Rick’s Picks
Rick’s Picks is a collection of things that I’ve really liked, and you may, too. I hope that you find them as inspiring, entertaining, fun, surprising, and educational as I have.
Click a category to jump right to that section:
Articles Worth Noting
- Putting Time In Perspective
- Snake Oil Supplements? Scientific evidence for popular health supps
- Forty Days of Dating
Organizations Worth Supporting
- ACLU
- Africare
- American Humane Association
- American Mindfulness Research Association
- Animal Welfare Institute
- Better Burma
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of America
- BRITE Initiative
- Center for Building a Culture of Empathy
- Center for Contemplative Mind in Society
- Center for Healthy Minds
- The Dana Foundation
- Earthworks
- Edge Foundation
- Fetzer Institute
- Fisher House
- The Fund for Global Human Rights
- The Hunger Project
- Institute of Noetic Sciences
- International Campaign for Tibet
- International Planned Parenthood Federation
- International Rescue Committee
- Kira Institute
- Kiva Make a loan, change a life
- Lupus Research Institute
- Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand
- Metanexus Institute
- Mind and Life Institute
- Monroe Institute
- My Grey Matters
- NeuroLeadership Institute
- Nothing But Nets (about malaria)
- Reading is Fundamental
- Redwood Center for Theoretical Neuroscience (UC Berkeley)
- Sage Center
- Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies
- A State-by-State Guide to Voting
- Swartz Foundation
- We Stories
- Wildlife Conservation Society
- Yoga Science Foundation
Resources for Climate Change
- American Association of Geographers – list of organizations involved in climate change research, policy making and education
- Australian Psychology Society’s list of 101 things you can do to help address climate change in daily life
- California Governor’s List of Worldwide Scientific Organizations that support the position that Climate Change has been caused by human action
- Citizens’ Climate Lobby – empowering people to work together on climate policy
- Climate Central– scientists leading the research into climate change
- Climate Change Resources – an excellent overall resource, including latest news bulletins and links to over 250 sites that serve to educate and inform about the climate crisis
- Climate Science – wonderful resources for teachers and students
- Earth.org’s List of 17 Best Books on Climate Change and Sustainability
- Food Tank’s List of 36 Organizations Helping Solve the Climate Crisis
- NASA’s Global Climate Change – packed with scientific evidence and information
- NPR’s list of Climate Resources – including how to manage eco-anxiety
- The OECD’s recommendations for 25 climate actions
- United Nations Goals on Sustainable Development
- World Resources Institute – research, data, and initiatives on bringing the world to a zero-carbon economy
Resources for Equity and Social Justice
- Amnesty International – list of ways to support the Black Lives Matter movement
- Black Improvement Media – a multi-media resource in support of the the Black Improvement Movement
- Buddhist Peace Fellowship
- Coalition on Human Needs advocates for public policies that impact low income, elderly, women, children and more
- Dialogues on Diversity – comprehensive list of social justice websites
- National Alliance to End Homelessness– advocates for homelessness, housing, and healthcare
- National Coalition for Women and Girls in Education – coalition of organizations working to improve education opportunities for women and girls
- National Criminal Justice Association – helps shape policy on criminal justice issues
- Pluralism Project
- Public Health Resources for Understanding Environmental Racism– educates on the links between environmental health and racial inequities
- Southern Poverty Law Center – comprehensive resources for the rights of children, immigrants, LGBTQ, prisoners, and more
- Teaching for Change – resources for teaching diversity and social justice in the classroom
Videos
Like everybody else, my tastes in videos are a little – ah – eclectic. See if you like these.
Inspiring Videos:
- Tommy Caldwell and Alex Honnold climbing the Nose of El Capitan in under two hours.
- South Face of Mt. Watkins
- Alex Honnold Solos: A Year’s Worth of Climbing in 16 Hours
- Chris Sharma climbing Dreamcatcher (5.14d)
- La Dura Complete: The Hardest Rock Climb In The World
- Mr. Rogers accepting his Emmy
- TED Talk on Gratitude by Dr Tanmeet Sethi
- Surfing an incredibly huge wave
- Randy Pausch’s (literally) “last lecture”
- How Bill Gates reads books
- Hans Rosling: The best stats you’ve ever seen
- Never, Ever Give Up. Arthur’s Inspirational Transformation!
