'A cloud is an eddy of the atmosphere, an argument is an eddy in a relationship, and a thought is an eddy in the stream of consciousness' Pg. ~~'1) forms (sights, etc.) 2) hedonic tones (pleasant/unpleasant etc.) 3) perceptions (labels etc.) 4) formations (thoughts, desires etc.) 5) awareness Imagine spending the minutes and days of your life in this way.' Pg. This reveals the pure nature of the pond's water - never tainted itself by what was floating in it - and the beautiful jewels that have always been resting on its bottom' Pg. As it becomes more tranquil, the dirt in it gradually settles. 'You can think of your mind like a murky pond. 'Truths are truths regardless of their messengers, but their expressions and the practices designed to realize them depend upon many factors, including gender, class, and history' Pg.

'The combination of a ready-for-action amygdala and a needs-years-to-develop hippocampus is like a on-two punch: young children are easily upset while lacking internal resources for calming themselves and putting events in perspective' Pg.

'Life fractures everyone, as Leonard Cohen writes: There is a crack, a crack in everything - That's how the light gets in' Pg.

'This is healthy desire in a nutshell: pursuing beneficial ends with skillful means while being at peace with whatever happens' Pg. 'Attention is like a combination spotlight and vacuum cleaner: it illuminates what it rests upon while pulling it into the brain' Pg. 'As Milarepa, the Tibetan sage, described his life of practice: In the beginning nothing came, in the middle nothing stayed, and in the end nothing left' Pg. He loves the wilderness and taking a break from emails. He and his wife live in northern California and have two adult children. He began meditating in 1974 and has taught in meditation centers worldwide. An expert on positive neuroplasticity, his work has been featured on CBS, NPR, the BBC, and other major media. He's lectured at NASA, Google, Oxford, and Harvard. His free newsletters have 250,000 subscribers, and his online programs have scholarships available for those with financial needs. He's the founder of the Global Compassion Coalition and the Wellspring Institute for Neuroscience and Contemplative Wisdom, as well as the co-host of the Being Well podcast - which has been downloaded over 9 million times. His seven books have been published in 31 languages and include Making Great Relationship, Neurodharma, Resilient, Hardwiring Happiness, Just One Thing, Buddha's Brain, and Mother Nurture - with over a million copies in English alone. Rick Hanson, Ph.D., is a psychologist, Senior Fellow at UC Berkeley's Greater Good Science Center, and New York Times best-selling author.

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