Positive Neuroplasticity Training

Participant
Handbook

Turning Everyday Experiences

Into Lasting Inner Strengths

© Rick Hanson, 2020

Please do not duplicate without permission

Positive Neuroplasticity Training 1

Participant Handbook
 POSITIVE NEUROPLASTICITY TRAINING: PARTICIPANT HANDBOOK
Second Edition
© Rick Hanson, 2020
Please do not duplicate without permission

Email: [email protected]

www.rickhanson.net

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Think not lightly of good, saying, “It will not come to me.”
Drop by drop is the water pot filled.
Likewise, the wise one, gathering it little by little,
fills oneself with good.

Dhammapada 9.122

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Introduction
Overview........................................................................................................................................ 5

Classes
Class 1 – The Essence of Positive Neuroplasticity
Key Points ........................................................................................................................... 10
Engaging Your Mind .......................................................................................................... 12
From Knowing to Experiencing ......................................................................................... 18
Blocks to Taking in the Good ............................................................................................. 19
Taking Home the Good from Class 1 .................................................................................20

Class 2 – Having, Enriching, and Absorbing Beneficial Experiences

Key Points ...........................................................................................................................22
Seeing the Good in Yourself................................................................................................24
Taking Home the Good from Class 2 ................................................................................. 25

Class 3 – Linking Positive and Negative Material

Key Points ...........................................................................................................................28
Taking Home the Good from Class 3..................................................................................30

Class 4 – Growing Strengths for Safety

Key Points ...........................................................................................................................32
Taking Home the Good from Class 4..................................................................................34

Class 5 – Growing Strengths for Satisfaction

Key Points ...........................................................................................................................36
Taking Home the Good from Class 5..................................................................................38

Class 6 – Growing Strengths for Connection

Key Points ........................................................................................................................... 41
Taking Home the Good from Class 6..................................................................................43
General Practices ................................................................................................................44

About the Author

Rick Hanson, PhD is a psychologist, Senior scholarships available for those with financial
Fellow of UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science need. He’s lectured at NASA, Google, Oxford,
Center, and New York Times best-selling and Harvard, and taught in meditation
author. His books have been published in centers worldwide. An expert on positive
29 languages and include Neurodharma, neuroplasticity, his work has been featured on
Resilient, Hardwiring Happiness, Buddha’s the BBC, CBS, NPR, and other major media. He
Brain, Just One Thing, and Mother Nurture – began meditating in 1974 and is the founder of
with 900,000 copies in English alone. His the Wellspring Institute for Neuroscience and
free weekly newsletter has 180,000 Contemplative Wisdom. He loves wilderness
subscribers and his online programs have and taking a break from emails.

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Welcome!
Thank you for participating in this training. This Overview describes its purpose, cautions,
limits to confidentiality, logistics, and curriculum. If you have any questions about the training,
please contact [email protected]

Purpose of Training
This experiential educational program is
about how to turn beneficial experiences
into lasting inner resources. This is what’s
meant by “taking in the good.” “Beneficial” –
and related words like “positive” or “good”
– means here that which leads to the well-
being and welfare of yourself, and often others
as well; “harmful” – and related words like
“negative” or “bad” means the opposite. Some
beneficial experiences are uncomfortable
(e.g., appropriate remorse) and some
pleasant experiences are not beneficial (e.g.,
overeating), but most beneficial experiences
feel good.
Potential inner resources include resilience,
emotional balance, grit, patience, generosity,
positive mood, mindfulness, confidence, Because of its evolved negativity bias (which
feeling cared about, self-understanding, and helped our ancestors survive), the brain is
compassion. In this training, we often refer good at learning from bad experiences but
to these resources as inner strengths. We all relatively bad at learning from good ones—
need strengths like these for managing stress, even though learning from good experiences
dealing with life’s challenges, and having of inner resources is the primary way to
more to offer others. grow them inside yourself. Consequently,
In this training, you’ll learn the three basic this training is not about positive thinking
steps of taking in the good: or simply having more positive experiences,
since these tend to wash through the brain
• Have a beneficial experience (either notice like water through a sieve unless you make a
or create it) deliberate effort to register them (the primary
• Enrich the experience (help it last, fill your purpose of taking in the good).
body, and become more intense) Enduring personal qualities, including inner
• Absorb the experience (intend and sense resources, are encoded in neural structure.
that it is sinking into you) This training is about using your mind
skillfully to help get these resources into your
And you’ll learn the optional fourth step for brain: turning positive mental states into
reducing negative material in the mind: positive neural traits. This is a fundamental
Link positive and negative material together mental ability that just about anyone can
in awareness so that the positive soothes and learn to use better, and no background in
potentially replaces the negative. These four psychology or brain science is needed to take
steps give the acronym HEAL. this training.

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Cautions
The Positive Neuroplasticity Training (PNT) the training at any time, and you will receive
is an educational program, not psychotherapy a full refund. Additionally, participants in
nor any other kind of psychological or medical PNT must be able to behave appropriately in
treatment. This training is not recommended a group setting. For any reason, the teacher
for individuals with severe depression, a reserves the right to withdraw any participant
history of psychosis, or who become flooded from the training (who will receive a full
with traumatic material when tuning into refund).
their experience. People get different things out of educational
As in any experiential, psychologically programs, and the results are largely up to
oriented program, it is possible that you may them. Therefore, there is no promise of any
have uncomfortable or otherwise challenging particular benefits from this training.
experiences. Please tell the teacher if this By participating in this training, you agree
is happening for you. In this training, it is that you understand these cautions, that you
assumed that you can handle such experiences are psychologically capable of participating
on your own; if you think you may not be in this training, and that you can handle any
able to do this, you should withdraw from difficult experiences related to it.

Limits to Confidentiality
The teacher will not communicate identifying But the teacher cannot control what
information about training participants to participants say about each other. Thus there
anyone not in the training (or related staff), is no guarantee of confidentiality in this
and will also ask participants to agree to do training. It is up to you to decide what you
the same. It is also fine to say nothing to want to communicate in it.
anyone throughout the training, including
sitting out paired sharing activities.

