Being Well With Dr. Rick Hanson

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What can death teach us about living well? A pioneer in the field of end-of-life care joins us to explore the fear of death, anger, true courage, and acceptance in the face of it all.  About our Guest: Frank is an internationally respected Buddhist teacher and advocate for compassionate care-giving. In 1987, he co-founded the Zen Hospice Project, which helped establish a longstanding model for mindful and compassionate care. In 2005, he founded the Metta Institute. Frank is also the author of The Five Invitations: Discovering What Death Can Teach Us About Living Fully, which is one of my favorite books. From Dr. Hanson:  The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need.  Hardwire lasting change into your mind and heart in just a few minutes a day  with Dr. Rick Hanson's new program: Just On

What does it mean to "transcend the self?" Today Dr. Hanson, Forrest, and Dr. David Yaden explore self-transcendent, or “peak,” experiences, which the famous psychologist Abraham Maslow defined as “moments of highest happiness and fulfillment.” As a note, David is referred to as a "PhD student" during the episode. Since it was recorded, he's gone on to earn his doctorate! About our Guest: David is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Johns Hopkins Medicine who studies the varieties of spiritual and self-transcendent experiences from the perspectives of psychology and cognitive neuroscience.  Read David's paper on The Varieties of Self-Transcendent Experience here.  New Sponsor: Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!  Key Topics: 3:00: The two key characteristics of self-transcendent experiences. 4:30: “Everyday” versions of peak experiences.  8:00: Self-transcendence and psychopathology. 11:00: Davi

Dr. Laurie Santos joins the podcast to share what the science says about how we can maintain our well-being during this difficult time. About our Guest: Laurie is a Professor of Psychology and Head of Silliman College at Yale University. Her course “Psychology and the Good Life” is the most popular class in the university’s history. It’s now available for free online as “The Science of Well-Being." She’s also the director of the Comparative Cognition Laboratory at Yale, which explores the evolutionary origins of the human mind Laurie hosts the critically acclaimed podcast The Happiness Lab. We couldn't recommend it more highly, if you like our podcast you should definitely give it a listen. New Sponsor: Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!  Key Topics: 2:00: Key resources for happiness during pandemic.  6:00: Understanding and combating logical errors.  10:00: How to stay strong during a crisis

Can we work with, and release, obsessive fear during this particularly anxiety-provoking time? Dr. Dan Kalb, an expert on anxiety disorders and OCD, joins the show to help us learn how.  About our Guest:  Anxiety and worry are a part of life. But when they disrupt the normal flow of life, work and school are harder, family and social relationships suffer, and life is not as enjoyable. Dr. Kalb has been a practicing psychologist for over 25 years, and focuses much of his practice on working with people who suffer from this form of extreme anxiety, hoarding, or OCD.  New Sponsor: Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!  Key Topics: 1:45: What is an anxiety disorder? 6:00: Mindfulness and being in the present moment. 11:30: Releasing obsessions, and not becoming ensnared by negative thoughts. 16:45: Acceptance, and useful vs. harmful self-reassurance.  24:30: Fears of death, and how to manage them. 

What can we learn about ourselves from and through art? Sleeping At Last, an incredible musician, joins us to explore the Enneagram, the creative process, art and emotion, and how we can become ever more true to ourselves. About Our Guest: Sleeping at Last, also known as Ryan O’Neal,  is a well-known singer, songwriter, and composer who's written music for shows like Grey's Anatomy.  Over the last seven years Ryan has worked on his Atlas series, an ongoing project that includes an incredible series of songs based on the Enneagram of Personality, which is my favorite personality typing system. New Sponsor: Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!  Key Topics: 3:00: Sleeping at Last’s background and artistic origin story. 6:30: Music as a kind of journal.  8:30: How masks allow for vulnerability. 11:10: Writing in theme, and finding safe spaces for emotion through art.  17:00: Sleeping at Last’s crea

What is the "highest happiness," and what can we do to achieve it?  This is the second conversation with Dr. Hanson related to his new book Neurodharma: New Science, Ancient Wisdom, and Seven Practices of the Highest Happiness. Today we're focusing on the final four practices in the book: wholeness, nowness, allness, and timelessness.  Neurodharma is now available! Click here if you'd like to learn more. New Sponsor: Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!  Key Topics: 2:00: Why aim for “the heights of human potential” when the here and now already seems so challenging? 7:30: Wholeness, Nowness, Allness, and Timelessness.  11:00: What is an aspect of awakening? 14:20: The front edge of now.  17:00: The value of timelessness for a “normal person.” 23:00: The elements of consciousness.  26:45: The inherent emptiness of things.  32:50: Avoiding the pitfalls of emptiness.  34:30: The apparent self.  3

