One of the hottest topics in contemporary culture is happiness so much so that the United Nations declared an International Happiness Day in response to the immense popularity of Pharrell Williamsಙ song ಜHappyಝ. The explanation for this current fixation seems to lie in the contrary phenomenon unhappiness. Despite the fact that we have tremendous access to every imaginable form of entertainment, we experience a pervading sense of insecurity, emptiness, and malaise amid sporadic peak experiences. The problem seems to lie less in the external environment than in the internal one. We seem, in the words of Viktor Frankl, to be suffering from an absence of meaning that pervades both individuals and societies, giving rise to a collective emptiness, loneliness, and alienation. Finding True Happiness attempts to provide a way out of this personal and cultural vacuum by helping people to identify and then reach for happiness. As Aristotle noted 2,400 years ago, happiness is the one thing we can choose for its own sake everything else is chosen for the sake of happiness. After an exhaustive investigation of philosophical, psychological, and theological systems of happiness, author Fr. Spitzer developed the ಜFour Levels of Happinessಝ, which he based on the classical thinkers Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, and Aquinas; the contemporary philosophers Marcel, Scheler, Buber, Ricoeur, and Jaspers; and the modern psychologists Maslow, Frankl, Erikson, Seligman, Kohlberg and Gilligan. Finding True Happiness is both a philosophical itinerary and a practical guidebook for lifeಙs most important journey from the mundane and the meaningless to transcendent fulfillment. No other book currently available combines such breadth of practical advice and such depth of philosophical, psychological, and spiritual wisdom.

Accessible to anyone of any faith or background, The Passion Test takes readers on a journey to experience the transformation that occurs when they determine what really matters most to them. Through interactive sections, the book helps the reader to identify their top 5 passions, and provides guidance on how to align their life with those passions. Combining powerful storytelling and profound wisdom from the world's leading experts in self-development, The Passion Testshows practical ways how the law of attraction can be used to bring a life of unlimited reward and unconditional love.

The key to happiness is being rich, successful, and beautiful…right? Martin Thielen, best-selling author of What's the Least I Can Believe and Still Be a Christian?, insists that this is far from the truth. Happiness, Thielen argues, does not come from external factors like getting a job promotion or finally reaching your goal weight. Rather, happiness is an inside job. In brief, easy-to-read chapters, Thielen offers ten traits of happy and fulfilled people. Using psychological research, personal anecdotes, and Scripture, Thielen begins the path to contentment by showing how life circumstances—including income, health, physical appearance, and marital status—only account for about 10 percent of a person's overall life satisfaction. From there, he offers alternatives to the frequent methods we use to make ourselves happy. Instead of aiming to make more money, Thielen contends that expressing gratitude and cultivating optimism are surer paths to joy. Rather than focusing on constant advancement in our careers, let's practice our ability to forgive, to be generous, and to use trials as growth opportunities. These lessons, and much more, help readers who may be dissatisfied in their lives see that authentic contentment is closer than they ever imagined. The book features a guide for group or individual study, which includes questions for reflection and a challenge for each individual to reflect on during the week.

Abbot Christopher Jamison from hit TV series THE MONASTERY, turns his attention to the eternal questions of how to be happy, and why we believe it is so important. Why is 'being happy' such an imperative nowadays? What meaning do people give happiness? In this book Abbot Christopher turns to monastic wisdom to offer answers, and to explain that in essence, happiness is a gift, not an achievement, the fruit of giving and receiving blessings. Following the same accessible and engaging format of FINDING SANCTUARY, Abbot Christopher takes different aspects of happiness, examines them, tells us what monastic wisdom has to say about them, and offers us steps towards our own journey to finding happiness.

Take a daily step toward joy and contentment and ditch stress, overwhelming thoughts, and boredom with encouraging and biblical messages from Alli Worthington. You do your best to live life well—you work hard to be present in the moment, take care of the people in your life, knock it out of the park at work and home. And yet, somehow, you still have days (perhaps more than you'd like to admit) where you're simultaneously stressed and bored, and you wonder if you even know how to be happy. Is happiness a worthy goal? Does happiness matter to God, or does He only care about holier things? Alli Worthington gets it. As a wife, mother of five boys, author, speaker, and entrepreneur, she knows a thing or two about being busy, stressed, and happy in the midst of a crazy world! Over the years, she's seen how happiness gets a bad rap in Christian circles, and now she is standing up to shout the good news from the roof (or the internet, as the case may be): You are allowed to be happy! Yes, you! You can be happy right now! Join Alli for The Year of Living Happy: Finding Contentment and Connection in a Crazy World, and find the roots of your happiest life yet. Each of the 100 short and inspirational entries includes a thoughtful message from Alli, based on God’s Word practical ways to make your life happier day by day a journaling section This gorgeous book is an empowering gift for yourself or any woman you love. It can be used as a daily devotional or as a guided journal. Be part of this exciting message: Happiness and holiness can coexist for a beautiful life. Don’t miss the great big adventure God has for you. Let this be The Year of Living Happy!

Bring the profound benefits of meditation into the workplace And discover how to improve all the positives of working life—such as accomplishment, creativity, teamwork—and mitigate the negatives, including stress, exhaustion, and the feeling of being overwhelmed and underappreciated. Created by Sharon Salzberg, one of the foremost meditation teachers in the world, here is expert, easy-to-use guidance for cultivating mindfulness, compassion, and awareness at work. Follow her suggestions and discover how to be committed without being consumed; competitive without being cruel; and how to manage time and emotions to counterbalance stress and frustration. Includes specific meditations designed for workplace issues, "steal meditations that take moments to do and are invisible to office mates, and dozens of exercises, plus helpful Q&As. Includes free downloadable guided meditations.