- Exploring The Epic Chess Match Of Our Time
- The Power of Vulnerability
- Gratitude: Louie Schwartzberg at TEDxSF
Music Videos
- Heart Beats Slow by Angus and Julia Stone
- Oh Woman Oh Man by London Grammar (on an Italian music talent show)
- Lin-Manuel Miranda rapping the Founding Fathers at the White House
- Hope by Emily Brimlow
- Oingo Boingo singing Insanity from their farewell concert
- The Bengsons ad lib a stirring Keep Going Song to get us through difficult times
- Leonard Cohen – Come Healing
- Norah Jones Sings “Don’t Know Why” on Sesame Street
- ZOX ‘Canon’ Music Video
- OCEAN – John Butler
Movies
- Arrival
- Long Shot
- Bombshell
- Knives Out
- My Octopus Teacher
- Free Solo Alex Honnold soloing El Capitan
Science Videos
- Why It Is Impossible To Tickle Yourself – very interesting!
- Stunning View Above Mars (fictive)
- Why do songs get stuck in your head?
- 3 senses you didn’t know you had
- Your brain is really two brains
- Famous Disney Animator Drawing In 3D
- Blind man sees his wife for the first time – I LOVE videos like this!
- How to debate a climate denier
- Powers of Ten (1977) and Dimensions: Cosmic Eye HD (2016)
- Questioning the Universe with Stephen Hawking
- Departing Space Station Commander Provides Tour of Orbital Laboratory
- Wealth Inequality in America
- Overview 40th anniversary of the famous ‘Blue Marble’ photograph taken of Earth from space
Books
These are some of my favorite books. I love to read and hope you like these books as much as I have.
(Disclosure: If you follow the links to Amazon, I get a little compensation but you are welcome to purchase them elsewhere, including your local bookstore.)
Introduction to Positive Neuroplasticity
- The Accidental Mind – David Linden
- Bouncing Back – Linda Graham
- Buddha’s Brain – Rick Hanson
- Hardwiring Happiness – Rick Hanson
- In Search of Memory – Eric Kandel
- Mind Wide Open – Steven Johnson
- The Mindful Brain – Daniel Siegel
- Synaptic Self – Joseph LeDoux
- Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain – Sharon Begley
Family Life
- Awakening Joy for Kids – James Baraz and Michele Lilyana
- Beyond Nice: Nurturing Kindness with Young Children – Stuart Stotts
- The Central Park Lost Mitten Party – Fran Quittel
- How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk – Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish
- Mindful Motherhood – Cassi Vieten
- Mother Nurture – Rick Hanson, Jan Hanson and Ricki Pollycove
- Raising Happiness – Christine Carter
- Raising Your Spirited Child – Mary Sheedy Kurcinka
- Sensational Meditation for Children Child-Friendly Meditation Techniques based on The Five Senses – Sarah Wood Vallely
- Sergio Sees the Good – Linda Ryden
Psychological Tools
- A Beautiful Mourning– Elizabeth A. Weber
- Awakening Joy – James Baraz & Shoshana Alexander
- Emotional Intelligence – Daniel Goleman
- Fully Present – Susan Smalley Ph.D. and Diana Winston
- Focusing – Eugene Gendlin
- Happy for No Reason – Marci Shimoff
- How To Be Sick – Toni Bernhard
- Inner Strengths: Contemporary Psychotherapy and Hypnosis for Ego Strengthening –
- Integral Life Practice – Ken Wilber, Terry Patten, et al.
