The Factors of Awakening

Sam speaks with Rick Hanson, a clinical psychologist, researcher, and author. They discuss Rick’s path from sixties counterculture to mainstream psychology; the neuroscience of mindfulness; “the happy medium” between dualistic and non-dualistic approaches to meditation; psychedelics and spiritual development; learning as a two-step process; categories of anxiety; strategies for calming panic attacks; inward- vs. outward-oriented mindfulness practices; the merits and liabilities of the traditional guru-disciple relationship; and other topics.