Meditations to Change Your Brain [Audiobook, Unabridged] [Audio CD]

Rick Hanson (Author), Richard Mendius (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2009

The structure of your brain changes constantly, in a dynamic, unfolding process that you yourself can direct to create the life you want. This is the exciting premise of Meditations to Change Your Brain, a breakthrough three-CD program from psychologist Rick Hanson, Ph.D., and neurologist Rick Mendius, M.D. Drawing on a vast body of research spanning more than 30 years, Meditations to Change Your Brain collects the best meditative and contemplative practices to help anyone increase their capacity for joy, love, and spiritual bliss. Listeners join Dr. Hanson and Dr. Mendius to learn specific practices for making positive changes in their body and mind, plus four guided practices to strengthen their meditative abilities, and four guided meditations to heal and nourish their relationships.

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Sounds True, Incorporated (August 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 159179711X
• ISBN-13: 978-1591797111
• Product Dimensions: 5.7 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #36,733 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #25 in Books > Books on CD > Health, Mind & Body > Relaxation & Meditation
  • #29 in Books > Books on CD > Health, Mind & Body > Meditation
  • #50 in Books > Books on CD > Religion & Spirituality > General

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Rick Hanson, Ph.D., is a neuropsychologist, author, and teacher with a lifelong interest in the intersection of psychology, neurology, and Buddhism. He is first author of Mother Nurture (Penguin, 2002) and co-author (with Rick Mendius, M.D.) of a book-in-progress titled The Awakening Brain. Dr. Hanson leads a weekly meditation group in San Rafael, California, and teaches at the California Institute of Integral Studies, Spirit Rock, and other organizations.

Rick Mendius, M.D., is a neurologist, author, and teacher who leads a weekly meditation class at San Quentin Prison, and teaches day-longs at Spirit Rock, Sati Center for Buddhist Studies, and other organizations. He has authored numerous articles for the Wise Brain Bulletin, and he has a particular interest in the long-term effects of meditation for aging.

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Sounds True, Incorporated (August 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 159179711X
• ISBN-13: 978-1591797111
• Product Dimensions: 5.7 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #36,733 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #25 in Books > Books on CD > Health, Mind & Body > Relaxation & Meditation
  • #29 in Books > Books on CD > Health, Mind & Body > Meditation
  • #50 in Books > Books on CD > Religion & Spirituality > General

More About the Author

Rick Hanson, Ph.D., is a neuropsychologist and author of Hardwiring Happiness (coming in October 2013), Buddha's Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love, and Wisdom (with Rick Mendius, M.D.; Foreword by Dan Siegel, M.D. and Preface by Jack Kornfield, Ph.D.), published in 24 languages and Just One Thing: Developing a Buddha Brain One Simple Practice at a Time (in 12 languages). Founder of the Wellspring Institute for Neuroscience and Contemplative Wisdom and Affiliate of the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley, he's been an invited speaker at Oxford, Stanford, and Harvard, and taught in meditation centers worldwide.

An authority on self-directed neuroplasticity, Dr. Hanson's work has been featured on the BBC, NPR, FoxBusiness, Consumer Reports Health, U.S. News and World Report, and O Magazine. He edits the Wise Brain Bulletin, and his weekly e-newsletter - Just One Thing - has over 73,000 subscribers, and also appears on Huffington Post, Psychology Today, and other major websites. He has several audio programs with Sounds True, and his first book was Mother Nurture: A Mother's Guide to Health in Body, Mind, and Intimate Relationships (Penguin, 2002).

A summa cum laude graduate of UCLA, Dr. Hanson is a trustee of Saybrook University. He also served on the board of Spirit Rock Meditation Center for nine years, and was President of the Board of FamilyWorks, a community agency. He began meditating in 1974, trained in several traditions, and leads a weekly meditation gathering in San Rafael, CA. He enjoys rock-climbing and taking a break from emails. He and his wife have two adult children.

For more information, please see his full profile at www.RickHanson.net.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

(What's this?)

