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Practical Wisdom with Dr. Rick Hanson

Rick Hanson

Led by psychologist and best-selling author Dr. Rick Hanson, these talks provide a down-to-earth way to develop greater resilience, compassion, and happiness. More at rickhanson.com

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34 episodes
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Avg 39 min
English

Episodes 34

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Wednesday · 46 min
The Two Keys to Any Kind of Change for the Better
Sometimes a single moment of insight can change how we see ourselves or the world. But how do we turn that insight into something lasting? In this talk, I explore two essential elements of transformation: sudden awakening and gradual cultivation. Sometimes change begins with a moment of insight, when we suddenly see something clearly. But lasting transformation comes from what we do with that insight, day after day. Learn practical ways to develop new habits, strengthen inner resources, and gradually become more of who you truly are. You’re welcome to join me live each week for these talks — for free — by signing up at https://rickhanson.com/wednesday-meditations-with-dr-rick-hanson/. We always start with a guided meditation to set the tone for the evening. If you’d like to experience the meditation that accompanied this talk, you can listen to it at: https://rickhanson.com/talk-meditation-the-two-keys-to-any-kind-of-change-for-the-better/ And if you'd like to check out any of my online programs at https://rickhanson.com/online-courses/, you can receive 20% off by using coupon code PW20 during checkout.
October 28 · 30 min
Four Ways to Let Go
What keeps us holding on to the thoughts, feelings, and experiences that cause us suffering? In this week’s talk, I explore four ways of letting go — in the body, of craving, in the mind, and of the mind itself. Learn how we can release old patterns of fear, anger, and grasping while still standing up for ourselves and pursuing what matters, opening to greater peace, freedom, and ease. You’re welcome to join me live each week for these talks — for free — by signing up at https://rickhanson.com/wednesday-meditations-with-dr-rick-hanson/. We always start with a guided meditation to set the tone for the evening. If you’d like to experience the meditation that accompanied this talk, you can listen to it at: https://rickhanson.com/meditation-talk-four-ways-to-let-go/ And if you'd like to check out any of my online programs at https://rickhanson.com/online-courses/, you can receive 20% off by using coupon code PW20 during checkout.
October 21 · 46 min
How to Heal What’s Been Missing in Your Life
What happens when important emotional needs go unmet, especially when we’re young? Even with loving parents and a relatively good childhood, we can carry a lingering sense that something is missing — leaving us feeling anxious, disconnected, or constantly seeking reassurance. In this week’s talk, I explore how these early experiences shape the brain, fuel craving, and influence our relationships today. Learn how we can begin to fill those empty places inside with the psychological nutrients we need. You’re welcome to join me live each week for these talks — for free — by signing up at https://rickhanson.com/wednesday-meditations-with-dr-rick-hanson/. We always start with a guided meditation to set the tone for the evening. If you’d like to experience the meditation that accompanied this talk, you can listen to it at: https://rickhanson.com/talk-meditation-how-to-heal-whats-been-missing-in-your-life/ And if you'd like to check out any of my online programs at https://rickhanson.com/online-courses/, you can receive 20% off by using coupon code PW20 during checkout.
October 14 · 45 min
How to Heal the Emotional Baggage You’ve Been Carrying
We all carry emotional baggage from the past. These old hurts, fears, insecurities, and patterns can continue to affect us long after the original experiences have passed. While mindfulness can help us relate differently to these painful experiences, what does it take to actually heal them? In this talk, I explored how to release the burdens of the past, identify the inner strengths and positive experiences that are best matched to our particular struggles, and how we can use these resources to gradually change the brain, heal old wounds, and move forward with greater freedom and peace. You’re welcome to join me live each week for these talks — for free — by signing up at https://rickhanson.com/wednesday-meditations-with-dr-rick-hanson/. We always start with a guided meditation to set the tone for the evening. If you’d like to experience the meditation that accompanied this talk, you can listen to it at: https://rickhanson.com/talk-meditation-how-to-heal-the-emotional-baggage-youve-been-carrying/ And if you'd like to check out any of my online programs at https://rickhanson.com/online-courses/, you can receive 20% off by using coupon code PW20 during checkout.
