From the Blog
Writings on Well-Being Dr. Rick Hanson
Talk + Meditation: How to Shift Your Thoughts and Feelings about Others
Discover how to stay kind and grounded — even when others are difficult — with insights from Rick Hanson and the Buddha’s timeless wisdom.
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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?
Feel Already Full
Craving is pointless; the truth is there’s always an underlying fullness already. While the truth of futility is that it is hopeless to crave, the truth of fullness is that craving is unnecessary.
Being Well Podcast: OCD and Anxiety Disorders with Kimberley Quinlan
Forrest is joined by Kimberley Quinlan to explore one of the most misunderstood anxiety disorders: obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
Meditation + Talk: How to Calm the Biological Machinery of Stress and Suffering
Feeling overwhelmed or stressed? Learn how your nervous system works—and simple, science-backed ways to calm down, open up, and feel more present and content.
Don’t Quarrel
It’s one thing to stick up for yourself & others. It’s a different matter to get caught up in wrangles, contentiousness – in a word: quarrels.
Being Well Podcast: People Pleasing, AI Therapy, and Sexual Transference: May Mailbag
Dr. Rick and Forrest open the mailbag and answer questions from listeners about people pleasing, the potential (and pitfalls) of using AI as a therapist, and what to do when you develop strong feelings for your therapist.
Meditation + Talk: Key Steps in Your Personal Growth Journey
Discover six key turning points on the path of practice—from calming the mind to letting go of craving—and come home to the peaceful strength already inside you.
Feed the Mouse
When you feel fed – physically, emotionally, conceptually – you naturally let go of longing, disappointment, frustration, and craving. The hungry heart gets a full meal; goals are attained and the striving for them relaxes; one feels lifted by life as it is. What a relief!
Feeling fed also helps you enjoy positive emotions such as pleasure, contentment, accomplishment, ease, and worth. As researchers have shown, these good feelings reduce stress, help people bounce back from illness and loss, strengthen resilience, draw attention to the big picture, and build inner resources. And when your own cup runneth over, studies have found that you’re more inclined to give to others; feeling good helps you do good.
Being Well Podcast: Disorganized Attachment: Heal By Embracing Your Needs
Dr. Rick and Forrest explore disorganized, or “fearful,” attachment, a complex style that occurs when emotional intimacy and distance both feel uncomfortable, and typically arises based on difficult life experiences.