Are you paying attention? The Practice: Be amazed. Why? Last night, stressing about undone tasks, I glanced in a mirror and saw my t-shirt, with its picture of a galaxy and a little sign sticking up out of its outer swirls, saying “you are here.” A joke gift from my wife, I’ve worn this shirt The post Be Amazed appeared first on Dr. Rick Hanson. Read more
Q: So today I had a “bad moment” – got stressed and upset about a work situation. My first thought was to let go of the negative thoughts that were running in my brain by actively taking in the good. Then I wondered if that meant I was running away from (ignoring or more importantly The post What is Mindfuless? appeared first on Dr. Rick Hanson. Read more
First Aid Kit perform Patti Smith’s “Dancing Barefoot” live at the Polar Music Prize awards ceremony 2011. The post Friday Favorite appeared first on Dr. Rick Hanson. Read more
The major brain regions that support emotional processing include the limbic system – particularly the hippocampus, amygdala, and hypothalamus – and the prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), nucleus accumbens, and insula. Technical note: there are two hippocampi, one in each hemisphere of the brain; the same for the two amygdalae, ACCs, and insulae. Following The post Emotion in the Brain appeared first on Dr. Rick Hanson. Read more
This practice – From Idea to Embodied Experience– from page 92 in my book – Hardwiring Happiness – helps thoughts about a good fact become good feelings, sensations, desires and actions related to it: Be aware of your body as well as the good fact. Soften and open your mind and body, with a sense The post From Idea to Embodied Experience appeared first on Dr. Rick Hanson. Read more
Love tends to join and hate to separate, but joining is not the same as love, and separation is not hatred. Sometimes the most loving thing a person can do is take a step back: that’s distance in the service of attachment. And it’s not loving to join in invasive or smothering ways. Most people The post The Dance of Intimacy and Autonomy appeared first on Dr. Rick Hanson. Read more
Q: Is there any evidence that just reading the words which describe an experience will bring activity to the corresponding part of the brain? A: There is a lot of fMRI research in which the prompt to the subject in the scanner is reading a text. Many of the texts used are emotion words or The post Using Imagery to Change Your Brain appeared first on Dr. Rick Hanson. Read more
Once your intentions are clear, the next question is: How to express them? There are many ways, including: As thoughts in your mind As an image In writing As a collage with words and images Through physical expression, posture, movement, dance As a sense of being When you think intentions, you know them to yourself. The post Expressing Your Intentions appeared first on Dr. Rick Hanson. Read more
Here is an amazing video of a solo climb by Catherine Destivelle. Enjoy! The post Friday Favorite appeared first on Dr. Rick Hanson. Read more
Q: What does it mean to be enlightened – does it mean being free of suffering? Once a person reaches the first phase, can you “lose” enlightenment? A: People define enlightenment differently. I like the expression: sudden awakening, gradual cultivation, sudden awakening, gradual cultivation, sudden awakening . . . . in lovely circle, or spiral, The post The Nature of Enlightenment appeared first on Dr. Rick Hanson. Read more
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