October 7 · 29 min
How to Rest in Peacefulness, Contentment, and Love
Life brings unavoidable pain, uncertainty, and loss, but it also offers countless opportunities to develop the inner resources that help us meet those challenges without becoming overwhelmed by them. In this talk, I explore how understanding our needs for safety, satisfaction, and connection can help us loosen the grip of craving and the suffering it creates. You’re welcome to join me live each week for these talks — for free — by signing up at https://rickhanson.com/wednesday-meditations-with-dr-rick-hanson/. We always start with a guided meditation to set the tone for the evening. If you’d like to experience the meditation that accompanied this talk, you can listen to it at: https://rickhanson.com/meditation-talk-rest-in-peacefulness-contentment-and-love/ And if you'd like to check out any of my online programs at https://rickhanson.com/online-courses/, you can receive 20% off by using coupon code PW20 during checkout. [Note: This talk was recorded at the end of 2021.]
September 30 · 32 min
How to Disentangle Yourself in Challenging Relationships
Life inevitably includes both change and loss, as well as sources of steadiness, meaning, and connection that endure. In this talk, I explore how we can meet the tangles of everyday life—difficult interactions, stubborn conflicts, painful patterns, and situations we cannot control—without either withdrawing from what matters or becoming consumed by it. You’re welcome to join me live each week for these talks — for free — by signing up at https://rickhanson.com/wednesday-meditations-with-dr-rick-hanson/. We always start with a guided meditation to set the tone for the evening. If you’d like to experience the meditation that accompanied this talk, you can listen to it at: https://rickhanson.com/meditation-talk-how-to-disentangle-yourself-in-challenging-relationships/ And if you'd like to check out any of my online programs at https://rickhanson.com/online-courses/, you can receive 20% off by using coupon code PW20 during checkout.
September 23 · 36 min
How to Use Anxiety – and Not Be Used by It!
Sometimes our anxiety is trying to tell us something important about a real threat, something we need to take care of, or someone we love. The trouble comes when anxiety keeps going long after it’s useful, turning into rumination, clinging, and worry about things we can’t control. This week I focused in on how to find a middle way with anxiety: listening to the useful signals without letting them take over. Listen in to learn ways to work with your anxiety: making room for unavoidable fear, finding realistic reassurance, creating a plan and taking action where you can, loosening the grip of unnecessary worry, and surrendering what is ultimately beyond your control. You’re welcome to join me live each week for these talks — for free — by signing up at https://rickhanson.com/wednesday-meditations-with-dr-rick-hanson/. We always start with a guided meditation to set the tone for the evening. If you’d like to experience the meditation that accompanied this talk, you can listen to it at: https://rickhanson.com/talk-meditation-how-to-use-anxiety-and-not-be-used-by-it/ And if you'd like to check out any of my online programs at https://rickhanson.com/online-courses/, you can receive 20% off by using coupon code PW20 during checkout.
September 16 · 44 min
5 Ways to Take Things Less Personally
Life is going to bump into us. People will disappoint us, criticize us, misunderstand us, drop the ball, or sometimes genuinely treat us badly. The question is how to deal with all of that without adding a whole extra layer of suffering by taking it so personally. So this week, I explored how feeling more secure in your own worth, having healthy boundaries, bringing compassion to yourself, loosening your sense of identity, and even finding your way toward love can help you stay grounded when the winds of life start blowing. You can still stand up for yourself, name what’s true, and protect yourself when you need to — while being less reactive, resentful, and knocked around by what other people do. You’re welcome to join me live each week for these talks — for free — by signing up at https://rickhanson.com/wednesday-meditations-with-dr-rick-hanson/. We always start with a guided meditation to set the tone for the evening. If you’d like to experience the meditation that accompanied this talk, you can listen to it at: https://rickhanson.com/talk-meditation-5-ways-to-take-things-less-personally/ And if you'd like to check out any of my online programs at https://rickhanson.com/online-courses/, you can receive 20% off by using coupon code PW20 during checkout.
