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Considering the striking similarities between the treatment of the dead and conceptions of the netherworld in ancient Egypt and China, how can we compare the two traditions?Mu-chou Poo considers this question, and provides a new perspective on archaeological materials, including tomb structures and funerary texts, by addressing them in the context of universal human problems such as death, the future of the dead, and the search for happiness in life.Poo chronologically reconstructs the emergence of the idea of the netherworld and its evolution in both ancient Egypt and ancient China. He explores the relationship between religious beliefs and social ethics in these civilizations, considers why similar social and material conditions could have produced varied expressions of the afterlife, and what such variations reveal about each culture.Poo argues that a comparison between both visions of the netherworld and their relationship to life experience gives further insight into the nature of each civilization. Through this analysis, Poo shows that thematic comparison of ancient civilizations is not only possible, but also relevant to modern society.

Most books on happiness are concerned with answering, in their diverse ways, a basic question: how should I live? Such books assume, however, that the path to happiness lies entirely within one's control. Happiness is simply a matter of doing certain things and refraining from doing certain other things. This book, however, takes a different view. It is that happiness is not always within our control but, instead, prey to the attitudes and actions of others. Following Jean-Paul Sartre's aphorism, “hell is other people”, the broad theme of this book is that “unhappiness is other people”.In the language of economics, “other” people, through their attitudes and actions, create externalities – often negative - which serve to make “us” unhappy. The instruments for creating such externalities are intolerance and feelings of envy/superiority. This book expands on this theme in respect of three areas: religion, money, and prejudice. It is fair to say the existing (un)happiness literature, particularly in economics, does not take many of these externalities into account. Instead, the focus is, firstly, on identifying the factors, internal to oneself, that contribute to personal happiness and, secondly, on measuring the relative strength of their contribution. By contrast, an analysis of the externalities that people impose upon others lies at the heart of this book.Economics, Religion and Happiness will primarily appeal to students, academics and researchers across economics, psychology, philosophy, and sociology, and will also find an audience among those interested in exploring issues related to happiness in greater depth.

Women were made to give life—and they can do that right in their own homes. Hygge [HYOO-guh] has become a cultural buzzword. When many read about this Danish practice, their shoulders lift in excitement, then fall in exhale. In a culture of rush, hygge appeals to their desire for rest—for slow living, shared moments, and fostered friendships. Hygge has strong ties to beauty, contentment, and well-being. It's warm and inviting. Hygge is the opposite of hustle. It eschews abundance. It savors. It takes things slow and envelopes you in sanctuary. Hygge is home. When you sit in a comfy chair by the fire, that's hygge. When you arrange a fresh bouquet of wildflowers on a bedside table, that's hygge too. Candles, soft furnishings, natural light, fresh-baked pastries, intimate gatherings with friends—these are what come to mind when you think of hygge. But hygge can be so much more. In Holy Hygge, author Jamie Erickson unites the popular Danish practice with the deep, theological truths of the gospel. She unpacks the seven tenets of hygge: hospitality, relationships, well-being, atmosphere, comfort, contentment, and rest. In addition, Erickson shows how the external veneer of a lifestyle can create a life-giving home only when placed under the hope of the gospel. Holy Hygge provides practical ideas for using hygge to gather people and introduce them to faith in Christ. Each chapter concludes with discussion questions, Scripture references, and a prayer.

How may we find happiness and peace?In this book, Rupert Spira distills the message of all the great religious and spiritual traditions into two essential truths: happiness is the very nature of our self or being, and we share our being with everyone and everything.Drawing on numerous examples from his own experience, Spira demonstrates that to seek lasting happiness through objects, situations and relationships is destined for failure and disappointment, and skillfully guides the reader to recognize that we are already the happiness we seek.This book is for anyone who yearns for lasting happiness and is open to the possibility that it is continuously available within ourselves, irrespective of our circumstances.Could there be any greater discovery in life than to know that we are already that for which we long?

Uma receita pode ser um guia para confecionar um determinado prato, às vezes também achamos que vai chegar um determinado momento para sermos felizes e vamos deixando passar as oportunidades que a vida nos apresenta porque acreditamos que para sermos felizes deve acontecer algo extremamente extraordinário neste mundo ou fora dele. Se estiveres à espera que esse momento chegue, estarás a perder tempo para ser feliz, porque a felicidade está em qualquer momento, basta para isso vermos o lado positivo das coisas. Embora seja verdade que existem circunstâncias nas quais podemos sentir que somos felizes, por exemplo, um namoro, um triunfo académico ou profissional, além dos momentos em que nos permitirmos ser felizes. Com o simples facto de ver a beleza dos momentos, de aceitar que temos uma vida e que todas as manhãs acordamos, isso deve bastar para nos sentirmos felizes.