Sharing Training Materials

You can share what you learn in this training with others. But please: do not duplicate training
materials without permission, nor try to teach this training to others.

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Curriculum
PNT consists of video teachings and practices, this Handbook, and we hope that they are
the readings in this Handbook, and suggested familiar with Hardwiring Happiness. This
out-of-class practices (we call these “taking familiarity with background information
home the good”). We also highly recommend about the brain and human psychology
Hardwiring Happiness by Rick Hanson, Ph.D. enables the training itself to focus on
as a fundamental text for this training. We experiential methods.
presume that PNT participants will have read

Conclusion
We hope you enjoy this training and get a lot out of it. And please let your teacher know if
you have any questions or if there is anything that would make the training a better experience
for you.

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 Class 1
The Essence of Positive
Neuroplasticity Training (PNT)

1. Key Points
2. Engaging Your Mind
3. From Knowing to Experiencing
4. Blocks to Taking in the Good
5. Taking Home the Good from Class 1

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Key Points
Engaging Your Mind
This class is about how to engage your mind.
There are three fundamental ways:
Let Be
– Simply observing thoughts, feelings, etc.
without trying to change them
Let Go
– Preventing, eliminating, or decreasing
what’s negative
Let In
– Creating, maintaining, or increasing what’s
positive
Negative, bad = what causes suffering and
harm for oneself and others
Positive, good = what causes happiness and
benefit for oneself an others
The mind is like a garden: you can observe it, pull weeds, and grow flowers.

The Purpose of This Training

This training is about “growing flowers” by turning fleeting experiences into lasting resources
inside your own brain, such as strength, emotional balance, calm, happiness, confidence,
feeling cared about, compassion, mindfulness, and love.

The Three Basic Steps of Taking in

the Good
1. Have a beneficial experience – Notice one
you’re already having; or create one, such as by
thinking of something for which you feel grateful.
2. Enrich it – Stay with it; open to it in your
body; enjoy it!
3. Absorb it – Intend and sense that the experi-
ence is sinking into you like water into a sponge,
becoming a part of you.

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Using Your Mind to Change
Your Brain
In step 1, you activate a mental state, and in steps 2 and 3, you install it in your brain. This works
because “neurons that fire together, wire together”: mental activity changes neural structure.

The Negativity Bias

To keep our ancestors alive in harsh conditions, the brain evolved to look for bad news,
overreact to it, and fast-track negative experiences into emotional memory. In effect, your brain is
like Velcro for the negative but Teflon for the positive. By tilting toward the positive and helping it
stick to your brain, you level the playing field.

Why Take In the Good?

Every day is full of opportunities to notice beneficial experiences you’re already having or to create
some by turning good facts into good experiences, and then take these into your brain and being.
This practice has four main benefits:
1. It builds specific resources inside you, including the key inner strengths that are matched
to your external challenges or internal issues;
2. it brings the general benefits of being active rather than passive, and treating yourself like
you matter;
3. it sensitizes your brain to the positive, making it like Velcro for good; and
4. it creates positive cycles: when your own cup runneth over, you have more to offer others,
which creates more beneficial experiences for you and thus more opportunities to grow
your inner resources.

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Engaging Your Mind
Introduction
This training involves making deliberate
efforts inside your mind. This article creates
a context for those efforts, and addresses
some common questions. These questions are
central concerns for some people, yet
for others they are a non-issue. Feel free to
read this article as deeply or superficially as
you like.
What Are the Primary Ways to En-
gage the Mind?
Overview
Essentially, there are three fundamental ways
to engage the mind:
1. Be with what’s there
Experience the experience, feel the feelings,
etc. Let contents in awareness – sounds,
sights, smells, tastes, touches, and thoughts
– come and go without attempting to change
them in any way.
2. P
 revent, eliminate, or decrease
what’s (pragmatically) negative
Softening around it, relaxing, intending and
helping it to release. Seeing through untrue,
negative thoughts; letting go of unhelpful,
wrong beliefs. Imagery, imagining that the
negative is washing out of you.
3. C
 reate, maintain, or increase what’s The Mind as a Garden
(pragmatically) positive
If we think of the mind like a garden, these
Noticing, foregrounding, bringing attention three great practices are:
to beneficial “tiles” in the mosaic of
1. Witness the garden.
experience. Or thinking of things that call up a
2. Pull weeds.
beneficial experience. And enriching, sustain-
3. Grow flowers.
ing, the experience. Staying with it, bringing
attention back to it, helping it last. Or, in six words: Let be, let go, let in.

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“Being with” and “Working with” through remaining aware and not making
any other efforts inside the mind.
To take this a step further, we could call the
first practice “being with” and summarize the • Making efforts inside your own mind –
second and third practices as “working with” pulling weeds and planting flowers – gives
the mind. you a sense of agency, of being an actor, of
being the cue ball instead of the 8-ball. This
Being with is more primary than working
sense of agency, of being a cause instead of
with. You can always be aware of your own
an effect, is a good factor in mental health,
experience, the contents of your mind – but
especially in terms of protecting against
sometimes you just can’t release or reduce
slumps in mood.
something that is negative, or receive or
increase something that is positive. • As we will see further on, the states and
factors in the mind are represented by
Further: underlying neural activities and processes.
• Simply being aware of the contents of mind These underlying aspects of the brain are,
helps you step back from it – like getting out obviously by definition, physical. Effectively
of the movie and sitting twenty rows back, negative activities and structures in the
watching it – and be less identified with it. brain usually don’t just change for the better
on their own; they are built into tissues
• You can learn things about yourself, increase
whose structures tend to persist unless they
self-awareness, through exploring your mind
are actively changed. Similarly, effectively
without trying to change it any way.
positive activities and structures need to get
• Sometimes simply being aware of a negative built into the brain; they usually don’t just
content of mind will enable it to diminish or develop on their own.
even release.
And of course, being with and working with
Nonetheless, working with your mind is a help each other. We need to work with the
vital part of everyday well-being, effectiveness mind to enable it to continue to be with, to
at home and work, healing distress and remain spaciously aware of, mental contents
dysfunction, personal growth, and – if this is (especially negative ones). We also need to
meaningful to you – spiritual practice: be with our efforts to pull weeds and plant
• Awareness alone often does not itself flowers, and the results of these efforts.
remove negative states or factors of mind, or In sum, the great bird of practice needs two
cultivate positive states or factors of mind. wings to fly: both being with and working with
• It is possible to develop a kind of passivity the mind.
or inertness with regard to one’s mind