September 9 · 41 min
Why It’s So Hard to Set – and Keep – Healthy Boundaries
Most of us know, at least in principle, that it’s good to have healthy boundaries. The hard part is actually setting them — and then holding onto them when other people push back, get upset, or simply keep doing what they’ve always done. In this talk, I explored some of what makes boundaries so difficult, including feeling overly responsible for other people, doubting our own perceptions, and getting pulled into trying to change things that really aren’t in our control. Check it out for some wonderful stories that all point to a basic kind of freedom: knowing what’s yours to deal with, what belongs to someone else, and when it’s time to stop trying to grow roses in a parking lot. You’re welcome to join me live each week for these talks — for free — by signing up at https://rickhanson.com/wednesday-meditations-with-dr-rick-hanson/. We always start with a guided meditation to set the tone for the evening. If you’d like to experience the meditation that accompanied this talk, you can listen to it at: https://rickhanson.com/talk-meditation-why-its-so-hard-to-set-and-keep-healthy-boundaries/ And if you'd like to check out any of my online programs at https://rickhanson.com/online-courses/, you can receive 20% off by using coupon code PW20 during checkout.
September 2 · 45 min
Why Good Boundaries Make Better Relationships
Good boundaries aren’t about pushing people away. In fact, they can help us feel closer, more open, and more at ease with the people we care about. When you know where you stand, what you’re responsible for, and what you’re simply not going to take on, there’s less resentment, confusion, and pressure in a relationship. So that’s what I covered in my talk this week, including how to recognize what’s okay, what’s not, and what is – as I like to put it, NMJ – Not My Job. Boundaries can be challenging, especially with the people we love, but they can also bring a lot more freedom, peace, and genuine connection into our relationships. (If you want to start practicing this for yourself, check out my upcoming workshop on Setting Healthy Boundaries: https://rickhanson.com/online-courses/setting-healthy-boundaries/) You’re welcome to join me live each week for these talks — for free — by signing up at https://rickhanson.com/wednesday-meditations-with-dr-rick-hanson/. We always start with a guided meditation to set the tone for the evening. If you’d like to experience the meditation that accompanied this talk, you can listen to it at: https://rickhanson.com/talk-meditation-why-good-boundaries-make-better-relationships/ And if you'd like to check out any of my online programs at https://rickhanson.com/online-courses/, you can receive 20% off by using coupon code PW20 during checkout.
August 26 · 45 min
Insight – The Power of Seeing Reality Clearly
This week, I was joined by Melvin McLeod, editor-in-chief of Lion’s Roar and author of The Complete Path of Mindfulness, to explore what mindfulness can become when we see it as much more than a meditation technique. Melvin and I explored how mindfulness can be a complete path for living with his five essential elements—mindfulness meditation, insight, love and compassion, ethics, and community. These practices can help us see reality more clearly, reduce unnecessary suffering, deepen our connections with others, and live with greater wisdom and care. We also dove into how the enduring insights of Buddhism can be expressed in a secular, accessible way; why insight and self-compassion matter when facing pain and rumination; and how mindfulness can support not only personal transformation, but a more peaceful and compassionate society. You’re welcome to join me live each week for these talks — for free — by signing up at https://rickhanson.com/wednesday-meditations-with-dr-rick-hanson/. We always start with a guided meditation to set the tone for the evening. If you’d like to experience the meditation that accompanied this talk, you can listen to it at: https://rickhanson.com/talk-meditation-insight-the-power-of-seeing-reality-clearly/ And if you'd like to check out any of my online programs at https://rickhanson.com/online-courses/, you can receive 20% off by using coupon code PW20 during checkout.
August 19 · 44 min
How to Find Peace in the Present Moment
So much of the mind is leaning into the future—anticipating what will happen, planning what we’ll do, worrying about what could go wrong, and getting attached to how we or other people are supposed to become. In this talk, I explore what Buddhist wisdom, neuroscience, and even the physics of time can teach us about stepping out of this constant striving and returning to the “front edge of now.” You’re welcome to join me live each week for these talks — for free — by signing up at https://rickhanson.com/wednesday-meditations-with-dr-rick-hanson/. We always start with a guided meditation to set the tone for the evening. If you’d like to experience the meditation that accompanied this talk, you can listen to it at: https://rickhanson.com/talk-meditation-how-to-find-peace-in-the-present-moment/ And if you'd like to check out any of my online programs at https://rickhanson.com/online-courses/, you can receive 20% off by using coupon code PW20 during checkout.
