The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness - and Wisdom

This book was life changing for me. It really made me consider things about myself that I hadn't before and gave a lot of insight toward making positive changes. It gives great perspectives and suggests different ways to maintain balance in your life. I highly recommend this book.

This wonderful book was a lot more informative than I expected. All though I'm not too keen on Budasim ,I found the knowledge contained in these pages quite rewarding! A great publication for those of us to just need to get off that automatic pilot and just chill. I particularly love the section on equanimity.

After this book, I actually set up a Buddha altar even though I was raised STRICTLY orthodox. However, what made this book click with me is that I am not really "religious" at all but I have anger issues that randomly come up from time to time due to my PTSD and, when I START getting angry, I say to myself, "How would Buddha act right now" and it calms me down. Great book!

The Buddha's brain is an `enlightening' read. Rick Hanson and Richard Mendius shine the light of neuroscience on key Buddhist concepts (suffering, equanimity, metta loving kindness, mindfulness, meditation, etc.). They offer the clarity provided by western science and show how and why we should strive toward a Buddhist brain.

In an eminently readable format, with extremely helpful post-chapter key points, they make the complicated easy to digest. They offer concrete tools for the body and mind, showing us exactly how to get out of our neurological ruts. An appendix by Jan Hanson offers ways to physically nurture our brains as well.

I am a psychotherapist, an author, and a practicing Buddhist and I give this book two thumbs up! It's a must read for those interested in personal growth and the journey toward a more peaceful life.

Buddha's Brain offers practical tools based on the latest discoveries of neuroscience. After reading the book, I feel that many of the hunches I had about improving well-being and creating positive psychological change have been supported. The chapter entitled Taking In the Good, for me, was the most relevant, and absolutely worth the price of the book. For quite some time, through my own contemplative practices, and positive emotions evoked by these practices, I had come to believe that basking in and taking time to fully experience the positive effects of spiritual practice were having both short-term and long term effect and were a natural antidote to negative tendencies and belief patterns. I love the metaphor the authors used to describe the process - "Pulling Weeds and Planting Flowers". In addition, there are many other intriguing explanations that could help to give new meaning and purpose to your contemplative praotices. I highly recommend this book.

I highly recommend this book. I was interested in reading it because of the connection between science and Buddhist connections that the book makes. If you are looking for more information on how to practice this on a daily basis, and how to change your view on daily life, it is wonderful.

Buddha's Brain is a concise easy read with overview of the mind and brain interactions based on both science and Buddhist meditation explaining how we can use mindfulness of our thoughts and actions to change our brain to be happier, more serene and joyful. "The nerves that fire together wire together". It was like a beginners book for fast learners.

I actually saw this book in the library on display as a staff pick. After thumbing through it, I went to check it out, but couldn't find my library card. I immediately went home and ordered it from the store. I'm so glad this happened, because it is a book I want in my permanent library. I'm not just reading it; I'm studying it. It's a book to read again and again until it becomes part of you. I have subsequently told my mom about it (she's 90 yrs old!) and she ordered it also. I look forward to Budha's Brain being my companion through the years.

This book really has very little to do with Buddhism and more to do with how are brain works and how we function with all that we process in our lives growing up, i.e. family, love, hurt, pain and growing older. Being that I come from a big DYSFUNCTIONAL family I really needed this book. I was told about it from a good friend who suffers from the same situation as I. I learn how I've come to process my family and why I keep repeating the same things and how to change it even when I feel misplaced guilt. Helps you understand scientifically why we do the things we do in life. In all manors this book has helped me & I think its good for anyone struggling or not with issues.

I love this book. Have recommended or bought it for friends, family, students and clients (I'm a psychotherapist). The book is written for the novice reader in both Buddhism and neuroscience, and leads to a happier, more serene life. I've reviewed it on Goodreads, and on my personal website:[...]

Excellent book. Changed my life for the better. The second chapter is a bit heavy on the neuroscience for some, but push past it and do the exercises and you'll reap the benefits. I'm rereading it to better understand some of the techniques.

This book is so excellent! The author discusses a large variety of techniques used in mindfulness and Buddhism that can help anyone improve their life. Also, the neurobiology is really interesting. As far as I can tell, the quality of the research is good and it had some new facts even for me. The level of the neurobiology is such that anyone can enjoy the book and not feel too bogged down in technical details. I've recommended this book to other people I know when they want to improve their life or get out of the dumps. It's wonderful!

This book fell just short of five stars because toward the end it has become a tad repetitive. That said, there's a value in having the salient points repeated for emphasis, and presented within slightly different contexts to make it easier to apply those fundamentals in one's own life. Warm and inviting, relentlessly optimistic, this is an approachable "Neuroscience an' Me" sort of book.

Wonderful to learn what is actually happening in the brain during some meditative states. Rick Hanson makes the subject highly accessible to a layperson in the field and greatly inspires one to undertake deeper and further practice.

Too many self-help books offer overly simplistic solutions to complex problems. And I sometimes feel they could have been written over a weekend.
The Buddha Brain is altogether different, based on scientific studies and observations regarding the workings of the brain and how, armed with this knowledge, we can change our own destructive and negative patterns of thoughts and behaviors. Despite the title, this book has little to do with religion or spirituality but rather with the workings of our physiology and neurology, equipping the reader with exercises that can shape the plasticity of the brain and help us adopt new and constructive responses and behaviors to life's challenges. Highly recommended.

This is a remarkable analytical look at the brain and it's processing power. The nuts and bolts of beginning to understand the proof power that the Buddha put into everything to the best of my knowledge. This said it is still more of a beginners book that helps you understand the absolute logic of the Buddha, and direction to look to find verification with that philosophy.

