Episode 92: On Skillfully Meeting the Discomfort of Change

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 …

Episode 91: Calling in Hope at the Vernal Equinox (A Better Story)

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 …

Episode 90: Jerry Got His First Vaccine Shot

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 …

Episode 89: RPE, Recovery, and the Intent to Thrive

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. …

Episode 88: COVID Aftereffects, Both Personal and Social

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 …