Self-Directed Brain Change: Rewire Your Neural Pathways for Happiness and Resilience

by Rick Hanson

Genres: Nonfiction

Audiocd

First published October 1, 2013

About the author

Rick Hanson, Ph.D., is a psychologist, Senior Fellow at UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center, and New York Times best-selling author. His seven books have been published in 33 languages and include Making Great Relationships, Neurodharma, Resilient, Hardwiring Happiness, Just One Thing, Buddha’s Brain, and Mother Nurture – with over a million copies in English alone. He's the founder of the Global Compassion Coalition and the Wellspring Institute for Neuroscience and Contemplative Wisdom, as well as the co-host of the Being Well podcast – which has been downloaded 23 million times. His free newsletters have 260,000 subscribers, and his online programs have scholarships available for those with financial needs. He’s lectured at NASA, Google, Oxford, and Harvard. An expert on positive neuroplasticity, his work has been featured on CBS, NPR, the BBC, and other major media. He began meditating in 1974 and has taught in meditation centers worldwide. He and his wife live in northern California and have two adult children. He loves the wilderness and taking a break from emails.

Reviews

[Karli Sherwinter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved his explanation about why our brains are wired for negativity from the biological evolutionary standpoint. If we want to cultivate more positivity in our brain, we actually have to work to acknowledge positive moments as they happen, allow them to be absorbed in the body and the brain, and to cultivate those feelings by creating new neural networks that reinforce those good moments. Taking in the good is a practice that can be honed through attention, meditation, and mindfulness. He has a lot of simple meditation practices in the book, so this is not a good audiobook for driving.

[Mara Vernon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A helpful guide to specific exercises to help rewire the brain. I love the brain science so would have liked more in-depth on that end, and think this was great for what it was designed to do. Help you understand generally how the brain works, do practice exercises to start to shift, and help understand the importance of moving forward with intentional strategies.