From the Blog
Writings on Well-Being Dr. Rick Hanson
Relax, You’ve Arrived
Part of this comes from our biological nature. To survive, animals – including us – have to be goal-directed, leaning into the future. This focus – can get confused and stressful.
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Hug the Monkey
Hug the monkey inside yourself helps satisfy an innate human need for connection can remedy old pain and provides that fundamental human sustenance: love.
Being Well Podcast: Is Self-Help Making You Miserable?
Dr. Rick and Forrest explore what’s really wrong with the self-help industry, going beyond the obvious pseudoscience and snake oil to examine deeper structural issues.
Talk + Meditation: The Surprising Power of Active Nonviolence
Discover how active nonviolence offers a powerful, practical path to transform conflict, foster connection, and create real change—without fueling more harm.
Give Over to Good
Give over to good and let this good be your guiding principle. Just One Thing Newsletter.
Being Well Podcast: The Freeze Response, Gifted Kid Syndrome, and BPD: July Mailbag
Dr. Rick and Forrest answer listener questions about perfectionism, the freeze response, trauma, and relationships.
Talk + Meditation: How to Find Peace in Impermanence
Struggling with constant change? In this talk, explore how embracing impermanence can ease anxiety, loosen clinging, and open the door to deeper peace.
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 Real Change Happens with Elizabeth Ferreira
Forrest is joined by associate therapist Elizabeth Ferreira to discuss parts work, psychological defenses, and how real change happens.
Talk + Meditation: The Joy in Not-Knowing
Feeling overwhelmed or stuck in certainty? Explore the surprising peace of not-knowing and how beginner’s mind can free you from stress and suffering.
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: Why Modern Life Doesn’t Make Us Happy with Dr. Bill von Hippel
Forrest Hanson talks with evolutionary psychologist Dr. Bill von Hippel about a central paradox of modern life: life today is safer and more comfortable than ever before, so why do so many people feel unhappy, lonely, and anxious?
Talk + Meditation: Respecting and Relieving Suffering
Minimizing pain—yours or others’—only deepens suffering. By respecting and relieving suffering with strength and compassion we can grow the strengths you need to heal.
Gift Yourself
When you give more to yourself, you have more to offer others.
Being Well Podcast: Rethinking Masculinity: Strength and Connection w/ Terry and Justin Real
Forrest is joined by renowned therapist Terry Real and his son Justin for a frank exploration of modern masculinity.
Talk + Meditation: The Power of Appreciation – and How to Get More of It from Others
Feeling unseen or unappreciated? Learn how generosity and appreciation support lasting inner strength, and what to do when others don’t value your efforts.
Speak Truly
Perhaps the most powerful tool for your mental health – and certainly for the health of your relationships – is to speak truly.
Being Well Podcast: Self-Sabotage: Why You Do What You Shouldn’t, and How to Stop
We all self-sabotage – procrastinate, pick fights, or pull back – and Dr. Rick & Forrest explore why and how to stop it in this episode.
Talk + Meditation: The Seductions of Healthy Desires
Feeling overwhelmed, always striving, or burnt out—even from good intentions? Learn how to stay centered and content through your core practice.
What to Do When the Bottom Falls Out?
It’s normal to feel shocked, frozen, frightened, or outraged. But here are four fundamental strengths to help us feel and function better in difficult times.
Being Well Podcast: Terry Real: Great Relationships, True Intimacy, and Inner Child Work
Forrest is joined by renowned couples therapist Terry Real to explore how we can get past our conditioning and build deeper, more meaningful connections.
Meditation + Talk: Lead with Peace and Purpose
Guest teacher Mandar Apte explored one of the central dilemmas of our time: how do we stay hopeful and take meaningful action in a world overwhelmed by violence, division, and despair?