- Nonviolent Communication – Marshall Rosenberg
- Shaolin Chi Kung (eBook) – Marcus James Santer
- Shift Your Mood – Rik Isensee
- What We May Be – Piero Ferrucci
- The Wise Heart – Jack Kornfield
- You Just Don’t Understand – Deborah Tannen
Mathematics, and Physical and Biological Sciences
- Born to be Good – Dacher Keltner
- Godel, Escher, Bach – Douglas Hofstadter
- The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat – Oliver Sacks
- Mind in Life – Evan Thompson
- Now: The Physics of Time – Richard A. Muller
- The Pocket Idiot’s Guide to Bioidentical Hormones – Ricki Pollycove
- Six Easy Pieces – Richard Feynman
- Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers – Robert Sapolsky
- Wonderful Life – Stephen Jay Gould
Social Sciences
- Caste – Isabel Wilkerson
- The European Dream – Jeremy Rifkin
- Guns, Germs, and Steel – Jared Diamond
- The Interpersonal World of the Infant – Daniel Stern
Science Fiction and Fantasy
- All Systems Red – Martha Wells
- Ancillary Justice trilogy – Ann Leckie
- Consider Phlebas – Iain Banks
- Dune – Frank Herbert
- Haroun and the Sea of Stories – Salman Rushdie
- The Left Hand of Darkness – Ursula Le Guin
- Lord of Light – Roger Zelazny
- Lord of the Rings – J.R.R. Tolkien
- A Memory Called Empire – Arkady Martine
- Neuromancer – William Gibson
- Spinning Silver – Naomi Novik
- Startide Rising – David Brin
- Stranger in a Strange Land – Robert Heinlein
- A Wizard of Earthsea – Ursula Le Guin
General Fiction
- All the Light We Cannot See – Anthony Doerr
- The Cold Dish – Craig Johnson
- The Cold Millions – Jess Walter
- Deacon King Kong – James McBride
- Deliverance – James Dickey
- The Dog Stars – Peter Heller
- Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead – Olga Tokarczukm
- East of Eden – John Steinbeck
- For Whom the Bell Tolls – Ernest Hemingway
- The Great Alone – Kristin Hannah
- Homegoing– Yaa Gyasi
- Master and Commander – Patrick O’Brian. This is the first of twenty novels in this incomparable series of funny, profound, exciting, lyrical, and deeply insightful books
- Night Soldiers – Alan Furst
- The Persian Boy – Mary Renault
- The Searcher – Tana French
- The Skull Mantra – Eliot Pattison
- Sweet Thursday – John Steinbeck
- Their Eyes Were Watching God – Zora Neale Hurston
- Wolf Hall – Hilary Mantel
Non-Buddhist Spiritual Literature
- Be Here Now – Ram Dass
- The Book: On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are – Alan Watts
- Easy Death – Adi Da Samraj
- How Can I Help? – Ram Dass and Paul Gorman
- I Am That – Nisargata Maharaj
- The Perennial Philosophy – Aldous Huxley
- Talks with Ramana Maharshi – Ramana Maharshi
- A Year to Live – Stephen Levine
Selected Buddhist Readings
Buddhism has several major lineage – Theravadan (based on the original teachings of the Buddha), Tibetan, Chan, Zen, and Pure Land – as well as modern variations and syntheses of these. My background is mainly Theravadan, and I welcome suggestions for other lineages.
If you’re getting just one book:
Solid introductions, from a Western perspective:
- The Experience of Insight – Joseph Goldstein
- A Path with Heart – Jack Kornfield
- Wherever You Go, There You Are – Jon Kabat-Zinn
When the going gets tough:
- Being Peace – Thich Nhat Hanh
- Radical Acceptance – Tara Brach
- When Things Fall Apart – Pema Chodren
For meditative absorption and insight:
- Living Dharma – edited by Jack Kornfield
- Mindfulness, Bliss, and Beyond – Ajahn Brahm
- Practicing the Jhanas – Stephen Snyder and Tina Rasmussen
Theravada:
- Being Dharma – Ajahn Chah
- The Dhammapada – translated by Gil Fronsdal
- The First Free Women – Matty Weingast (ed.)