August 12 · 30 min
Patience – Why We Need It, and How to Grow It
Impatience can be a surprisingly powerful source of stress, frustration, and conflict—especially when we’re waiting for something to change, dealing with difficult people, caring for someone we love, or simply wishing life would move faster. In this talk, I explore patience not as passive endurance, but as a combination of strength, insight, and an open heart. In the brain, when we become impatient, stimulation and our sense of responsibility for others can keep us agitated. Using patience in practical ways, we can become steadier without becoming indifferent. Ultimately, patience gives us more freedom: to do what we can, let go of what we can’t control, and remain present and grounded while life unfolds in its own time. You’re welcome to join me live each week for these talks — for free — by signing up at https://rickhanson.com/wednesday-meditations-with-dr-rick-hanson/. We always start with a guided meditation to set the tone for the evening. If you’d like to experience the meditation that accompanied this talk, you can listen to it at: https://rickhanson.com/talk-meditation-patience-why-we-need-it-and-how-to-grow-it/ And if you'd like to check out any of my online programs at https://rickhanson.com/online-courses/, you can receive 20% off by using coupon code PW20 during checkout.
August 5 · 42 min
How to Feel That You’ve Done Enough – and Are Enough
Many of us spend our lives quietly believing we need to do more, achieve more, or become more before we can finally feel at peace. What if the peace you’ve been searching for doesn’t come from becoming more—but from recognizing that, in important ways, you’re already enough? In this talk, I explore how the mind gets caught in endless striving and comparison, and how we can gently train ourselves to rest in gladness, contentment, and the deep sense that we’ve done enough, are enough, and that this moment can be enough too. You’re welcome to join me live each week for these talks — for free — by signing up at https://rickhanson.com/wednesday-meditations-with-dr-rick-hanson/. We always start with a guided meditation to set the tone for the evening. If you’d like to experience the meditation that accompanied this talk, you can listen to it at: https://rickhanson.com/talk-meditation-how-to-feel-that-youve-done-enough-and-are-enough/ And if you'd like to check out any of my online programs at https://rickhanson.com/online-courses/, you can receive 20% off by using coupon code PW20 during checkout.
July 29 · 41 min
How to Stop Ruminating
Even when nothing is particularly wrong, the mind can keep generating something else to want, solve, compare, worry about, or figure out. All that mental activity can be exhausting—and it can keep us from recognizing the contentment and peace that are already available. In this talk, I explore an early Buddhist teaching on papañca—the mind’s tendency to proliferate—and how we can gradually step out of all that chasing. What feeds a busy mind? Craving, comparison, and getting caught up in views – but we can make a beautiful progression from that to virtue and gladness into joy, tranquility, contentment, and steadiness of mind. And we can help these beneficial states sink into the body and gradually become more lasting traits. You’re welcome to join me live each week for these talks — for free — by signing up at https://rickhanson.com/wednesday-meditations-with-dr-rick-hanson/. We always start with a guided meditation to set the tone for the evening. If you’d like to experience the meditation that accompanied this talk, you can listen to it at: https://rickhanson.com/talk-meditation-how-to-stop-ruminating/ And if you'd like to check out any of my online programs at https://rickhanson.com/online-courses/, you can receive 20% off by using coupon code PW20 during checkout.
July 22 · 38 min
Bows and Vows
Many of us move through life reacting to circumstances without pausing to consider what we’re truly devoted to. When we lose touch with our values and deepest intentions, it’s easy to feel scattered, disconnected, or pulled in directions that don’t reflect who we want to be. In this talk, I explore the relationship between what we bow toward and what we vow to live by. Practice isn’t just about accepting life as it is—it’s also about intentionally cultivating what is good, true, and meaningful. Together, we’ll reflect on gratitude, refuge, impermanence, and the quiet commitments that shape who we become. What might serve you most as a vow going forward? You’re welcome to join me live each week for these talks — for free — by signing up at https://rickhanson.com/wednesday-meditations-with-dr-rick-hanson/. We always start with a guided meditation to set the tone for the evening. If you’d like to experience the meditation that accompanied this talk, you can listen to it at: https://rickhanson.com/talk-meditation-bows-and-vows/ And if you'd like to check out any of my online programs at https://rickhanson.com/online-courses/, you can receive 20% off by using coupon code PW20 during checkout.
