Let's Start Here: The Art of Changing the World

You haven't heard from us in three weeks. Let me explain why, and tell you about what you'll be hearing from LSH in the weeks ahead.

If you've been listening to the podcast all year, you've heard Jerry talk about the work he's been doing with resistance bands. He's mentioned several times that he's been exploring resistance bands as an effective means of working out at home, and that he's been really excited about what he's been developing. At the end … Continue reading "Episode 98: Training with Resistance Bands"

A few days before we recorded this episode, I watched the final few holes of the final round of the Masters golf tournament. As I watched, I found myself thinking that what was most notable about this year's tournament was the absence of Tiger Woods. Tiger burst into the world's consciousness back in 1997 with … Continue reading "Episode 97: Training Tiger Woods"

Earlier this spring, I was facing a few major transitions. The end of ski season meant I'd soon be out of a job, which meant both that my daily patterns would change and also that I would need to figure out how I was going to spend the skiing off-season. I was also going to … Continue reading "Episode 96: Transitions"

Sometimes we find ourselves deeply blocked about things we know we really should do. When that happens, what do we do? How do we deal with blocks that seem to persist in our behavior despite strong intentions, that seem to defy our willpower? How do we move past blocks like that? Moving past those blocks … Continue reading "Episode 95: Dealing with Persistent Blocks"

A few weeks ago, Jerry reached out and said that he wanted to do an episode on cancel culture, that he thought there were aspects about that debate that are relevant to the work we do. In his view, the debate around cancel culture was not a demand for change on the one side and … Continue reading "Episode 94: Cancel Culture as a Lens on Resistance to Change"

Therapist and friend of the show Jenn Cullom reached out after Jerry and I spoke of our reservations about therapy in a couple of episodes earlier this year. She felt our characterizations about therapy were narrow and not very accurate. So we invited her onto the show to talk about what she saw as our … Continue reading "Episode 93: Jenn Cullom on the Value of Therapy"

The process of change isn't comfortable. Our comfort zone is the place we already are, and to change ourselves requires leaving that comfort zone. In this episode, we talk about some areas in which Benjamin has seen his practices begin to come to fruition, and the feelings of discomfort that accompanied those practices along the … Continue reading "Episode 92: On Skillfully Meeting the Discomfort of Change"

It's our second COVID spring, but this year at the equinox, there is reason to feel hope for the new world that we are building. The vernal equinox is a good time to reflect on hope: springtime, after all, is a time for renewal, rebirth, the planting of seeds. In this episode, Benjamin speaks of … Continue reading "Episode 91: Calling in Hope at the Vernal Equinox (A Better Story)"

Jerry got his first vaccine shot and found that it brought up a lot of interesting feelings. We start our conversation this week by talking about those feelings, and from there range into topics as varied as our responsibilities to others, the way two different cultural responses to COVID seem to be entrenching, and even … Continue reading "Episode 90: Jerry Got His First Vaccine Shot"

In this episode, we revisit the practice of RPE, with particular attention towards what we should do when the experiences of our lives take us beyond the zone of moderation into levels of stress that lead to detriment, an experience many (all?) of us have lived over and over again--if not constantly--over the past year. … Continue reading "Episode 89: RPE, Recovery, and the Intent to Thrive"

The impending anniversary of the COVID Zero Day, March 12th, got me thinking that it's been a while since I talked about my personal, physical experience as a COVID survivor. That day, when everything changed for all of us together, was also the day that everything began to change for me on a more personal … Continue reading "Episode 88: COVID Aftereffects, Both Personal and Social"

In the least surprising political event of 2021 so far, the Senate voted to acquit Donald Trump of the charge of inciting a mob to attack the Capitol Building. My question is this: should I even bother to be angry? Also in this episode, I discuss the horrific institution that is the Senate filibuster, and … Continue reading "Episode 87 (RFB 21.0225): On Donald Trump’s Acquittal, the Filibuster, and the Belief That Drives Change"

At the beginning of February, Benjamin participated in a ski clinic at Angel Fire, NM. He found the experience so enlivening that it led him to this thesis: that any coach who is not him- or herself actively getting coaching is at the very least a bit suspect. That thesis was the jumping-off point for … Continue reading "Episode 86: A Good Coach Must Be a Good Student"

A couple of weeks ago on A Better Story, I spoke of reaching a new bottom line with respect to the podcast: that I would no longer work on the podcast on deadline day. Now that I've had a little time to explore the significance of that bottom line, I want to share what I've … Continue reading "Episode 85: The Bottom Line, Revisited"

A friend of the show sent me an article that describes the rapidity with which COVID mutates, and it seems now that the best available evidence points to COVID mutating--or, more accurately, evolving--rapidly enough that our vaccines will only ever give imperfect protection. If that is indeed the case, then it follows that the vaccine … Continue reading "Episode 84: COVID Mutates Rapidly. Still, We Will Thrive"

For the first time on LSH/RFB, we are joined by a guest. Michael Gurshtein is a dear friend of mine and a friend of LSH since the very beginning. On January 6th, as I was still reeling from the events of the day, I contacted Michael and asked if he would like to be a … Continue reading "Episode 83: Michael Gurshtein Speaks About the Historical Moment"

In this wide-ranging conversation, Jerry and Benjamin discuss such topics as trusting the vision that drives us forward on the path, what it means to be a master, and the importance of maintaining beginner's mind.

On Tuesday night, I set a new bottom line for myself with respect to work on the podcast, and in doing so--and meaning it!--I discovered a surprising and exhilirating feeling of freedom. In this episode, I share the story and discuss why I believe this action offers a useful perspective when it comes to making … Continue reading "Episode 81: The Bottom Line"

I was on a long drive, musing about why it is that, notwithstanding the constant stress all of us have been under for the last eleven months, most people seem to be doing ... okay. Most people seem to be doing okay. Why is that, I thought? Given what we've been going through, why aren't … Continue reading "Episode 80: The Coming Mental Health Crisis"