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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 25 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

From Craving to Contentment

From Craving to Contentment

This talk from the San Rafael Meditation is titled, “From Craving to Contentment” and focuses on where our mind dwells and what is in our heart, and the relationship between the two.

How Your Childhood Experiences Shape You

Your experiences as a child make a big impact on your own sense of autonomy, and how it affects your relationships. In the excerpt below, we’ll explore how your childhood has impacted your own sense of intimacy.

Being Well Podcast: Enriching and Absorbing

On today’s episode of the Being Well Podcast, Dr. Rick Hanson explores the “installation” stage of learning in detail, including how we can internalize the various positive aspects of any experience to grow the strengths we need the most. 0:50: What attracted you to...

Feeling Successful

Experiences of meeting your goals feel good, lower stress, and build positive motivation. They reassure you that you’re making progress, which helps you stay in the Responsive mode – in the green zone – as you go through your day.

Being Well Podcast: H.E.A.L. Yourself

Being Well Podcast: H.E.A.L. Yourself

On today’s episode of the Being Well podcast, Dr. Rick Hanson beings his focus on the strength of Learning with a critical question: HOW can we grow the positive traits we want more of inside ourselves? To do this, he explains the HEAL process that allows us to learn from our experiences more effectively.

Three Reasons to Be For Yourself

Imagine treating yourself like you do a friend. You’d be encouraging, warm, and sympathetic. You wouldn’t pour salt in your wounds, and you’d help yourself heal and grow. Think about what a typical day would be like if you were on your own side. Would you appreciate your good intentions and good heart? Would you be less self-critical?

Being Well Podcast: Don’t React

Being Well Podcast: Don’t React

Discover why it’s important to respond to challenges from the “green zone” of the brain rather than reacting instinctively from the “red zone.” Also, learn the biology behind these two systems, the role of mindfulness, and how to combat the brain’s evolved negativity bias.

Rick focuses on finding and cultivating a safe space, a sanctuary inside your mind.

Being Well Podcast: Dealing With The Mind

Being Well Podcast: Dealing With The Mind

On this episode, Dr. Rick Hanson explains the three ways we can skillfully ‘deal with’ our complicated minds. This includes practical ways to truly be with our experience, let go of negative thoughts and feelings, and plant new flowers in the garden of the mind.