From the Blog
Writings on Well-Being Dr. Rick Hanson
Trust Yourself
See what happens when you bet on yourself, when you back your own play. See what happens when you let yourself fall backward into your own arms, trusting that they will catch you.
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Being Well Podcast: Managing The Fight Response: Anger, Repression, and Self-Regulation
Dr. Rick and Forrest continue their series on the stress responses with the fight response to stress, exploring anger, repression, and self-regulation.
Meditation + Talk: From Autonomic to Volitional Attention
At the heart of meditation is the work of retraining our attention away from emotionally-charged thinking back to the experience of body or breath.
Love What’s Real
What do a healthy relationship, family, organization, or country have in common? They are grounded in what is real. They seek the truth, tell the truth, and learn from the truth.
Being Well Podcast: Everything You Need to Know About Therapy
In this mega-episode, clinical psychologist Dr. Rick Hanson and Forrest Hanson explore everything you need to know about therapy.
Meditation + Talk: Exploring the Costs and Benefits of Anger and the Value of Forgiveness
Guest teacher sujatha baliga explores forgiving ourselves and others and letting go of anger once it’s no longer useful.
“Us” All “Thems”
Finding common ground with every person – especially those you fear or are angry with or who are simply very different from you – builds bridges among us, widens circles, and allows us to live together in peace.
Being Well Podcast: Dr. Peter Levine: Healing After Trauma
Somatic psychology legend Dr. Peter Levine joins Dr. Rick and Forrest to explore how we can use body-based approaches to recover from traumatic experiences.
Meditation + Talk: Forgiving Yourself, Encouraging Yourself
When we use forgiveness to move past our mistakes responsibly, we can start to encourage ourselves, cherish our achievements, and let go of that relentless pursuit of perfection.
Love the World
Humanity has great power for good and ill. As the earth heats up, as species go extinct and resources decline, it is critically important that a fourth major motivation guide our thoughts, words, and above all, deeds: Love the world.
Being Well Podcast: Recovering from a Challenging Childhood
Recovering from a challenging childhood as an adult can be a difficult process, which is what we explore on this episode.
Meditation + Talk: Wise Friendship: Nurturing Your Inner Ally with Dr. Diana Hill
What does it mean to be a wise friend to yourself? Dr. Diana Hill draws from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, the kalyana mitta sutta, and personal experience to explore three qualities of wise friendship.
Grow a Key Inner Strength
What’s your “Vitamin C?” “Vitamin C” is. Daily life is full of opportunities to notice or create experiences of inner strength, a psychological resource. Take it into yourself, making it a part of you.
Being Well Podcast: Dealing with Emotionally Immature People (and Parents) with Dr. Lindsay Gibson
Dr. Lindsay Gibson discusses practical tools for recognizing emotionally immature people, managing your relationships with them effectively, and establishing healthy boundaries.
Meditation + Talk: How “Not Knowing” Dissolves Suffering
In this talk and meditation, I share how embracing “not knowing” can help dissolve suffering and release us from the shackles of our mind.
Take Heart
What do you do when the bottom falls out? Take heart. By “taking heart,” I mean several related things: Sensing your heart and chest, finding encouragement in what is good both around you and inside you, resting in your own warmth, compassion, and
Being Well Podcast: How to Make the Most of Your 20s with Dr. Meg Jay
Dr. Meg Jay, a specialist on what she calls the “defining decade,” joins Forrest to explore how we can make the most of our 20s.
Meditation + Talk: How to Prevent and Release Needless Anxiety
Anxiety is a normal human experience, but excessive or chronic anxiety can wear us down and be detrimental to our long-term happiness and health.
Back to Basics
By taking care of the basics, everything else usually takes care of itself.
Being Well Podcast: Managing the Freeze Response: Dissociation, Emotional Shutdown, and Creating Safety
In one of our favorite episodes to date, Dr. Rick and Forrest explore managing the freeze response in detail.
Meditation + Talk: The Deep Peace in Approaching Your Life as an Offering
When we approach life as an offering, we let go of the constant striving and struggling and we open to a deeper sense of peace, acceptance, and reverence for the gift of existence itself.
Don’t Rain On The Parade
Are you too quick with doubt, limitations, cost analyses, reasons why not? If you pour cold water over your hopes and dreams, you’ll never know the warmth and light that might spread if you’d let them catch fire.