- Pure and Simple – Upasika Nanayon
- Satipatthana – Analayo
- Small Boat Great Mountain – Ajahn Amaro
- What the Buddha Taught – Walpola Rahula
- What the Buddha Thought – Richard F. Gombrich
- The Wings to Awakening – Thanissaro Bhikkhu
Tibetan:
- Carefree Dignity – Tsoknyi Rinpoche
- Cutting through Spiritual Materialism – Chogyam Trungpa
Zen:
- Not Always So – Suzuki Roshi
- One Blade of Grass – Henry Shukman
- The Three Pillars of Zen – Philip Kapleau Roshi
- Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind – Shunryu Suzuki
- Zen Flesh, Zen Bones – Paul Reps and Nyogen Senzaki
Modern Interpretations:
- After Buddhism: Rethinking the Dharma for a Secular Age – Stephen Batchelor
- Awakening Joy – James Baraz
- The Buddhist Unconscious – William Waldron
- One Dharma – Joseph Goldstein
- Selfless Insight – James Austin
Websites
Psychological Resources
Scientific
Culture
Relationships
Buddhist
- Abhayagiri Monastery
- Access to Insight
- Ashoka University
- Assoc for Mindfulness in Education
- Awakening Joy (James Baraz)
- Big Mind (Genpo Roshi)
- Bodhi Monastery
- Buddha Net
- Buddhist Channel
- Buddhist Geeks
- Buddhist Library
- Deep Streams
- Dhamma Tube
- Dharma Gleanings
- Dharma Net
- Dharma Seed
- Gaia House
- Inquiring Mind
- Insight Dialogue Community
- Insight Meditation Center (Gil Fronsdal)
- Insight Meditation, San Francisco (Eugene Cash)
- Interdependence Project
- Intro to Meditation (Gil Fronsdal)
- Jhanas Advice
- Life Balance Institute
- Mindfulness for Young Children
- New York Insight Meditation Center
- Pariyatti
- Pema Chodren and Bill Moyers
- Renewal Retreats
- S. N. Goenka
- Sati Center
- Spirit Rock Meditation Center
- Straight from the Heart
- The Tao of Now
- Thai Nuns
- Vajrapani Institute
Newsletter Picks
These “Rick’s Picks” are from my MindFull of Good newsletter (launched in 2020):
2024
- The Good News Network (1/5/24)
- Speaking Up to Save a Believed-Extinct Language of Indigenous People Who Revered Silence (1/19/24)
- How To Love Yourself: 5 Ways to Let Go of the River Bank and Go With the Flow (2/2/24)
- The Thousand Dollar Breakfast Club (2/28/24)
- Song: “All Right Now” by Tracy Spuehler (3/8/24)
- “Zzzzzz….” A Short Story by Dan Brook (3/22/24)
- Pakistan Bucks Global Trend with 30-Year Mangrove Expansion (4/5/24)
- Finding Mudita: The Crimson Tide’s Path to the Final Four (4/21/24)
- The Mind-Blowing Scale of the Milky Way (5/3/24)
- New Meditation App: The Way (5/17/24)
- Pioneering Cherokee Nation Medical School (5/31/24)
- Roger Federer on Perfection (6/14/24)
- Finding Good within the Difficult (6/28/24)
- Hearing Clearly for the First Time (7/12/24)
- Books and Beyond (7/26/24)
- 5 Keys to Complete Mindfulness (8/16/24)
- Helping Others Helps Us Too (8/30/24)
- Circles in the Sand (9/13/24)
- A Listening Room in Munich for a Restless Urban Society (9/27/24
- Political Empathy Instead of Political Enemies (10/11/24)
- Protecting Our Water (10/25/24)
- Walking Our Way to Better Mental Health (11/8/24)
- This Is How We Win (11/22/24)
- The Art of Healing (12/6/24)
2023
- Listening to Earth’s Subtle Vibrations (1/13/23)
- Dr Robert Sapolsky and the Keekorok Baboon Troop (1/27/23)
- Song: Being Somebody by Rachel Druckenmiller (2/10/23)
- Jazz Hands for Autism (2/24/23)
- Travel With a Conscience – Millennial Channel (3/10/23)
- Book: The Spirit of Harriet Tubman: Awakening from the Underground (3/24/23)
- Stressed Plants ‘Cry’—and Some Animals Can Probably Hear Them (4/21/23)
- The Amazing Power of Awe (5/5/23)
- Turning the Tide on the World’s Water Crisis (5/19/23)
- The Trevor Project Turns 25 (6/2/23)
- Novel: Observer by Robert Lanza and Nancy Kress (6/16/23)
- Book: A Future We Can Love by Susan Bauer (7/14/23)
- Music and Meditation: Cellist Barbara Bogatin (8/4/23)
- Advocate for Teen Mental Health: Adam Avin &Wuf Shanti (8/18/23)
- Kinship with the Natural World (9/1/23)
- A Broken Heart for Planet Earth (9/16/23)
