Buddha's brain

Buddha's Brain starts from the idea that history's great spiritual and moral teachers, among them the Buddha, Jesus, Moses, Mohammed and Gandhi, began life with brains much like anyone else's. What set them apart was that they changed those brains, and in doing so changed the world. Rick Hanson argues that ordinary people can do something similar in their own lives. The book draws on neuroscience showing that the flow of our thoughts physically shapes the brain, and that positive mental states can be deliberately strengthened. Hanson pairs these findings with insights from thousands of years of mindfulness practice. The aim is to help readers cultivate more happiness, love and wisdom, along with closer relationships, a deeper spiritual life, and steadier confidence and self-worth. Hanson is a neuropsychologist, and the book was written with neurologist Richard Mendius. Guided meditations and mindfulness exercises run through the book. They teach readers to call up states of calm, joy and compassion in place of worry, sorrow and anger. Sitting where psychology, neurology and contemplative practice meet, the book offers practical everyday skills for tapping the brain's unused potential and rewiring it over time for greater well-being.