Sukhmani (The Pearl of Happiness) is a popular Sikh text by Guru Arjan, which inculcates the Sikh religious ethos and philosophical perspective on wellbeing and happiness. The book features a new translation of this celebrated Sikh text and provides the first in-depth analysis of it. The Sikh View on Happiness begins with an overview of the nature of suffering and the attainment of happiness in Indian religions. This provides the foundation for the examination of the historical, social, and religious context of the Sukhmani and its contribution to the development of the Sikh tradition. In addition to exploring the spiritual teachings of the Sukhmani, Nayar and Sandhu draw upon the Sikh understanding of the mind, illness, and wellbeing to both introduce key Sikh psychological concepts and illustrate the practical application of traditional healing practices in the contemporary context. In doing so, they highlight the overlap of the teachings in the Sukhmani with concepts and themes found in Western psychotherapy, such as mindfulness, meaningful living, and resilience.

‘Regimes of Happiness'is a comparative and historical analysis of how human societies have articulated and enacted distinctive notions of human fulfillment, determining divergent moral, ethical and religious traditions and incommensurate and conflicting understanding of the meaning of the ‘good life'. Presented in two parts, ‘Regimes of Happiness'provides a historical view of the way in which Western societies, the descendants of the Latin Roman Empire, created languages and institutions that established specific and occasionally antithetical conceptions of a fulfilled human life or'happiness'in the first part. The second part explores how non-Western societies and non-Christian religions have conceived and established their own ideals of human perfection. ‘Regimes of Happiness'is a critical reflection on modern notions of happiness which are typically focused on individual feelings of pleasure.

Economists and theologians usually inhabit different intellectual worlds. Economists investigate the workings of markets and tend to set ethical questions aside. Theologians, anxious to take up concerns raised by market outcomes, often dismiss economics and lose insights into the influence of market incentives on individual behavior. Mary L. Hirschfeld, who was a professor of economics for fifteen years before training as a theologian, seeks to bridge these two fields in this innovative work about economics and the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas.According to Hirschfeld, an economics rooted in Thomistic thought integrates many of the insights of economists with a larger view of the good life, and gives us critical purchase on the ethical shortcomings of modern capitalism. In a Thomistic approach, she writes, ethics and economics cannot be reconciled if we begin with narrow questions about fair wages or the acceptability of usury. Rather, we must begin with an understanding of how economic life serves human happiness. The key point is that material wealth is an instrumental good, valuable only to the extent that it allows people to flourish. Hirschfeld uses that insight to develop an account of a genuinely humane economy in which pragmatic and material concerns matter but the pursuit of wealth for its own sake is not the ultimate goal.The Thomistic economics that Hirschfeld outlines is thus capable of dealing with our culture as it is, while still offering direction about how we might make the economy better serve the human good.

¡ELIMINA EL MIEDO, ENCUENTRA EL AMOR!Inspirador, vivaz y entretenido, el método práctico de vivir nuestra vida diaria de acuerdo a los principios de Un Curso de Milagros que nos muestra María Felipe te guiará hacia una vida libre de miedo y duda, y llena de alegría y poder. En nueve capítulos claros y accesibles, María te enseña a eliminar la “voz loca” del ego y conectar con tu maestro interno, así encontrando amor y fuerza ilimitados. Sus anécdotas, compartidas de su propia vida o la de sus estudiantes, demuestran que, con una gran dosis de buena voluntad y un corazón abierto, la felicidad no sólo es posible – ¡es inevitable!Description in English:Banish Fear, Encounter Love!Inspired, lively, and fun, Maria Felipe's real-world approach to living based on A Course in Miracles will guide you toward a life released from fear and doubt and filled with joy and power. In nine crystal-clear chapters, Maria shows you how to banish the “cuckoo voice of the ego” and connect with your internal teacher, accessing unlimited love and strength. Her stories, shared from her own life and from her students'experiences, demonstrate that with a willing attitude and an open heart, true happiness isn't just possible — it's inevitable!

Comment des religieux épris de spiritualité, soucieux de s'élever vers le ciel, peuvent-ils chuter dans un intégrisme massacreur? Dans cet essai l'auteur analyse les rouages théologiques de cette chute qu'il dénomme « l'escalier du malheur », le massacreur tirant alors sa puissance de la confusion entre la foi et le politique, l'Eglise et l'Etat. En se fondant sur une analyse serrée de la Torah, écrite et orale, des Évangiles et enfin du Coran, l'auteur examine comment les trois religions se sont inscrites (ou pas) dans cet escalier du malheur. Existe-t-il des antidotes face à ce danger?

