Dr. LARRY WARD on Healing the Colonial Mind /296
Photo by Yueshan Jiang of four soft green colored, lotus leaves emerging in a pattern above a surface of water reflecting a tree canopy and other organic shapes.
In this episode of For The Wild podcast, we plumb into racial karma and healing systemic trauma in the American context with guest Dr. Larry Ward. Covering the neuroscience of trauma, the habit of racism, and various typologies of systemic trauma, Dr. Ward provides insight into how we might consciously choose to activate our neuroplasticity toward justice rather than collectively rewarding our neuroplasticity for violence and oppression.
We are reminded in this episode that we are more than our colonial traumatic memory; we are, in fact, part of the one living reality of the natural world. According to Dr. Ward, cultivating a spiritual practice of awareness of our embeddedness with the world allows us to transcend the conditioning of the colonial mind. Harkening to the potential for anima mundi, the creation of a new world soul, we are invited to lead in the direction of the positive deconstruction of the current world order and to be vigilant in putting our minds and behaviors toward creating generative possibilities for the planet and generations to come.
“Every previous action creates other previous actions, and the pattern gets repeated unless you change it.”
Photo of Dr. Larry Ward by Jovelle Tamayo
Dr. Larry Ward (he/him) is a senior teacher in Buddhist Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh's Plum Village tradition, author of the book America's Racial Karma, and co-author with his wife Peggy of Love's Garden, A Guide To Mindful Relationships. Dr. Ward brings twenty five years of international experience in organizational change and local community renewal to his work as director of the Lotus Institute and as an advisor/dharma teacher. He holds a PhD in Religious Studies with an emphasis on Buddhism and the neuroscience of meditation. Larry is a knowledgeable, charismatic and inspirational teacher, offering insights with personal stories and resounding clarity that express his dharma name, “True Great Sound.”
♫ The music featured in this episode is “Ocean of the Heart” by Daniela Lanaia, “I am Boundless Energy” by Curran Runz, “Vibration” by Lady Moon and the Eclipse, and “Blue Heron” by The New Runes.
Episode References
The Earth Gate: Trauma Resiliency practices from a Buddhist Perspective, a course by The Lotus Institute
America’s Racial Karma: An Invitation to Heal by Larry Ward, PhD
“Race, Reclamation, and the Resilience Revolution” by Dr. Larry Ward
Grace Lee Boggs
Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar
adrienne maree brown on Pleasure as Birthright /114 by For The Wild
Larry’s Recommendations
The World We Have by Thich Nhat Hanh
My Body My Earth: Somatic Archaeology Meditations by Ruby Gibson
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For The Wild is a slow media organization dedicated to land-based protection, co-liberation, and intersectional storytelling. We are rooted in a paradigm shift away from human supremacy, endless growth, and consumerism. As we dream towards a world of grounded justice and reciprocity, our work highlights impactful stories and deeply-felt meaning making as balms for these times.