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Dr. Rick Hanson

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

Pet the Lizard

Pet the Lizard

The brain is highly integrated, so these three key functions – avoiding, approaching, and attaching – are accomplished by all parts of the brain working together.

Being Well Podcast: Becoming Wise with Dr. Roger Walsh

Being Well Podcast: Becoming Wise with Dr. Roger Walsh

How can we bring together psychological science and contemplative practice, and what can we all learn from the world’s great wisdom traditions? Dr. Roger Walsh, a professor of psychiatry, philosophy, and anthropology, and expert on the world’s great wisdom traditions, joins Being Well to help us explore this central question.

Meditation + Talk: Four Ways to Let Go

Meditation + Talk: Four Ways to Let Go

In this Wednesday Night Meditation, Dr. Rick Hanson offers a guided meditation and talk on Four Ways to Let Go, which includes a Q&A and discussion.

Being Well Podcast: Connecting with Others: How to Attune

Being Well Podcast: Connecting with Others: How to Attune

During this time of increased isolation our needs for connection are harder to meet than ever. On today’s episode of Being Well, Forrest and I are exploring how we can use the psychological technique of “attunement” to connect better with others, and meet our own need for connection.

Love Freely

Love Freely

Love is in our nature, woven into our DNA. Love is a natural wellspring inside us all. It doesn’t need to be pushed or pumped. It needs to be released.

Being Well Podcast: Accepting Our Needs

Being Well Podcast: Accepting Our Needs

Everyone has needs, there’s no avoiding them. In order to “be well” we need to meet those needs. But in our Western culture being “needy” is viewed as a weakness, and it can be painful to accept that we have needs.

Let It R.A.I.N.

Let It R.A.I.N.

R.A.I.N. is an acronym developed by Michelle McDonald but adapted a bit by me, to summarize a powerful way to expand self-awareness.

Meditation + Talk: Changing Your Mind

Meditation + Talk: Changing Your Mind

In this Wednesday Night Meditation, Dr. Rick Hanson offers a guided meditation and talk on Changing Your Mind, which includes a Q&A and discussion.