577. Rick Hanson, 2nd Interview Buddha at the Gas Pump

This interview was recorded on October 9, 2020, as part of an online conference on "Living and Dying" offered by the Science and Nonduality Conference. The conference has finished, but you may sign up to access all of its content.

Rick Hanson, Ph.D. is a psychologist, Senior Fellow of UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center, and New York Times best-selling author. His free weekly newsletter has 180,000 subscribers and his online programs have scholarships available for those with financial needs.

His books have been published in 29 languages with 900,000 copies in English alone and include:

Neurodharma: New Science, Ancient Wisdom, and Seven Practices of the Highest Happiness
Resilient: How to Grow an Unshakable Core of Calm, Strength, and Happiness
Hardwiring Happiness: The New Brain Science of Contentment, Calm, and Confidence
Buddha's Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love, and Wisdom
Just One Thing: Developing a Buddha Brain One Simple Practice at a Time
Mother Nurture: A Mother's Guide to Health in Body, Mind, and Intimate Relationships

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.

Website: rickhanson.net

Additional books and other media:

Stress-Proof Your Brain
Meditations to Change Your Brain
The Enlightened Brain
Meditations for Happiness
Self-Directed Brain Change
Letting Go: A Key to Lasting Happiness
Steadying Your Mind
Awaken Your Brain

Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group.

Transcript of this interview.

First BatGap interview with Rick Hanson.

Video and audio below. Audio also available as a Podcast.


YouTube Video Chapters:


00:00:00 - Welcome to "Dying and Living"
00:02:23 - Reflections on Equanimity and Love
00:04:06 - Visual Representation of a Message
00:05:38 - The Impermanence of Experience and the Search for Happiness
00:07:37 - Resting in Stillness with Meditation
00:09:38 - Cultivating Equanimity
00:11:24 - Understanding the Mind and Increasing Equanimity
00:13:04 - The Three Stages of Experience
00:14:51 - Managing Aversion
00:16:45 - Sensitizing to the Negative
00:18:24 - Cultivating Peaceful Abiding
00:20:03 - Dealing with the Good and the Bad
00:21:39 - The Pace of News and Events
00:23:06 - Cultivating Unbounded Awareness
00:25:03 - Shifting Perspectives: Egocentric and Allocentric Views
00:26:43 - Finding Beauty and Unboundedness
00:28:06 - Finding Joy in the Local
00:30:04 - The Importance of Living Well Locally
00:31:55 - Individual and Collective Consciousness
00:33:37 - The Connection Between Spirituality and Mental Stability
00:35:24 - Practicing Authenticity and Cutting through Spiritual Materialism
00:37:07 - The confluence of conspiracy theories and the spiritual community
00:39:04 - The Influence of Cults and the Importance of Reality
00:40:48 - Punishing Freeloaders and Promoting Truth
00:42:34 - The Difficulty of Knowing the Truth
00:44:22 - The Importance of Personal Character and Virtue
00:45:48 - The Proliferation of Craziness
00:47:18 - Supporting Institutions that Promote Truth
00:49:08 - Developing Discernment and Spiritual Enlightenment
00:51:13 - The Ephemeral Nature of Passing Phenomena
00:53:09 - Conclusion and Farewell