not about us. So we talk about ways of processing unhelpful conditioning, avoiding being triggered and the value of what Matthew calls “relational mysticism” – i.e. doing this communally.</p><p>Matthew is global investigations editor for the climate website <a target="_blank" href="https://www.desmog.com/about/">DeSmog</a>. Having trained as a collective trauma integration facilitator with <a target="_blank" href="https://thomashuebl.com">Thomas Hübl</a>, he co-hosts the What Is Collective Healing? <a target="_blank" href="https://pocketproject.org/collective-healing-podcast/">podcast</a>, writes <a target="_blank" href="https://matthewgreenglobal.substack.com/">Resonant World</a>, and is co-founder of the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.theresonantman.com/">Resonant Man</a> international men’s group. He offers Tarot readings <a target="_blank" href="https://tarotillumination.com">here</a>.</p><p>The <a target="_blank" href="https://harpercollins.co.uk/products/awareness-anthony-de-mello?variant=32800009027662">book</a> I quote from at one point is Awareness by Anthony de Mello. Matthew also mentions his wife <a target="_blank" href="https://www.drgenevieve.com">Genevieve</a>, a clinical psychologist and parenting coach.</p><p>--</p><p>🤿 To explore yogic wisdom in depth, join me online for <a target="_blank" href="https://truthofyoga.com/p/knowledge26">The Path of Knowledge</a></p><p>🙏 Your support makes this podcast sustainable – please consider <a target="_blank" href="https://ancientfutures.substack.com/subscribe">subscribing</a> or <a target="_blank" href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/danielcsimpson">make a donation</a>... It's greatly appreciated!</p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://ancientfutures.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2">ancientfutures.substack.com/subscribe</a>
July 15, 2026
Evolution in Action – Daniel Simpson
<p>How much has yoga changed over the past 2,000 years? 🤔</p><p>In one sense, very little – assuming yoga means a state beyond mental activity, as ancient texts teach. However, nowadays, it mostly refers to something else – the regular practice of sequences of postures that developed more recently.</p><p>My new <a target="_blank" href="https://www.danielsimpson.info/books/the-evolution-of-modern-yoga">book</a>, The Evolution of Modern Yoga, is an engaging guide to the shifts in priorities that shaped new methods and objectives over the centuries, making yoga more appealing to contemporary practitioners. Drawing on the latest research, it examines key trends, influential teachers and issues of authenticity, among other topics. The overall aim is to explore how innovation relates to tradition.</p><p>This episode includes a brief sample, along with some reflections on broader ideas. The book is part of a series from the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies. It will be published in October and it’s available for pre-order now via the following links: <a target="_blank" href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-evolution-of-modern-yoga-daniel-simpson/c3dbe1886022e348?ean=9798887621715">bookshop.org</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GQHZWXQX?tag=truthofyoga-20">amazon.com</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0GTF9G9WZ?tag=truthofyoga-21">amazon.co.uk</a></p><p>See the publisher’s <a target="_blank" href="https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Evolution-of-Modern-Yoga/Daniel-Simpson/9798887621715">website</a> for other online options, along with endorsements. And send me an <a target="_blank" href="mailto:ancientfutures.podcast@gmail.com">email</a> if you have any questions about placing orders or anything else.</p><p>--</p><p>🤿 To explore these ideas in more depth, join me online for <a target="_blank" href="https://truthofyoga.com/p/knowledge26">The Path of Knowledge</a></p><p>🙏 Your support makes this podcast sustainable – please consider <a target="_blank" href="https://ancientfutures.substack.com/subscribe">subscribing</a> or <a target="_blank" href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/danielcsimpson">make a donation</a>... It's greatly appreciated!</p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://ancientfutures.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2">ancientfutures.substack.com/subscribe</a>
July 1, 2026
Liberating Insights – Tamara Cohen
<p>What if everything we think is a dream? Would nothing be real? Or might it reveal how to live in infinity, untroubled by suffering? 🤯</p><p>Tamara Cohen <a target="_blank" href="https://www.academia.edu/104375819">wrote</a> her PhD about the Yogavāsiṣṭha – a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.uni-marburg.de/de/fb10/iksl/faecher/indologie/arbeitsstelle-akademie-mainz/moksopaya">text</a> whose original name was the Mokṣopāya, or “means to liberation”. Structured as a dialogue between the sage Vasiṣṭha and the young prince Rāma, it explains how to set oneself free from conceptual delusions.</p><p>As we discuss, the text suggests its method is the ultimate summary of all possible philosophies. In the process, it incorporates yoga alongside Buddhism, Śaiva Tantra and – in the Yogavāsiṣṭha – non-dual Vedānta. It also brings ideas to life by telling stories, presenting worlds within worlds that stretch beyond imagination.</p><p>You can find out more about Tamara’s work <a target="_blank" href="https://virginia.academia.edu/tamaracohen">here</a>. She taught a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.yogicstudies.com/ys-218">course</a> on the text at the start of this year and she’s writing a book about its teachings on yoga. For now, she recommends <a target="_blank" href="https://sunypress.edu/Books/V/Vasi-ha-s-Yoga">this translation</a> by Swami Venkatesananda (which can be found <a target="_blank" href="https://www.estudantedavedanta.net/Vasisthas_Yoga_Venkatesananda.pdf">online</a>). The Sanskrit of the Mokṣopāya is <a target="_blank" href="https://sunypress.edu/Books/V/Vasi-ha-s-Yoga">here</a> – it’s also <a target="_blank" href="https://www.harrassowitz-verlag.de/ENG/search.ahtml?act=suchen&type=quick&keyword=Mokṣopāya">available</a> in German.</p><p>--</p><p>🔭 For a comprehensive overview of yogic traditions, join <a target="_blank" href="https://truthofyoga.com/p/knowledge26">The Path of Knowledge</a></p><p>🙏 Your support makes this podcast sustainable – please consider <a target="_blank" href="https://ancientfutures.substack.com/subscribe">subscribing</a> or <a target="_blank" href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/danielcsimpson">make a donation</a>... It's greatly appreciated!</p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://ancientfutures.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2">ancientfutures.substack.com/subscribe</a>
90 total episodes available
Recent guests on Ancient Futures
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Sonia Faleiro
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Tova Olsson
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Gabriel Maldonado
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Peter Sterios
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Crystal Ariel
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Simon Haas
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Sravana Borkataky-Varma
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Anya Foxen
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Jessica Böhme
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Lena Kraler
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Michela Wrong
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