Rick Hanson is a neuropsychologist and author of the bestselling Buddha's Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love, and Wisdom. He is also founder of the Wellspring Institute for Neuroscience and Contemplative Wisdom, and an affiliate of the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley.

On this top-drawer seven CDs Audio Learning Course, Hanson shows how we can put our minds under new management and use them to shape and influence our brains for the greater good.

There are six sections of this course. Each includes exposition and guided practices. The sections are:

• Self-directed Neuroplasticity
• Taking in the Good
• The Neuroscience of Mindfulness
• Concentrating the Mind
• Equanimity
• Beyond the Self

Although there is a negativity bias in the brain, Hanson offers strategies to handle this fact. He discusses the interrelationships between neuroscience, psychology, and contemplative practice before moving on to a Guided Practice of letting be, letting go, and letting in. Hanson salutes positive experiences and rejoices in the ways the brain pays attention.

The author makes a good case for the six neural factors that promote mindfulness and helps us to see the connection between joy and singleness of mind. Hanson defines equanimity as not reacting to your reactions. He spends an entire section on it with commentaries on suffering, change, and interdependence.

The Enlightened Brain by Rick Hanson is one of the freshest resources we've encountered in a long time in the field of personal growth.