Personal growth

A Tibetan Buddhist master shows us how to go beyond mindfulness to journey deep into ultimate happiness and transform every area of our lives. The true nature of our mind is brilliant, clear, and joyful. But we don’t experience this reality amid the swirl of stresses, thoughts, and emotions of day-to-day life. Our Pristine Mind is a practical guide to uncovering our naturally comfortable state of mind and reconnecting with the unconditional happiness that is already within us. Using straightforward, accessible language, Orgyen Chowang Rinpoche leads us through the path of Pristine Mind meditation, a practice from the profound teachings known as Dzogchen. This book presents the entire journey of meditation, from the very beginning all the way to the complete happiness of enlightenment. It is a realistic, natural process that can be practiced and experienced by anyone.

A bold look at how commercial agendas distort the real science behind health and fitness studies and misinform the public about how to live a healthy life Researcher Timothy Caulfield talks with experts in medicine, pharmaceuticals, health and fitness, and even tries out many of the health fads himself, in order to test their scientific validity, dispel the myths, and illuminate the path to better health.

Instant New York Times and USA Today Bestseller Joy is the root of happiness. Joy is a sustainable state that fuels our creativity and inspiration for innovation.  It strengthens our ability to attract friends and to get along with people.  Learning to cultivate joy is the fundamental secret to success. In this long-awaited follow-up to the New York Times bestselling Search Inside Yourself, Chade-Meng Tan shows us how anyone, no matter where they are, can access this source of happiness.

Don’t worry, be happy….find out how! What is happiness? And how can we achieve it? The Rough Guide to Happiness is the ultimate ‘how to be happy’ handbook. Discover how to effectively improve your work/life balance, increase self-esteem, and nourish your mind and body while nurturing relationships with the ones you love. The Rough Guide to Happiness will help you navigate your way through all parts of modern day life, offering a practical and effective range of happiness-building techniques. Rely on realistic suggestions from Dr Nick Baylis, a practising therapist and former Dr Feelgood for The Times Saturday Magazine, who has worked with everyone from young offenders to stressed airline pilots! Are some people genetically predisposed to be happier than others? Can money or technology make us happy? The Rough Guide to Happiness explores all these questions and more, going beyond facile tips to offer a deeper understanding of what happiness is with easy solutions for you to implement in your daily life. Drawing on the best ideas from every field, from Hypnosis and Energy Therapy to Positive Psychology and Buddhism, The Rough Guide to Happiness provides a wealth of inspiring insights on how to relieve stress and achieve lasting contentment. Make the Most of Your Time on Earth with The Rough Guide to Happiness.

In this unique blend of self-help and moral philosophy, perfect for fans of Gretchen Rubin’s The Happiness Project or Dan Harris’ 10% Happier, talk-radio host Dennis Prager shows us that happiness isn’t just a value—it’s a moral obligation. When you ask people about their most cherished values, “happiness” is always at the top of the list. In this enduring happiness manifesto, Prager examines how happiness not only makes us better people, but has an effect on the lives of everyone around us—providing them with a positive environment in which to thrive and be happy themselves. Achieving that happiness won't be easy, though: to Prager, it requires a continuing process of counting your blessings and giving up any expectations that life is supposed to be wonderful. "Can we decide to be satisfied with what we have?" he asks. "A poor man who can make himself satisfied with his portion will be happier than a wealthy man who does not allow himself to be satisfied." Prager echoes other political commentators in complaining that too many people today see themselves as victims; he submits that the only way to achieve your desires is to take responsibility for your life rather than blaming others. If you're willing to put some thought into achieving a happier outlook, you will find plenty to mull over in Happiness Is a Serious Problem.

A comic and heartwarming memoir about childhood's second act from Real Simple journalist Catherine Newman. Much is written about a child's infancy and toddler years, which is good since children will never remember it themselves. It is ages 4-14 that make up the second act, as Catherine Newman puts it in this delightfully candid, outlandishly funny new memoir about the years that "your children will remember as childhood." Following Newman's son and daughter as they blossom from preschoolers into teenagers, CATASTROPHIC HAPPINESS is about the bittersweet joy of raising children--and the ever-evolving landscape of issues parents traverse. In a laugh out-loud, heart-wrenching, relatable voice, Newman narrates events as momentous as grief and as quietly moving as the moonlit face of a sleeping child. From tantrums and friendship to fear and even sex, Newman's fresh take will appeal to any parent riding this same roller coaster of laughter and heartbreak.

We all want to be happy but what is happiness? Haim Shapira navigates the terrain of happiness, exploring and contemplating an eclectic range of theories and insights into the conflicts we face on our journey to creating our own happiness.

