Part 1: Having Beneficial Experiences 2 Introduction 3 Think not - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
Taking in the Good Course: Turning Everyday Experiences Into Lasting Inner Strengths Freiburg Germany April, 2014 Rick Hanson, Ph.D. The Wellspring Institute For Neuroscience and Contemplative Wisdom www.RickHanson.net www.WiseBrain.org 1
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The Wellspring Institute For Neuroscience and Contemplative Wisdom www.RickHanson.net www.WiseBrain.org
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Notice something beneficial in awareness
Have the experience – more in the foreground Enrich it – sustain it, feel it in your body Absorb it – receive it, imagine or sense it’s sinking in
Create the experience of gladness or gratitude
Have the experience Enrich it Absorb it
Create the experience of feeling cared about
Have the experience Enrich it Absorb it
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Capabilities (e.g., mindfulness, insight, emotional intelligence,
resilience, executive functions, impulse control)
Positive emotions (e.g., gratitude, self-worth, love, self-
compassion, secure attachment, gladness, awe, serenity)
Attitudes (e.g., openness, determination, optimism, confidence,
approach orientation, tolerance, self-respect)
Somatic inclinations (e.g., vitality, relaxation, grit, helpfulness) Virtues (e.g., wisdom, patience, energy, generosity, restraint)
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Negative about negative --> more negative Some inner strengths come only from negative
But negative experiences have inherent costs, in
Could an inner strength have been developed without
Many negative experiences are pain with no gain.
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In the foreground of awareness In the background
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Look for good facts in:
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Events (e.g., finished a load of laundry, someone was
Conditions (e.g., food, shelter, fresh air, have friends,
Qualities within oneself (e.g., fairness, decency,
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Look for good facts in:
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Bring awareness to your body. Soften and open yourself. Be a little active in your mind, recognizing aspects of
Imagine how another person might naturally feel in
Have kindness for yourself, encouraging yourself to
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Thought – belief; perspective; expectation; image;
Perception – sensation (e.g., relaxation, vitality);
Emotion – feeling; mood Desire – want; wish; hope; value; drive; motivation;
Action – behavior; posture; knowing how to
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Duration – 5+ seconds; protecting it; keeping it going Intensity – opening to it in the mind; helping it get big Multimodality – engaging multiple aspects of
Novelty – seeing what is fresh; “don’t know mind” Salience – seeing why this is personally relevant
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Enriching makes the experience more powerful.
Intend and sense the experience is sinking into you.
Imagery – Water into a sponge; golden dust sifting
down; a jewel into the treasure chest of the heart
Sensation – Warm soothing balm
Giving over to the experience; letting it change you Letting go of resisting, grasping, clinging: “craving”
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Duration – 5+ seconds; protecting it; keeping it going Intensity – opening to it in the mind; helping it get big Multimodality – engaging multiple aspects of
Novelty – seeing what is fresh; “don’t know mind” Salience – seeing why this is personally relevant
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Thought – good facts in the past Perception – directly evoking experience (relaxing) Emotion – good facts in the lives of others Desire – good facts in the future (motivation) Action – sharing about good facts with others
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Lazar, et al. 2005. Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness. Neuroreport, 16, 1893-1897.
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Bring to mind someone you are for. Find a sense of caring,
Apply this stance, this feeling, toward yourself. Recognizing your difficulties and burdens. Seeing softness
Finding warmth for yourself, the wish that you not suffer
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As our ancestors evolved, avoiding “sticks” was
Negative stimuli:
More attention and processing Greater motivational focus: loss aversion
Preferential encoding in implicit memory:
We learn faster from pain than pleasure. Negative interactions: more impactful than positive Easy to create learned helplessness, hard to undo Rapid sensitization to negative through cortisol
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Three fundamental ways to engage the mind:
Be with it. Decrease negative. Increase positive. The garden: Observe. Pull weeds. Plant flowers. Let be. Let go. Let in.
The three work together. A natural sequence: Be with something negative . . .
Mindfulness is to be present in all three.
