Our brain is wired with a negative bias. Therefore, if we want to be happier, more loving, and more resilient we need to develop inner strengths towards a more positive state of mind. Rick Hanson shows us an effective and proven way to do just that. He suggests ways to create new synapses in the brain which will wire us up to bring in the good and reinforce positive traits that ultimately change the structure of our brains and lead us to more love, happiness, and inner peace. He explains, “The brain is like Velcro for the bad but Teflon for the good. The brain is very good and efficient at converting momentary negative states to lasting negative neural traits. But the brain is relatively poor at turning positive mental states into positive neural traits.” Through repeatedly absorbing the good, which, in everyday life can be little moments of feeling safe, satisfied and connected, we can build up our inner strengths so that, when challenges come, we can stay in the responsive mode about them. Hanson outlines the HEAL process for taking in the good. There is a famous saying about brain neurons: Those neurons firing together, wire together. Therefore the more times each day we take 10 to 30 seconds of both taking in the good and letting it sink in, the better we’ll be at wiring those resources into the core of our being.
