Rick Hanson's Blog, page 109

Refill Your Cupboard

Are you self-nurturing?



The Practice:

Refill your cupboard.

Why?

[Note: This JOT is adapted from Mother Nurture , a book written for mothers - focusing on typical parenting situations and gender differences that are experienced by many, though not all, mothers and fathers, and by parents in same sex relationships. Parenting is a complex subject, plus it intertwines with larger issues of gender roles and the long history of mistreatment of women; obviously society should do a better job of supporti...

Creating a Field Guide to the Human Brain

Guest post by Randy Roark, Producer for Sounds True.

I’ve recently returned from recording a new program with Rick Hanson in Corte Madera, California. I first worked with Rick and his co-author Rick Mendius in 2009, when we recorded Meditations to Change Your Brain and Meditations for Happiness at the late, lamented Ursa Minor Studios in San Rafael, with the always amazing Ben Leinbach as our engineer. One of my fondest memories is watching Ben teach Rick how to get the best sound out of his T...

Brain Science and Psychotherapy: The Next Step

Last month at the Psychotherapy Networker Symposium in Washington DC, I gave a talk to ~ 3500 people: scary but wonderful! Brain Science and Psychotherapy: The Next Step – looked at the benefits and pitfalls of brain science, plus focused on a key point: if we don’t take the time to install our useful experiences, they’re wasted on the brain; they’re momentarily pleasant but lead to no learning, no healing, no growth. Then I summarized HOW to turn passing experiences into lasting value.

Listen...

Stay Well

Are you taking care of yourself?

The Practice

Stay well.

Why?

[Note: This JOT is adapted from Mother Nurture, a book written for mothers - focusing on typical parenting situations and gender differences that are experienced by many, though not all, mothers and fathers, and by parents in same sex relationships. Parenting is a complex subject, plus it intertwines with larger issues of gender roles and the long history of mistreatment of women; obviously society should do a better job of supporting...

Focusing on the Positive

If you focus on the positive for long enough, does it actually make your brain more receptive to doing that? Turn it into “velcro” for happiness, to use your expression?

Research shows that repeated practice of any positive behavior (e.g., gratitude) will increasingly incline the mind in that direction. Presumably, since all mental activity and changes entail neural activity and changes in brain structure, this changing inclination of mind must involve enduring changes in neural networks and a...

Intention of Non-Ill Will

Here we give up angry, punishing reactions toward others, animals, plants, and things. If such attitudes arise, we resolve not to feed them, and to cut them off as fast as we can.

The Buddha placed great stress on the importance of releasing ill will. In the extreme, he said that even when we are being grossly mistreated by others, we should practice good will toward them, and wish them the best.

To be sure, that does not mean turning a blind eye toward injustice and mistreatment – of ourselves...

Lower Your Stress

Can you take a moment?

The Practice:

Lower your stress

Why?

[Note: This JOT is adapted from Mother Nurture - a book written for mothers - focusing on typical situations that are experienced by many, though not all, mothers during the years before their children enter grade school. These are most commonly the years when mothers (biological and adoptive) experience the greatest demands of parenting.]

Nobody likes being stressed, but mothers often seem to have a hard time doing anything about it. Fir...

Mindful Presence

What Is Mindful Presence?

Let’s unpack those two words, mindful presence.

Mindfulness is simply a clear, non-judgmental awareness of your inner and outer worlds. In particular, it’s an awareness of the flow of experience in your inner world – an alert observing of your thoughts, emotions, body sensations, desires, memories, images, personality dynamics, attitudes, etc.

When you are mindful of something, you are observing it, not caught up in it and not identified with it. The psychological term,...

Key Points of Letting Go

“Let go a little, you’ll have a little happiness. Let go completely, you’ll be completely happy.”

Letting Go of Body Sensations

Ordinary breathing, focusing on exhalation, intending to let go.
Diaphragm breathing.
Breath of fire.
Heartmath: Breathing evenly through the heart with a positive emotion.
Scanning the body and releasing tension. Progressive relaxation.
Using imagery to relax.

Letting Go of Thoughts

Two fundamental errors of thought:

• Overestimating the bad.

• Underestimating the good.

Syste...

Is the “Self” Real?

Is the “Self” real? What’s the nature of the sense of being that remains when parts of the psyche fall away?

The answer depends on how you define “Self.”I use that word to refer to the central “I” that’s presumed in Western psychology and philosophy (and everyday usage) to be the owner of experiences and agent of actions, and which is defined and constituted by three attributes: unification (there’s just one “I”), permanence (the “I” stays the same,things happen to it but it doesn’t change), a...