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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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Life can feel like a lot these days—so many people I talk to are feeling frazzled, anxious, reactive… just stretched thin. So I'm happy to announce I'll be offering a LIVE online workshop on May 31 called The Calm Mind where I’ll teach you four simple, powerful habits to help you stay steady and centered, even when the world around you isn’t. |
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When are you? |
THE PRACTICE: |
Enjoy Now. |
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— Why? — |
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There’s a profound and miraculous mystery right under our noses: this instant of now has no duration at all, yet somehow it contains all the causes from the past that are creating the future. Everything arising to become this moment vanishes beneath our feet as the next moment wells up. Since it’s always now, now is eternal.
The nature of now is not New Age or esoteric. It is plain to see. It is apparent both in the material universe and in our own experiences. Simply recognizing the nature of now can fill you with wonder, gratitude, and perhaps a sense of something sacred.
Further, by coming home to now, you immediately stop regretting or resenting the past and worrying about or driving toward the future. In your brain, this rumbling and grumbling – called rumination – is based in networks along the midline of the top of your head; while this helped our ancestors survive, today, most of us go way overboard, and rumination is a big risk factor for mental health problems.
Additionally, through an intimacy with the present, moment after moment, you develop a growing sense – visceral, in your belly and bones – of:
- Impermanence – you see the futility and foolishness of trying to cling to any of the ephemeral contents of this moment as a reliable basis for deep happiness.
- Interconnectedness – you feel related to a vast network of causes that have shaped this moment, including to other people, life, nature, and the universe altogether.
- Fullness – recognizing the incredible richness of this moment – its sights, sounds, sensations, tastes, smells, thoughts, memories, emotions, desires, and other contents in the stream of consciousness – you relax craving and drivenness since you already feel so fed.
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— How? — |
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For most people, the subjective present is an interval one or two seconds long. It contains the last second or so of the immediate past as well as the emerging present often infused with expectations about the immediate future. It’s OK, therefore, if your sense of the present usually has a kind of temporal “thickness” to it. You will probably also have flashes of intuitive recognition of the infinitely thin duration of now that boggle and sometimes stop the mind.
The present moment is continually passing away, so if you try to hold onto it in any way – such as by remembering it or forming ideas about it – you are no longer in the present. Therefore, relax. Open to this moment. Not planning, not worrying, not lost in thought.
Instead of seeing yourself moving through time, explore the sense of being an ongoing presence, an awareness, through which time moves. Let the world come to you. Recognize that sights and sounds and all other mental phenomena appear without effort. You don’t have to do anything to be here now; you’re already here now. Let go some more.
Be aware of a single inhalation. Don’t try to sense or understand it as a whole. Allow yourself to be with this moment of sensation without remembering what was or wondering what will be. The same with a single exhalation, and then with breathing altogether.
Letting go, letting go.
Be particularly aware of endings, of sounds changing and thus disappearing in the instant of hearing, of each moment of consciousness-altering and thus ending to be replaced by another one. (If you get frightened or disoriented by a growing sense of the vanishingness of each appearance of reality, focus on something concretely pleasurable and reassuring, like the sensation of flannel against your cheek or the touch of someone who loves you.)
Then be particularly aware of emergings, of the arising of matter and energy in the world and the arising of appearances – perceptions, thoughts, longings, etc. – in the inner one. Let go into feeling buoyed by the uprising swelling of this moment congealing into existence, endlessly renewed by the next emerging. Open to trusting in this process, like a wave continually carrying you even as it continually breaks into foam.
Above all, be open to the enjoyment available at this moment, even if it is a hard one. No matter how bad it is, it is nurturingly remarkable that it is at all. I don’t mean this in any kind of sentimental, rose-colored-glasses kind of way. Sometimes what the moment holds is awful. But the nature of the moment – its transience, its interconnectedness with moments before and to come, it's simultaneous emptying out and filling up – and the awareness of it and its contents is never awful itself and is in fact always unsullied and beautiful.
And much of the time, the moment will be filled with rewards overlooked in preoccupations with past or future, such as a dense incoming stream of sights and sounds, tastes and touches – even a sense of beautiful qualities of heart like warmth, compassion, sweetness, friendliness, and love.
So nourished, so full with the riches of now, who would want to be anywhere else? |
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Know someone who could use more enjoyment now? |
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Share this Just One Thing practice with them! |
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NEW ON THE BEING WELL PODCAST |
How to Change Your Personality with Olga Khazan |
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Can we really change our personalities? On this episode, Forrest is joined by someone who’s actually tried most of the things we talk about on the podcast: journalist and author Olga Khazan. Olga shares the personal experiments that led to her becoming more extroverted and agreeable, and less neurotic. They discuss the Big Five personality traits, how behavior shapes identity, the role of self-concept, authenticity, and some of the common challenges people face when trying to change a core aspect of who they are. |
| Check out the Episode |
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NEW FROM THE WEDNESDAY MEDITATIONS + TALKS |
How to Turn a Corner . . .
for the Better |
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Last week I offered a live meditation on Centering in the Heart, followed by a talk on How to Turn a Corner . . . for the Better, 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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| Check It Out |
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MORE GOOD STUFF |
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SCIENCE NEWS (VIEW ARCHIVE HERE)
Researchers in Iceland are now using fiber-optic cables to sense deep volcanic rumblings and give people precious early warnings - turning hidden signals beneath our feet into practical safety for everyday life.
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FOR PARENTS
It’s really natural to feel pulled in a million directions when you’re a parent. And, unfortunately, some important goals or needs of yours can get pushed to the back burner indefinitely. To deal with this, it helps a lot to have some sense of your guiding purposes and priorities.
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MASTERCLASS: HEALING ANXIETY, SHAME, AND ANGER
I'm excited to join my colleagues Steve Hayes and Diana Hill for the GCC masterclass Healing Anxiety, Shame, and Anger, where you'll learn to harness these emotions as catalysts for growth, cultivate self-compassion, and build emotional resilience through engaging lessons and practical exercises.
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WHAT'S YOUR ATTACHMENT STYLE?
Want to understand how you relate to others—and why? Check out this short quiz I've put together to help you get a sense of the patterns you've developed over time in how you connect, depend on, and respond to others.
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HAVE YOU READ IT YET? |
Hardwiring Happiness |
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Beat the brain’s negativity bias with the power of positive neuroplasticity for lasting contentment, calm, and confidence. This New York Times bestseller is available in Hardcover, Paperback eBook, and Audiobook, wherever books are sold.
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| Get Your Copy |
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WORDS OF WISDOM |
"Be open to the enjoyment available at this moment, even if it is a hard one. No matter how bad it is, it is nurturingly remarkable that it is at all." |
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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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