#VEEIJTN
BOE
#SBJO

Topics

Self-directed neuroplasticity

The power of mindfulness

Being on your own side

t

The evolving brain

Coming home to happiness

The negativity bias

a

Threat reactivity

r

Taking in the good

Clearing old pain

Your loving nature

a

Two wolves in the heart

Empathy

Compassion and lovingkindness

n )

Relationship virtues

t

Assertiveness

a
h 02 1
C 2
Domains of Intervention

g t

  We can intervene in three domains:

n

  World (including relationships)

h

  Body

o

  Mind

g
Perspectives

t i

  All three are important. And they work together.

n yr

  We have limited influence over world and body.

i

  In the mind:

P

  Much more influence

p

  Changes are with us wherever we go

.r o
D (C
The history of science is rich in the example
Common - and Fertile - Ground

Psychology Neurology

of the fruitfulness of bringing

two sets of techniques, two sets of ideas,
developed in separate contexts
for the pursuit of new truth,
into touch with one another.
Contemplative Practice

J. Robert Oppenheimer
 Being with, Releasing, Replacing

There are three phases of psychological healing and

personal growth (and spiritual practice):

t

Be mindful of, release, replace.
When the facts change,

Let be, let go, let in.
I change my mind, sir.

a

Mindfulness is key to the second and third phase,

r
What do you do?
sometimes curative on its own, and always beneficial
in strengthening its neural substrates. But often it is

a
not enough by itself.

John Maynard Keynes

n )

And sometimes you need to skip to the third phase to

t
build resources for mindfulness.

a
h 02 1
C 2
n g t
Know the mind.

o h
Shape the mind.

g
Self-Directed Neuroplasticity

t
n yr i
Free the mind.

Pi
.r o p
D (C One Simple Neuron . . .

One neuron: on or off. A simple switch, yes?

The Connectome - 2

a t
ar
t n )
Hagmann, et al., 2008, PLoS Biology, 6:1479-1493.

a
h 02 1
C 2
g t
All cells have specialized functions. Brain cells have
particular ways of processing information and

n
communicating with each other. Nerve cells form complete

h
circuits that carry and transform information.

to g
Electrical signaling represents the language of mind, the

i
means whereby nerve cells, the building blocks of the brain,

n yr
communicate with one another over great distances. Nerve
cells generate electricity as a means of producing messages.

i
All animals have some form of mental life that reflects the

P
architecture of their nervous system.

p
16
Eric R. Kandel, 2006

.r o
D (C
The Mind/Brain System

  “Mind” = flow of information within the nervous system:

  Information is represented by the nervous system.

  Most mind is unconscious; awareness is an aspect of mind.
Evolution is a tinkerer. In living organisms, new capabilities
are achieved by modifying existing molecules slightly and

  The headquarters of the nervous system is the brain. adjusting their interaction with other existing molecules.

  In essence then, apart from hypothetical transcendental

factors, the mind is what the brain does.

  Brain = necessary, proximally sufficient condition for mind:

  The brain depends on the nervous system, which intertwines
with and depends on other bodily systems.

  These systems in turn intertwine with and depend upon nature
and culture, both presently and over time.

  And as we’ll see, the brain also depends on the mind.
Science has found surprisingly few proteins that are truly
unique to the human brain and no signaling systems that
are unique to it.

All life, including the substrate of our thoughts and
memories, is composed of the same building blocks.

18
Eric R. Kandel, 2006
 Fact #1
As your brain changes, your mind changes.
We ask, “What is a thought?”

t
We don't know,

ra
yet we are thinking continually.

a
Venerable Tenzin Palmo

t n )
a
h 02 1
C 2
Ways That Brain Can Change Mind Fact #2

g t

  For better:
As your mind changes, your brain changes.

n

  A little caffeine: more alertness

h

  Thicker insula: more self-awareness, empathy
Immaterial mental activity co-occurs with, correlates

o

  More left prefrontal activation: more happiness with material neural activity.

t i g

  For worse: This produces temporary changes in your brain and

n yr

  Intoxication;imbalances in neurotransmitters lasting ones. Temporary changes include:

i

Alterations in brainwaves (= changes in the firing

  Concussion, stroke, tumor, Alzheimer’s
patterns of synchronized neurons)

  Cortisol-based shrinkage of hippocampus: less

Changing consumption of oxygen and glucose

P
capacity for contextual memory

p

Ebbs and flows of neurochemicals

.r o
D (C
The Rewards of Love Tibetan Monk, Boundless Compassion
Christian Nuns, Recalling a
Profound Spiritual Experience

a t
ar
n )
Pain network: Dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC), insula (Ins), somatosensory cortex (SSC),

t
thalamus (Thal), and periaqueductal gray (PAG). Reward network: Ventral tegmental area (VTA),
ventral striatum (VS), ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC), and amygdala (Amyg). K. Sutliff, in
Beauregard, et al., Neuroscience Letters, 9/25/06 Lieberman & Eisenberger, 2009, Science, 323:890-891

a
h 02 1
C 2
Mind Changes Brain in Lasting Ways

g t

  What flows through the mind sculpts your brain.
Immaterial experience leaves material traces behind.

n
Lazar, et al. 2005.
Meditation

h
experience is

  Increased blood/nutrient flow to active regions associated

o
with increased

t g
cortical thickness.