#65 in Books > Self-Help

#94 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting

#65 in Books > Self-Help

#94 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

301 of 307 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Psychological Concepts + How to Meditate September 30, 2009

By Kathy W TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Audio CD|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

This 3 disc, 3 ˝ hour, 2009 Sounds True program is encased in a cardboard type tri-fold. It is said to draw on 30 years plus of research by neuropsychologist Rick Hanson and neurologist Richard Mendius. The cover states that it will show you how to strengthen your neural circuits that generate happiness, love, and inner peace and includes 7 guided meditations to reshape your brain. (OK. I'm in.) Note that the term "guided meditation" just means that someone is verbally guiding you through the meditation by talking to you and making suggestions.

There is a lot of really good information here and this is an excellent program, especially for those who want to learn to meditate but also want to be convinced first that it is worth their time commitment. This material provides how and why to meditate from a medical standpoint and can also be useful to seasoned meditators. The doctors also talk about how getting rid of your emotional baggage can help you. I can attest to that. Meditation has helped me bring up and confront some stuff I had buried inside. Once you bring it to the surface, you can begin to deal with it. This is a program that you can work with over and over, and will likely need to repeat to effectuate a positive change.

With the exception of the meditation segments on each CD, you can listen to the other/instructional parts in your car, on your way to work. I have listed the times for each track so you can figure out how everything is laid out and what way to listen best suits you.

Disc 1: Using Your Brain to Change Your Mind (total time 71:12)
1. Introduction (0:51)
2.... Using Your Mind to Change Your Brain (13:59)
Drawing on a combination Western psychology and neurology and Eastern Buddhism, we explore how to be happier and have less anger and stress, to better understand difficult experiences, and to replace them with better states of mind. Rick begins this segment, followed by Richard. Both speak simply, in easy-to-understand language, and have voices that are pleasant to listen to. Both guys alternate throughout the 3 discs. Instead of getting caught up in all the "stuff" that is going on around us, they talk about how shifting your inner state-of-mind, one bit at a time, can effectuate positive change.
3. How Your Mind and Brain Work Together (20:08)
Your conscious mind is dependent upon your nervous system and is primarily dependent on your brain. Something transcendental is necessary for consciousness. This program is based primarily on Western (scientific) medicine. The complex brain is a gift--the extraordinary process of how it works (neurons firing, etc., even when someone is unconscious.) How brainwave patterns change and they change your mind, so you can deliberately effect a positive change in the physical structure of your brain.
4. Why Aren't People Happier? (10:32)
Explains how the brain generates suffering and how understanding these processes can allow you to suffer less.
5. The Effects of Meditation on Your Brain (15:31)
What scientific studies on meditating Tibetan monks have revealed, what happens in your brain when you meditate, and why. As someone who meditates frequently, I found this segment very interesting in helping me understand certain things about myself. If you listen to only segment 5 in this whole set, I think you will FIND time to meditate.
6. Guided Meditation: Appreciating Your Brain (10:06)
DO NOT DO THIS MEDITATION SEGMENT WHILE DRIVING. A bell indicates completion of the meditation. Do not jar yourself awake, but sit for a minute and then come out of it slowly.

(Disc 1, Segments 1 through 5 can be listened to in your car. You may have to listen to this information more than once, because there is a lot of scientific information here.)

Disc 2: Meditations to Change Your Brain (total time 78:47)
This disc is about 50 % meditation, so you cannot listen in the car unless you skip over each meditation and just listen to the instructional information, which you could do by track. The meditations are fairly brief, so if you are not good at meditating yet, the shorter ones will probably help you learn to focus better. The better you get at it, the longer you can meditate on your own. You can either stop the tape when you want to continue, or just do your own thing.

1. Introduction (0:40)
2. Taking Good Care of Yourself (4:58)--general information
3. Guided Meditation: Foundational Practices (15:04)
How to meditate practice.
4. How You Can Target Specific Changes in Your Brain (5:52)
Explaining psychologically what the meditation and the suggestions do in your brain.
5. The Four Steps to Taking in the Good (13:27)
You are mainly built up of stored memories of events and emotions. How you can help the brain to register positive experiences and why that is important.
6. Guided Meditation: Taking in the Good (7:32)
Practicing positive meditational experiences.
7. Introduction: Antidote to Stress (8:10)
What happens to the body in stress and why medically it happens. How to activate the parasympathetic nervous system to compensate and how it medically helps you.
8. Guided Meditation: Antidote to Stress (9:22)
How to relax body parts in a combo instructional and meditational experience.
9. Introduction: Healing Painful Experiences (4:52)
How you can influence the tone of your memories and shift your reaction to the painful memory.
10. Guided Meditation: Healing Painful Experiences (8:01)
Practicing the concept.

