Rick Hanson's Blog, page 111
March 17, 2014
Do Freely
What are you doing?
The Practice:
Do freely.
Why?
Most people spend most minutes of most days doing one thing after another. I sure do. Typing these words is a kind of doing, as is driving to work, making dinner, brushing one’s teeth, or putting the kids to bed. For all the “labor-saving” devices of the past 50 years – dishwashers, phone machines, word processors, etc. – most of us are laboring more, not less. For example, in terms of employment, the average work week in America has gotten longe...
March 14, 2014
Wholesome Intentions – The Neurology of Intention
Our intentions arise in the brain, are represented in the brain, and are pursued in the brain. Where else?
Therefore, a basic understanding of how intentions work in the brain – and thus in your mind – is a very useful thing to have.
The Executive Functions
The brain is like a committee, with many parts or “members” working together – or at cross purposes! – and the frontal lobes are like the chair of that committee. Or, to use a different metaphor, if the psyche altogether is a vast land, with...
March 10, 2014
How to Change Your Brain
In this video, I explain how mindfulness meditation can strengthen our brains and help us focus our attention. This video was taken at the Greater Good Science Center in UC Berkeley as part of the Science of a Meaningful Life Series.
Take a look and let me know what you think!
The post How to Change Your Brain appeared first on Dr. Rick Hanson.
March 7, 2014
Wholesome Intentions – Introduction
These statements about reality, about the way things really are, are central to Buddhism, and you can test them for yourself:
Everything happens because of preceding causes. Everything, both inside our minds and outside in the world.
Those causes lead to results that are either beneficial or harmful, for ourselves and others.
Causes originate within yourself and outside yourself.
The primary source of the causes that originate inside you are your own intentions. As one teacher put it, “Everything...
March 5, 2014
Free Hardwiring Happiness Reading Guide Now Available!
I’ve created a reading guide for my book, Hardwiring Happiness, to take you through the concepts and details of each chapter, offering more opportunities to practice, reflect and apply the teachings to your every day life.
The reading guide is a helpful resource for individuals or reading groups, and you can view and download it HERE for free! Plus, you are welcome to share this guide with others who have read or are thinking of reading Hardwiring Happiness. Thanks!
The post Free Hardwiring Hap...
March 3, 2014
Key Points of Awareness – Part II
Visit Part I of this blog post here.
Concentration
Concentration has two central factors: applying attention to an object and sustaining it there, like an ice skater plants her foot (applying) and then glides along (sustaining).
When you practice formal concentration, keep returning attention to the object (e.g., breath, sensation, emotion, memory of your mother), fully aware of it, absorbed in it. If other thoughts, concerns, plans, etc. bubble up, let them arise but don’t follow them, and keep...
March 1, 2014
Taking in the Good
Today we don’t gather our own food, fight off wild animals, or live in caves. And yet we’re equipped with stone-aged brains. With practice, however, we can change our brains, and our lives, for the better.
Check out this video to learn how!
The post Taking in the Good appeared first on Dr. Rick Hanson.
February 28, 2014
Developing An Inner Protector
How do I develop an inner protector?
Not being able to find an inner protector is a real fact of the inner of world of many people. Developing one is a matter of committed practice toward one’s own well-being, which will gradually change the brain. Some steps along the way:
Look for little natural moments of the senses in which there is a feeling, no matter how small, of ease, relaxation, loosening of contraction, exhaling, satisfaction of a need (e.g., drinking water when thirsty), sinking int...
February 27, 2014
When Good Is Stronger Than Bad
I developed the Taking in the Good Course – six, 3-hour classes combining presentations, experiential activities, and written materials – teaching participants how to turn passing experiences into lasting inner strengths. The preliminary (not yet peer-reviewed) findings in a recent study conducted in collaboration with faculty from UC Berkeley and UC Davis indicate thatpeople who completed the Taking in the Good Course experienced significantly less anxiety and depression, and significantly g...
February 26, 2014
Overcoming the Negativity Bias
You were quoted in a short post about negativity bias in which you stated, “The brain is like Velcro for negative experiences and Teflon for positives ones.” Can you explain this in more detail?
As the brain evolved, it was critically important to learn from negative experiences – if one survived them! “Once burned, twice shy.” So the brain has specialized circuits that register negative experiences immediately in emotional memory. On the other hand, positive experiences – unless they are very...
