Dr. Rick Hanson

Dr. Rick Hanson has spent decades gathering research, information, practices, and other resources to help people just like you turn everyday experiences into a powerful sense of lasting well-being.

On this website you will find tons of FREE resources that you can use to get started on your well-being journey, as well as information and links to more in-depth tools.

Rick Hanson, Ph.D., is a psychologist, Senior Fellow of the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley, and New York Times best-selling author. His books have been published in 29 languages and include Neurodharma, Resilient, Hardwiring Happiness, Buddha’s Brain, Just One Thing, and Mother Nurture – with 900,000 copies in English alone. His free weekly newsletter has 150,000 subscribers and his online programs have scholarships available for those with financial need. He’s lectured at NASA, Google, Oxford, and Harvard, and taught in meditation centers worldwide. An expert on positive neuroplasticity, his work has been featured on the BBC, CBS, NPR, and other major media. He began meditating in 1974 and is the founder of the Wellspring Institute for Neuroscience and Contemplative Wisdom. He loves wilderness and taking a break from emails.

The Science of Positive Brain Change

For thousands of years, philosophers, poets, mystics, and ordinary people have wondered about human experience: What is the nature of, and what causes, all those sensations, thoughts, feelings, desires, and sense of “me?”

The modern sciences of psychology and neurology have been slowly but surely establishing a body of knowledge about the mind and its relationship to the brain and the body. This emerging “science of mind” is in its infancy, and a certain humility is called for.

That said, these are very exciting times, since enough information has emerged to begin connecting some of the major dots, shedding real light on questions like these:

• How might the mind and brain be connected?
• When the mind changes, how does the brain change, and vice versa?
• What is happening in my mind/brain when I feel upset?
• What’s going on in the mind/brain when a person is having a meaningful insight?
• What is the neurology of consciousness?
• What are scientifically-validated methods for activating the brain states that support positive mental states?