In a world defined by accelerating schedules, fractured attention, and the relentless pressure to accomplish more in less time, many people find themselves quietly asking the same question: Is there another way to live?
This episode of Transformations with Mark V. Wiley offers a rare and timely answer. We are honored to welcome Dr. Livia Kohn, one of the world’s foremost scholars of Daoism and early Chinese mysticism, for a profound conversation about inner transformation, timeless awareness, and the Daoist approach to understanding the past, present, and future.
The conversation is not simply an academic exploration—it is a bridge between ancient wisdom and modern psychological need. Drawing from her influential books Early Chinese Mysticism, Taoist Mystical Philosophy, and Taming Time, Dr. Kohn guides us into the heart of Daoist practice, revealing how classical Chinese thought understood the nature of the self and the possibility of transcending ordinary consciousness.
At the center of our conversation is a simple yet radical idea: the self we struggle to maintain is not the self that sets us free. Daoist thinkers such as Laozi and Zhuangzi distinguished between the constructed self—shaped by habits, desires, and social pressures—and the original self, an unobstructed mode of being aligned with nature and the rhythms of the cosmos. Through practices like sitting in forgetfulness (坐忘), fasting the mind (心齋), breath refinement, stillness, and non-striving, early Daoists sought to dissolve the rigid boundaries of ego and perceive life with clarity and spontaneity.
Dr. Kohn explains how these practices were neither escapist nor esoteric. Instead, they were deeply embodied: anchored in breath, rooted in natural cycles, and meant to reshape how individuals experience the world. Far from retreating from life, Daoist mystics learned how to move more skillfully within it, reducing internal friction and responding to change with ease rather than resistance.
One of the most captivating parts of the conversation centers on her book Taming Time. In today’s world, time often feels like an adversary—scarce, compressed, and unforgiving. Daoism offers an unexpected alternative. Instead of viewing time as a linear force that pushes us forward, Daoism treats time as elastic, rhythmic, and inseparable from our state of mind. When we cultivate presence, emptiness, and attunement to our internal qi, our experience of time expands. The past becomes softer and more fluid; the future becomes a field of potential shaped not by control but by alignment.
We discuss how Daoist practices can help modern individuals release emotional residues, dissolve old narratives, and respond to life with a greater sense of spaciousness and coherence. Dr. Kohn also explores how ritual, seasonal cycles, and community practices situate individuals within a larger cosmic pattern—something many of us have lost in contemporary life.
Listeners will come away with practical insights, philosophical depth, and a renewed understanding of how ancient spiritual technologies can illuminate the path toward mental clarity, emotional balance, and authentic transformation.
This episode is more than a discussion; it is an invitation—to step outside habitual patterns, reconnect with inner stillness, and rediscover the quiet intelligence that Daoism has cultivated for over two millennia.
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