  Altered epigenetics (gene expression)

i
Neuroreport, 16,
1893-1897.

n yr

  “Neurons that fire together wire together.”

i

  Increasing excitability of active neurons

  Strengthening existing synapses

P

  Building new synapses; thickening cortex

p

  Neuronal “pruning” - “use it or lose it”

.r o
D (C
Some Physical Effects of Meditation

  Thickens and strengthens the anterior (frontal) cingulate cortex
and the insula. Those regions are involved with controlled
attention, empathy, and compassion – and meditation improves
those functions.
Honoring Experience

One’s experience matters.

  Less cortical thinning with aging

Both for how it feels in the moment and for the

  Increases activation of the left frontal regions, which lifts mood lasting residues it leaves behind, woven into
the fabric of a person’s brain and being.

  Increases the power and reach of fast, gamma brainwaves

  Decreases stress-related cortisol

  Stronger immune system

Fact #3

You can use your mind

t
to change your brain
to change your mind for the better.

a
Being on Your Own Side

r
This is self-directed neuroplasticity.

a
n )
t
How to do this, in skillful ways?

a
h 02 1
Self-Goodwill

C 2
g t

  All the great teachers have told us to be compassionate and
kind toward all beings. And that whatever we do to the world

n
affects us, and whatever we do to ourselves affects the world. If one going down into a river,

h

  You are one of the “all beings!” And kindness to yourself swollen and swiftly flowing,

o
benefits the world, while hurting yourself harms the world.

g
is carried away by the current --

t i

  It’s a general moral principle that the more power you have over how can one help others across?

n yr
someone, the greater your duty is to use that power wisely.
Well, who is the one person in the world you have the greatest

i
power over? It’s your future self. You hold that life in your hands,
and what it will be depends on how you care for it. The Buddha

P

  Consider yourself as an innocent child, as deserving of care and

p
happiness as any other.

.r o
D (C Self-Compassion

  Compassion is the wish that a being not suffer, combined with
sympathetic concern. Self-compassion simply applies that to
oneself. It is not self-pity, complaining, or wallowing in pain.

The good life, as I conceive it, is a happy life.

  Studies show that self-compassion buffers stress and increases
I do not mean that if you are good you will be happy; resilience and self-worth.
I mean that if you are happy you will be good.

  But self-compassion is hard for many people, due to feelings of
unworthiness, self-criticism, or “internalized oppression.” To
Bertrand Russell 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

  Sink into the experience of compassion in your body

  Then shift the compassion to yourself, perhaps with phrases like:
“May I not suffer. May the pain of this moment pass.”
“Anthem”

Ring the bells that still can ring

t
Forget your perfect offering

There is a crack in everything

a
That’s how the light gets in
The Power of Mindfulness

r
That’s how the light gets in

a
Leonard Cohen

t n )
a
h 02 1
C 2
The Power of Mindfulness How the Brain Pays Attention

g t

  Attention is like a spotlight, illuminating what it rests upon.

n

  Key functions:

h

  Holding onto information

  Because neuroplasticity is heightened for what’s in the

o
field of focused awareness, attention is also like a vacuum
  Updating awareness

t g
cleaner, sucking its contents into the brain.
  Seeking stimulation

n yr i

  Directing attention skillfully is therefore a fundamental way
to shape the brain - and one’s life over time.
  Key mechanisms:

i

  Dopamine and the gate to awareness
The education of attention
  The basal ganglia stimostat

P
would be the education par excellence.

p
William James

.r o
D (C
Challenges to Mindfulness and Concentration

  We evolved continually scanning, shifting, wide focus

attention in order to survive: “monkey mind.”
Individual Differences in Attention
Holding
Information
High Obsession
Updating
Awareness
Porous filters
Seeking
Stimulation
Hyperactive
Over-focusing Distractible Thrill-seeking

  This generic, hard-wired tendency varies in the
Overload
normal range of temperament, extending from
“turtles” to “jackrabbits.”
Mod Concentrates Flexible Enthusiastic
Divides attention Assimilation Adaptive

  Life experiences - in particular, painful or traumatic
ones - can heighten scanning and distractibility. Accommodation

Low Fatigues w/Conc. Fixed views Stuck in a rut

  Modern culture - with its fire hose of information and
routine multi-tasking - leads to stimulation-hunger and Small WM Oblivious Apathetic
divided attention. Low learning Lethargic
 Basics of Meditation 7 Neural Factors of Mindfulness