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What Is Awareness?
Awareness is the field in which various negative material or increasing positive
contents of mind arise, persist, and pass away. material.
You can be aware of being with these contents Awareness is present in both cases, whether
of mind, which involves a receptive knowing of you’re being with or working with the mind.
them in the present moment with no attempt As you can see, being with the mind is one
to influence them. way to be aware of it, but not the only way.
You can also be aware of working with Working with the mind is another way, and it
contents of mind, which involves deliberate is not in conflict with awareness.
efforts regarding them, such as decreasing

What Is Mindfulness?
Mindfulness is a kind of awareness. It any way – this is being with the mind – and
is steady attention, in the moment, not you can be just as mindful of your efforts to
lost in thought, typically with a quality of work with your mind.
recollectedness, of presence of mind. One is Being with the contents of awareness is not
mindful of various objects of attention. the only way to be mindful, and working with
For example, you can be mindful of a toddler’s that material is not at odds with
first lurching steps, of the state of your mindfulness.
retirement account, of the shifts of emotion In fact, in almost all states of consciousness,
in the mind of a friend during a conversation, we must work with the mind at least a little
and of the taste of coffee. bit to remain mindful. Wise efforts support
You can be mindful of the passing stream of wise mindfulness.
consciousness without trying to influence it in

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What Is Open (Choiceless)
Awareness?
In the barest forms of being with the mind away by it. These factors of open awareness
– called open or sometimes “choiceless” include understanding, intention, relaxation,
awareness – there is sustained presence in warmheartedness, and self-compassion.
each moment with accepting receptivity to And after periods of open awareness, it can
whatever appears in awareness. Preferences be valuable to make some efforts in the mind,
fall away; one neither grasps after what is such as reflecting on the experience or sensing
pleasant nor resists what is unpleasant. The that some of its fruits – perhaps a greater
typical sense of being “I” often becomes sense of wholeness or peace – are sinking in
minimal, even absent. There is simply to you, becoming a part of you, a resource
abiding; in Zen, sometimes called “just inside you. Besides the general benefits of
sitting.” these efforts after open awareness, some of
Open awareness is a profoundly valuable them will support open awareness itself the
expression of mindfulness. But as we’ve seen, next time you engage it.
it is not the only way to be mindful. More generally, unrelated to open awareness
In open awareness, there is only the most practice, life contains many moments in
minimal effort needed – which can become which we need to make deliberate efforts
tiny, almost nonexistent – to remain present and engage states of mind other than utterly
and undistracted in each moment. Other than bare, receptive, choiceless, undirected, open
this absolute minimum, there is no working awareness. Open awareness is a practice that
with the mind during open awareness informs and benefits one’s life, but it is not
practice, and attempts to make deliberate itself a way of life.
efforts get in the way of open awareness. In sum, it is necessary and beneficial to work
Of course, at times before engaging in this with the mind - to make deliberate efforts -
practice, it is useful to make deliberate efforts before and after open awareness practice, and
– such as taking in the good – to build up even (to the minimal extent necessary) during
some internal factors so that you can observe it. Working with the mind supports open
your mind with acceptance and not get carried awareness and does not undermine it.

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Is It a Problem to Have Goals?
Working with the mind means having goals:
you are making a deliberate effort to bring
something different into being, such as less
anxiety or more confidence.
One concern about goals is that they are dual-
istic, in the sense that the current
condition is seen as different from the goal
state. Another concern is that pursuing goals
means having desires that will create stress or
otherwise lead to suffering.
Regarding the first concern – dualistic think-
ing – whatever the ultimate cosmic truth of
non-dual oneness may be, everyday reality is
full of dualisms. For example, there are the
distinctions between water and cup, hating
or loving others, and causes that lead to more
suffering or less suffering. You can both see
these dualisms and also understand that they
are part of a larger whole.
Regarding the second concern – desires – at
all levels in the architecture of the body, the
brain, and the mind, there are goal-pursuing,
desire-driven processes. To live is to have
desires, like avoiding harm, approaching
rewards, and attaching to others. As a living • Are you pursuing your aims . . . without
creature, you can’t not have desires. Even getting attached to the outcome? You can
conceptually it is impossible: not having really want something – and still be at peace,
desires is itself a desire! fundamentally, with whatever happens.
Given that desires are unavoidable, the only There is no inherent problem with goals or
relevant questions are: desires. The key is to have beneficial ones,
pursued in beneficial ways, without getting
• Are your desires (pragmatically) positive?
hooked on the results.
For example, consider positive desires such
as the wish that beings (including oneself) And as we’ll explore in this training, letting
not suffer and instead be happy, or the aims in the results of beneficial aims pursued in
of developing greater virtue, steadiness of beneficial ways often actually leads you to
mind, and wisdom. have fewer desires since you have brought so
many beneficial states and factors of mind
• Are you pursuing your desires in (pragmati-
into yourself; they are increasingly “in here”
cally) positive ways? For example, can you
you so you no longer need to pursue them
sustain efforts that feel good to you, don’t
“out there.”
hurt others, are at most mildly stressful, and
avoid harmful self-criticism if they are not Your well-being becomes increasingly uncon-
successful? ditioned, less and less based on external
conditions. Moving in this direction is one of
the central goals (!) of this training.

