Mondays, October 5, 2026 – November 2027
8:30 – 10:00 am Pacific Time
The renowned twentieth-century Dzogchen master Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche taught, “Clear seeing, vipashyana, is your empty cognizance, your naked awareness beyond waxing and waning.” That is, vipashyana isn’t merely a method or a stepping stone on the path, but actually culminates in knowing rigpa—awake awareness—itself. And in the same breath, he explains why brief insights aren’t sufficient: “Without training, the recognition of mind essence remains a short glimpse that immediately vanishes.”
And there’s the rub: learning vipashyana is foundational, but it’s not enough to just know how to do it. We must practice it diligently over time to really allow the depth and clarity of insight to sink into our bones.
I’m Michael Taft, and I’ve been teaching the Vast Sky Mind 1 and 2 sequence for years now. I’ve loved watching students gain so much insight and depth in their practice in these courses. One thing I’ve noticed over the years is that there just isn’t enough time to practice. The courses end just as the practice is beginning to take root. Students get the method, get a taste of what it opens, and then the container dissolves.
With that in mind, I’ve created this new course, Vast Sky Mind: A Year of Deep Practice. The course is pretty much exactly what the name promises, and will give students a full year of support through weekly classes, teachings, office hours, TA Q&As, pods, and more. The course lasts just over one year, with 48 class sessions, grouped in four terms with a week or two of break time in between each term. My hope for this course is simple: that by the end of the year, vipashyana isn’t just a technique you do, but a way of seeing—what the tradition calls the View—that stays with you.
During that year, we’ll revisit the material from Hacking the Stack, Vast Sky Mind 1, and Vast Sky Mind 2. We will also cover important material that didn’t make its way into those courses, such as working with other sensory spaces, other types of vipashyana, and inquiry, which can help to enhance our skill at recognizing the nature of mind.
Who This Is For
This course is for any person who wants to deepen their practice and understanding of nonduality in general and vipashyana meditation specifically, working through the material with like-minded fellow practitioners. You must have taken either my Hacking the Stack or Vast Sky Mind 1 courses.
Is This a Replacement for Reversing the Stack?
Not at all. The Vast Sky Mind: A Year of Deep Practice course is all about vipashyana, and doesn’t go into the deeper end of nondual teaching that we encounter in Reversing the Stack—the material that assumes the same vipashyana skills this course builds. VSM: A Year of Deep Practice will not only upgrade your vipashyana skills dramatically, it will also fully prepare you for the material in Reversing the Stack.
How It Works
Like my other online courses, this takes place live on Zoom. Class will meet once a week for 90 minutes, meeting 48 times in just over a year. During each class, I will teach on that week’s topic, take live questions from the group, and lead a guided meditation. In addition, students are asked to join a “practice pod”—a group of students from the course—to study, share, bring up questions, and support each other’s practice through the course and beyond. Also, there will be supplemental readings, and the Mighty Networks platform with various spaces to help deepen your practice and understanding and connect with fellow sangha members. Over the course of the year, additional components such as TA Q&As, office hours, and sangha building events, will be added.
Requirements
- Commitment to meditate for 30 minutes daily
- Complete all assigned course materials
- Attend or view each class (videos of each class will be available during the course)
- Willingness to attend practice “pod” meetings outside of class
- Strong desire to learn, understand, and practice nondual meditation
While it’s not a requirement, this class is much easier if you already have a strong meditation background, particularly in vipashyana techniques.
A Note About the Dates
This is a 48-class course, meeting mostly weekly, with planned weeks off for holidays, retreats, “term breaks,” etc. There will also likely be additional dates that need to be skipped over the year. The first term is currently planned for 11 classes, meeting Oct 5 – Dec 21, with no class Dec 14. The second term will start January 11, 2027. Additional skipped classes will be made up, as needed, at the end of the course.
Past HTS and VSM courses have sold out. We recommend signing up early if you’re interested.
SIGN UP HERE
Mondays, October 5, 2026 – November 2027
8:30 – 10:00 am Pacific Time
Payment options. Every tier can be paid in full or in 4 installments. For Basic and Supporting installment plans include a small administrative fee, so the total is a bit higher—each button shows the full amount.
Basic
This is the standard fee for the course. Appropriate for most students.
Supporting
This tier allows you to support other students to afford the course via a Scholarship.
Choosing this tier helps cover a scholarship for someone who couldn’t otherwise attend. If you can afford it, please consider it. Thank you.
There are currently many more Scholarship students than supporters. Please help!
Scholarship
A specially reduced rate for students who cannot afford the Basic level at this time.
This rate is for students who genuinely couldn’t attend at the Basic price — not a discount, but a scholarship paid for by other students in the course. If you can afford Basic, please choose it so these remain available for those who need them.