Life at work can be compared to a theatre where human emotions of elation, grief, happiness, winning, losing, etc., are at play. In this setting, a few lose their nerve and careers while others thrive. Success at work is not just achieved with educational qualifications, emotional intelligence is also an equal factor. Written in an anecdotal style with real-life examples, Neeta Mohla shares the script for succeeding at work. The book’s practical approach is based on the author’s rich experience of working with business leaders and senior executives, including the C-suite of leading organizations. Unique features of the book: • Explains EI at the workplace through real-life cases and examples, rather than focusing on the concept. • Explores the application of EI specifically in the Indian context • Engaging, conversational read with drama as the central theme • Pull-out boxes, quotes and research

On the Happiness of the Philosophic Life presents Heinrich Meier’s confrontation with Rousseau’s Rêveries, the philosopher’s most beautiful and daring work, as well as his last and least understood. Bringing to bear more than thirty years of study of Rousseau, Meier unfolds his stunningly original interpretation in two parts. The first part of On the Happiness of the Philosophic Life approaches the Rêveries not as another autobiographical text in the tradition of the Confessions and the Dialogues, but as a reflection on the philosophic life and the distinctive happiness it provides. The second turns to a detailed analysis of a work referred to in the Rêveries, the “Profession of Faith of the Savoyard Vicar,” which triggered Rousseau’s political persecution when it was originally published as part of Émile. In his examination of this most controversial of Rousseau’s writings, which aims to lay the foundations for a successful nonphilosophic life, Meier brings to light the differences between natural religion as expressed by the Vicar and Rousseau’s natural theology. Together, the two reciprocally illuminating parts of this study provide an indispensable guide to Rousseau and to the understanding of the nature of the philosophic life. “[A] dense but precise and enthralling analysis.”—New Yorker

In Philosophy as Frustration: Happiness Found and Feigned from Greek Antiquity to Present Bruce Silver argues that traditional philosophical views of happiness, as well as recent psychological theories of happiness, are at odds with themselves and with important accounts of a truly happy life.

We all want to be happy, and there are plenty of people telling us how it can be achieved. The positive psychology movement, indeed, has established happiness as a scientific concept within everyone’s grasp. But is happiness really something we can actively aim for, or is it simply a by-product of how we live our lives more widely? Dr. Mick Power, Professor of Clinical Psychology and Director of Clinical Programmes at the National University of Singapore, provides a critical assessment of what happiness really means, and the evidence for how it can be increased. Arguing that negative emotions are as important to overall well-being as the sunnier sides of our disposition, the book examines many of the claims of the positive psychology movement, including the relationship between happiness and physical health, and argues that resilience, adaptability in the face of adversity, psychological flexibility, and a sense of generativity and creativity are far more achievable as life goals. This is a book which will fascinate anyone interested in positive psychology, or anyone who has ever questioned the plethora of publications suggesting that blissful happiness is ten easy steps away.

Just because you’re busy and distracted doesn’t mean that you have to miss out on life. If we all get even a little better at being mindful, we benefit in crucial ways. Now, the editors of TIME bring you a new special edition – Mindfulness: The New Science of Health and Happiness that teaches you how to be mindful (and exactly what that means). In short – mindfulness is about putting down our juggling balls for a little bit and embracing the beauty of monotasking. The health benefits of mindfulness are tangible: the American Psychological Association cites it as a hopeful strategy for alleviating depression, anxiety and pain and the more you practice it, the greater its benefits can become. In Mindfulness, you’ll learn quick tips for achieving serenity now as well as breathing lessons, tips for achieving better sleep, and how powering down and stepping away from your electronic devices is good for you. Additionally, you’ll find tips on meditation, how gratitude can shift your perspective and how to live life with intent.

In a world obsessed by happiness, this is the first book to look thoroughly at what happiness is and how it works. Bringing together the latest insights from psychiatry, psychology, and philosophy, Daniel Nettle sheds brilliant light on this most basic of human desires. Nettle examines whether people are basically happy or unhappy, whether success can make us happy, what sort of remedies to unhappiness work, why some people are happier than others, and much more. The book is packed with fascinating observations. We discover the evolutionary reason why negative thoughts are more powerful than positive ones. We read that happiness varies from country to country--the Swiss are much more happy than Bulgarians. And we learn that, in a poll among people aged 42 years old (peak mid-life crisis time) more than half rated their happiness an 8, 9, or 10 out of 10, and 90% rated it above 5. (Like the children of Lake Wobegon, Nettle quips, pretty much everyone is above average in happiness.) Nettle, a psychologist, is particularly insightful in discussing the brain systems underlying emotions and moods, ranging from serotonin, "the happiness chemical"; to mood enhancing drugs such as D-fenfluramine, which reduces negative thinking in less than an hour; to the part of the brain that, when electrically stimulated, provides feeling of benevolent calm and even euphoria. In the end, Nettle suggests that we would all probably be happier by trading income or material goods for time with people or hobbies. But most people do not do so. Happiness offers a remarkable portrait of the feeling that poets, politicians, and philosophers all agree truly makes the world go round.

