Relationships are usually the most important part of a person’s life. But they’re often stressful and frustrating, or simply awkward, distant, and lonely. We feel the weight of things unsaid, needs unmet, conflicts unresolved. It’s easy to feel stuck.

Why is it easier to ruminate over hurt feelings than it is to bask in the warmth of being appreciated? Because your brain evolved to learn quickly from bad experiences and slowly from good ones, but you can change this.

A profound transformation can occur just by training your attention in awareness - a practice sweeping schools, workplaces, and institutions across the country with its capacity to decrease stress, cultivate inner calm, and expand wisdom and creativity. Clinical psychologist and meditation teacher Tara Brach has been at the forefront of mindfulness-based therapy since its inception, successfully bringing principles of mindfulness to alleviate depression, chronic pain, and more.

In Neurodharma, the follow up to his classic Buddha’s Brain, New York Times best-selling author Rick Hanson, PhD, not only explores the new neuroscience of awakening, but also offers a bold yet plausible plan for reverse-engineering peak experiences, sense of oneness, and even enlightenment itself. And he does so with his trademark blend of solid science and warm encouragement, guiding you along this high-reaching path with good humor, accessible tools, and personal examples.

Self-Directed Brain Change is based on a key emerging insight from neuroscience: that to keep our ancestors alive, the human brain evolved to stick to negative experiences like Velcro and shrug off the positive ones like Teflon. The good news, teaches Rick Hanson, is that we can retrain our neural structure out of "sheer survival" mode and into one of greater well-being, mental clarity, and moment-to-moment appreciation.

The profound techniques of Vipassana (or insight meditation) are all rooted in the Satipatthana Sutta, the Buddha's practice-oriented teaching on the four foundations of mindfulness. With Mindfulness, Joseph Goldstein brings you a series of core teachings and guided practices for "looking directly at the nature of the mind and body, at how suffering is created, and how we can awaken and be free."

When the difficulties and losses of life feel overwhelming, is there someplace we can turn for the safety, nurturing, and peace that we long for? Most of us are strongly conditioned to react with fear and confusion, falling back on strategies of judgment, control, addictive behaviors, and anger. Yet there is another way. “In any moment, no matter how lost we feel, we can take refuge in presence and love,” teaches Tara Brach.

Despite our best intentions, we often have trouble dealing effectively with strong emotions. What if you had a conscious, skillful way to respond in times of anger, fear, jealousy, shame, and other powerful emotions? Meditations for Emotional Healing gives us a collection of insights and practices for bringing compassion, clarity, and understanding to our emotional lives-instead of expressing or repressing them in unhealthy ways.

If you've ever struggled with depression or know someone who has, take heart: Mindfulness practice is a simple, powerful way to naturally break depression's self-perpetuating cycle. With The Mindful Way Through Depression, four leading researchers present insightful lessons drawn from both Eastern meditative traditions and cognitive therapy about how to triumph over this illness - and, more importantly, how to prevent it from striking again.

Why do some people seem happier than others, regardless of their situation? In the face of fear, sadness, and other emotional suffering, we may believe that there's simply something wrong with us. Yet in his decades of pioneering research, Dr. Rick Hanson has revealed a simple yet profound truth: Happiness can be learned. And like any other skill, it can support us throughout our lives.

The structure of your brain changes constantly in a dynamic, unfolding process that you yourself can help direct to create the life you want. Neuropsychologist Dr. Rick Hanson offers the "Steadying Your Mind" meditation to tap the full creative power of your attention and strengthen the neural circuitry that supports focus and clarity.Sounds True Practices are short downloadable audio sessions selected from our most popular courses.

Happiness is a far more positive feeling that comes and goes. Science is now proving that happiness is a skill that you can develop. On Meditations for Happiness, Rick Hanson leads you through a series of guided meditations that allow you to literally re-wire the neural pathways in your brain to experience deeper and more lasting happiness.

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 program from psychologist Rick Hanso, Ph.D. and neurologist Rick Mendius, M.D.

You’ve heard the expression, “It’s the little things that count.” Research has shown that little daily practices can change the way your brain works, too. This book offers simple brain-training practices you can do every day to protect against stress, lift your mood, and find greater emotional resilience. Just One Thing is a treasure chest of over 50 practices created specifically to deepen your sense of well-being and unconditional happiness.

There's been a major breakthrough in the world's oldest research experiment. For over 2,500 years, Buddhist meditators have investigated the human psyche. Now with the help of modern neuroscience, we have gained an unprecedented understanding of how the brain responds to meditation practice - which gives you powerful tools for changing your own brain for more happiness, love, and wisdom.