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Does Taking in the Good
Strengthen a Sense of “I”?
The topic of what in the world “I” is, is a This said, it’s also true that a solid sense of
big question that’s outside the scope of this what’s called “agency” – being a hammer
training. So here are just a few, hopefully rather than a nail in life – is an important
down to earth comments. factor in mental health. One of the implicit
Yes, taking in the good involves making benefits of taking in the good is to strengthen
deliberate efforts in the mind, and this can your sense of agency, which helps protect
strengthen the sense of being a “chooser” or against the “learned helplessness” that is a
“inner executive.” It’s wise to be a little careful risk factor for depression.
with this, since if you take it too far, you can Now, it’s certainly possible to take in praise
end up feeling very separated from others and a sense of accomplishment – but this does
and the flow of life. Try to recognize that any not seem inherently to make people more vain
sense of “I am making something happen” is or create a big ego for them. In fact, gradually
simply another content of mind arising and taking in and building up positive states and
passing away, no different in principle from factors of mind usually helps a person become
any other content of mind, including sounds, less self-centered and egoic – not more – over
sensations, emotions, or thoughts. You are the time. When someone feels fuller inside – with
whole body-mind, and the sense of “I” is just a more sense of peace, happiness, and love –
part of that whole. then this person is actually less likely to get all
puffed up or arrogant.

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From Knowing to Experiencing
The First Step of Taking in the
Good (TG)
The first step is to Have a beneficial
experience, and there are two ways to do this:
(1) Notice one that’s already present, or
(2) create one, usually by bringing to mind
a good fact and helping it become a good
experience.
But how do we actually do (2), and move from
the idea of a good fact to a felt sense of it?
For example, can knowing that you’ve
finished the dishes become a feeling of natural experience to have? What
accomplishment? Can the sight of flowers experience would you wish for him or her?
blooming become a sense of beauty? Can the
smile of a stranger warm your heart? Try It Out
Be aware of the key elements of an experience
Opening to Experience
(also see Key Points #2): thoughts,
Try one or more of these ways to help the perceptions, emotions, desires, and actions.
concept of a good fact become an embodied Then bring to mind a simple good fact, like
beneficial experience: a recent task you completed, and use one or
• Pick a current experience, such as a more of the methods just above to encourage
sensation. Then form an idea about it (e.g., this knowing to become one or more of these
“that feels good”). Notice the difference elements of experience.
between an idea and an experience. Be aware of the transition from idea to
• Bring awareness to your body. experience. In effect, help yourself learn how
to encourage that transition, that kindling of
• Soften and open, with a sense of receiving the fuel of concept into the fire
the good fact. of embodied experience. Consider young
• Be a little active in your mind, thinking children: knowings quickly become feelings
about aspects of the good fact that tend and other aspects of experience. The
to elicit a positive emotion, or attitude, or movement from idea to experience is natural,
sensation in your body. innate – all you have to do is to give it a little
support and then let it unfold.
• Be aware of any blocks to having a beneficial
experience, such as a wandering mind (see You can also use one or more of the methods
the handout, Dealing with Blocks); take a above to gently encourage the positive
moment to accept this block and get to know experience that activated in the first step of
it; then gently bring your attention back to TG to be enriched in the second step. Explore
the good fact. what it’s like to keep opening, softening,
receiving ... to let the experience
• Have an attitude of kindness toward
become even richer in its sensations and
yourself – perhaps like an inner voice
emotions ... perhaps fuller and more intense
saying: Go ahead, this is a real fact, it’s
... bigger in your body and mind ... even a mild
alright to feel good about it.
or subtle experience – perhaps gratitude,
• Imagine that a friend is encountering the caring, peace, or well-being – can pervade
fact you’re thinking about. What would be a your mind. Enjoy!
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Blocks to Taking in the Good
Blocks Are Normal
In life, when we want to do something beneficial – something that brings happiness and benefit to
oneself, and often to others – we frequently come up against various blocks. It’s the same with taking in
the good. Blocks are common. They’re not bad or wrong – but they do get in the way. What works is to
be aware of them, explore them so you know what they are, and then decide for yourself if it’s better for
you to give over to them – or to keep trying to take in the good. With practice and time, blocks usually
fade away. Meanwhile, try the suggestions below for dealing with them.

Blocks to Any Inner Practice

• Distractibility – Watch your attention and the cost of occasional disappointment
bring it back when it wanders. or the benefits of feeling good and building
• Out of touch with experience – Explore up resources inside, then make your choice.
and get used to simple pleasant sensations. • As a woman, socialized to make others
• Leery of bringing attention inward – happy, not yourself – Your needs and
You are safe enough to be less vigilant; you wants have the same standing as theirs; you
can pull attention out of experience if it gets have to nurture yourself to care for others.
uncomfortable. • As a man, socialized to be stoic and
• Over-analyzing, pulling out of the not care about feelings – You need to
experience – Bring attention back into refuel or you’ll be running on empty; building
your body. up inner “muscles” makes you stronger, not
less.
Blocks Specific to Taking in the • You’ve been punished for being
Good (TG) energized or happy - You’re with different
• It’s hard to receive, even a good expe- people today than those in childhood; notice
rience – Inhale or swallow and sense that the people who like it when you feel pretty
it’s OK to let something in; notice that good.
receiving actually feels alright and doesn’t • Good things in you have been
hurt you. dismissed – What’s good about you is real;
• Concern you’ll lose your edge – Build- feel the realness of your good qualities; stick-
ing up inner resources will aid your success. ing up for yourself today helps heal the past.
•F  ear you’ll lower your guard – Resourc- • Positive experiences associate to
es make you stronger; you can still be careful. negative ones – Notice this; return atten-
• Idea that feeling good is disloyal or tion to the positive experience; focus on
unfair to those who suffer – Your suffer- particularly sensate and enjoyable aspects of it.
ing will not lessen theirs; your growing well- •“  What’s the point in feeling good, bad
being could help lift theirs; you matter, too. things will still happen” – Increasing
•B  elief you don’t deserve to feel good, your inner resources will help you and
or that seeking to feel good is vain or others when bad things do happen.
sinful – It’s moral to seek the welfare of all • Payoffs in not feeling good – What’s better
beings; “all beings” includes you; when your for you: those payoffs ... or feeling good?
own cup runneth over, you have more to offer • Not wanting to let others off the hook –
others: put on your own oxygen mask first. Your pain punishes you more than them.
•N  ot wanting to risk disappointment – • TG is craving that leads to suffering –
Know that disappointment is unpleasant TG is compassion in action; by internalizing
but not overwhelming; consider what’s greater, good experiences, you don’t need to reach
for them outside you.
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 Class 1 - The Essence of Positive Neuroplasticity
• Each day, be aware of the three ways to engage the mind: letting be, letting go, and letting in.
• Notice the negativity bias in yourself or others, such as an over-focus on what’s unpleasant and under-focus on what’s pleasant.
• Enjoy experiences of physical pleasure, such as pleasant sights, sounds, tastes, touches, and smells. Turn these mental states into
beneficial neural traits through the three steps of taking in the good: have a positive experience (notice one that is already present or
create one), extend it (help it be embodied, lasting, and more intense), and absorb it (intend and sense that it is sinking into you).
• In the columns below, mark each day that you did the practice. (You can add marks if you did it more than once.)