Disc 3: Meditations to Change Your Brain II (total time 73:32) This disc is 2 longer meditations and roughly 2 ten minute explanations--not a CD for the car.

1. Introduction: Steadying your Mind (12:41)
Voice in your head tends to chatter away on a lot of different subjects and build negative stories, which then causes you to expect negative happenings. Rick explains how attention works in the mind and brain. Steadiness of the mind is a real challenge for some, so you must practice and be patient with yourself.
2. Guided meditation: Steadying Your Mind (28:33)
A sampling of meditation methods to focus the mind on one thing.
3. Introduction: Mosaic Meditation (10:00)
Each moment of your life is like a mosaic of multi-sensual tiles that form a picture. This segment is about how the tiles are made and how we can rearrange them if we need to make a better picture.
4. Guided Meditation: Mosaic Meditation (22:15)
Practicing the concept. Read more ›

208 of 216 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Not that helpful September 15, 2009

By A. S. Johnson VINE™ VOICE

Format:Audio CD|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

I got this CD set mostly for the meditations it contained. I have several other meditation CDs including Guided Meditations for Stress Reduction and Radical Self-acceptance, both of which I have really liked. This one however, is not that great. The meditations are very difficult to get into for a couple of reasons. First, the authors deem it necessary to start every meditation with a discussion about not using it while driving. Second, some of the "meditations" are really just discussions of various techniques.

There are a couple of good guided meditations on here, but that is all. The discussion of the brain is very good though, and I got a lot out of that portion of the CDs. If you are interested in how meditation works to change the brain, I would recommend these. If you are looking for guided meditations, look elsewhere.

78 of 78 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Best collection of meditation practices available! September 6, 2009

By YogaKat TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Audio CD|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

I have reviewed many meditation CDs and videos and I must say this is one of the best collections I have found!

The Rick and Richard present 7 meditations on this 3-disk set and each meditation includes discussion on the topic before hand. The meditations are well lead with short periods of silence for the meditation practices. Their voices are very soothing and they will help you find a place within yourself to find peace and safety. By using these CD's regularly you will definitely look at the world differently and potentially change the way you perceive the world.

I like the lengths of the practices and you can easily mix and match if you have more time. Here are the 7 meditations included on the cds:
Appreciating Your Brain, 10 min
Foundation Practices, 15 min
Taking in the Good, 7 min
Antidote to Stress, 9 min
Healing Painful Experiences, 9 min
Steadying Your Mind, 28 min
Mosaic Meditation, 22 min

This CD set will definitely help you work on activating your underlying brain states using both modern western sciences of neurology and psychology and traditional practices of Buddhism. The meditations and theories can be used by people of any spiritual background or no spiritual background at all since there is no discussion of god or other religion-based theories.

Another reviewer mentioned they had trouble importing into iTunes. I had no problems at all; in fact this is a great way to use the meditations. You can mix the meditations with soft music or nature sounds and continue the meditation on your own after the formal CD practice has completed.

I only have one comment on the packaging. The only place to find a listing of the tracks is on the disk its self.... I wish they would have included an insert with a listing of the tracks so while I'm listening I can see what's coming up on the next tracks.

Other than that this CD is well worth the money and you can use the individual meditations over and over again throughout your life. Amazon's current price is $16.47 which is a bargain for the 3-disk set!

Also, please see my other meditation, tai chi, and yoga reviews on Amazon. Read more ›

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Gound Breaking Material January 26, 2010

By Vincent Bova

Format:Audio CD

I've been dealing with chronic anxiety for the past 30 years. I have found this group of CD's to be incredibly helpful. It explains some of the evolutionary processes that have contributed to our survival anxiety and takes a lot of the mystery out of this free floating anxiety. Also, I have been working with cognitive therapy for some years which is a wonderful way of dealing with anxiety and depression and controlling what you can to overcome these forms of suffering. "Meditations to Change Your Brain" explains the actual physical changes to your brain that cause changes in our mind, which is what we have been doing with cog therapy. The exercises and information are presented in a gentle and sensitive way and have taken me even further in the direction of health and happiness. You have assisted me in getting my mind, body and spirit in sync and the resulting peace is incredible. Thank you sirs for HOPE!!!