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Development of specific inner strengths
General - resilience, positive mood, feeling loved “Antidote experiences” - Healing old wounds, filling the
hole in the heart Implicit benefits:
Shows that there is still good in the world Being active rather than passive Treating yourself kindly, like you matter Rights an unfair imbalance, given the negativity bias Training of attention and executive functions
Sensitizes brain to positive: like Velcro for good
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With collaborators from the University of California, a
Course participants, compared to the control group,
After the course and at two month follow-up, pooled
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Distractibility Out of touch with experience Uncomfortable bringing attention inward Over-analyzing, pulling out of the experience
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It’s hard to receive, even a good experience Concern you’ll lose your edge; fear you’ll lower your guard Idea that feeling good is disloyal or unfair to those who suffer Belief you don’t deserve to feel good Not wanting to risk disappointment As a woman, socialized to make others happy, not yourself As a man, socialized to be stoic and not care about feelings You’ve been punished for being energized or happy Good things in you have been dismissed Positive experiences associate to negative ones “What’s the point in feeling good, bad things will still happen” Payoffs in not feeling good Not wanting to let others off the hook TG is craving that leads to suffering
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When we feel basically safe – not disturbed by threat
When we feel basically satisfied – not disturbed by
When we feel basically connected – not disturbed by
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Peace (the Avoiding system) Contentment (the Approaching system) Love (the Attaching system)
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When we feel unsafe – disturbed by threat – the
When we feel dissatisfied – disturbed by loss – the
When we feel disconnected –disturbed by rejection –
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Fear (the Avoiding system) Frustration (the Approaching system) Heartache (the Attaching system)
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Avoiding Harms
Feeling basically alright right now Feeling protected, strong, safe, at peace The sense that awareness itself is untroubled
Approaching Rewards
Feeling basically full, the enoughness in this moment as it is Feeling pleasured, glad, grateful, satisfied Therapeutic, spiritual, or existential realizations
Attaching to Others
Feeling basically connected Feeling included, seen, liked, appreciated, loved Feeling compassionate, kind, generous, loving
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Negative material: wounds and deficits From: the present but usually the past Consequences: heightens stress and emotional reactions,
Becomes active: explicitly but usually implicitly Dynamic: constructed and reconsolidated Associates: to whatever else is in awareness Positive material: can soothe, ease, put in perspective,
Examples: pain held in spacious awareness; telling a
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Divided awareness; holding two things at once Not hijacked by the negative; if it happens, drop negative Positive material remains more prominent in awareness
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Avoiding Harms
Strength, efficacy --> Weakness, helplessness, pessimism Safety, security --> Alarm, anxiety Compassion for oneself and others --> Resentment, anger
Approaching Rewards
Satisfaction, fulfillment --> Frustration, disappointment Gladness, gratitude --> Sadness, discontentment, “blues”
Attaching to Others
Attunement, inclusion --> Not seen, rejected, left out Recognition, acknowledgement --> Inadequacy, shame Friendship, love --> Abandonment, feeling unloved or unlovable
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The idea of the negative material A felt sense of the negative material The positive material goes into the negative material (e.g.,
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Be on your own side; you want the positive to win. Perhaps
Be resourceful. It’s OK to be creative, even playful. If the negative gets too strong, drop it; return to positive. Get a sense of receiving the positive into the negative. End with just the positive. Start with positive or negative material.
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In the fourth step of TG, you could try to get at the
The “tip of the root” is commonly in childhood. In
Prerequisites
Understanding the need to get at younger layers Compassion and support for the inner child Capacity to “presence” young material without flooding
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Be on your own side; you want the positive to win. Perhaps
Be resourceful. It’s OK to be creative, even playful. If the negative gets too strong, drop it; return to positive. Get a sense of receiving the positive into the negative. End with just the positive. Start with positive or negative material.