Throughout history people have sought the heights of human potential - to become as wise, strong, happy, and loving as any person can ever be. Call these peak experiences, sense of oneness, or enlightenment itself. And now, science is revealing how these remarkable ways of being seem to be based on equally remarkable changes in our own nervous system. What do those individuals have in common, how did they reach that summit, and what can we learn from them? That's the subject of Rick's new book: Neurodharma: New Science, Ancient Wisdom, and Seven Practices of the Highest Happiness.  Neurodharma comes out May 5th, and is now available for pre-order. Click here if you'd like to learn more. New Sponsor: Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!  Key Topics: 2:15: What is the upper bound of human potential, and why should we care? 5:30: Different ways of knowing ourselves 10:00: How can modern science co

I want to express the profound gratitude I feel toward everyone who is serving others during this time of the Coronavirus pandemic. In particular, healthcare providers, first responders, and the whole ecosystem of helpers who have come together to support us all. I've received a number of truly humbling requests to offer a guided practice aimed at supporting the inner strengths those providers need so desperately these days. This meditation focuses on cultivating a feeling of both acceptance and calm strength. I hope you find it helpful. From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need.  We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link. Connect with the show: Follow us on Instagram Follow Rick on Facebook Follow Forrest on Facebook Subscribe

How can we continue to support others when our own well has run dry? Today we're exploring practices for managing and overcoming both direct traumatic stress and compassion fatigue, or "secondary traumatic stress."  New Sponsor: Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!  Key Topics: 3:00: The anxiety, outrage, and overwhelm of this moment. 7:00: Finding refuge.  12:00: Refuge and purpose in the collective experience.  15:00: Surrendering to the moment as it is. 17:00: Opening to the experience and letting it go.  22:00: Giving yourself permission to feel.  26:00: "Want to" and "have to." 28:00: A message of gratitude.  From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in n

Over the last month many people have been stuck at home - occasionally with people they'd rather not be around. Maintaining a healthy relationship can be a struggle under the best of times, let alone during times of stress. On this episode we explore how individuals and families can deal with the interpersonal stress that comes from being stuck together, and the sadness and loss that comes from being separated from things we love. New Sponsor: Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!  Key Topics: 3:00: The costs of sustained stress 4:40: Unique pressures placed on relationships during this time.  8:00: Specific tools for maintaining a healthy relationship 15:00: How we’ve been supported by our circumstances until now. 17:15: Redefining ourselves during this time. 24:00: Seeing your own good purposes.  26:00: Experiencing common humanity. From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings togethe

It's often easier to be a good friend to others than to ourselves. Today we're exploring how to balance constructive and harmful self-criticism, move away from our "act," embrace change, manage feelings of worthlessness, and ultimately be a good friend to ourselves. New Sponsor: Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!  Key Topics: 3:15: A few ways to be kind to yourself. 8:15: Finding your key resources. 12:50: Useful vs. harmful self-criticism.  15:00: Putting your past in perspective.  20:15: Moving away from the “act.” 23:00: Finding optimal distance. 28:00: Ways to tune into your own goodness. 34:00: What to do when you don’t feel like a good person. 43:00: Narcissism vs. authentic feelings of goodness.  46:00: Relating to the self as something that can change.  50:00: Ego ideal From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-l

How can we use mindfulness practically during our everyday lives, and how can "presence" be a particularly valuable tool for women? About Our Guest: Caroline Welch is the CEO and co-founder of the Mindsight Institute. Mindsight, a term coined by Dr. Dan Siegel, is our human capacity to perceive the mind of the self and others. It’s essentially a kind of focused attention that help us observe the working of our own mind, and helps get us off of the autopilot of ingrained behaviors and habitual responses. Caroline's new book, The Gift of Presence: A Mindfulness Guide for Women, offers a scientifically inspired approach to a simple question: Is there a way for women to live with more calm amid the chaos?  From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need.  Hardwire lasting chan

We haven’t generally done episodes related to current events, but these events are challenging to ignore. The coronavirus pandemic has already placed a heavy toll on society – over a hundred thousand people have already been sick, thousands are dead, businesses, schools, and recreational events have closed, and there's been substantial economic turmoil. Today we’re exploring how to cope with the natural fears that arise during challenging times, the difference between useful and harmful anxiety, and how we can grow the inner strengths we need to thrive when things get tough. New Sponsor: Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!  Key Topics: 4:50: Rick’s approach to this moment. 6:00: Claiming your agency. 10:40: Useful anxiety vs. harmful anxiety. 13:45: What makes something uniquely scary. 18:15: Finding, sometimes not particularly useful, ways to express agency. 22:30: How to start determining wh