Be aware of letting be, Notice the Have a physical Enrich this Absorb this
letting go, and letting in negativity bias pleasure beneficial experience beneficial experience

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

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19
 Your Notes

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Class 2
Having, Enriching, and Absorbing
Beneficial Experiences

1. Key Points
2. Seeing the Good in Yourself
3. Taking Home the Good from Class 2

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Key points
Elements of Experience
An experience can include one or more of • Desires – wishes, wants, hopes, intentions,
these elements: craving, clinging, grasping, aversion
• Thoughts – inner language, images, • Actions – facial expressions, speech,
recollections, beliefs, expectations, postures, movement, freezing, inclinations
perspectives Any one of these aspects of your experience
• Perceptions – sights, sounds, tastes, smells, can be “taken in.” Some might be especially
sensations valuable for you, such as the feeling of
• Emotions – passing feelings and lasting gratitude if you’re disappointed, or the
moods; happiness, worry, love, depression sensation of relaxation if you’re anxious.

Activating Positive Experiences

This class explores ways to activate a positive experience. To build up inner resources (or traits)
like resilience, emotional balance, happiness, mindfulness, or compassion, we need to start with
positive mental states.

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 15 Ways to Activate a Positive
Experience
Notice a positive experience that 8. in future events
you are already having: 9. in reframing facts to recognize what is
1. in the foreground of attention good about them
2. in the background of awareness 10. in the lives of others that you could feel
glad about
Create a positive experience by:
11.  in your imagination
• looking for good facts:
3. in your immediate situation 12.  caring about others, wishing them
well, making contributions to them
4. in current or recent events
13. directly evoking a positive experience
5. in enduring conditions
14. producing good facts
6. in your own character
15.  sharing about good facts and your
7.  in your past (including events, experience of them with others
conditions, and your character)

5 Ways to Enrich an Experience

You can strengthen the encoding of experience into neural structure through increasing:
1. D
 uration – helping it last, protecting it, 4. N
 ovelty – looking for what is fresh, new;
creating sanctuary for it, coming back to it “don’t know mind”
2. I ntensity – opening to it, letting it pervade 5. Salience – seeing what’s personally rele-
your mind, dialing it up vant; why would it help you to take this in
3. M
 ultimodality – increasing elements of
experience, especially sensing in your body

How to Absorb an Experience

Enriching an experience is like taking a thin Some people visualize or sense the experience
soup and turning it into a rich luscious broth; sifting down into them like soft golden dust
absorbing an experience is like taking that or gentle rain, soaking in like a water into
rich broth into a super-absorbent sponge a sponge, placed like a jewel in the treasure
rather than having it slowly seep into some chest of the heart, warming them like a cup of
styrofoam. hot cocoa, or easing hurt places inside like a
golden soothing balm.
Just like taking a mental snapshot of a
beautiful sunset, you can make your brain’s Others simply have a knowing that the
memory systems “stickier” by intending and experience is becoming a part of them, a
sensing that the experience is sinking into you resource inside they can take with them
as you sink into it. wherever they go.
Just find whatever works for you.

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Seeing the Good
in Yourself
Why See the Good in Yourself?
Acknowledging your good qualities creates
a vital beneficial experience that supports
a healthy sense of worth, lifts mood, helps
heal old feelings of inadequacy or shame, and
balances self-criticism. It’s a matter of justice:
you are telling the truth about yourself much
as you would tell the truth about a friend. But
facing this truth – that you are fundamentally
a decent and capable person – is often
challenging. That’s why it’s important to stick
up for yourself and really take in both the
experiential sense of your good qualities and
the conceptual knowing that they’re real.
The Friend Test
Consider a friend. Certainly, he or she has about me – that’s normal; just be aware of it
some good qualities. Like fairness, talents and and bring your attention back to the facts of
skills, grit, and a warm heart. Neither halo nor your virtues, strengths, and abilities.
heroics are needed to have good qualities; we
Consider what a friend appreciates, likes,
all have some! Would you recognize them in
or loves about you. Or imagine that you
your friend? If you overlooked, minimized,
are observing the life of someone just like
or denied them, would this be a good way to
you: What does he or she draw upon to get
treat someone? Well, turn it around: can you
through a tough day? What gets contributed
see your own good qualities? Why would it be
to others? What is honorable and admirable
good to see good in your friend but bad to see
about this person? Or imagine the fairest and
it in yourself? The Golden Rule is a two-way
most loving being in the universe whispering
street: we should also treat ourselves as we
in your ear, telling you about your own
would treat others.
goodness.
Identifying Good Things about Really try to let yourself admit the truth of
Yourself your virtues, strengths, and abilities. Pick one
Now take some time to recognize some or two of these, and take a few moments to get
of the good in yourself. Over an hour an experience of it, and then sense it sinking
or a day, observe virtues or character into you. Also open to feeling good about this
strengths in yourself such as endurance, quality of yours – perhaps some gladness,
patience, determination, decency, empathy, ease, and confidence – and then sense this
compassion, honesty, or perspective. Also good feeling sinking into you. Deepest of
notice various abilities, even seemingly all, see if you can take in the sense that are a
simple ones like cooking a meal, working fundamentally good person.
a spreadsheet, or navigating a tricky Notice the effects of recognizing your own
conversation. These are facts, not fiction. If worth on your energy, mood, and behavior.
negative thoughts tug at you – But I’m not And see how these effects on you become
always this way ... and there are bad things benefits for others as well.