Imagine for a moment that you are living as your “true” and most authentic self.Imagine that from this place all things are possible.Imagine that you are living in a state of happiness, peace, and fulfillment and that you have become an observer of all that life has to offer. Imagine that you have found your “purpose” in life and that you are living each day inspired and excited to bring about a difference in the lives of those people that you love and maybe even the world itself. Imagine that you have created a roadmap for your life and that you have a profound sense of where you are going and how you are going to get there. Imagine that you have broken free from the bonds of your past experiences and that each “lesson” has been the fire that has forged the steel of who you are today. Imagine that all fear, shame, doubt, and guilt has been erased and that the “light” of your being has remained intact and still lives within you in all of its glory. What you have just imagined can become a reality. I know that it can because I have done it myself. THE AUTHENTIC MAN will give you the tools that you need to transform yourself into the person that I just described above.

Your self, aware presence, knows no resistance to any appearance and, as such, is happiness itself; like the empty space of a room it cannot be disturbed and is, therefore, peace itself; like this page, it is intimately one with whatever appears on it and is thus love itself; and like water that is not affected by the shape of a wave, it is pure freedom. Causeless joy, imperturbable peace, love that knows no opposite and freedom at the heart of all experience....this is your ever-present nature under all circumstances. Rupert Spira Presence is a profound and luminous book with great power and is obviously the fruit of many years of contemplation. These two volumes together are a relentless and utterly thorough examination of the nature of experience, exploring every square centimeter of the territory with absolute excellence and ruthlessly precise analysis. Their astuteness and clarity will be extremely exciting to those readers who are ready for the next steps in lifting the veil of separation and I suspect it will become a spiritual classic that readers will savour slowly and return to again and again. Victoria Ritchie Former Manager of Watkins Bookshop and Editor for Eckhart Tolle

"The Egoscue Method-my life's work-delivers results because it rests on trust that stems from how the patient really feels. Those feelings are always right.” Pete Egoscue takes his world-renowned program of postural therapy--which treats chronic musculoskeletal pain without drugs, surgery, or manipulation--to a whole new level. Using Eastern religions as a guide, he explores the mental and emotional, as well as physiological, processes of his Method. Egoscue's unique system has transformed the well being of hundreds of thousands of people through personalized stretches and exercises that strengthen specific muscles, restore proper alignment, and leave the body feeling the way it was designed to be: pain free.

We live in an age where working in science or engineering offers tremendous professional opportunities - the pace of scientific development is truly breathtaking. Yet many researchers struggle with the pressures of the fast-paced academic workplace, and struggle to harmonize their work and personal lives. The result can be burnout, exhaustion, and stress on a personal level, and difficulty in recruiting and retaining talented, diverse people to science and engineering. This book, written for graduate students and researchers at all stages of their careers, aims to help scientists by identifying and questioning the core beliefs that drive a culture of overwork, and provides real-world examples and exercises for those wishing to do things differently. Written in a lively narrative style, and including interview excerpts from practicing scientists, social scientists, and engineers, this book serves as a guide for those seeking to practice the seven traits of the joyful scientist.

By the yoga instructor who inspires more than one million followers on Instagram every day. Part self-help and part memoir, Yoga Girl is an inspirational look at the adventure that took writer and yoga teacher Rachel Brathen from her hometown in Sweden to the jungles of Costa Rica and finally to a paradise island in the Caribbean that she now calls home. With more than one million followers on Instagram, Brathen shares pieces of her life with the world every day. In Yoga Girl, she gives readers an in-depth look at her journey from her self-destructive teenage years to the happy and inspiring life she's built through yoga and meditation. Featuring spectacular photos of Rachel practising yoga in amazing locations, along with step-by-step yoga sequences and simple recipes for a healthy, happy, and fearless lifestyle, Yoga Girl is all you need to inspire your own yoga journey. By the yoga instructor who inspires more than one million followers on Instagram every day. Part self-help and part memoir, Yoga Girl is an inspirational look at the adventure that took writer and yoga teacher Rachel Brathen from her hometown in Sweden to the jungles of Costa Rica and finally to a paradise island in the Caribbean that she now calls home. With more than one million followers on Instagram, Brathen shares pieces of her life with the world every day. In Yoga Girl, she gives readers an in-depth look at her journey from her self-destructive teenage years to the happy and inspiring life she's built through yoga and meditation. Featuring spectacular photos of Rachel practising yoga in amazing locations, along with step-by-step yoga sequences and simple recipes for a healthy, happy, and fearless lifestyle, Yoga Girl is all you need to inspire your own yoga journey.

A colorful history of utilitarianism told through the lives and ideas of Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill, and its other founders In The Happiness Philosophers, Bart Schultz tells the colorful story of the lives and legacies of the founders of utilitarianism―one of the most influential yet misunderstood and maligned philosophies of the past two centuries.

Would YOU like to discover your own true happiness? Right now, you spend 24 hours a day searching for happiness. It's the single motive behind absolutely every action you take. But are you experiencing enough genuine happiness in your daily life? If not, you need to take action. This book is a mini-course in mega-happiness. It unveils 18 simple secrets that you can use to begin enjoying profound happiness and freedom in your life. From simple shifts in attitude to powerful mind-body "hacks", this guide will show you how to easily tap into the sunshine that already exists within you - and, quite simply, become the happiest person you know.