Rick Hanson, Ph.D., is a neuropsychologist and New York Times best-selling author.
Founder of the Wellspring Institute for Neuroscience and Contemplative Wisdom and on the Advisory Board of the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley, he’s been an invited speaker at Oxford, Stanford, and Harvard, and taught in meditation centers worldwide.
An authority on self-directed neuroplasticity, Dr. Hanson’s work has been featured on the BBC, NPR, CBC, FoxBusiness, Consumer Reports Health, U.S. News and World Report, and O Magazine, and his articles have appeared in Tricycle Magazine, Insight Journal, and Inquiring Mind. He has several audio programs with Sounds True, he edits the Wise Brain Bulletin, and his weekly e-newsletter – Just One Thing – has over 100,000 subscribers, and also appears on Huffington Post, Psychology Today, and other major websites.
A summa cum laude graduate of UCLA, Dr. Hanson has been a trustee of Saybrook University, and he served on the board of Spirit Rock Meditation Center for nine years and was President of the Board of FamilyWorks, a community agency. He began meditating in 1974, trained in several traditions, and leads a weekly meditation gathering in San Rafael, California. He enjoys rock climbing and taking a break from emails. He and his wife have two adult children.
Books and other media:
- Hardwiring Happiness: The New Brain Science of Contentment, Calm, and Confidence
(in 4 languages),
- Buddha’s Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love, and Wisdom
(in 25 languages), - Just One Thing: Developing a Buddha Brain One Simple Practice at a Time
(in 12 languages), and
- Mother Nurture: A Mother’s Guide to Health in Body, Mind, and Intimate Relationships
- Stress-Proof Your Brain
- Meditations to Change Your Brain
- The Enlightened Brain
- Meditations for Happiness
- Self-Directed Brain Change
- Letting Go: A Key to Lasting Happiness
- Steadying Your Mind
- Awaken Your Brain
For more information, please see his full profile at rickhanson.com.
Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group.
Interview recorded 12/14/2013.
Second BatGap interview with Rick Hanson.
YouTube Video Chapters:
- 00:00:00 – Introduction to Rick Hanson and the Mind-Brain Connection
- 00:03:11 – The Brain’s Bias towards Over-learning from Negative Experiences
- 00:06:11 – The Mystery of Brain Transformation
- 00:08:45 – The Root of Suffering and the End of Craving
- 00:11:23 – The Nature of Heartfelt Emotions
- 00:13:54 – Changing the Conditioning of the Mind
- 00:17:07 – Overcoming Aversion and Grasping
- 00:19:32 – The Brain of a Buddha
- 00:22:42 – The Ultimate Truth and Brainwaves
- 00:25:32 – The Nature of Consciousness and the Transcendental
- 00:28:25 – The Thicket of Views and the Woo-Woo Stuff
- 00:31:10 – Exploring the Transcendental State
- 00:33:45 – The Stable Shift of Awakening
- 00:35:59 – Installing Wholesome States of Mind
- 00:38:38 – The Art of Receptive Learning
- 00:41:30 – Internalizing the Mind of No Grasping
- 00:43:53 – Neurobhavana: Mo’ Bettah
- 00:46:31 – Cultivating Positive Experiences
- 00:49:08 – Factors for Enriching Experiences
- 00:51:31 – Cultivating Inner Strengths for Healing and Awakening
- 00:53:58 – Overcoming the Stone Age Negativity Bias
- 00:57:05 – The Negativity Bias and its Impact on Well-being
- 00:59:19 – Mindfulness Programs for Prisoners and PTSD Sufferers
- 01:02:05 – Adapting Practice and Dealing with Negative Experiences
- 01:04:27 – The Impact of Negative Experiences
- 01:07:07 – The Power of Fear and Disgust
- 01:09:48 – The Possibility of a Utopian Planet
- 01:12:12 – The Tipping Point: From Frustration to Contentment
- 01:14:46 – Letting the Good Sink In
- 01:17:14 – Physiological Correlates of Higher States
- 01:19:35 – Music interlude
Apple Podcasts
Spotify
YouTube
