Buddha’s Brain
“When you change your brain, you change your life.”
Rick Hanson’s body of work has contributed immeasurably to my wellbeing. For clients, it provides the neural basis of Buddhist practices, and even some yoga practices that might be more familiar, for example, activating the parasympathetic neural system through deep, rhythmic breathing.
Also, the practice of taking refuge and elongating or savoring positive experiences to counteract our negative bias (recall the 5-to-1 ratio of positive experiences to balance out overweighted negative experiences). The practices at the end of each chapter provide a treasure trove of scientifically based (and wisdom-tradition-endorsed) practices for leading one’s life with compassion, courage, and positive impact.
Buddha’s Brain by Rick Hanson (New Harbinger Publications, 2009)