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Being on your own side Calming down Feeling cared about
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Feeling strong Relaxation Feeling protected Feeling alright right now Sense of agency, efficacy Seeing threats and resources clearly Finding refuges Dropping directly into peace
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Fear is normal. Avoiding harms is fundamental. Much anxiety is unnecessary and unreasonable. We tend to overestimate threats and underestimate
People can be afraid . . . to give up fear. Remember that you can give up unnecessary anxiety and
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Protections in your setting Resources inside you and in your life Other beings who could help protect you Imagining a wall, a shield, a force field protecting you Feeling as safe as you reasonably can Needless anxiety falling away . . . No need to struggle with
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Tuning into the body’s signals that all is well right now Aware of breathing going fine . . . the heart beating . . .
Letting go of the past, not worrying about the future.
Being alright, you can let go of any need to struggle with
Feeling alright sinking into places inside that haven’t . . .
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Disturbing and depleting bodily systems Overestimating threats and underestimating resources Fear, anger, immobilization, helplessness Fight, flight, freeze Strong sense of I-me-mine Vicious cycles in relationships
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Sustainable outflow, intensity, pace Centered, grounded, in balance Fear or anger contained in mindfulness, calm, strength Perhaps positive emotions (e.g., confidence, vigor) Less sense of I-me-mine Assertive, firm; cautious but not cowed
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Recognizing costs of Reactive mode Feeling strong, protected, alright, calm, relaxing Feeling grateful and glad about what you do have Recognizing how you’ve been successful with challenges Feeling cared about, encouraged, supported Having compassion, good will, love
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Vitality Self-compassion Feeling appreciated
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Noticing something pleasant in your experience Gratitude and gladness Finding pleasant emotions in different settings Motivating yourself by recognizing good facts in future Things that make you feel happy Sense of accomplishment and success Fullness of this moment Aspiration without attachment Taking pleasure Sense of determination Finding enthusiasm Making good plans
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Hedonia: sense of pleasure, enjoyment Eudaimonia: sense of meaning, fulfillment Current situation Your life these days Your past Your future Yourself
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Includes sense of agency: that you can make things
Brings a sense of success: antidote to feeling like a failure Small goals count! Including so many things you’ve
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Desire (positively or negatively valenced):
Liking: enjoying, preferring, valuing, “nice to have” Wanting: pressure, tunnel vision, insisting, “must have,”
addiction, craving; different from simple determination, passion, ambition, aspiration, commitment
You can like without wanting and want without liking.
Liking without wanting: heaven; wanting without liking: hell. Dealing with the unpleasant, pleasant, heartfelt, and
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Cared about: included, seen, appreciated, liked, loved Caring: compassionate, kind, happy for the good fortune of
Self-compassion Healthy boundaries Feeling valued and worthy Knowing you’re a good person Compassionate assertiveness
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Humans, animals, spiritual beings Individuals, groups In your life today or in the past Included, belonging Seen, understood; they want to understand Appreciated, respected, people are grateful to you Liked: warmth, friendliness, fondness, affection Loved
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Compassion: the wish that a being not suffer Kindness: the wish that a being be happy “Altruistic joy” – happy at the good fortune of others Love Extending out to the whole wide world, omitting none
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Compassion is the wish that a being not suffer, combined with
sympathetic concern. Self-compassion simply applies that to
Studies show that self-compassion buffers stress and increases
resilience and self-worth.
But self-compassion is hard for many people, due to feelings of
unworthiness, self-criticism, or “internalized oppression.” To encourage the neural substrates of self-compassion:
Get the sense of being cared about by someone else. Bring to mind someone you naturally feel compassion for Then shift the compassion to yourself, perhaps with phrases like:
“May I not suffer. May the pain of this moment pass.”
Leonard Cohen
Being on your own side Self-compassion Naming the truth to yourself Refuges: reason, love, nature, God Taking care of the big things so you don’t grumble
Health and vitality
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Taking in the good is an openness to positive experience while
letting go – allowing the experience in and through you.
Much suffering and harm comes from “craving” – resisting the
unpleasant, grasping after the pleasant, and clinging to the heartfelt – a drive state based on deficit or disturbance of core needs – safety, satisfaction, connection – being met.
By repeatedly internalizing the felt sense of core needs being
met, we gradually reduce the sense of deficit or disturbance, and rest increasingly in a peace, happiness, and love that is independent of external conditions.
