VIDEO: Rick Hanson on the Healing Power of Refuge

"Life is often a hard trail, and nonetheless, hopefully a long one," says therapist and author Rick Hanson. "To walk it with joy and love and peace, we all need refuges—people and places and activities that repair and refuel us, that give us sanctuary."

In the following video clip from Rick's unforgettable Networker Symposium address, Rick shares how each of us can find refuge in our own lives by turning to those who love us, and those we love in return.

Rick Hanson, PhD, is a neuropsychologist and New York Times bestselling author. A Senior Fellow of the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley, he’s been an invited speaker at Oxford, Stanford, and Harvard, and taught in meditation centers worldwide.

In one of the most moving moments from the Symposium, Hanson invoked the spirit of Mr. Rogers to help attendees better acknowledge their connection with each other and savor their most inspiring moments at the conference. Finally, he asked the audience to take just a few seconds—a rare and precious act—he says, to reflect on those who've "loved them into being."

"At this time in human history, it's all too easy to see the 'them-ness' of others, and then to stop looking," says Hanson. "So there's nothing more important than to find refuge, again and again, in the 'us-ness' of the person sitting next to you, or across the street, or across the world."

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You might also enjoy Hanson's article "The Motherhood Marathon," in which Rick explains how to help clients who have been overwhelmed by motherhood and need help with the modern challenges of raising a family.

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