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 Class 2 - Having, Enriching, & Absorbing Beneficial Experiences
• Each day, notice beneficial experiences already present in awareness (in the foreground or background).
• Also look for ways to create new beneficial experiences by recognizing good facts and letting this knowing become an experience.
• Recognize good facts about yourself - such as good intentions, strengths, talents, and virtues – and let this knowing become a benefi-
cial experience, such as a sense of the good quality itself or a sense of comfort, confidence, or pride that you have this quality. Try to
push through any reluctance to see these good qualities in yourself or to feel good about them.
• In the columns below, mark each day that you did the practice. (You can add marks if you did it more than once.)

Notice beneficial Create beneficial Recognize good Enrich a beneficial Absorb a

experiences already experiences by qualities in yourself experience beneficial experience
present in awareness recognizing good facts

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25
 Your Notes

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Class 3
Linking Positive and Negative Material

1. Key Points
2. Three Needs and Two Ways of Meeting Them
3. Key Resource Experiences
4. The 4th Step of HEAL: Linking
5. Taking Home the Good from Class 3

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Key points
Three Needs and Two Ways of
Meeting Them
To simplify, the brain evolved in three layers, needs – pain or threat, loss or frustration,
each one focused on a deep need: rejection or loneliness – the brain shifts
into its Reactive mode, the “red zone,” in
• Reptile (brainstem) – Avoiding harms for
which bodily resources are burned quickly
safety
for immediate survival, and the mind
•M
 ammal (sub-cortical limbic system) – experiences fear, frustration, and heartache.
Approaching rewards for satisfaction While the Reactive mode may have short-
• Primate/human (cortex) – Attaching to term benefits, there is always a cost, and its
others for connection chronic activation is not good for oneself,
relationships, or our planet.
Experiences have a “hedonic tone” – their qual-
ity of being unpleasant, pleasant, heartfelt, or We have no choice about the our three needs,
neutral. Unpleasant experiences tend to activate the structure of the brain, and its Responsive
the Avoiding system, pleasant ones activate the and Reactive settings. Our only choice is how
Approaching system, and heartfelt experiences we go about meeting our needs: in the green
activate the Attaching system. zone or the red zone?

When we experience that all three core needs Key aims of a good life – peace, contentment,
are met – for safety, satisfaction, and connec- and love – are also key methods: Each time
tion – the brain defaults to its sustainable, you take in an experience of peace, content-
homeostatic resting state. This Responsive ment, and love, you strengthen its neural
mode is our home base, the “green zone,” in foundations.
which the body refuels and repairs itself, and Taking in the good brings you home to
– in terms of our three core needs – the mind the Responsive mode. Then you handle
experiences peace, contentment, and love. challenges from the green zone – even when
But when we feel a sense of deficit or the world and other people are flashing red.
disturbance in one or more of our three core

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Key Resource Experiences
If you have scurvy, you need vitamin C, not yourself: What resources inside me could help
iron. In the same way, external challenges and with this? What would make a difference? Then
internal issues need inner strengths that are activate and install the particular experiences
matched to them. The Avoiding, Approaching, that would build those strengths inside you. For
and Attaching systems give us a framework example, feeling more protected and relaxed
for identifying the “key resource experiences” could reduce worrying, so you could really try to
that will help the most. have experiences of protection and relaxation
When you identify an external challenge or (by noticing or creating them) and then enrich
internal issue – let’s say, needless worry – ask and absorb them.

The 4th Step of HEAL: Linking

We all have negative material, both from The positive material that will have the
the present, and especially built up from the most impact is whatever key resource
past; there is nothing inherently shameful or experience is a kind of targeted antidote
embarrassing about having negative material; for the negative. For example, in terms
it just means you are a normal human being. of the three systems, feeling protected or
While negative material is active in the mind, strong antidotes fear (Avoiding), feeling
its neural substrates start associating with glad or successful antidotes disappointment
the neural substrates of whatever else is in (Approaching), and feeling included or
awareness. Then, when it gets reconsolidated loved antidotes heartache (Attaching).
back in storage, it takes with it some of these In the 4th step, there are three levels of
associations. In the optional 4th step, you engaging the negative: (1) be aware of just
hold both positive and negative material in the idea of the negative material; (2) have a
awareness, so that the positive gradually more felt sense of the negative; or (3) sense
eases, brings perspective to, soothes, and even or imagine that the positive material is
replaces the negative. contacting the negative, going into it, soothing
To do the 4th step, you must be able to hold and easing it. You could also sense that
two things in mind at the same time, not younger parts or layers of your psyche are
be hijacked by the negative, and keep the receiving the positive material. If you get
positive more prominent in the foreground hijacked by the negative, drop it entirely and
of awareness. Therefore, do not use this rest only in the positive; when you’re ready, if
method on your own for trauma. (Many you want, you can bring the negative material
trauma therapies use some kind of Linking, to mind again. Then, at the end of the 4th
but they do so with a skilled counselor in a step, let go of the negative and rest only in the
safe container.) positive for however long you like.

You can enter this 4-step process from a positive experience. Or you can enter from a negative
experience. In terms of the three great ways to engage the mind:
1) Be with the negative : observe it , accept it, explore it
2) Release the negative : only when it feels right and as best you can, relaxing, venting
3) Replace the negative with something positive, through Taking In The Good

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 Class 3 – Linking Positive and Negative Material
• Each day, look for opportunities to center yourself.
• Be aware of your core needs and how you go about meeting them.
• Hold both positive and negative material in your mind. .
• In the columns below, mark each day that you did the practice. (You can add marks if you did it more than once.)

