Rick Hanson's Blog, page 22
June 7, 2022
Speak From The Heart
What’s Your Heart Saying?
The Practice:
Speak from the heart.
Why?
One Christmas I hiked down into the Grand Canyon, whose bottom lay a vertical mile below the rim. Its walls were layered like a cake, and a foot-high stripe of red or gray rock indicated million-plus years of erosion by the Colorado River. Think of water – so soft and gentle – gradually carving through the hardest stone to reveal great beauty. Sometimes what seems weakest is actually the most powerful.
In the same way...
June 2, 2022
Meditation + Talk: Appreciating the Many Kinds of Diversity, Including Inside Yourself
This Wednesday Night Meditation included a 34-minute meditation and a 44-minute talk and discussion about Appreciating the Many Kinds of Diversity, Including Inside Yourself.
I hope you find it helpful, and you are welcome to join my free Wednesday Meditations – open to everyone!
Meditation: Appreciating the Many Kinds of Diversity, Including Inside YourselfTalk: Ap...
May 31, 2022
See Progress
Are some things getting better?
The Practice:
See progress.
Why?
There are always things that are getting worse. For example, over the past year, you probably know someone who has become unemployed or ill or both, and there’s more carbon in the atmosphere inexorably heating up the planet.
But if you don’t recognize what’s improving in your own life, then you feel stagnant or declining. This can foster what researchers call “learned helplessness” – a dangerously slippery slope. It typica...
May 28, 2022
Meditation + Talk: The Multifaceted Powers of Mindfulness and Compassion Practices
This Wednesday Night Meditation included a 21-minute meditation and a 38-minute talk and discussion on The Multifaceted Powers of Mindfulness and Compassion Practices with guest teacher Lakiba Pittman.
Lakiba Pittman is a college professor, compassion and mindfulness educator, writer, and creative artist. She is a Senior Instructor for Compassion Cultivation Training workshops designed at Stanford’s Center for Compassion & Altruism, Research & Compassion, and a Trained Instructor for M...
May 19, 2022
Meditation + Talk: Self-Reliance
This Wednesday Night Meditation included a 35-minute meditation and a 47-minute talk and discussion about Self-Reliance.
I hope you find it helpful, and you are welcome to join my free Wednesday Meditations – open to everyone!
Meditation: Self-Reliance Talk: Self-Reliance ...May 17, 2022
Recognize Suffering in Others
Where Does It Hurt?
The Practice:
Recognize suffering in others.
Why?
We’re usually aware of our own suffering, which – broadly defined – includes the whole range of physical and mental discomfort, from mild headache or anxiety to the agony of bone cancer or the anguish of losing a child. (Certainly, there is more to life than suffering, including great joy and fulfillment; that said, we’ll sustain a single focus here.)
But seeing the suffering in others: that’s not so common. All the n...
May 12, 2022
Meditation + Talk: What Were You Like When You Were 9 Years Old?
This Wednesday Night Meditation included a 35-minute meditation and a 45-minute talk and discussion about What Were You Like When You Were 9 Years Old?
I hope you find it helpful, and you are welcome to join my free Wednesday Meditations – open to everyone!
Meditation: What Were You Like When You Were 9 Years Old? Talk: What Were You Like When You Were 9 Years Old? ...May 10, 2022
Receive Generosity
Do you accept the gift?
The Practice:
Receive generosity.
Why?
Life gives to each one of us in so many ways.
For starters, there’s the bounty of the senses – including chocolate chip cookies, jasmine, sunsets, wind singing through pine trees, and just getting your back scratched.
What does life give you?
Consider the kindness of friends and family, made more tangible during a holiday season, but of course, continuing throughout the year.
Or the giving of the people whose hard work is b...
May 9, 2022
Being Well Podcast: True Intimacy, Toxic Individuality, and Breaking the Trauma Cycle with Terry Real
On this episode of Being Well, Forrest and I are joined by author and therapist Terry Real to talk about how to successfully metabolize our trauma and experience real intimacy in our relationships. We discuss how to balance acceptance and agency, develop a healthy sense of trust and self-esteem, communicate what we want effectively, and experience our power through collaboration rather than dominance.
LISTEN
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Being Well Podcast: Ordinary Over Extraordinary with Dr. Ron Siegel
When was the last time you went through a day without comparing yourself to anyone–comparing your life to someone else’s highlight reel on social media, or being critical of your own willpower and abilities? Avoiding these mental traps can be quite challenging, especially in a culture that emphasizes the importance of being exceptional, extraordinary, or ‘special’. On this episode of Being Well, psychologist and author Dr. Ron Siegel discusses how to heal from feeling...
