55 Quotes by Rick Hanson

Strength is often quiet, receptive determination rather than chest-thumping pushiness.

Letting go of ill will does not mean passivity, silence, or allowing yourself or others to be harmed. [...] There is plenty of room for speaking truth to power and effective action without succumbing to ill will. [...] In fact, with a clear mind and peaceful heart, your actions are likely to be more effective.

The self has no inherent, unconditional, absolute existence apart from the network of causes it arises from, in, and as.

Your brain is like Velcro for negative experiences but Teflon for positive ones.

First darts are unpleasant to be sure. But then we add our reactions to them. These reactions are “second darts” – the ones we throw ourselves. Most of our suffering comes from second darts.

If you take care of the minutes, the years will take care of themselves.

If you can break the link between feeling tones and craving – if you can be with the pleasant without chasing after it, with the unpleasant without resisting it, and with the neutral without ignoring it – then you have cut the chain of suffering, at least for a time.

The brain is good at learning from bad experiences, but bad at learning from good ones.

By taking just a few extra seconds to stay with a positive experience – even the comfort in a single breath – you’ll help turn a passing mental state into lasting neural structure.