  Setting an intention - “top-down” frontal, “bottom-up” limbic

  Relax

t

  Posture that is comfortable and alert
  Relaxing the body - parasympathetic nervous system

  Simple good will toward yourself

a

  Feeling cared about - social engagement system

  Awareness of your body

r

  Feeling safer - inhibits amygdala/ hippocampus alarms

  Focus on something to steady your attention

  Encouraging positive emotion - dopamine, norepinephrine

  Accepting whatever passes through

a
awareness, not resisting it or chasing it
  Panoramic view - lateral networks

n )

  Gently settling into peaceful well-being

  Absorbing the benefits - positive implicit memories

a t 1
h 02
C 2
Self-Focused (blue) and Open Awareness (red) Conditions
Increased Medial PFC Activation (in the novice, pre MT group)
Related to Self-Referencing Thought

n g t
to g h
i n yr i
P
Gusnard D. A., et.al. 2001. PNAS, 98:4259-4264

p
Farb, et al. 2007. Social Cognitive Affective Neuroscience, 2:313-322

.r o
D (C
Self-Focused (blue) vs Open Awareness (red) Conditions
(following 8 weeks of MT)
Ways to Activate Lateral Networks

  Relax.

  Focus on bare sensations and perceptions.

  Sense the body as a whole.

  Take a panoramic, “bird’s-eye” view.

  Engage “don’t-know mind”; release judgments.

  Don’t try to connect mental contents together.

  Let experience flow, staying here now.

  Relax the sense of “I, me, and mine.”

Farb, et al. 2007. Social Cognitive Affective Neuroscience, 2:313-322

 Evolution

  ~ 4+ billion years of earth

  3.5 billion years of life

  650 million years of multi-celled organisms

t

  600 million years of nervous system

  ~ 200 million years of mammals

a
The Evolving Brain
  ~ 60 million years of primates

  ~ 6 million years ago: last common ancestor with chimpanzees,

r
our closest relative among the “great apes” (gorillas,
orangutans, chimpanzees, bonobos, humans)

a

  2.5 million years of tool-making (starting with brains 1/3 our size)

  ~ 150,000 years of homo sapiens

  ~ 50,000 years of modern humans

n )

  ~ 5000 years of blue, green, hazel eyes

a t 1
h 02
C 2
Evolutionary History Three Stages of Brain Evolution

g t

  Reptilian:

  Brainstem, cerebellum, hypothalamus

n

  Reactive and reflexive

h

  Avoid hazards

o

  Mammalian:

t i g

  Limbic system, cingulate, early cortex

  Memory, emotion, social behavior

n yr

  Approach rewards

i

  Human:

  Massive cerebral cortex

P

  Abstract thought, language, cooperative planning, empathy

p

  Attach to “us”
The Triune Brain

.r o
D (C
 Reverse Engineering the Brain

What’s the nature of the brain when a person is:

t

  In peak states of productivity or “flow?”

a
Coming Home to Happiness

r

  Experiencing inner peace?

a

  Self-actualizing?

t n )

  Enlightened (or close to it)?

a
h 02 1
C 2
Home Base of the Human Brain The Responsive Mode

g t
When not threatened, ill, in pain, hungry, upset, or
chemically disturbed, most people settle into being:

n h

  Calm (the Avoid system)

to g

  Contented (the Approach system)

n yr i

  Caring (the Attach system)

i

  Creative - synergy of all three systems

P p
This is the brain in its natural, responsive mode.

.r o
D (C
Behind the Obscurations

Sam sees “peeping among the cloud-wrack . . . a white star

twinkle for a while.

Some Benefits of Responsive Mode

  Recovery from “mobilizations” for survival:

  Refueling after depleting outpourings

  Restoring equilibrium to perturbed systems

  Reinterpreting negative events in a positive frame
The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the
  Reconciling after separations and conflicts
forsaken land, and hope returned to him.


  Promotes prosocial behaviors:
For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that
  Experiencing safety decreases aggression.
in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing:
  Experiencing sufficiency decreases envy.
there was light and high beauty forever beyond its reach.”


  Experiencing connection decreases jealousy.




  We’re more generous when our own cup runneth over.
Tolkein, The Lord of the Rings

But to Cope with Urgent Needs,
The Reactive Mode
We Leave Home . . .

  Avoid: When we feel threatened or harmed

t

  Approach: When we can’t attain important goals

a

  Attach: When we feel isolated, disconnected,

r
unseen, unappreciated, unloved

a
This is the brain in its reactive mode of functioning

n )
- a kind of inner homelessness.

a t 1
h 02
C 2
Reactive Dysfunctions in Each System

g t

  Avoid - Anxiety disorders; PTSD; panic, terror;

n
rage; violence

o h

  Approach - Addiction; over-drinking, -eating, -
The Negativity Bias

t g
gambling; compulsion; hoarding; driving for goals at

i
great cost; spiritual materialism

i n yr

  Attach - Borderline, narcissistic, antisocial PD;
symbiosis; folie a deux; “looking for love in all the
wrong places”

.r P o p
D (C
Negativity Bias: Causes in Evolution

  “Sticks” - Predators, natural hazards, social
aggression, pain (physical and psychological)
Negativity Bias: Some Consequences

  Negative stimuli get more attention and processing.