July 15 · 40 min
Letting Go of Fear, and Resting in Peaceful Confidence
You’re welcome to join me live each week for these talks — for free — by signing up at https://rickhanson.com/wednesday-meditations-with-dr-rick-hanson/. We always start with a guided meditation to set the tone for the evening. If you’d like to experience the meditation that accompanied this talk, you can listen to it at: https://rickhanson.com/meditation-talk-letting-go-of-fear-and-resting-in-peaceful-confidence/ And if you'd like to check out any of my online programs at https://rickhanson.com/online-courses/, you can receive 20% off by using coupon code PW20 during checkout.
July 8 · 36 min
The Sweet Power of Kindness, Compassion, and Happiness for Others
We often think of kindness and compassion as gifts we offer other people. But what if they were also among the most powerful ways to heal ourselves? In this talk, I explore three transformative qualities of the heart—kindness, compassion, and joy for others—and how intentionally cultivating them can reduce suffering, build resilience, and gradually become part of who we are. Along the way, we’ll look at practical ways to bring these qualities into difficult relationships without pretending, bypassing, or sacrificing healthy boundaries. You’re welcome to join me live each week for these talks — for free — by signing up at https://rickhanson.com/wednesday-meditations-with-dr-rick-hanson/. We always start with a guided meditation to set the tone for the evening. If you’d like to experience the meditation that accompanied this talk, you can listen to it at: https://rickhanson.com/talk-meditation-the-sweet-power-of-kindness-compassion-and-happiness-for-others/ And if you'd like to check out any of my online programs at https://rickhanson.com/online-courses/, you can receive 20% off by using coupon code PW20 during checkout.
July 1 · 44 min
Positive Emotions as Key Steps in the Path of Awakening
Many of us think of meditation and inner practice as serious, even grim work. But what if joy itself is part of the path? In this talk, I explored four emotionally positive states — gladness, rapture, tranquility, and happiness — that the Buddha himself identified as essential factors on the path to awakening. You’ll learn why these states aren’t distractions from practice but powerful resources for healing, resilience, and lasting inner change. You’re welcome to join me live each week for these talks — for free — by signing up at https://rickhanson.com/wednesday-meditations-with-dr-rick-hanson/. We always start with a guided meditation to set the tone for the evening. If you’d like to experience the meditation that accompanied this talk, you can listen to it at: https://rickhanson.com/talk-meditation-positive-emotions-as-key-steps-in-the-path-of-awakening/ And if you'd like to check out any of my online programs at https://rickhanson.com/online-courses/, you can receive 20% off by using coupon code PW20 during checkout.
June 24 · 39 min
The Powerful Combination of Concentration and Insight
We all know what it’s like to feel scattered, stuck in our own mental loops, unable to actually move through the hard stuff. What the Buddha was pointing to with “right concentration” is that a settled, unified mind isn’t just a nice meditation bonus — it’s the thing that gives your insight real power to cut through. In this talk, I dig into a remarkable ancient teaching by a nun named Dhammadinnā, exploring how concentration works together with virtue and wisdom to actually move you from suffering toward genuine release. Think of it like pairing a sharp blade with real heft behind it — one without the other just doesn’t get you through the thicket. You’re welcome to join me live each week for these talks — for free — by signing up at https://rickhanson.com/wednesday-meditations-with-dr-rick-hanson/. We always start with a guided meditation to set the tone for the evening. If you’d like to experience the meditation that accompanied this talk, you can listen to it at: https://rickhanson.com/talk-meditation-the-powerful-combination-of-concentration-and-insight/ And if you'd like to check out any of my online programs at https://rickhanson.com/online-courses/, you can receive 20% off by using coupon code PW20 during checkout.

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