Beyond the News
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.
Episodes
12 episodes
On the Eve of the US Election
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, anx...
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4:16
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 po...
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17:52
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 t...
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8:10
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 capa...
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9:08
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,...
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10:30
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 toge...
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14:01
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...
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10:47
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 nor...
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9:31
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 feel...
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13:33
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 shi...
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9:30