With time, even the practice of cultivation falls away - like a raft
that is no longer needed once we reach the farther shore.
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All kids benefit from TG. Particular benefits for mistreated, anxious, spirited/
Adaptations:
Brief Concrete Natural occasions (e.g., bedtimes)
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Doing it implicitly Teaching it and then leaving it up to the person Doing it explicitly with the person Asking the person to do it on his or her own
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Improved mindfulness enhances TG. TG increases factors of mindfulness (e.g., self-
TG heightens learning from mindfulness:
The sense of stable presence itself Peace of realizing that experiences come and go
TG could heighten motivation for mindfulness –
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See www.RickHanson.net for other scientific papers.
Atmanspacher, H. & Graben, P. 2007. Contextual emergence of mental states from neurodynamics. Chaos & Complexity Letters, 2:151-168.
Baumeister, R., Bratlavsky, E., Finkenauer, C. & Vohs, K. 2001. Bad is stronger than good. Review of General Psychology, 5:323-370.
Braver, T. & Cohen, J. 2000. On the control of control: The role of dopamine in regulating prefrontal function and working memory; in Control of Cognitive Processes: Attention and Performance XVIII. Monsel, S. & Driver, J. (eds.). MIT Press.
Carter, O.L., Callistemon, C., Ungerer, Y., Liu, G.B., & Pettigrew, J.D. 2005. Meditation skills of Buddhist monks yield clues to brain's regulation of attention. Current Biology. 15:412-413.
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Davidson, R.J. 2004. Well-being and affective style: neural substrates and biobehavioural correlates. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society. 359:1395-1411.
Farb, N.A.S., Segal, Z.V., Mayberg, H., Bean, J., McKeon, D., Fatima, Z., and Anderson, A.K. 2007. Attending to the present: Mindfulness meditation reveals distinct neural modes of self-reflection. SCAN, 2, 313-322.
Gillihan, S.J. & Farah, M.J. 2005. Is self special? A critical review of evidence from experimental psychology and cognitive neuroscience. Psychological Bulletin, 131:76-97.
Hagmann, P., Cammoun, L., Gigandet, X., Meuli, R., Honey, C.J., Wedeen, V.J., & Sporns, O. 2008. Mapping the structural core of human cerebral cortex. PLoS
Hanson, R. 2008. Seven facts about the brain that incline the mind to joy. In Measuring the immeasurable: The scientific case for spirituality. Sounds True.
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Lazar, S., Kerr, C., Wasserman, R., Gray, J., Greve, D., Treadway, M., McGarvey, M., Quinn, B., Dusek, J., Benson, H., Rauch, S., Moore, C., & Fischl,
Lewis, M.D. & Todd, R.M. 2007. The self-regulating brain: Cortical-subcortical feedback and the development of intelligent action. Cognitive Development, 22:406-430.
Lieberman, M.D. & Eisenberger, N.I. 2009. Pains and pleasures of social life.
Lutz, A., Greischar, L., Rawlings, N., Ricard, M. and Davidson, R. 2004. Long- term meditators self-induce high-amplitude gamma synchrony during mental
Lutz, A., Slager, H.A., Dunne, J.D., & Davidson, R. J. 2008. Attention regulation and monitoring in meditation. Trends in Cognitive Sciences. 12:163-169.
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Rozin, P. & Royzman, E.B. 2001. Negativity bias, negativity dominance, and
Takahashi, H., Kato, M., Matsuura, M., Mobbs, D., Suhara, T., & Okubo, Y.
envy and schadenfreude. Science, 323:937-939.
Tang, Y.-Y., Ma, Y., Wang, J., Fan, Y., Feng, S., Lu, Q., Yu, Q., Sui, D., Rothbart, M.K., Fan, M., & Posner, M. 2007. Short-term meditation training improves attention and self-regulation. PNAS, 104:17152-17156.
Thompson, E. & Varela F.J. 2001. Radical embodiment: Neural dynamics and
Walsh, R. & Shapiro, S. L. 2006. The meeting of meditative disciplines and Western psychology: A mutually enriching dialogue. American Psychologist, 61:227-239.
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