With all the research on mind/brain connections these days – Your brain in lust or love! While gambling or feeling envious! While meditating, praying, or having an out-of-body experience! – it’s natural to wonder about Big Questions about the relationships among the mind, the brain, and God.For instance, some people have taken the findings that The post The Mind, the Brain, and God – Part I appeared first on Dr. Rick Hanson. Read more
Does it feel safe with other people? The Practice: Relax needless fear around others. Why? We all know this fear. You’re walking down a street, someone you don’t know comes toward you, and there’s a second or more of wariness, scanning, apprehension, and tension or bracing in the body: a barely conscious assessment of possible The post Relax Needless Fear Around Others appeared first on Dr. Rick Hanson. Read more
One could rightly ask: How can intangible thoughts affect tangible matter (i.e., the brain)? This question is at the heart of the longstanding “mind-body problem,” and related questions include: How can mind arise from matter? Is mind reducible to matter? Does matter determine mind? These are important, non-trivial questions, and they’ve occupied philosophers for millennia The post Is the Mind-Body Problem a Problem at All? appeared first on Dr. Rick Hanson. Read more
“If you focus on the positive for long enough, does it actually make your brain more receptive to doing that? Turn it into “velcro” for happiness, to use your expression?” “Once an uncomfortable pattern has developed, bad expectations seem to be a self-fulfilling prophecy for some folks – is there a basic first step to The post Questions About Taking in the Good appeared first on Dr. Rick Hanson. Read more
Set aside a quiet time during which you can reflect on some of the many things you could be thankful for. As a starting point, you might read the passage below to yourself or out loud, adapting it to your situation as you like. There really is so much to be thankful for. I am The post A Meditation on Gratitude appeared first on Dr. Rick Hanson. Read more
As you probably know, compassion and lovingkindness are central elements of Buddhism. They arise naturally in response to one of those three fundamental characteristics of existence: interdependence/not-self/emptiness. They are also a beautiful path of spiritual practice. And they just feel good: “Through compassion one is free from lethargy and depression.” (Acariya Dhammapala) Interestingly, a scientifically The post A Caring, Joyful Heart appeared first on Dr. Rick Hanson. Read more
The knowledge of neuroscience has doubled in the last twenty years. It will probably double again in the next twenty years. I think that neuropsychology is, broadly, about where biology was a hundred years after the invention of the microscope: around 1725. In contrast, Buddhism is a twenty-five-hundred-year-old tradition. You don’t need an EEG or The post Mind Changing Brain Changing Mind appeared first on Dr. Rick Hanson. Read more
#1 The mind and the brain are mainly (and perhaps entirely) a single unified system. Almost every – and perhaps every – subjective state is correlated with an objective, material brain state. Other than a transcendental factor – call it God, Spirit, Energy, or by whatever name – by definition, what else could be going The post 7 Facts About the Brain That Incline the Mind to Joy appeared first on Dr. Rick Hanson. Read more
Every day, think as you wake up: Today I am fortunate to have woken up. I am alive, I have a precious human life. I am not going to waste it. ~The Dalai Lama To make the most of your life, to nourish the causes of happiness for yourself and others, it takes strength, clear The post The Power of Intention appeared first on Dr. Rick Hanson. Read more
“How does being-awareness relate to our underlying animal nature?” “Is remorse a good thing?” “Is the “Self” real? What’s the nature of the sense of being that remains when parts of the psyche fall away?” These questions about self-awareness are just a sampling of those I have received from people like you. They cover the The post Questions About Self-Awareness appeared first on Dr. Rick Hanson. Read more
Just One Thing
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In