  We generally learn faster from pain than pleasure.

  “Carrots” - Food, sex, shelter, social support,
pleasure (physical and psychological)
  People work harder to avoid a loss than attain an
equal gain (“endowment effect”)

  During evolution, avoiding “sticks” usually had more
effects on survival than approaching “carrots.”
  Easy to create learned helplessness, hard to undo

  Urgency - Usually, sticks must be dealt with immediately,
while carrots allow a longer approach.

  Impact - Sticks usually determine mortality, carrots not; if you
  Negative interactions: more powerful than positive
fail to get a carrot today, you’ll likely have a chance at a
carrot tomorrow; but if you fail to avoid a stick today - whap! -
no more carrots forever.
  Negative experiences sift into implicit memory.
Negative Experiences Can Have Benefits Health Consequences of Chronic Stress

  Physical:

  A place for negative emotions:
  Weakened immune system

t

  Anxiety alerts us to inner and outer threats
  Inhibits GI system; reduced nutrient absorption

  Sorrow opens the heart
  Reduced, dysregulated reproductive hormones

  Remorse helps us steer a virtuous course
  Increased vulnerabilities in cardiovascular system

a

  Anger highlights mistreatment; energizes to handle it
  Disturbed nervous system

r

  Negative experiences can:
  Mental:

  Lowers mood; increases pessimism

a

  Increase tolerance for stress, emotional pain

  Build grit, resilience, confidence
  Increases anxiety and irritability

  Increase compassion and tolerance for others
  Increases learned helplessness (especially if no escape)

n )

  Often reduces approach behaviors (less so for women)

t

  Primes aversion (due to SNS-HPAA negativity bias)

a
h 02 1
C 2
Neural Consequences of Negative Experiences

g t

  Amygdala initiates stress response (“alarm bell”)

  Hippocampus:

n

  Forms and retrieves contextual memories

h

  Inhibits the amygdala

o

  Inhibits cortisol production

  Cortisol:

t g

  Stimulates and sensitizes the amygdala

i

  Inhibits and can shrink the hippocampus

n yr

  Consequently, chronic negative experiences:

i

  Sensitize the amygdala alarm bell

  Weaken the hippocampus: this reduces memory capacities and the
inhibition of amygdala and cortisol production

P p

  Thus creating vicious cycles in the NS, behavior, and mind

.r o
D (C
Neural Consequences of Negative Experiences

  Amygdala initiates stress response (“alarm bell”)

  Hippocampus:

  Forms and retrieves contextual memories

  Inhibits the amygdala

  Inhibits cortisol production

  Cortisol: Threat Reactivity

  Stimulates and sensitizes the amygdala

  Inhibits and can shrink the hippocampus

  Consequently, chronic negative experiences:

  Sensitize the amygdala alarm bell

  Weaken the hippocampus: this reduces memory capacities and the
inhibition of amygdala and cortisol production

  Thus creating vicious cycles in the NS, behavior, and mind
A Major Result of the Negativity Bias: Results of Threat Reactivity
Threat Reactivity (Personal, Organizational, National)

  Two mistakes:

  Thinking there is a tiger in the bushes when there isn’t one.
  Our initial appraisals are mistaken:

t

  Thinking there is no tiger in the bushes when there is one.
  Overestimating threats

  Underestimating opportunities

  We evolved to make the first mistake a hundred times

a

  Underestimating inner and outer resources
to avoid making the second mistake even once.

r

  We update these appraisals with information that

  This evolutionary tendency is intensified by
confirms them; we ignore, devalue, or alter

a
temperament, personal history, culture, and politics.
information that doesn’t.

n )

  Threat reactivity affects individuals, couples, families,

  Thus we end up with views of ourselves, others, and
organizations, nations, and the world as a whole.

t
the world that are ignorant, selective, and distorted.

a
h 02 1
C 2
Costs of Threat Reactivity A Poignant Truth
(Personal, Organizational, National)

g t

  Feeling threatened feels bad, and triggers stress consequences.
Mother Nature is tilted toward producing gene copies.

n

  We over-invest in threat protection.

h
But tilted against personal quality of life.

o

  The boy who cried tiger: flooding with paper tigers makes it

g
harder to see the real ones.

t
And at the societal level, we have caveman/cavewoman

i

  Acting while feeling threatened leads to over-reactions, makes brains armed with nuclear weapons.

n yr
others feel threatened, and creates vicious cycles.

i

  The Approach system is inhibited, so we don’t pursue
opportunities, play small, or give up too soon. What shall we do?

P p

  In the Attach system, we bond tighter to “us,” with more fear and
anger toward “them.”

