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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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. […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

With their vote on Tuesday challenging the constitutionality of Trump's impeachment trial, 45 Senate Republicans made it clear that they were going to vote to acquit Trump no matter what. Was it really just two days ago that I put out a podcast episode expressing hope for a better political future for this country? Meanwhile, […]

Enter our episode, child, for herein lie reflections on the recent ceremony that installed in our great nation a new, and perhaps even decent, leader; on the myriad feelings engendered by said ceremony and its implicit symbolism; and on the ways each of us, walking the path, can use this moment as a foundation for […]

In this episode, Benjamin tells us the way he's practicing optimism about 2021.

Benjamin's reflexive response to a passage in a book he was reading led him to acknowledge the depth of trauma that he (and, by extension, probably pretty much everyone) has internalized around COVID. This recognition led him to ask, "Is it too soon to begin the process of healing?" (This version with the intro restored!)

In which the theme of how certain changes in our lives demand us to take on a new identity, and for a story illustrative of this theme I chose the recording of the episode itself. Very meta.

Jerry and Benjamin discuss the events of January 6th and their broader implications in society. We identify the crisis we're facing as primarily spiritual rather than political and talk about how to meet this crisis. The New York Times article that Benjamin mentions in the introduction can be found at https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/09/us/politics/republican-party-trump.html?action=click&module=Spotlight&pgtype=Homepage

On January 6th, 2021, the President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, incited a mob of his followers to storm the US Capitol building, and in doing so justified the existence of Radio Free Benjamin. I hope you're ready, LSH Family, because our time is now. It's time to change the world

Great job, LSH family, we made it: 2021. Happy New Year. It's the first episode of 2021, and we're off to a flying start. The major theme of this episode is how to thrive in this time of challenge, but we weave our way through areas as diverse as politics, skiing, relationships, practice, and home […]

The winter solstice is always a special day. It is the energetic new year, and its energy requests of us a period of reflection and repose. This year's solstice is especially interesting because a Great Conjunction between Jupiter and Saturn occurs on the solstice as well. In this episode, Jerry and Benjamin discuss the energy […]

Back in September, on the autumnal equinox, I released an episode in which I reflected on the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and what her death might mean for the country. I promised more episodes in that vein, but haven't delivered--until now. In this episode, I take a look back at my thoughts and […]

Jerry shares his first experiences with working out at home, we follow that thread into talk about the need for change, and then discuss shifting our language and framing in order to set the foundation for thriving during this challenging time.

In this A Better Story episode, Benjamin recounts a couple of experiences from Taos Ski Valley's opening day, and shares how a shift in perspective changed his relationship to those experiences.

In this episode, Jerry and I discuss the vaccine, the future of workout and gym culture, and the way forward for the work we do. We admit some ways we've been resisting the present moment, and start to talk about building the foundation for thriving--notwithstanding our present challenges.

Part 2 of our conversation about politics, change and despair.

In this episode, we talk about our feelings around and conclusions about the election and what it says about our society. Part 1 of 2.

2020 has been a difficult year in which to practice gratitude, don't you think? Nevertheless, practicing gratitude serves us well. In this short episode, Benjamin shares some things he is grateful for, notwithstanding the challenges of this trying year.

In the three weeks since the election, we've struggled to figure out exactly what to say. Now that Biden has won the election, we want to put our energy ... where, exactly? This episode is a brief series of thoughts about how we might approach the challenging months ahead.

Been a while, hasn't it? In this short episode, Benjamin explains what caused the long silence, talks about what's coming in LSH land in the near future, and talks about dealing with anxiety around the election.

The death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg left Benjamin reeling. In this short episode, he talks about the soul-searching he's done in the days since her death, and concludes that the only healthy way forward for himself is to focus on the spiritual issues around the present situation, not the political ones.

The stress just keeps getting more intense, doesn't it? We're facing relentlessly overwhelming circumstances in our world. In this episode, we discuss what we can do to navigate that overwhelm when there's no reprieve and none on the horizon. Sorry this didn't show up last week, LSH family. Database issues had the website down. But […]

Last week, we revisted the centered breath, but we acknowledged that centered breathing during this time of travail might bring up challenging emotions. This week, we discuss how to leverage the centered breath to create a practice that sustains us during this difficult time.

In our last episode, we made the bold contention that, at this time of turmoil and impulse toward change, the most revolutionary thing you can do is to come to the present moment again and again via the centered breath. In this episode, we revisit the centered breath and talk about skillfully navigating the feelings […]

What made George Floyd's murder at the hands of the police different from the deaths of so many others, such that it caused massive protests around the country and around the world as well? What do these protests tell us about the present moment and the challenges we face? And how do we respond skillfully […]

Many times over the years, and increasingly so since I've been doing this podcast, people have told me that my voice is soothing. A surprising number of people over the years have said to me, "I'd love to hear your voice while I go to sleep. You should record bedtime stories." Well, in this bonus […]

Many times over the years, and increasingly so since I've been doing this podcast, people have told me that my voice is soothing. A surprising number of people over the years have said to me, "I'd love to hear your voice while I go to sleep. You should record bedtime stories." Well, in this bonus […]

A bout of struggle and resistance took me into the woods on a hike, and out there I discovered a falseness in my current approach to this work. This short episode is my first attempt to speak from a place of deeper truth.

As this summer progresses, we are being tasked with dealing with new challenges concerning the pandemic and the current political situation. In this episode, we discuss those latest challenges and how we might navigate them.

Hey, so did you hear about this comet, Comet NEOWISE? Let's talk about Comet NEOWISE.

Benjamin describes five recent experiences--one on his mountain bike, four on the tennis court--that express his recent successes and travails on the path towards greater flow and the deep change that can come with it. Jerry joins the discussion to comment on the most salient details from these stories and to help derive the lessons […]

In Part 2 of Catching Up, we discuss the murder of George Floyd and the subsequent protests, the potential for change that these protests imply, and also the fear that is becoming ever more prevalent in our society.

We've been gone a while! In Part 1 of "Catching Up," we talk about Jerry's experiences down in Arizona and how they're different from what he was experiencing in Colorado; how we talk to people who have different worldviews from our own; and how the protests that have sprung up since George Floyd's murder indicate […]