This book is an excellent combination of understandable instructions combined with references to scientific articles that explain how the techniques work.
Each chapter is well organized with description at the beginning and summary points at the end of the chapter. Two welcome additions to the book would be an index and a list of the abbreviations of structures in the brain.

Top quality, fast delivery, great price. It is amazing how convenient it is to buy such worthwhile books, and, unlike a library book, you can keep these purchases for future reference and make notes right in your books. And if you know a friend that has similar ideals/feelings, you can loan or give your copy away to them.

This book is absolutely amazing. Very easy to understand and definitely "practical" like the title says. Reading this book was an immense turning point in my life. This book brought so many revelations to my awareness..

I tried out some of the strategies and had positive results. I think if you pick a strategy or two to practice with you will see benefit in an improved attitude and outlook. If you don't barrel through it like a novel, I think you will improve your mental health.

Excellent book to understand the scientific changes in your brain and body that happen through mindfulness practices. So nice to understand the science and the practical applications in the book are excellent too. Would highly recommend the book.

The book does an excellent job of making the neurological underpinnings of increased consciousness and reflective practices accessible without being overly spiritual. It provides very basic and accessible activities which are supported both by Buddhist tradition and current neuroscience.

Highly recommended!!

This book was a revelation to me! With clear descriptions and drawings of the way our brains are constructed, the authors, a neuropsychologist and a neurologist, make the distinction between our brains, the physical thing you could hold in your hand, and the mind, the ephemeral processor of information and emotions. The news, based on scientific investigation, is that, overtime, and through the intentional focus of our minds, we can actually change the physical construction of our brains, for the better! The authors offer mindfulness and meditation as the way to do this, and proceed through several "how to" chapters of explanation. A thoroughly hopeful, optimistic book!

I found this book absolutely fascinating. There is hard science and much info on the brain--how it works, how it wires--but it is presented in an interesting, easy-to-read manner. Rick's writing style is delightful to me, and his passion for his work illuminates every page. He cites many tenets of Buddha, but the book is just as important and useful to Christians. I think this book holds valuable and life-changing information for anyone who has influence over the lives of children. Using information from this book--especially in the areas of "taking in the good" can help arm parents, teachers, and mentors with knowledge they can use to help others "rewire their brains" for focusing on the positive rather than negative aspects of their lives, thus helping them live more tranquil and rewarding lives.

Rick Hanson provides useful information about the mind, brain, psychology and meditation. Excellent!
Alan Bomar Jones, the reader, is not the best match for this type of information; he is probably talented when reading fiction or drama.
I wished I had ordered the paper book!

Rick Hanson eloquently simplifies the complex subject of our seemingly individual mind in terms of the evolution of a social being. This should be on the required reading list for all universities. It is a tribute to all mankind and their pursuit of self-actualization through the common realm of interpersonal - neuroscience.

This book fills a unique niche in melding philosophical concepts, practical exercises, and neurological science, making it educational, interesting and useful. The chapter summaries make it easy to review, which many readers will want to do.

Finally, after hearing about this book, I finally got to read it....finished in about a week. I must admit I was losing attention through all the "Attention" parts. Guess I better put the book to practice. I would have liked to see more science sprinkled into the book, but that's just my medical, evidence based desires. It did have a lot of good info and like the draw of our evolutionary patterns and why our brain is designed the way it is.

The old argument of nurturing versus nature gets wrestled with in this interesting book on the science of Buddhist meditation. There are times when I feel totally convinced that the authors are right on their claims of brain plasticity and the ability to change our thinking and behaviors through intentional meditative practices. However, there are times when I think that blue eyes are blue eyes no matter how else it is described and dealt with and that the brain is too complicated and "hardwired" to be changed in any substantive way, whether by meditation or any other work. There is a sense, after reading this book, that I am a failure as a human being if I cannot achieve the goals of change offered by the authors. Then what? I remain open to the proposals, practice and science behind this book, but I am also skeptical of just how much is plausible (much less practical) within a science that is still very much in its infancy.

Fascinating read that connects meditation and mental states to physiological events occurring in the brain. The book explains in clear language a framework to understand the brain and how we can improve well being with contemplations rooted in Buddhism.

Definitely a great book to know about the science behind Buddhist principles. A lot of easy to remember tips to apply on a daily basis. However, near the end has a major flaw and the author doesn't stay coherent.
He says that we belong to a complex whole and we interact with other brings, which we must love and express compassion to. However, he never mentions lifestyle changes like veganism, which avoids causing suffering to other brings as much as possible, practised by Buddhist monks hundreds of years ago.
The Nutrition part is absolutely disappointing and wrong. First he says that you should eat many vegetables, excellent, but with a hand size portion of protein. Really? You can't classify foods as one micronutrient. Example: meat has protein, but it also has cholesterol,saturated fats, hormones and more. I guess he didn't want to sound like an hypocrite saying that you should eat other animals, when previously he said that you should love and wish the best for them.
Finally, he mentions a ton of supplements about vitamins, essential fatty acids, fitonutrients, etc. Again, nutrition works best as whole, not consuming tons of engineered substances and chemicals. I would advise the author to read the book "Whole" written by Colin Campbell.

One of the most inspiring books I ever read. Buddhist teachings underpinned by the latest findings in neuroscience - the book is dense but easy to understand - very powerful and efficient. You will learn how evolution promoted mental mechanisms that make is unhappy and will discover practical tips for cultivating mental states that lead to happiness.

a book that brings together the eastern and western world.....the science in layman's language of how the brain and the mind work in tandem to create our reality. and then how to create the brain state that brings peace. i intend on buying this book for friends who are interested in taking control of their lives and finding that still point inside of calm, peace and serenity.