Participant Handbook
Center yourself Be aware of your needs Be aware of Responsive Link positive and Take in a key resource

30 Positive Neuroplasticity Training

Be on your own side for safety, satisfaction, and Reactive negative material experience that will help
and connection approaches to these you these days
needs
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 Class 4
Growing Strengths for Safety

1. Key Points
2. Being Peace
3. Self-Compassion
4. Unnecessary or Excessive Anxiety
5. Reactive vs. Responsive Pursuit of Safety
6. Taking Home the Good from Class 4

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Key points
Being Peace
This class is about the Avoiding harms system
of the brain, the one that evolved to help us be
safe by handling actual or anticipated pains
and threats. Much of the time the Avoiding
system activates unnecessarily or excessively.
Even when there is a real challenge to
avoid, it’s common to approach it from the
brain’s Reactive setting, rather than its
Responsive one, which feels bad plus disturbs
relationships and one’s own mental and
physical health. Taking in key resources helps
you manage pains and threats in the brain’s
Responsive mode, or at least buffer the impact
of the Reactive mode and leave it quickly.
Then you’ll be increasingly grounded in
a sense of strength and peace.

Self-Compassion
Compassion is the wish that a being not we are touched by our own suffering and
suffer, usually along with feelings of are able to step outside of it to see that it is
sympathetic concern. Our compassion is part of the human experience. It is different
sincere even if we cannot relieve the from wallowing in self-pity; in fact, research
suffering. Self-compassion simply applies shows that self-compassion makes us
this attitude toward oneself. It requires that stronger, more resilient, and more responsive.

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Unnecessary or Excessive Anxiety
Our ancestors needed to avoid two kinds of So the brain evolved to make the first
mistakes: 1) Thinking there’s a tiger in the mistake a thousand times to avoid making
bushes when there isn’t one, and 2) thinking the second mistake even once. This “paper
there’s no tiger when actually one is about tiger paranoia” makes us overestimate
to pounce. The cost of the first mistake was threats, underestimate opportunities, and
needless anxiety, but the cost of the second underestimate inner and outer resources.
one could be death.

Reactive vs. Responsive

Pursuit of Safety
The Reactive mode of the Avoiding system In contrast, the Responsive mode of the
involves: Avoiding system involves:
• disturbing and depleting bodily systems • sustainable use of bodily resources;
• a mind full of fear and anger • feeling threatened is contained in mindful
• actions of fight, flight, freeze, or appease. awareness;
In an emergency, this approach might be • actions come from calm strength, judiciousness,
necessary, but there are always costs. and compassion for oneself and others.

To stay in the Responsive mode, take in the sense of having resources – e.g., abilities, strengths,
money, allies, goodwill, protections – and imagine Responsive ways to engage a current challenge,
such as feeling already strong, peaceful, fed, grateful, grounded in a basic well-being, connected,
cared about, or loved. Take in your imagined sense of a Responsive approach so that your brain
will be inclined to deal with challenges in this way.

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 Class 4 – Growing Strengths for Safety
• Each day, have an experience of self-compassion.
• Be aware of unnecessary or excessive anxiety, and take in feeling protected and having resources (e.g., strengths, allies, money).
• Pick a challenge – a situation, relationship, or risk – that you could feel threatened, anxious, or angry about. Next, imagine yourself
dealing with this challenge in Responsive ways. Then, take in this imagined experience, such as how you would feel in your body, your
perspectives and priorities, your guidance to yourself, your use of resources, and the potentially positive results.
• In the columns below, mark each day that you did the practice. (You can add marks if you did it more than once.)

Have self-compassion Be aware of needless TG the sense of being TG the sense of being Imagine a Responsive
anxiety protected alright right now approach to a challenge,
then TG this approach

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35
 Your Notes

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Class 5
Growing Strengths for Satisfaction

1. Key Points
2. Being Contentment
3. Liking and Wanting
4. Encouraging Motivation
5. The Fullness of This Moment
6. Taking Home the Good from Class 5

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Key points
Being Contentment
This class is about the Approaching rewards
system of the brain, the one that evolved to
help us be satisfied by managing opportunities
and losses. When the Responsive mode of this
system is activated, we are engaged with life
with passion and purpose, grounded in a
sense of being already basically contented, fed,
fulfilled, and happy. In this mode, we pursue
wholesome ends in wholesome ways; we
aspire without attachment.
But when the Reactive mode of this
Approaching system kicks into gear, the
body burns resources chasing goals at an
unsustainable pace, the mind is colored by
frustration, disappointment, dissatisfaction,
and drivenness, and our aims are often
harmful to ourselves and often others.
Key resource experiences for the Approaching
system include gladness, gratitude,
enoughness, beauty, accomplishment,
pleasure, and fulfillment. When you take
these in, you feel better, plus build up
resources inside for an unconditional
contentment.

Liking and Wanting

It is possible to like something – such as the
taste of apple pie when you are already over-
stuffed from eating – while not wanting it.
And it’s possible to want something – such as
pulling the lever on the slot machine for the
umpteenth time, without liking it. It is said
that liking without wanting is heaven, while
wanting without liking is hell.
In practical terms, this means staying in the
green zone – in the Responsive mode – even
when things feel really unpleasant, pleasant,
or heartfelt.

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Encouraging Motivation
It really helps to learn to want things that like to encourage. Before doing it, imagine
are good for you that you don’t naturally the rewards that will come to you and others;
want. This is the essence of motivation. A while doing it, really take in its rewards;
powerful way to strengthen motivation is after doing it, recall again the felt sense of its
to associate rewards with whatever you’d rewards.

The Fullness of This Moment

Your nervous system is continually flooded This gives you a great opportunity, any time
by information coming into it from your you want, to open your attention to everything
body and environment. So the brain filters flowing through awareness, which gives you
out most of this information, and even what such a sense of fullness and enoughness that
gets through the filters into awareness is it can feel almost overwhelming. SO many
still so much that the spotlight of attention sounds sights thoughts sensations emotions
lights up only a small fraction of everything in images plans etc. are streaming through:
awareness. there is SO much here already in each
moment of experience. Who could want for
anything more?!

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 Class 5 – Growing Strengths for Satisfaction
• Each day, be aware of “antidote experiences” – positive experiences that are particularly helpful for certain negative material.
• Practice TG-ing resource experiences related to the Approaching rewards system of your brain. These experiences include gladness,
gratitude, enoughness/fullness, contentment, success in attaining goals, satisfaction, and fulfillment.
• Try the 4th step of TG, holding both positive and negative material in your awareness so that the positive gradually eases, balances,
soothes, and even replaces the negative.

