Author / Psychologist
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.
Liking feels good, it encourages us to approach and engage the world. Know what benevolence feels like in your body, heart, and mind, and realize that it is natural and normal. Appreciate some of the benevolence that buoys you along. Most people are fair-minded, empathic, cooperative, compassionate, and kind: in a word, benevolent.
Forrest and Dr. Rick explore one of his most powerful psychological tools: linking. Over time, linking can help us rewire the brain, softening the impact of painful memories.
Learn how mindful breathing can ease stress and steady your mind. Dr. Rick Hanson shares practical tools to find calm and clarity in daily life.
See the good in others—it’s a simple but very powerful way to feel happier and more confident and become more loving.
Dr. Rick and Forrest answer questions focused on navigating common relationship conflicts, focusing on situations where people need to find a middle path between different needs.
Why do the same patterns keep pulling you off track? Explore how the Enneagram + Buddhist psychology reveal—and help transform—your core habits.
Discover the newly written preface to the 15th anniversary edition of Buddha’s Brain—a heartfelt look at the book’s origins and its enduring impact.
Imagine being aware of the surface behavior of the people around you but oblivious to their inner life while they remain unmoved by your own.
Bestselling author David Epstein joins the Being Well Podcast to explore how to find your path in life, the problem with 10,000 hours, and why generalists triumph in a specialized world.
Learn how your unconscious personality patterns shape your thoughts, reactions and relationships — and how to work productively with them.
Nourish the things that nourish you. Try to do one thing each day to. “Pass forward” a gift to the person you will be tomorrow . . . and a year from now.
Forrest and Dr. Rick Hanson explore how we can stop overthinking and break the self-awareness trap: when knowing ourselves becomes an obstacle to change.