Rick Hanson, PhD, is a neuropsychologist, Affiliate of the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley, and founder of the Wellspring Institute for Neuroscience and Contemplative Wisdom. A summa cum laude graduate of UCLA, his work has been featured on the BBC and NPR, and he is an invited presenter at leading universities, including Oxford, UC Berkeley, Stanford, and Harvard.

Dr. Hanson’s book Buddha’s Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love, and Wisdom (with Rick Mendius, MD; foreword by Dan Siegel, MD; and preface by Jack Kornfield, PhD) has been praised by numerous scholars, therapists, and teachers, including Tara Brach, PhD; Roger Walsh, PhD; Sharon Salzberg; and Fred Luskin, PhD, and is being published in 19 languages.

An authority on self-directed neuroplasticity, he edits the Wise Brain Bulletin, and his articles have appeared in Tricycle, Insight Journal, and Inquiring Mind. His blog Your Wise Brain is available on The Huffington Post, Psychology Today, and other major websites, and he also has a weekly e-newsletter, Just One Thing, with over 15,000 subscribers. He has several audio programs with Sounds True, and his first book was Mother Nurture: A Mother’s Guide to Health in Body, Mind, and Intimate Relationships (Penguin, 2002).

Dr. Hanson is a trustee of Saybrook University. He also served on the board of Spirit Rock Meditation Center for nine years, and was president of the board of FamilyWorks, a nonprofit agency serving families in Northern California. He began meditating in 1974, trained in several traditions, and leads a weekly meditation gathering in San Rafael, California. He enjoys rock climbing and taking a break from emails. He and his wife have two children.

Author photo © Stephanie Mohan

BONUS MATERIAL FROM RICK HANSON

In this exclusive guided meditation—"Feeling Strong"—Richard Mendius, co-author of Meditations to Change Your Brain, will lead you through a step-by-step process to magnify your personal sense of strength, to not only improve your meditative experiences, but also to empower you in your daily life.

»Feeling Strong

In this exclusive guided meditation—"Going into the Body … and Beyond"—Rick Hanson, co-author of "Meditations to Change Your Brain, will lead you through an experience of whole body awareness designed to quiet the left and right parietal lobes of your brain in order to expand your sense of oneness with all things.

»Going into the Body … and Beyond