.r o
D (C Choices . . .

Or?

We can deliberately use the mind

to change the brain for the better.

Reactive Mode Responsive Mode

Coming Home . . .

t
Calm
How to come home?

ra
Contentment How to recover the natural, responsive mode
of the brain?

a
Caring

t n )
a
h 02 1
C 2
n g t
Just having positive experiences is not enough.

h
They pass through the brain like water through a

o
Taking in the Good sieve, while negative experiences are caught.

t i g
We need to engage positive experiences actively to

n yr
weave them into the brain.

Pi
.r o p
D (C
How to Take in the Good

1. Look for positive facts and let them become positive

experiences.
Feeling Stronger and Safer

  Be mindful of an experience of strength (e.g., physical
challenge, standing up for someone).

  Staying grounded in strength, let things come to you without

shaking your roots, like a mighty tree in a storm.
2. Savor the experience:

  Sustain it.
  Be mindful of:

  Protections (e.g., being in a safe place, imagining a shield)

  Have it be emotional and sensate.

  People who care about you

  Intensify it.
  Resources inside and outside you

3. Sense that the positive experience is soaking into
your brain and body - registering deeply in emotional
memory.

  Let yourself feel as safe as you reasonably can:

  Noticing any anxiety about feeling safer

  Feeling more relaxed, tranquil, peaceful

  Releasing bracing, guardedness, vigilance
Targets of TIG Kinds of “Good” to Take in

  Things are alright; nothing is wrong; there is no threat

  Feeling safe and strong

  Bodily states - healthy arousal; PNS; vitality

  The peace and relief of forgiveness

t

  Emotions
  The small pleasures of ordinary life

  The satisfaction of attaining goals or recognizing accomplishments -

a
especially small, everyday ones

r

  Views - expectations; object relations; perspectives
  Feeling grateful, contented, and fulfilled
on self, world, past and future

  Being included, valued, liked, respected, loved by others

a

  The good feelings that come from being kind, fair, generous

  Behaviors - reportoire; inclinations
  Feeling loving

n )

  Recognizing your positive character traits

t

  Spiritual or existential realizations

a
h 02 1
C 2
Psychological Antidotes Why It’s Good to Take in the Good

g t
Avoiding Harms
  Rights an unfair imbalance, given the negativity bias

  Strength, efficacy --> Weakness, helplessness, pessimism

n

  Safety, security --> Alarm, anxiety
  Gives oneself today the caring and support one should have

h

  Compassion for oneself and others --> Resentment, anger received as a child, but perhaps didn’t get in full measure; an
inherent, implicit benefit

to g
Approaching Rewards

  Increases positive resources, such as:

i

  Satisfaction, fulfillment --> Frustration, disappointment

  Postive emotions

  Gladness, gratitude --> Sadness, discontentment, “blues”

n yr

  Capacity to manage stress and negative experiences

i
Attaching to “Us”

  Attunement, inclusion --> Not seen, rejected, left out
  Can help bring in missing “supplies” (e.g., love, strength, worth)

  Recognition, acknowledgement --> Inadequacy, shame

P

  Can help painful, even traumatic experiences

p

  Friendship, love --> Abandonment, feeling unloved or unlovable

.r o
D (C
Benefits of Positive Emotions

  The benefits of positive emotions are a proxy for
many of the benefits of TIG.

  Emotions organize the brain as a whole, so positive

ones have far-reaching benefits How to use taking in the good

  These include: for healing painful, even traumatic experiences?

  Stronger immune system; less stress-reactive cardiovascular

  Lift mood; increase optimism, resilience

  Counteract trauma

  Promote exploratory, “approach” behaviors

  Create positive cycles
 Using Memory Mechanisms to Help Heal Painful Experiences

  The machinery of memory:

  When explicit or implicit memory is re-activated, it is re-built from schematic

t
elements, not retrieved in toto.

  When attention moves on, elements of the memory get re-consolidated.

Clearing Old Pain

a

  The open processes of memory activation and consolidation create a
window of opportunity for shaping your internal world.

r

  Activated memory tends to associate with other things in awareness
(e.g., thoughts, sensations), esp. if they are prominent and lasting.

a

  When memory goes back into storage, it takes associations with it.

n )

  You can imbue implict and explicit memory with positive associations.

a t 1
h 02
C 2
The Fourth Step of TIG

g t

  When you are having a positive experience:

  Sense the current positive experience sinking down into old pain,

n
and soothing and replacing it.

h

  When you are having a negative experience:

o

  Bring to mind a positive experience that is its antidote.

g
Your Loving Nature

t i

  In both cases, have the positive experience be big and strong, in

n yr
the forefront of awareness, while the negative experience is
small and in the background.

i

  You are not resisting negative experiences or getting attached
to positive ones. You are being kind to yourself and cultivating

P p
wholesomeness of mind.

.r o
D (C
The Social Brain

  Social capabilities have been a primary driver of brain evolution.