- Final Supermoon of 2023 (9/29/23)
- Rethinking What Really Matters: The Four Most Important Things in Life (10/15/23)
- Symphony of Synapses: The Brain’s Intricate Dance with Music (10/27/23)
- Creating a Feedback-Rich & Respectful Workplace (11/10/23)
- Gratitude Quiz (11/25/23)
- At the Intersection of Mind and Climate Change (12/8/23)
- Song: Lightbulbs by Rachel Druckenmiller (12/22/23)
2022
- 2021 Best Space Photos (1/7/22)
- 2021: The year in charts (1/21/22)
- Healthy Child, Healthy Brain (2/4/22)
- The Wisdom of Trauma (2/18/22)
- Sensational Science Shots (3/4/22)
- Super Long Lightening (3/18/22)
- Meeting in Music (4/1/22)
- Healing from Grief (4/15/22)
- Dr. James Gordon’s Instagram on Ukraine (4/29/22)
- NYT: Recognizing Change (5/13/22)
- Insight Myanmar podcast (5/27/22)
- Could cities soon be made of mushrooms? (6/10/22)
- Wren – Carbon Footprint Calculator (6/24/22)
- Regeneration – Climate Action (7/8/22)
- Profits Per Second (7/22/22)
- Weird and Wonderful Solar Eclipse (Mar’s Moon) (8/4/22)
- How to Keep a Positive Mood Going …and Going and Going (My LLPE article in Oprah Daily) (8/19/22)
- Attack on a Meditation Center (9/2/22)
- Current Covid Cautions (9/16/22)
- Stephen Snyder’s new book, Demystifying Awakening (10/7/22)
- David Weiller’s nature photography (10/21/22)
- Dr. Joanne Cacciatore’s Selah Carefarm (11/4/22)
- Solar-Powered Space Flight (11/18/22)
- Do Dolphins Use Language? (12/2/22)
- How the Human Brain is Hardwired for Beauty – Alan Lightman (12/16/22)
- Using Positive Neuroplasticity With Refugee Children (12/30/22)
2021
- Love Song for the World (1/8/21)
- Ethiopia’s Church Forests (1/22/21)
- Forest man saves island from extinction (2/5/21)
- Overcoming Vaccine Phobia (2/19/21)
- Mindful Melodies (3/5/21)
- Ode to Vincent (3/19/21)
- Know Your Why (4/2/21)
- Tiny Masterpieces (4/16/21)
- Do We Control Our Happiness? (4/28/21)
- How to Overcome Feelings of Inadequacy (5/14/21)
- Oprah Winfrey and Prince Harry’s documentary series (5/28/21)
- Spider Sonification (6/11/21)
- Pandas at Play (6/25/21)
- Visionary Climbing (7/9/21)
- National Make a Difference to Children’s Month (7/23/21)
- Connect with Your Inner Child (8/6/21)
- World Class Climbing (8/20/21)
- World Class Nature Climbing (9/3/21)
- Letting Go and Letting In with Thich Nhat Hanh (9/17/21)
- Understanding Environmental Racism (10/15/21)
- Wildlife Winning Wonders (10/29/21)
- Mending Heart and Mind (11/12/21)
- Being Kind to Those Who Survive You (11/26/21)
- Hilarious Winners of the 2021 Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards (12/10/21)
2020
- I took the Dalai Lama to a Ski Resort and He Told Me the Meaning of Life (1/31/20)
- What is Love? (2/15/20)
- 12 Films That Highlight the Best in Humanity (2/28/20)
- I Wanna Dance With Somebody from the Houston Sass Accordion Band (3/27/20)
- Rita Wilson rapping Hip Hop Hooray while she and husband Tom Hanks are in quarantine (3/27/20)
- This daughter and father dancing and lip-syncing in the kitchen to Hold My Hand by Jess Glyne (3/27/20)
- The Tonight Show: At Home Edition with Jimmy Fallon, Trevor Noah, and DJ D-Nice (3/27/20)
- Gratitude: A Short Film (4/9/20)
- Classical Music on the Accordion? (5/8/20)
- David Bowie in Real Time (5/22/20)
- Be the Change (by Barack Obama) (6/5/20)
- Talks by Brilliant Women in STEM (6/19/20)
- How to explain racism to kids (7/3/20)
- The Nature of Compassion, Fear, Safe Relating and World Change (7/17/20)
- Your Amazing Brain – and the Science of Changing It for the Better (7/31/20)
- Dancing That Matters (8/14/20)
- The Kung Fu Nuns Of Kathmandu (8/28/20)
- The Good Guide to Voting (9/11/20)
- Resilient Body + Mind with Dr. Mark Hyman (9/25/20)
- The NFL Supports Voting (10/9/20)
- Simple Acts of Doggy Kindness (10/23/20)
- My Conversation with Larry King (11/6/20)
- AMRA Monthly Research (11/20/20)
- A Year of Mindful Living (12/11/20)
- 2020 Books on Goodness (12/25/20)