Rick Hanson's Blog, page 118
October 1, 2013
Hardwiring Happiness: Using the Mind to Change the Brain to Change the Mind (Part I)
Part I of a two-part talk on how to use the mind to change the brain to change the mind based on the theme of my new book, Hardwiring Happiness. This talk was given at the San Rafael Meditation gathering on September 11, 2013.
The post Hardwiring Happiness: Using the Mind to Change the Brain to Change the Mind (Part I) appeared first on Dr. Rick Hanson.
September 17, 2013
You ARE Good Enough
My friend and colleague, James. R. Doty, M.D. sent me this pic, recently. I thought I’d share it here.
James is a Clinical Professor in the Department of Neurosurgery at Stanford University and the Director of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCare) at Stanford University School of Medicine.
He is also an inventor, entrepreneur and philanthropist having given support to a number of charitable organizations including Children as the Peacemakers, Global Healing and F...
September 16, 2013
Accept Them as They Are
Who are you resisting?
The Practice:
Accept them as they are.
Why?
I admit it: whether close to home or far away, I wish some people were different. Depending on who they are, I wish they’d stop doing things like leaving cabinet doors open in our kitchen, sending me spam emails, or turning a blind eye to global warming. And I wish they’d start doing things like being friendlier toward me or spending more money on public education. Even if it doesn’t affect me directly, for their own sake I do wis...
September 11, 2013
Accept It
What are you resisting?
The Practice:
Accept it.
Why?
As general categories that each include a number of specific methods, my Top 5 practices (all tied for first place) are:
* Be mindful
* Love
* Take in the good
* Go green
* Open out
So far, I’ve written about the first four of these, and you can click the links just above for some previous JOTs about them. For example, the practices of “go green” help you get out of the brain’s fight-or-flight, Reactive, “red zone” setting and instead, engage life...
September 4, 2013
Grow Inner Strengths
What would make a difference inside you?
The Practice:
Grow Inner Strengths.
Why?
[Note: This JOT is adapted from the first chapter of my new book, Hardwiring Happiness. If you pre-order it now, you'll get a bonus: an hour-plus multimedia presentation from me on Your Best Brain: 5 Great Ways to Change Your Brain for the Better.]
I’ve hiked a lot and have often had to depend on what was in my pack. Inner strengths are the supplies you’ve got in your pack as you make your way down the twisting and...
August 26, 2013
Test audio
Check out my friend @jaimalyogis new children's book http://t.co/LPi3LEKOnu Every sale helps build new schools through @SurfForLifeTeam
— Rick Hanson (@drrhanson) September 26, 2013
The post Test audio appeared first on Dr. Rick Hanson.
August 22, 2013
Enjoy Four Kinds of Peace
What’s your sense of peace?
The Practice:
Enjoy four kinds of peace.
Why?
“Peace” can sound merely sentimental or clichéd (“visualize whirled peas”). But deep down, it’s what most of us long for. Consider the proverb: The highest happiness is peace.
Not a peace inside that ignores pain in oneself or others, or is acquired by shutting down. This is a durable peace, a peace you can come home to even if it’s been covered over by fear, frustration, or heartache.
When you’re at peace – when you are eng...
August 6, 2013
Relax, You’re Going to be Criticized
What are you bracing against?
The Practice:
Relax, you’re going to be criticized.
Why?
The title of this practice is a little tongue-in-cheek. What I mean is, most of us – me included – spend time worrying about criticism: past, present, and even future. Yes, try hard, keep agreements, “don’t be evil,” etc. But sooner or later – usually sooner – someone is going to point out the error in your ways. Often in subtle versions that still have an implicit criticism, such as giving advice, helping or...
July 15, 2013
Get Out of the War
What are you fighting?
The Practice:
Get out of the war.
Why?
By “war” I mean here a mindset, not combat between nations with tanks and bombs. The “war” I’m referring to is an attitude of conflict and animosity toward a person, object, or condition. Parents can feel at war with a misbehaving teenager, and certainly vice versa. Neighbors quarreling over a fence. Spouses edging toward divorce; divorced parents continuing to battle over holidays. Someone stuck in traffic, at war with other drivers....
July 7, 2013
Drop the Load
Are you doing too much?
The Practice:
Drop the load.
Why?
You may have seen the old Mickey Mouse movie in which he is working at a conveyor belt in a factory. More and more widgets come at him that he has to handle, and he gets increasingly frazzled as he struggles to keep up.
Do you ever feel the same way? Think about all the dishes, emails, meetings, reports, drives, calls returned, laundry folded, children tucked into bed, friends comforted, errands run, etc. etc. Most of a person’s tasks, eve...
