Join host Dr. Larry Ward as he explores current events through the lens of Buddhism and neuroscience, sharing practical skills for how to engage with the information we receive from the wider world. While we cannot ignore the news or modern media, we can learn new ways to shift our perspective from reactivity to reflection, and gain a deeper understanding of our body and mind along the way. Dr. Ward is the author of America’s Racial Karma, a senior teacher in the Plum Village tradition of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh and the co-founder of The Lotus Institute. He brings an interdisciplinary approach to his "Deep Buddhism" teachings, incorporating elements of Buddhist psychology with neuroscience, trauma resiliency and social imagination.
In this special mini-episode, Dr. Larry Ward shares his wise words and reflections on the 2024 US election, inspired by the teachings and practices of Beyond the News. As Larry says, "Every election by its nature brings possibility, anxiety, and hope. This is true for society to grow in the improvement of itself for its citizens." As the US election approaches, we invite you to revisit the episodes of Beyond the News so that you may discover practices to help you stay safe, grounded and min...
9 Aug 2023
Ep. 10: The Treasures of Self-Knowledge
Self-knowledge is about understanding and opening to the potential that is rising to the surface of your life. In the series finale, Dr. Larry Ward outlines the key takeaways from the past 9 episodes, while sharing a few personal stories and poetic wisdoms along the way. For Dr. Ward, Beyond the News was a journey of discovery and an invitation to learn to listen to our bodies and minds as we listen to the world through the news. The stories and events in each episode served as a vehicle for...
10 Jul 2023
Ep. 9: From Fear to Freedom
What role does fear play in defining the limits of your heart and mind? Our fears, be they related to abandonment, powerlessness or environmental and social crises, can block us from realizing our true potential. They set boundaries to the capacity of our hearts and minds to be creative and free. Doom scrolling and consuming too much distressing news only serves to amplify these fears and anxieties. In this episode, Dr. Ward outlines the steps we can take to begin moving from fear to freedo...
5 Jun 2023
Ep. 8: Imprints of Potential
Close your eyes and picture your mind as a garden. There, planted deep in the soil are seeds or imprints. Imprints like anger, jealousy and hatred, or joy, generosity and compassion. When we listen to or read the news, these seeds have the capacity to rise to the surface and affect how we think, speak and act. The practice before us, says. Dr Ward, is to grow our awareness of how to water the wholesome seeds that will lead us to a shared place of justice, wellness and harmony. Go deep...
22 May 2023
Ep. 7: Thought Patterns
We turn our attention to thought patterns and the narratives and stories we tell ourselves as we encounter the news. On average, a young adult can have over 6,000 thoughts in just one day. And when we attach an emotion to one of these thoughts, it can become real to us and affect how we feel. By learning how to pause and examine our thoughts more closely, says Dr. Ward, we can gain control over the narratives we create and learn to live with greater equanimity and awareness. Go deeper with t...
8 May 2023
Ep. 6: Attachment to Views
Our views are not fixed monuments. They are directional, flexible and open to learning. In this episode, Dr. Ward, invites us to pause, look deeply, and consider how we may change our way of seeing and looking at things so that we may live together in wellness, justice, and harmony. To study and observe our views can help us understand how our beliefs and identities are interconnected. And if we are open to changing our views and recognizing their impermanence, says Dr. Ward, we can mo...
17 Apr 2023
Ep. 5: The Power of Perception
"Are you sure?"... Perception, the process of recognizing and interpreting, holds immense power. It shapes our lives, our worldview, and how we interpret the news. Before reacting to the stories you hear, pause and ask yourself, "Are you sure?" This simple yet profound question became a lifelong practice for Dr. Larry Ward, inspired by his teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh, the founder of the Plum Village Community of Engaged Buddhism. Nothing can happen without our mind being involved in what comes...
3 Apr 2023
Ep. 4: The Social Implications of Our Feeling Tones
Continuing the discussion from episode 3, Dr. Ward delves into the societal implications of how we respond to the feeling tones we experience when consuming the news. Feelings of pleasantness, unpleasantness and neutrality are a natural and normal part of being human. Like clouds, they come and they go. Yet when we scroll through our social feeds or listen to the news, we can unconsciously develop reactions to these feelings that drive our ego and shape our definition of self and others...
15 Mar 2023
Ep. 3: Learning From Our Feeling Tones
In this episode, Dr. Ward discusses ways to study and practice with our feeling tones when consuming the news. A feeling tone is a simple, direct and immediate sensation that we experience in our body and mind. In Buddhist teachings, these feelings are often understood along a spectrum ranging from "pleasant" on one end to "unpleasant" at the other, with a range of intensity between those levels. In the middle of the spectrum is the tone "neutral". Studying our feelings tones is important, s...
22 Feb 2023
Ep. 2: Learning to Listen to Your Breath
Dr. Ward invites us to study our breath as we encounter the news, noticing how it changes based on the story. By paying kind attention to our respiratory system, we can learn how to calm our breathing in the very moment that we experience a shift. With time and practice, we can learn to let go of stories that harm us. Go deeper: In a notebook, write down a few lines that describe the characteristics of your breath as you consume the news. Was the breath long or short?...fast or slow?...excit...
20 Jan 2023
Ep. 1: Learning to Listen to Your Body
In this episode, Dr. Larry Ward offers insight on how to listen to your body's reaction to the news—before responding. To take a step back and pause so that you better understand the messages your body is receiving and can then respond in a way that doesn't harm yourself or others. Learning to live in the world with your heart undisturbed by the world is not easy, but it is an essential practice to help us live a life with equanimity. It all begins with recognizing, naming and responding to t...
20 Jan 2023
Beyond the News Trailer
There is only so much information that we can cut out from our lives. It is vital that we know what is happening in the world. But we must first learn how to do that work skillfully. That is what Beyond the News is all about. "Beyond" does not mean hiding from or being outside of, it means not being carried away by the stories we hear into reactivity. Support the show Beyond the News is made possible through the generous support from Hemera Foundation and the Frederick P. Lenz Foundation. You...
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