Buddha’s Brain

Knowing your own giving heart – which is usually offered to others – can you extend that heart to yourself?

One of the strangest and most meaningful experiences of my life occurred when I going through Rolfing (ten brilliant sessions of deep-tissue bodywork) in my early 20′s. The fifth session works on the stomach area, and I was anticipating (= dreading) the release of buried sadness. Instead, there was a dam burst of love, which poured out of me during the session and afterward. I realized it was love, not sadness, that I had bottled up in childhood – and what I now needed to give and express.

Most people know their less than wonderful qualities, such as too much ambition (or too little), a weakness for wine or cookies, something of a temper, or an annoying tendency to rattle on about pet interests. We usually know when we make mistakes, get the facts wrong, could be more skillful, or deserve to feel remorseful.

For many of us, perhaps the hardest thing of all is to believe that “I am a good person.” We can climb mountains, work hard, acquire many skills, act ethically – but truly feel that one is good deep down? Nah!

In this video, Rick Hanson explains how we can boost our positive emotions and positive experiences. This video was taken at the Greater Good Science Center in UC Berkeley as part of the Science of a Meaningful Life Series.

Listen to Vividlife Radio on Blog Talk RadioCALL IN TOLL-FREE in North America 1-877-572-4270 or 1-646-200-3448 Rick Hanson is a neuropsychologist who has written and taught extensively about the essential…

How much change in the brain makes a difference in the mind? That’s the issue raised by a very interesting comment regarding my previous blog, The Brain in a Bucket.…

Have you ever seen a real brain? I remember the first time I saw one, in a neuropsych class: the instructor put on rubber gloves to protect against the formaldehyde…

What can you actually affect? The Practice Why? In a groundbreaking series of studies in the 1960’s and 1970’s, Martin Seligman and colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania showed that…

Tune in LIVE on Wednesday, January 13th at 2 pm EST on VividLife Radio. Rick Hanson is a neuropsychologist who has written and taught extensively about the essential inner skills…

by Rick Hanson, Ph.D 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:…

Rick Hanson is a neuropsychologist who has written and taught extensively about the essential inner skills of personal well-being, psychological growth, and contemplative practice – as well as about relationships,…