Banish Fear, Encounter Love!Inspired, lively, and fun, Maria Felipe's real-world approach to living based on A Course in Miracles will guide you toward a life released from fear and doubt and filled with joy and power. In nine crystal-clear chapters, Maria shows you how to banish the “cuckoo voice of the ego” and connect with your internal teacher, accessing unlimited love and strength. Her stories, shared from her own life and from her students'experiences, demonstrate that with a willing attitude and an open heart, true happiness isn't just possible — it's inevitable!

'Das Glück ist wie ein Ball, dem man nachläuft, gerade wenn man ihn aufheben will, stößt man ihn mit dem Fuß unwillkürlich wieder an., um weiter hinterherlaufen zu können! Durch diesen Lauf fühlt man sich angespornt; gerade in dieser Suche, diesem inneren Schwung, das Ziel zu erreichen, findet man in Wirklichkeit das Glück.Ist das Erwünschte einmal erlangt, so fühlt man sich zuerst glücklich, aber gleich danach spürt man eine Leere, dann muss man etwas anderes suchen, und man ist trotzdem nie befriedigt. Was soll man also tun? Sucht nach dem, was am entferntesten und am unerreichbarsten erscheint, nämlich Vollkommenheit, Unendlichkeit, Ewigkeit. Alles Übrige - Erkenntnis, Reichtum, Macht, Liebe - werdet ihr auf dem Weg dahin finden. Ja, ihr werdet alles erhalten, sogar ohne darum zu bitten.'Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov

What does it mean to be truly happy? In Philosophies of Happiness, Diana Lobel provides a rich spectrum of arguments for a theory of happiness as flourishing or well-being, offering a global, cross-cultural, and interdisciplinary perspective on how to create a vital, fulfilling, and significant life. Drawing upon perspectives from a broad range of philosophical traditions—Eastern and Western, ancient and contemporary—the book suggests that just as physical health is the well-being of the body, happiness is the healthy and flourishing condition of the whole human being, and we experience the most complete happiness when we realize our potential through creative engagement.Lobel shows that while thick descriptions of happiness differ widely in texture and detail, certain themes resonate across texts from different traditions and historical contexts, suggesting core features of a happy life: attentive awareness; effortless action; relationship and connection to a larger, interconnected community; love or devotion; and creative engagement. Each feature adds meaning, significance, and value, so that we can craft lives of worth and purpose. These themes emerge from careful study of philosophical and religious texts and traditions: the Greek philosophers Aristotle and Epicurus; the Chinese traditions of Confucius, Laozi, and Zhuangzi; the Hindu Bhagavad Gītā; the Japanese Buddhist tradition of Soto Zen master Dōgen and his modern expositor Shunryu Suzuki; the Western religious traditions of Augustine and Maimonides; the Persian Sufi tale Conference of the Birds; and contemporary research on mindfulness and creativity. Written in a clear, accessible style, Philosophies of Happiness invites readers of all backgrounds to explore and engage with religious and philosophical conceptions of what makes life meaningful.Visit https://cup.columbia.edu/extras/supplement/philosophies-of-happiness for additional appendixes and supplemental notes.

Comment profiter d'une vie plus saine et plus équilibrée Bien que les Etapes soient simples, les personnes qui les travaillent sont infiniment compliquées. Dans cette édition enrichie de son classique, Joe Klaas décortique le langage de chaque Etape, nous expliquant les résistances que nous pouvons opposer et les erreurs que nous pouvons commettre. Chaque chapitre contient une idée explosive qui nous invite à explorer pour nous-même la véritable signification de l'Etape et à réfléchir aux conséquences qu'elle aura sur nos vies. Un guide utile pour quiconque est en voie de recouvrance dans un mouvement anonyme. Les Douzes Etapes vers le bonheur peuvent nous aider à trouver les outils pour travailler nos programmes. Et pour ceux et celles qui aspirent seulement à une vie plus saine, dans un monde de plus en plus chaotique, ce livre des Douzes Etapes les conduira à un meilleur mode de vie. « Le but de ce livre est de vous aider à éviter les pièges qui vous feront perdre du temps, pièges sur lesquels j'ai trébuché alors que j'avançais, d'un pas hésitant mais régulier, vers une vie encore plus merveilleuse que je ne pouvais l'imaginer. » - Joe Klaas

Everybody wants to be happy. Everybody is on a happiness quest. For many, happiness is measured in moments. Experiences. It's elusive. Unsustainable. What about you? What makes you happy? Something comes to mind for each of us.In this six-session video Bible study, pastor Andy Stanley examines the ways in which we tend to define happiness and explains how that definition influences the way we pursue it. He reveals that happiness is about who, not what, and that happy people are at peace with God, with others, and with themselves. He also shows how sin undermines peace because it separates us from God, others, and ourselves by substituting pleasure for fulfillment, things for people, images for intimacy, and self-expression for self-control.We are often tempted to believe that happiness comes from acquiring things, but happiness is actually an outcome of what we sow in our lives. We can't acquire, consume, or exercise our way to happiness, but we may be able to serve and volunteer our way there. In the end, we find that if we live as if it's all about us, we will never be happy.Sessions include:NothingPlan for ItPeace with GodHappy MoneyShoesYou're Not EnoughDesigned for use with the What Makes You Happy DVD (sold separately).

