Liking feels good, and it encourages us to approach and engage the world. We’re wired to like some things, but our liking or disliking depends greatly on what we pay attention to and our own perspective.
Rick Hanson
Author / Psychologist
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Biography
Rick Hanson, Ph.D. is a psychologist, Senior Fellow at UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center, and New York Times best-selling author. His seven books have been published in 33 languages, and include Making Great Relationships, Neurodharma, Resilient, Hardwiring Happiness, Just One Thing, Buddha’s Brain, and Mother Nurture – with over a million copies in English alone. He's the founder of the Global Compassion Coalition and the Wellspring Institute for Neuroscience and Contemplative Wisdom, as well as the co-host of the Being Well Podcast – which has been downloaded over 15 million times. His free newsletters have over 260,000 subscribers and his online programs have scholarships available for those in need. He’s lectured at NASA, Google, Oxford, and Harvard. An expert on positive neuroplasticity, his work has been featured on CBS, NPR, the BBC, and other major media. He began meditating in 1974 and has taught in meditation centers worldwide. He and his wife live in Northern California and have two adult children. He loves the wilderness and taking a break from emails.
Articles
Being Well Podcast: Live Show: Yung Pueblo on Relationships, Change, and Mindfulness
Forrest is joined by poet and author Diego Perez – better known as Yung Pueblo – for a live conversation recorded at City Arts & Lectures in San Francisco.
Meditation + Talk: Engaged Buddhism – Including Today
Explore how engaged Buddhism connects inner healing with outer change—practical ways to face systemic suffering with wisdom, compassion, and courage.
Enjoy Now
Since it’s always now, now is eternal. The present moment is continually passing away, so relax and be open to this moment. Not planning, not worrying, not lost in thought.
Being Well Podcast: How to Change Your Personality with Olga Khazan
Forrest is joined by someone who’s actually tried most of the things we talk about on the podcast – journalist and author Olga Khazan – to discuss how to change your personality.
Meditation + Talk: How to Turn a Corner . . . for the Better
How can we let go of old hurts and turn a corner in our lives? Learn simple, heartfelt ways to heal, move forward, and find more peace inside.
See the Big Picture
The tree or the forest? See the big picture. The vast majority of human acts each day are constructive: making meals, tending to children, saying hello, restraining anger, completing tasks, planting seeds, teaching, healing, nurturing, cooperating
Being Well Podcast: Emotionally Immature Parents: How They Shape Us, and How to Heal – with Dr. Lindsay Gibson
Dr. Lindsay Gibson joins Forrest to explore emotional immaturity, the consequences of growing up with emotionally immature parents, and what we can do to change those patterns in adulthood.
Meditation + Talk: Three Ways to Live with Loss
Grief is inevitable—but with compassion, support, and steady presence, we can live well through loss. Explore five practices for healing and resilience.
Don’t Beat Yourself Up
Try to understand what causes you to feel fault, resolve it and move on. Inner criticism tears you down. Commit to skillful corrections. Take a big breath and very deliberately name to yourself three strengths or virtues you have and let them sink in.
Being Well Podcast: Self-Concept: The Secret to Changing WHO You Are
Forrest and Dr. Rick Hanson explore how self-concept, the invisible architecture of who we are, shapes our lives.
Meditation + Talk: Finding and Nurturing Your Compassionate Voice
Learn how self-compassion can soothe your inner critic, ease emotional pain, and reconnect you with your own worth, strength, and capacity to heal.