Rick Hanson's Blog, page 95
August 7, 2015
Pay Attention
Is your mind wandering?
The Practice:
Pay attention.
Why?
Moment to moment, the flows of thoughts and feelings, sensations and desires, and conscious and unconscious processes sculpt your nervous system like water gradually carving furrows and eventually gullies on a hillside. Your brain is continually changing its structure. The only question is: Is it for better or worse?
In particular, because of what’s called “experience-dependent neuroplasticity,” whatever you hold in attention has a sp...
July 31, 2015
Don’t Rain On The Parade
Why do we have cheerleaders?
The Practice:
Don’t rain on the parade.
Why?
Let’s say you’ve had an interesting idea or moment of inspiration, or thought of a new project, or felt some enthusiasm bubbling up inside you. Your notions are not fully formed and you’re not really committed to them yet, but they have promise and you like them and are trying them on for size. Then what?
If a family member or friend responds in a neutral or positive way, even if they also raise some practical question...
July 23, 2015
Enjoy Sobriety
Out of balance?
The Practice:
Enjoy sobriety.
Why?
By “sobriety,” I mean healthy self-control, a centered enjoyment of life, and an inner freedom from drivenness. We typically apply this sense of balance and self-care to things like food, drugs and alcohol, sexuality, money, and risky behaviors. And if you like, you could bring sobriety to other things as well, such as to righteousness, contentiousness, over-working, or controlling others.
At bottom, sobriety is the opposite of craving, broa...
July 16, 2015
Enjoy The Freedom Not To
Do you got to?
The Practice:
Enjoy the freedom not to.
Why?
We’re pulled and prodded by financial pressures, commuter traffic, corporate policies, technology, advertising, politics, and the people we work with and live with. As well, internal forces yank the proverbial chains, including emotional reactions, compelling desires, “shoulds,” and internalized “voices” from parents and other authority figures.
Sometimes these pressures are necessary, like a flashing light on your car’s dashboard...
July 9, 2015
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...
July 7, 2015
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 drive...
June 29, 2015
From Shame to Self-Worth: Development of Shame Spectrum Feelings in Childhood
Welcome to the third and last part of the series, From Shame to Self-Worth. Last week we discussed the Neurobiology of Shame hereand we started with the Introduction here.
This week we will learn that shame is a very primal emotion, one that has a lot of traction in the mind.
As we grow up, from infants to adults, shame elaborates many nuances, like the branches and twigs growing from a single trunk.
Let’s consider four common sources of shame spectrum feelings.
First, consider a young child...
June 26, 2015
Rick’s Picks: Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation
Rick’s Picks is a new series of posts highlighting the very best content online.
The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing pediatric HIV infection and eliminating pediatric AIDS through research, advocacy, and prevention, care, and treatment programs. Founded in 1988, EGPAF works in 15 countries around the world.
The post Rick’s Picks: Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation appeared first on Dr. Rick...
June 24, 2015
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...
June 22, 2015
From Shame to Self-Worth: Evolutionary Neurobiology of Shame
This week we will continue from last week’s introduction in theFrom Shame to Self-Worth series by gaining an understanding of the evolution of shame.
[As we go through this somewhat intellectual material, try to make it real for yourself by relating it to your own everyday feelings of inadequacy or guilt.]Have you ever scolded a dog and seen him or her look guilty?
Obviously, animals do not have the elaborated textures of thoughts and feelings that humans do. But our emotions, even the subtl...