  Reptiles and fish avoid and approach. Mammals and birds All sentient beings developed through natural
attach as well - especially primates and humans. selection in such a way that pleasant

  Mammals and birds have bigger brains than reptiles and fish.
sensations serve as their guide, and
especially the pleasure derived from

  The more social the primate species, the bigger the cortex.
sociability and from loving our families.

  Since the first hominids began making tools ~ 2.5 million years
ago, the brain has roughly tripled in size, much of its build-out
devoted to social functions (e.g., cooperative planning, empathy,
Charles Darwin
language). The growing brain needed a longer childhood, which
required greater pair bonding and band cohesion.
 a t
ar
t n )
a
h 02 1
C 2
n g t
to g h
i n yr i
.r P o p
D (C
 a t
ar
t n )
a
h 02 1
C 2
n g t
to g h
i n yr i
.r P o p
D (C
 a t
ar
t n )
a
h 02 1
C 2
n g t
to g h
i n yr i
.r P o p
D (C
 Ananda approached the Buddha and said,
“Venerable sir, this is half of the spiritual life:
good friendship, good companionship, good

t
comradeship.”

a
“Not so, Ananda! Not so Ananda!” the Buddha

r
replied. “This is the entire spiritual life. When you
have a good friend, a good companion, a good

a
comrade, it is to be expected that you will develop
and cultivate the Noble Eightfold Path.”

t n )
[adapted from In the Buddha’s Words, Bhikkhu Bodhi]

a
h 02 1
C 2
n g t
h
In the cherry blossom’s shade

o
there is no thing

t i g
as a stranger

i n yr
Issa

.r P o p
D (C
If there is anything I have learned about [people], it is that
there is a deeper spirit of altruism than is ever evident.

Just as the rivers we see are minor compared to the

underground streams, so, too, the idealism that is visible is
minor compared to what people carry in their hearts
unreleased or scarcely released.

(Hu)mankind is waiting and longing for those who can

accomplish the task of untying what is knotted, and
bringing these underground waters to the surface.

Albert Schweitzer
 a t
ar
t n )
a
h 02 1
C 2
n g t
o g h
Two Wolves in the Heart

t
n yr i
Pi
.r o p
D (C
Us and Them

Core evolutionary strategy: within-group cooperation, and
between-group aggression.

Both capacities and tendencies are hard-wired into our brains,

In between-family fights, the baboon’s ‘I’
ready for activation. And there is individual variation. expands to include all of her close kin;

Our biological nature is much more inclined toward cooperative in within-family fights,
sociability than toward aggression and indifference or cruelty.
We are just very reactive to social distinctions and threats. it contracts to include only herself.

That reactivity is intensified and often exploited by economic,
cultural, and religious factors.
This explanation serves for baboons

Two wolves in your heart: as much as for the Montagues and Capulets.

  Love sees a vast circle in which all beings are “us.”

  Hate sees a small circle of “us,” even only the self.

Which one will you feed? Dorothy Cheney and Robert Seyfarth
Feeding the Wolf of Love

Focus on similarities between “us” and “them.”

Consider others as young children.

t

Notice good things about neutral or unpleasant people.

Bring to mind the sense of someone who cares about you.

a
Empathy

Keep extending out the sense of “us” to include everyone.

r

Consider others as your mother or dear friend in a past life.

a

Restraint about over-identifying with “us”

Reflect on the suffering of so many people in the world.

n )

Self-generate feelings of kindness and love.

a t 1
h 02
C 2
What Is Empathy?
Neural Substrates of Empathy

g t

  It is sensing, feeling, and understanding how it is for
Three simulating systems:

n
the other person. In effect, you simulate his or her
Actions: “mirror” systems; temporal-parietal

h
inner world.

Feelings: resonating emotionally; insula

o

  It involves (sometimes subtly) all of these elements:
Thoughts: “theory of mind”; prefrontal cortex

t g

  Bodily resonance

i

  Emotional attunement

These systems interact with each other through

n yr

  Conceptual understanding
association and active inquiry.

i

  Empathy is usually communicated, often tacitly.

They produce an automatic, continual re-creation of

  We can give empathy, we can receive it, and we can

P
aspects of others’ experience.

p
ask for it.

.r o
D (C
Empathy Skills

Pay attention.

Be open.
Can you attend to the postures, facial expressions,
and movements of another person?

Read emotion in face and eyes.

Sense beneath the surface. Can you attune to and feel something of the
emotions of another person?

Drop aversion (judgments, distaste, fear, anger, withdrawal).

Investigate actively. Can you have some sense of the thoughts, hopes,
and concerns of another person?

