Symposium Highlight

VIDEO: Rick Hanson on the Healing Power of Refuge

Focusing on the People, Places, and Activities that Give Us Sanctuary

“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 this 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.

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.”

Rick Hanson

Rick Hanson, PhD, is a psychologist, a Senior Fellow of the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkley, and a New York Times best-selling author. His books are available in 26 languages and include Hardwiring Happiness (Harmony, 2016), Buddha’s Brain (New Harbinger, 2009), Just One Thing Card Deck (PESI, 2018), and Mother Nurture (Penguin, 2002).  He edits the Wise Brain Bulletin and has numerous audio programs.