‘We meditate to come home…so many of us have a feeling of inner home-lessness’. Dr Rick Hanson, neuropsychologist and researcher

This fascinating interview with Rick as part of the Mindful in May challenge, highlighted the disconnect that many of us have experienced; an experience which brings us to our meditation cushion, day after day. Meditation, mindfulness, brings an increased inner awareness, an acceptance of all of ourselves, an opportunity for the thought ‘bubbles’ to float to the surface (before they burst unexpectedly!) and a deepening felt insight into who we truly are.

I loved his vocabulary, I loved his practical thoughts and I loved even more that it is all evidence based!

Without over simplifying the intent of his research, I’ve summarised a few take home messages, ideas, even if you only read one:

1. Any learning affects our neural (brain) pathways; that is our thoughts are constantly sculpting the wiring of our brains and our brains are constantly changing (neuroplasticity). So use your mind to change your mind; hard-wire to happiness. Neurons that fire together, wire together.
2. ‘To see what is in front of our nose requires effort’, George Orwell. At least half a dozen times a day when you have a positive experience, don’t waste it – open yourself fully to the experience for 10–12 seconds, receive it, let it become part of you. Positive traits come from positive states; build up your inner strength to be more resilient by allowing positive states to hard-wire your brain.
3. The brain has a negativity bias – it is good at learning from bad experiences which is great for mother nature, but not good for us. Just reflect: of the 10 things that may happen in a day (say 1 bad, 9 good),  we remember the one bad thing! The brain is like Velcro for bad experiences and Teflon for good ones.
4. The brain takes its shape from whatever it rests upon – if it rests on negativity it becomes negative and digs a deeper and deeper groove. Again, neurons that fire together, wire together.
5. Be active to level out the playing field of your mind. Observe the ‘play’ of your mind as if you are at the back row of the movies with your popcorn, observing the playing field of your mind and not getting hijacked by the thoughts. This requires wise effort to be with the mind.
6. The constant challenges of our day to day lives impact our stress levels, so we need to build inner ‘shock absorbers’. The research is so robust now about the benefits of meditation and mindfulness to mental health, that it cannot be ignored.
7. Never underestimate the benefit of little things – there are so many opportunities each day to focus on the good. ‘Day by day, little by little, the wise one fills himself with good’, Dalai Lama