Dr. Peter Levine, a legendary expert on the subject of healing trauma, joins Dr. Rick Hanson and Forrest to discuss the power trauma holds over the body, how we can truly connect with others, and simple practices for calming fear and unwinding from trauma.  Dr. Levine has worked in the field of stress and trauma for over 40 years and is the creator of Somatic Experiencing. He is also the author of the best-selling, classic book on trauma Waking the Tiger. He’s authored and co-authored several other fantastic books including Healing Trauma, In an Unspoken Voice, and Trauma and Memory. Connect with the show: Follow us on Instagram Follow Rick on Facebook Follow Forrest on Facebook Subscribe on iTunes From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need.  We're now on Patreon

Dr. Bruce Perry joins Dr. Hanson and Forrest to discuss the incredible impact of childhood experiences, the fuzzy distinction between trauma and stress, and what we can do to heal from those experiences.  As with all of our episodes dealing with trauma and traumatic experiences, please approach this material with care for yourself in mind. There are specific descriptions during the episode of neglect and abuse, including that perpetrated upon children. Sponsor Message: We're now on Patreon, and we've made this week's expanded show notes available for free!  About Our Guest: Dr. Perry is one of the world’s leading experts on childhood trauma, and his clinical research and practice focuses on examining the long-term effects of trauma in children, adolescents, and adults.  He is the Senior Fellow of The ChildTrauma Academy, and a Professor at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago and the School of Allied Health at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia. Dr. Perry is also the

How can we better resource ourselves to face the challenging, even traumatic, experiences that lie in our past? New Sponsor: Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!  Key Topics: 03:45: The necessity of eventually contacting trauma material in order to heal. 06:50: Challenges, resources, and vulnerabilities.  11:20: Key resources for facing challenging experiences.  16:15: Courage and self-worth. 22:00: General resources for disengaging from activation. 28:00: Contacting challenging material safely. 36:20: The nature of all experiences.  From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need.  Hardwire lasting change into your mind and heart in just a few minutes a day

We all want to build good habits, but doing so is often easier said than done. Charles Duhigg joins the podcast to help us learn how to do just that. About Our Guest: Charles is the author of The Power of Habit, a classic bestseller about the science of habit formation in our lives, companies and societies, and Smarter Faster Better, which focuses on the science of productivity. He was a reporter at the New York Times for a decade, where he was part of a team that won a  Pulitzer prize for explanatory reporting in 2013. If you'd like to hear more from Charles, you can listen to his wonderful podcast How To! with Charles Duhigg. New Sponsor: Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!  Key Topics: 01:19: What got you into the study of habits? 03:30: How can we change our habits? 11:56: Is there a difference between how we change internal habits vs. external ones? 18:40: You've been around a lot of very

In our important relationships at home and at work, we need to respect the needs of others while also sticking up for our own. Dr. Daniel Ellenberg joins us today to explore how we can grow the lasting inner resources that allow us to do just that, and ultimately become both “friendly” and “fearless.” About Our Guest: Daniel has been a practicing marriage and family therapist for over 30 years, and is the co-founder of Relationships That Work, and the founder and director of Strength With Heart men’s groups. New Sponsor: Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!  Key Topics: 2:25: What does it mean to be friendly and fearless. 5:05: “Fear less.” 6:20: Conflating social and physical fear. 9:25: Bringing more awareness into interpersonal conflict. 11:45: Increasing the space between stimulus and response.  13:35: Inter- vs. Intra-personal skills. 15:00: Finding the pause.  19:50: Finding sensitivity,

There are some emotions that are so deeply tied to the human experience that it’s impossible to avoid them. One of these is grief, which we have yet to discuss in detail on the podcast. On this episode we’re changing that, and have the pleasure of welcoming Dr. Joanne Cacciatore to the podcast to explore how we can bear the unbearable, and heal the trauma associated with grief. As with all of our episodes associated with traumatic experiences, please be kind to yourself. Be aware that the material explored here includes descriptions of traumatic events - including bereavement. Dr. Cacciatore is an Associate professor at Arizona State University and founder of the MISS foundation, a volunteer based organization providing counseling, advocacy, research, and education services to families experiencing the death of a child. Dr. Cacciatore is also the author of Bearing the Unbearable: Love, Loss, and the Heartbreaking Path of Grief. Her research has been published in a number of peer reviewed journals, and she’s b