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Just One Thing |
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Simple Practices for Resilience and Happiness from |
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DR. RICK HANSON |
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My team and I are working on putting together more offerings, and I'd really love to hear from YOU. What would you like to me to cover? What do you want to learn? What formats work best for you? If you have a minute to share your thoughts, please fill out this very short survey. |
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Is your mind wandering? |
THE PRACTICE: |
Pay Attention. |
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— Why? — |
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From moment to moment, the flows of thoughts and feelings, sensations and desires, and conscious and unconscious processes sculpt your nervous system like water gradually carving furrows and eventually gullies on a hillside. Your brain is continually changing its structure. The only question is: Is it for better or worse?
In particular, because of what’s called “experience-dependent neuroplasticity,” whatever you hold in attention has a special power to change your brain. Attention is like a combination spotlight and vacuum cleaner: it illuminates what it rests upon and then sucks it into your brain - and yourself.
Therefore, controlling your attention - becoming more able to place it where you want it and keep it there, and more able to pull it away from what’s bothersome or pointless (such as looping again and again through anxious preoccupations, mental grumbling, or self-criticism) - is the foundation of changing your brain, and thus your life, for the better. As the great psychologist, William James, wrote over a century ago: “The education of attention would be the education par excellence.”
But to gain better control of attention - to become more mindful and more able to concentrate - we need to overcome a few challenges. In order to survive, our ancestors evolved to be stimulation-hungry and easily distracted, continually scanning their interior and their environment for opportunities and threats, carrots and sticks. There is also a natural range of temperament, from focused and cautious “turtles” to distractible and adventuresome “jackrabbits.” Upsetting experiences - especially traumatic ones - train the brain to be vigilant, with attention skittering from one thing to another. And modern culture makes us accustomed to an intense incoming fire hose of stimuli, so anything less - like the sensations of simply breathing - can feel unrewarding, boring, or frustrating.
To overcome these challenges, it’s useful to cultivate some neural factors of attention - in effect, getting your brain on your side to help you get a better grip on this spotlight/vacuum cleaner. |
— How? — |
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You can use one or more of the seven factors below at the start of any deliberate focusing of attention - from keeping your head in a dull business meeting to contemplative practices such as meditation or prayer - and then let them move to the background as you shift into whatever the activity is. You can also draw upon one or more during the activity if your attention is flagging. They are listed in an order that makes sense to me, but you can vary the sequence. (There’s more information about attention, mindfulness, concentration, and contemplative absorption in Buddha’s Brain.)
Here we go.
- Set the intention to sustain your attention, to be mindful. You can do this both top-down, by giving yourself a gentle instruction to be attentive, and bottom-up, by opening to the sense in your body of what mindfulness feels like.
- Relax. For example, take several exhalations that are twice as long as your inhalations. This stimulates the calming, centering parasympathetic nervous system and settles down the fight-or-flight stress-response sympathetic nervous system that jiggles the spotlight of attention this way and that, looking for carrots and sticks.
- Without straining at it, think of things that help you feel cared about - that you matter to someone, that you belong in a relationship or group, that you are seen and appreciated, or even cherished and loved. It’s OK if the relationship isn’t perfect, or if you bring to mind people from the past, pets, or spiritual beings. You could also get a sense of your own goodwill for others, your own compassion, kindness, and love. Warming up the heart in this way helps you feel protected, and it brings a rewarding juiciness to the moment - which supports #4 and #5 below.
- Think of things that help you feel safer, and thus more able to rest attention on your activities, rather than vigilantly scanning. Notice that you are likely in a relatively safe setting, with resources inside you to cope with whatever life brings. Let go of any unreasonable anxiety, any unnecessary guarding or bracing.
- Gently encourage some positive feelings, even mild or subtle ones. For example, think of something you feel glad about or grateful for; go-to’s for me include my kids, Yosemite, and just being alive. Open as you can to an underlying sense of well-being that may nonetheless contain some struggles or pain. The sense of pleasure or reward in positive emotions increases the neurotransmitter dopamine, which closes a kind of gate in the neural substrates of working memory, thus keeping out any “barbarians,” any invasive distractions.
- Get a sense of the body as a whole, its many sensations appearing together each moment in the boundless space of awareness. This sense of things as a unified gestalt, perceived within a large and panoramic perspective, activates networks on the sides of the brain (especially the right - for right-handed people) that support sustained mindfulness. And it de-activates the networks along the midline of the brain that we use when we’re lost in thought.
- For 10-20-30 seconds in a row, stay with whatever positive experiences you’re having or lessons you’re learning. Since “neurons that fire together, wire together,” this savoring and registering helps weave the fruits of your attentive efforts into the fabric of your brain and yourself.
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NEW ON THE BEING WELL PODCAST |
Everything I Wish I’d Known: A Guide to Personal Growth |
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In this special episode, Forrest focuses on the key lessons from 400 episodes of Being Well, giving you a crash course in personal growth and development. If you’re just getting into the show, or are looking for a good episode to share with someone, this guide to personal growth is a great place to start. |
| Check out the Episode |
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NEW FROM THE WEDNESDAY MEDITATIONS + TALKS |
What Should You Do About Your... Shoulds? |
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Last week I offered a live meditation on Stable Presence with an Open Heart, followed by a talk on What Should You Do About Your...Shoulds?, and I hope you'll check it out.
If you haven't yet, sign up to join me every week for this free, live offering.
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MORE GOOD STUFF |
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SCIENCE NEWS (VIEW ARCHIVE HERE)
This study found that polar bears are struggling to get enough to eat in the face of dwindling sea ice due to climate change, further highlighting the need for us to act instead of rolling back actions to mitigate the effects of climate change.
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FOR PARENTS
In relationships, women generally tend to focus on feeling connected, while men are sensitive to status and dominance. Skill with the other gender’s style lets you shift gears effectively, depending on what’s needed.
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RELATIONSHIP WISDOM SUMMIT
You might want to check out this upcoming FREE event if you're looking for practical tools to improve all of the relationships in your life. Featuring a ton of experts (including me!), this special event will help you cultivate fulfilling relationships that nurture your well-being and joy.
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TOO BUSY FOR YOUR OWN GROWTH?
If you don't have much time but wish you had time for your own personal growth, you might want to check out my Just One Minute course that offers short videos - 1-2 minutes long each! - with just one thing for you to focus on each week.
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HAVE YOU READ IT YET? |
Resilient |
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Learn how to develop key inner strengths – like grit, gratitude, and compassion – to stay calm, confident, and happy no matter what life throws at you. Available in Hardcover, Paperback eBook, and Audiobook, wherever books are sold.
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WORDS OF WISDOM |
"Attention is like a combination spotlight and vacuum cleaner: it illuminates what it rests upon and then sucks it into your brain - and yourself." |
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— RICK HANSON, PHD |
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JUST ONE THING (JOT) is the free newsletter that suggests a simple practice each week for more joy, more fulfilling relationships, and more peace of mind. A small thing repeated routinely adds up over time to produce big results.
Just one thing that could change your life.
(© Rick Hanson, 2024) |
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