Express empathic understanding:

  Reflect the content

  Resonate with the tone and implicit material

  Questions are fine

  Offer respect and wise speech throughout
Reflections about Empathy

You’re more likely to get empathy if you’re:

Open, present If we could read the secret history

t

Honest, real, authentic

Reasonably clear of our enemies,

a

Responsible for your own experience

Taking it in when you feel felt
we should find in each [person's] life

r
sorrow and suffering enough

Empathy can be negotiated:
to disarm any hostility.

a

Name it as a topic in the relationship

Follow NVC format: “When X happens, I feel Y,
because I need Z. So I request ______ .”

n )

Stay with it. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

a t 1
h 02
C 2
n g t
o g h
Compassion and Lovingkindness

t
n yr i
Pi
.r o p
D (C
The Wisdom of Connection

A human being is a part of a whole, called by us“universe,” a

part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his
The Buddha’s Words on Lovingkindness

Wishing: In gladness and in safety, may all beings be at ease.

thoughts and feelings as something separated from the
rest... a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness.

This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our
personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest
to us.

Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by
widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living
creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.

Omitting none, whether they are weak or strong, the great or the
mighty, medium, short, or small, the seen and the unseen, those
living near and far away, those born and to-be-born: May all beings
be at ease.

Let none through anger or ill-will wish harm upon another. Even as a
mother protects with her life her child, her only child, so with a
boundless heart should one cherish all living beings; radiating
kindness over the entire world: spreading upwards to the skies, and
downwards to the depths, outwards and unbounded, freed from
hatred and ill-will.

One should sustain this recollection.

Albert Einstein
This is said to be the sublime abiding.

 Lovingkindness Practice
When others address you, their speech may be timely or untimely, true or
Types of wishes
untrue, gentle or harsh, connected with good or harm, and connected
Safety
with a mind of loving-kindness or inner hate.


Health

t
You should train thus: My mind will remain unaffected, and I shall utter

Happiness
no evil words; I shall abide compassionate for their welfare, pervading
them with a mind of loving-kindness, and pervading the all-
Ease

a
encompassing world with a mind that is abundant, exalted,
immeasurable, without hostility and without ill will.

Types of beings

r
Even if bandits were to sever you savagely limb by limb with a two-
Self
handled saw, anyone giving rise to a mind of hate would not be
carrying out my teaching.

Benefactor

Friend

a
You should train thus: My mind will remain unaffected, and I shall utter
no evil words; I shall abide compassionate for their welfare, pervading
Neutral
them with a mind of loving-kindness, and pervading the all-
Difficult

n )
encompassing world with a mind that is abundant, exalted,
immeasurable, without hostility and without ill will.


Continually “omitting none” in all directions

t
The Buddha [adapted from The Simile of the Saw, trans. Bhikkhu Bodhi

a
h 02 1
C 2
Feeding the Wolf of Love

g

Focus on similarities between “us” and “them.”

n t

Consider others as young children.

h

Notice good things about neutral or unpleasant people.

o

Bring to mind the sense of someone who cares about you.

g
Relationship Virtues

t i

Keep extending out the sense of “us” to include everyone.

n yr

Consider others as your mother or dear friend in a past life.

i

Restraint about over-identifying with “us”

Reflect on the suffering of so many people in the world.

P

Self-generate feelings of kindness and love.

.r o p
D (C
Wise Speech

Well-intended

True
There are those who do not realize that
one day we all must die.

Beneficial But those who do realize this

Timely
settle their quarrels.

Expressed without harshness The Buddha

If possible: wanted
 Benefits of Unilateral Virtue
If you let go a little,

It simplifies things: all you have to do is live by your
own code, and others will do whatever they do.
you will have a little happiness.

t

It feels good in its own right; it brings peace of mind,
If you let go a lot,
“the bliss of blamelessness.”

a
you will have a lot of happiness.

r

It minimizes inflammatory triggers, and encourages
good behavior in others.
If you let go completely,

a
you will be completely happy.

It stands you on the moral high ground.

t n )
Ajahn Chah

It teaches you what you can ask for from others

a
h 02 1
C 2
Healthy Assertiveness

g t
What it is: Speaking your truth and pursuing your aims

n
in the context of relationships

h
What supports it:

o

Being on your own side

g
Assertiveness

t

Self-compassion

i

Naming the truth to yourself

n yr

Refuges: Three Jewels, reason, love, nature, God

i

Taking care of the big things so you don’t grumble
about the little ones

Health and vitality

.r P o p
D (C
Healthy Assertiveness:
How to Do It - 1

Know your aims; stay focused on the prize; lose
battles to win wars
Healthy Assertiveness:
How to Do It - 2

  Communicate for yourself, not to change others

  Wise Speech; be especially mindful of tone

  NVC: “When X happens, I feel Y because I need Z.”

