Rick Hanson's Blog, page 120
March 1, 2013
Cultivate Goodwill
Do people ever make you mad?
The Practice:
Cultivate goodwill.
Why?
As the most social and loving species on the planet, we have the wonderful ability and inclination to connect with others, be empathic, cooperate, care, and love. On the other hand, we also have the capacity and inclination to be fearfully aggressive toward any individual or group we regard as “them.” (In my book – Buddha’s Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love and Wisdom – I develop this idea further, including ho...
February 26, 2013
Cultivating a Forgiving Heart
The Compassionate Brain A FREE eight-part video series, hosted by Dr. Rick Hanson, that explores effective ways to change your brain and heart and life.
(Watch or listen to the entire series by registering at http://live.soundstrue.com/compassionatebrain/.)
Session 3: Cultivating a Forgiving Heart
Session Highlights:
An in-depth conversation with Dr. Tara Brach, founder of the Insight Meditation Community of Washington and author of Radical Acceptance: Embracing Your Life with the Heart of a Bud...
Come to Center
To what is your mind given?
The Practice:
Come to center.
Why?
I’m old enough to remember a time when people usually answered “good” when you asked them the standard, “How are you?” (often said “harya?”). These days the answer is commonly “busy.”
In the last few months I’ve been very busy myself and starting to feel dispersed: juggling a dozen priorities at any moment, attention skittering from one thing to another, body revved up, feeling stretched thin and spread out like an octopus squished be...
February 22, 2013
Make Good Bargains
Is it worth it?
The Practice:
Make good bargains.
Why?
Life is full of tradeoffs between benefits and costs.
Sometimes, the benefits are worth the costs. For example, the rewards of going for a run – getting out in fresh air, improving health, etc. – are, for me at least, worth the costs of losing half an hour of work time while gaining a pair of achy legs. Similarly, it could well be that: getting a raise is worth the awkwardness of asking for one; teaching a child good lessons is worth the stre...
February 12, 2013
Mindfulness of Oneself and Others
The Compassionate Brain
A FREE eight-part video series, hosted by Dr. Rick Hanson, that explores effective ways to change your brain and heart and life.
(Watch or listen to the entire series by registering at http://live.soundstrue.com/compassionatebrain/.)
Session 2: Mindfulness of Oneself and Others
Session Highlights:
An in-depth conversation with Dr. Daniel Siegel, executive director of the Mindsight Institute and author of Mindsight: The New Science of Personal Transformation
The link between...
February 6, 2013
Be Helpful
What can I do?
The Practice:
Be helpful.
Why?
I’m doing a series on my personal top five practices (all tied for first place), and have so far named three: meditate (including mindfulness, self-awareness, and, if you like, prayer), take in the good, and bless (including compassion, generosity, and love).
I saw one way to bless on a recent trip to Haiti, in the efforts of many dedicated people: be helpful. As you probably know, Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, with roughly 80...
February 1, 2013
Bless
Wishing well?
The Practice:
Bless.
Why?
Lately, I’ve been wondering what would be on my personal list of top five practices (all tied for first place). You might ask yourself the same question, knowing that you can cluster related practices under a single umbrella, your list may differ from mine, and your practices may change over time.
In these JOTs, so far I’ve written about two of my top practices:
Meditate – Mindfulness, training attention, contemplation, concentration, absorption, non-ordin...
January 29, 2013
How the Mind Changes the Brain
The Compassionate Brain
A FREE eight-part video series, hosted by Dr. Rick Hanson, that explores effective ways to change your brain and heart and life.
(Watch orlisten to the entire series by registering at http://live.soundstrue.com/compassionatebrain/.)
Session 1: How the Mind Changes the Brain
Session Highlights:
An in-depth conversation with Dr. Richie Davidson, professor of psychology at the University of Wisconsin and co-editor of The Asymmetrical Brain
How your thoughts and feelings change...
January 25, 2013
Try a Softer Tone
How do you talk to people?
The Practice:
Try a softer tone.
Why?
When our kids were little, I’d come home from work wanting some peace after the daily roller-coaster and often walk into a living room full of stuff – toy trucks, tennis shoes, bags of chips, etc. Irritated, the first words out of my mouth to my wife would be: “How come there’s all this mess?” Understandably, after a day chasing children plus juggling her own work, Jan would feel unfairly criticized and sputter back at me. Then ther...
January 16, 2013
Receive Faces
What do their faces say to you?
The Practice:
Receive faces.
Why?
As our ancestors evolved over millions of years in small bands, continually interacting and working with each other, it was vitally important to communicate in hundreds of ways each day. They shared information about external “carrots” and “sticks,” and about their internal experience (e.g., intentions, sexual interest, inclination toward aggression) through gestures, vocalizations – and facial expressions. Much as we developed uni...