Participant Handbook
TG experiences TG gladness and/or TG the fullness and Do TG steps 1 – 3 on Try step 4: “antidoting”
of beauty gratitude enoughness of this feeling accomplished or feelings of frustration or

40 Positive Neuroplasticity Training

moment successful disappointment

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 Class 6
Growing Strengths for Connection

1. Key Points
2. Being Love
3. The Tip of the Root
4. Feeling Worth
5. Feeling Already Connected
6. Taking Home the Good from Class 6
7. General Practices

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Key points
Being Love
This class is about the Attaching to others
system of the brain, the one that evolved to
help us meet our need for connection through
empathy, compassion, language, kindness,
generosity, parent-child bonds, romantic love
between mates, networks of friends and kin,
and the cooperation and altruism necessary to
sustain “the village it takes to raise a child.”
Over the past several million years, the
survival benefits of love, broadly defined, have
been a major – and perhaps the primary
– driver of the evolution of the brain. Today,
this Attaching system helps us feel related to
people around the world, and helps us span
great divides of language and culture.
In its Responsive setting, the Attaching
system is grounded in a sense of already
feeling cared about, and naturally inclined
toward empathy, compassion, friendliness,
inclusion, and a wide circle of “us.” On the
other hand, in the Reactive setting, there
is a a background sense of grievance, envy,
resentment, dismissal, prejudice, hostility,
anger, even hatred, and a tendency to
identify with a small circle of “us” at odds with
a vast circle of “them.”

The Tip of the Root

One of the most powerful uses of the HEAL compassion and support for the younger parts
process, especially its Linking step, is to of yourself, and make sure you are able to be
connect beneficial experiences with the more in touch with these parts without being over-
vulnerable, fundamental, and often younger whelmed or flooded.
layers of one’s negative material. The brain Then use the various methods of the Linking
is designed to learn especially from negative step to sense and feel that the beneficial expe-
experiences, and especially from the ones in rience – often a kind of antidote to the deep
childhood. So it is natural to be still affected negative material, such as feeling cherished
by things that happened many years ago. can antidote feeling abandoned as a young
To help beneficial experiences get down to the child – is sinking down into these vulnerable
“tip of the root,” understand the benefits places, giving them what they always and
of getting at these deeper layers. Have understandably needed.
Positive Neuroplasticity Training 43
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Feeling of Worth
As people feel confident in their worth, they loved – to other people. It is normal and OK
tend to become more modest, humble, and that a major opportunity to develop a healthy
less contentious with others. (Obviously, sense of worth is to feel valued by other
there are some exceptions.) Not internalizing people. It is not either/or: you can both feel
experiences of worth tends to increase respected by others and respected by yourself.
narcissism and ego. The sense of worth is a counter to the
For us as the most social species on the feelings of inadequacy and shame that many
planet, a primary source of this sense of worth of us have – which are typically rooted in
is experiencing that you are of worth – that experiences involving other people.
you are included, appreciated, liked, and

Feeling Already Connected

In every moment, we are already connected to our own bodies, to other people – both known
and unknown – and to the web of life and to the whole material universe. Tuning into this
ongoing reality of connection, and resting in the felt sense of it, is a continually accessible way
to feel part of everything, not alone.

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 Class 6 – Growing Strengths for Connection
• Practice TG-ing resource experiences related to the Attaching to others system of your brain. These experiences include feeling
connected, seen, included, appreciated, valued, liked, wanted, cherished, and loved.
• Try the 4th step of TG with the “tip of the root” – the deeper, more vulnerable, and often younger layers of negative material.
• In the columns below, mark each day that you did the practice. (You can add marks if you did it more than once.)

TG feeling already TG feeling cared about TG feeling of worth TG feeling liked Try step 4: “antidoting”
connected and/or loved rejection, low worth, and/
or feeling unloved

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Positive Neuroplasticity Training
45
 General Practices
• Use this form to build on this training. Customize the last column, such as dividing it to list two or three key experiences (e.g., feeling
alright right now) or practices (e.g., gratitude just before sleeping) you want to focus on.
• Any beneficial experience is good to take in. Also notice or create those experiences that really address a personal need, such as feeling
protected soothing worry, or feeling appreciated helping to ease feeling inadequate.
• Try the 4th step of TG, holding both positive and negative material in your awareness so that the positive gradually eases, balances,

Participant Handbook
soothes, and even replaces the negative.

TG beneficial Create beneficial TG key resource Do the 4th step of Try step 4: “antidoting”

46 Positive Neuroplasticity Training

experiences you’re experiences and TG experiences holding both positive rejection, low worth, and/
already having them and negative in mind or feeling unloved

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Your Notes

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 Resources

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Resources for Avoiding Harms - Resourcing Safety
Challenge Resource
Weakness Strength
Helplessness Agency
Freezing, Immobilization Action, Venting
Inflated threats Protection, Calming
Alarm Relaxation
Tension Feeling alright right now
Worry, fear Making a plan
Irritation, anger Big picture, peace

Resources for Approaching Rewards - Resourcing Satisfaction

Challenge Resource
What I don’t have What I do have
Scarcity Enoughness, Fullness
Disappointed, sad Gratitude , gladness
Frustration, failure Accomplishment
Bored, Numb Pleasure , Excitement
Grief Loved and Loving
Giving Up Aspire, Live by good
Drivenness Already satisfied
Remorse, Guilt Gratitude for what’s good
Regret, Loss Feeling basically good
Knowing you mainly do good

Resources for Attaching To Others - Resourcing Connection

Challenge Resource
Left Out, excluded Belonging, Wanted
Inadequacy, shame Appreciated, Respected
Ignored, Unseen Receiving empathy
Lonely Friendship, caring to oneself and to others
Resentment Recognising it hurts you
Envy, Jealousy 
Self compassion, taking action
goodwill
Feeling stifled Skillful assertiveness
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 Your Notes

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Your Notes

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