  Dignity and gravity

Ground in empathy, compassion, and love
  Distinguish empathy building (“Y”) from policy-making

  If appropriate, negotiate solutions

Practice unilateral virtue

  Establish facts as best you can (“X”)

  Find the deepest wants (“Z”)

  Focus mainly on “from now on”

  Make clear plans, agreements

  Scale relationships to their actual foundations
 So that all cubs are our own . . . Penetrative insight

So that all beings are our clan . . .

t
All life, our relatives . . . joined with calm abiding

The whole earth, our home . . .

a
utterly eradicates

r
May you know love, joy, wonder, and wisdom,
afflicted states.

a
in this life, just as it is.

n )
Shantideva
Thank you!

a t 1
h 02
C 2
Great Books Key Papers - 1

g t
See www.RickHanson.net for other great books. See www.RickHanson.net for other scientific papers.

n

Austin, J. 2009. Selfless Insight. MIT Press.
Atmanspacher, H. & Graben, P. 2007. Contextual emergence of mental

h

Begley. S. 2007. Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain. Ballantine. states from neurodynamics. Chaos & Complexity Letters, 2:151-168.

Carter, C. 2010. Raising Happiness. Ballantine.

o

Hanson, R. (with R. Mendius). 2009. Buddha’s Brain: The Practical
Baumeister, R., Bratlavsky, E., Finkenauer, C. & Vohs, K. 2001. Bad is

t g
Neuroscience of Happiness, Love, and Wisdom. New Harbinger. stronger than good. Review of General Psychology, 5:323-370.

i

Johnson, S. 2005. Mind Wide Open. Scribner.

Keltner, D. 2009. Born to Be Good. Norton.
Braver, T. & Cohen, J. 2000. On the control of control: The role of

n yr

Kornfield, J. 2009. The Wise Heart. Bantam. dopamine in regulating prefrontal function and working memory; in

i
Control of Cognitive Processes: Attention and Performance XVIII.

LeDoux, J. 2003. Synaptic Self. Penguin.
Monsel, S. & Driver, J. (eds.). MIT Press.

Linden, D. 2008. The Accidental Mind. Belknap.

Sapolsky, R. 2004. Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers. Holt.

Carter, O.L., Callistemon, C., Ungerer, Y., Liu, G.B., & Pettigrew, J.D.

P

Siegel, D. 2007. The Mindful Brain. Norton. 2005. Meditation skills of Buddhist monks yield clues to brain's

p

Thompson, E. 2007. Mind in Life. Belknap. regulation of attention. Current Biology. 15:412-413.

.r o
D (C
Key Papers - 2

Davidson, R.J. 2004. Well-being and affective style: neural substrates and
biobehavioural correlates. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society.
359:1395-1411.
Key Papers - 3

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,
B. 2005. Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness.
Neuroreport. 16:1893-1897.

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
Lewis, M.D. & Todd, R.M. 2007. The self-regulating brain: Cortical-subcortical
distinct neural modes of self-reflection. SCAN, 2, 313-322. feedback and the development of intelligent action. Cognitive Development,
22:406-430.

Gillihan, S.J. & Farah, M.J. 2005. Is self special? A critical review of evidence
from experimental psychology and cognitive neuroscience. Psychological
Lieberman, M.D. & Eisenberger, N.I. 2009. Pains and pleasures of social life.
Bulletin, 131:76-97. Science. 323:890-891.

Hagmann, P., Cammoun, L., Gigandet, X., Meuli, R., Honey, C.J., Wedeen, V.J.,
Lutz, A., Greischar, L., Rawlings, N., Ricard, M. and Davidson, R. 2004. Long-
& Sporns, O. 2008. Mapping the structural core of human cerebral cortex. PLoS term meditators self-induce high-amplitude gamma synchrony during mental
Biology. 6:1479-1493. practice. PNAS. 101:16369-16373.

Hanson, R. 2008. Seven facts about the brain that incline the mind to joy. In
Lutz, A., Slager, H.A., Dunne, J.D., & Davidson, R. J. 2008. Attention regulation
Measuring the immeasurable: The scientific case for spirituality. Sounds True. and monitoring in meditation. Trends in Cognitive Sciences. 12:163-169.
Key Papers - 4

Rozin, P. & Royzman, E.B. 2001. Negativity bias, negativity dominance, and
contagion. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 5:296-320.

t

Takahashi, H., Kato, M., Matsuura, M., Mobbs, D., Suhara, T., & Okubo, Y.
2009. When your gain is my pain and your pain is my gain: Neural correlates of
envy and schadenfreude. Science, 323:937-939.

a

Tang, Y.-Y., Ma, Y., Wang, J., Fan, Y., Feng, S., Lu, Q., Yu, Q., Sui, D.,

r
Rothbart, M.K., Fan, M., & Posner, M. 2007. Short-term meditation training
improves attention and self-regulation. PNAS, 104:17152-17156.

a
Thompson, E. & Varela F.J. 2001. Radical embodiment: Neural dynamics and
consciousness. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 5:418-425.

Walsh, R. & Shapiro, S. L. 2006. The meeting of meditative disciplines and

n )
Western psychology: A mutually enriching dialogue. American Psychologist,
61:227-239.

t
158

a
h 02 1
C 2
n g t
to g h
i n yr i
.r P o p
D (C