Sometimes we try to open up or soften, but we don’t feel safe enough inside to do it. Our nervous system holds armor — bracing against vulnerability, against the truth that life includes aging, illness, loss, and uncertainty.

This is definitely something I’ve experienced, so this week I explore how to resource yourself first — to feel steady enough to lower your guard — and how vulnerability itself can become a doorway into peace, love, and freedom. When we stop compensating for old wounds and instead welcome our vulnerability with compassion, we discover something deeper that was never wounded at all.

You’re welcome to join me live each week for these talks — for free — by signing up at https://rickhanson.com/wednesday-meditations-with-dr-rick-hanson/. We always start with a guided meditation to set the tone for the evening. If you’d like to experience the meditation that accompanied this talk, you can listen to it at: https://rickhanson.com/talk-meditation-accepting-your-vulnerabilities-including-from-early-childhood/

And if you'd like to check out any of my online programs at https://rickhanson.com/online-courses/, you can receive 20% off by using coupon code PW20 during checkout.

Aging, illness, and death are realities we all live with, even when we try not to think about them. Often, they show up quietly in the background as worry, grief, fear, or a sense of urgency we can’t quite name.

In this talk, I explore a classic Buddhist teaching known as the four heavenly messengers—aging, illness, death, and the possibility of awakening—and how we can relate to them in ways that reduce suffering and support a full, meaningful life.

You’re welcome to join me live each week for these talks—for free—by signing up here. We always start with a guided meditation to set the tone for the evening. If you’d like to experience the meditation that accompanied this talk, you can listen to it here.

And if you'd like to check out any of my online programs, you can receive 20% off by using coupon code PW20 during checkout.

What should we do when we get triggered — especially by other people? In this talk, I discuss how mindfulness, focused attention, open awareness, and non-clinging help us manage reactivity, reduce rumination, and relate more wisely to ourselves and others.

You’re welcome to join me live each week for these talks—for free—by signing up here. We always start with a guided meditation to set the tone for the evening. If you’d like to experience the meditation that accompanied this talk, you can listen to it here.

And if you'd like to check out any of my online programs, you can receive 20% off by using coupon code PW20 during checkout.

When fear and anxiety feel woven into the fabric of everyday life — from global crises to personal health worries — it’s easy to feel overwhelmed, helpless, or stuck in a loop of dread.

So this week I explored how to meet anxiety with mindfulness and compassion, find real refuges that steady the heart, take meaningful action without burning out, and hold life with a wider wisdom perspective.

When we relinquish what no longer serves — harsh self-judgment, false hopes, and unnecessary worry — we can live well, meanwhile, even in a world that can feel profoundly uncertain.

You’re welcome to join me live each week for these talks—for free—by signing up here. We always start with a guided meditation to set the tone for the evening. If you’d like to experience the meditation that accompanied this talk, you can listen to it here.

And if you'd like to check out any of my online programs, you can receive 20% off by using coupon code PW20 during checkout.

When you’ve been triggered enough times, it’s easy to start living smaller: avoiding certain conversations, second-guessing yourself, and staying inside an invisible cage that looks like caution but feels like contraction. In this talk, I explore what “trusting yourself” really means—not as bravado or blind confidence, but as an embodied sense that you can stay steady, return to center, and take the next step even in uncertainty. Along the way, we connect this to early conditioning (basic trust/mistrust), to good intentions, and to practical tools for staying grounded when someone tries to pull you into their script.

You’re welcome to join me live each week for these talks—for free—by signing up here. We always start with a guided meditation to set the tone for the evening. If you’d like to experience the meditation that accompanied this talk, you can listen to it here.

And if you'd like to check out any of my online programs, you can receive 20% off by using coupon code PW20 during checkout.

When you pause and look honestly at your life, it can be hard to know whether you’re living from what truly matters—or just reacting to the world around you.

So this week, I explored the nature of good intentions, choice, and values. When you clarify what you care about most, it’s easier to live with moral clarity without slipping into self-judgment or ill will, and translate intentions into daily action.

You’re welcome to join me live each week for these talks—for free—by signing up here. We always start with a guided meditation to set the tone for the evening. If you’d like to experience the meditation that accompanied this talk, you can listen to it here.

And if you'd like to check out any of my online programs, you can receive 20% off by using coupon code PW20 during checkout.

It’s normal to feel overwhelmed by the chaos of modern life, and it’s hard to steady your mind when you’re distracted, stressed, rattled, or ruminating about the things you feel threatened about or resentful of.

In this talk, I explored 3 practical ways to bring calm, clarity, and presence into your daily routine — even amidst the distractions and pressures of the world.

You’re welcome to join me live each week for these talks—for free—by signing up here. We always start with a guided meditation to set the tone for the evening. If you’d like to experience the meditation that accompanied this talk, you can listen to it here.

And if you'd like to check out any of my online programs, you can receive 20% off by using coupon code PW20 during checkout.

When we cling to what we “know,” we often suffer — because we narrow our perspective and can get trapped in a cycle of expectations and disappointments. This prevents us from seeing the true nature of our ever-changing reality, as well as the many opportunities around us.

In this talk, I discussed how embracing “not knowing” can help dissolve suffering, releasing us from the shackles of our mind.

You’re welcome to join me live each week for these talks—for free—by signing up here. We always start with a guided meditation to set the tone for the evening. If you’d like to experience the meditation that accompanied this talk, you can listen to it here.

And if you'd like to check out any of my online programs, you can receive 20% off by using coupon code PW20 during checkout.