Hug the monkey inside yourself helps satisfy an innate human need for connection can remedy old pain and provides that fundamental human sustenance: love.
Rick Hanson
Author / Psychologist
Follow on:
Expertise
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: Changing Old Patterns, Using Psychedelics Thoughtfully, and Exploring Human Nature: October Mailbag
Rick and Forrest answer questions from listeners, including what they’re still working on in their relationship, how we can disengage from obsessive thoughts and old patterns, Rick’s thoughts on psychedelics and how they can be used with discernment, and their views on whether human nature is innately cooperative or competitive.
Meditation + Talk: Living in Harmony While Also Taking Care of Yourself
In this Wednesday Night Meditation, Dr. Rick Hanson offered a meditation and talk on Living in Harmony While Also Taking Care of Yourself.
Give Over to Good
Give over to good and let this good be your guiding principle. Just One Thing Newsletter.
Being Well Podcast: PTSD and Politics with Jason Kander
Jason Kander joins Forrest to talk about his personal journey recovering from PTSD, the impact of his time serving in Afghanistan, and what we can do to better support veterans.
Meditation + Talk: The Power of Realistic Optimism in Your Relationships
In this Wednesday Night Meditation, Dr. Rick Hanson offered a meditation and talk on The Power of Realistic Optimism in Your Relationships.
Feel the Support
The more you feel supported by the people that care about you, by the natural world, and by your own capabilities, the better you’ll feel. Plus your load won’t seem so heavy, and you’ll be more able to carry it. By focusing on the support that truly does exist for you, you can have a sense of ease, relief, calming, or happiness.
Being Well Podcast: How to Effectively Communicate What You Want
We explore best practices to effectively communicate so we can claim and express our needs. This includes navigating shame and inhibition, making effective agreements, being considerate of the person on the receiving end of our wants, and becoming more skillful at negotiation and repair.
Meditation + Talk: Not-Knowing in Your Relationships
In this Wednesday Night Meditation, Dr. Rick Hanson offered a meditation and talk on Not-Knowing in Your Relationships.
Be Home
When the body is not disturbed by hunger, thirst, pain, or illness, and when the mind is not disturbed by threat, frustration, or rejection, then most people settle into their resting state, which is our “home base” – our fundamental nature as human beings.
Your body and mind want to come home: that’s where energy is conserved for the marathon of life. Try this practice to help yourself come home more naturally.
Being Well Podcast: Discovering Your Wants and Needs
In this week’s episode of the Being Well Podcast, we talk about the wants and needs we all have — and especially those that we find difficult to identify. Listen and reflect to discover your own wants and needs, and take practical steps to achieve meeting those needs.
Meditation + Talk: Trusting Yourself
In this Wednesday Night Meditation, Dr. Rick Hanson offered a meditation and talk on Trusting Yourself.