An instant New York Times bestseller. Over 1 million copies sold!Two spiritual giants. Five days. One timeless question. Nobel Peace Prize Laureates His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu have survived more than fifty years of exile and the soul-crushing violence of oppression. Despite their hardships—or, as they would say, because of them—they are two of the most joyful people on the planet.In April 2015, Archbishop Tutu traveled to the Dalai Lama's home in Dharamsala, India, to celebrate His Holiness's eightieth birthday and to create what they hoped would be a gift for others. They looked back on their long lives to answer a single burning question: How do we find joy in the face of life's inevitable suffering?They traded intimate stories, teased each other continually, and shared their spiritual practices. By the end of a week filled with laughter and punctuated with tears, these two global heroes had stared into the abyss and despair of our time and revealed how to live a life brimming with joy.This book offers us a rare opportunity to experience their astonishing and unprecedented week together, from the first embrace to the final good-bye.We get to listen as they explore the Nature of True Joy and confront each of the Obstacles of Joy—from fear, stress, and anger to grief, illness, and death. They then offer us the Eight Pillars of Joy, which provide the foundation for lasting happiness. Throughout, they include stories, wisdom, and science. Finally, they share their daily Joy Practices that anchor their own emotional and spiritual lives.The Archbishop has never claimed sainthood, and the Dalai Lama considers himself a simple monk. In this unique collaboration, they offer us the reflection of real lives filled with pain and turmoil in the midst of which they have been able to discover a level of peace, of courage, and of joy to which we can all aspire in our own lives.

Although it may require a lifetime of study to grasp, the bestselling A Course in Miracles has inspired millions. Perhaps its most essential lesson is 101: the belief that there is no sin and that Gods will for us is perfect happiness. Longtime teacher Jon Mundy digs deeply into this concept, providing an insightful and clear path through one of the manuals most meaningful and complex lessons.

Rather than wield religion as a weapon or a ruse in irrational appeals, the book attempts to reimagine a shared American mythos and ethos, by reminding us of our shared stake in creating an America committed to the life of all peoples and species and to the full developments of our capabilities as an exercise of liberty.

During our lives, many of us realise we are not as happy as we could be. The hectic pace of life today can leave us unfulfilled and listless. Help is at hand, however! This easy-to-digest book gives you ten simple steps to increase your feeling of happiness and contentment, and is suitable for both men and women, young and old, from all walks of life. Each step explains why it will have a positive effect on you, and gives you a simple exercise to try. If you have ever felt that you are not enjoying life to its full potential, this is the perfect guide for you!

Happiness, Pleasure, Joy, Bliss are addressed here by Osho and we learn the different levels of development:'Let us start from the lowest because that will be easier to understand, that s where man biologically is born. Pleasure is physical...'Ordinarily, in the dictionaries you will find bliss defined as happiness, pleasure, joy. Linguistically they all appear to have a similar meaning; existentially it is not so. And you will have to understand the subtle nuances and differences; only then you may be able to catch some hold of the phenomenon called bliss.

Well-Being and Theism is divided into two distinctive parts. The first part argues that desire-fulfillment welfare theories fail to capture the'good'part of'good for', and that objective list welfare theories fail to capture the'for'part of'good for'. Then, with the aim of capturing both of these parts of'good for', a conjunctive theory-one which places both a value constraint and a desire constraint on well-being-is advanced. Lauinger then defends this proposition, which he calls the desire-perfectionism theory, against possible objections. In the second part, Lauinger explores the question'What metaphysics best supports the claim that the vast majority of humans have the desires for friendship, accomplishment, health, etc., built into themselves?'It is argued that there are two general metaphysical routes that might convincingly be taken here, and that each one leads us toward theism.

Everyone longs to be happy, yet many wrongly believe that happiness comes from having enough money, fame, personal comfort, worldly success, or even dumb luck. Happiness all too often seems to be an elusive, arbitrary thing -- something that is always just out of reach.Joan Chittister sees happiness differently -- as a personal quality to be learned, mastered, and fearlessly wielded. In Happiness she embarks on a'great happiness dig'through sociology, biology, neurology, psychology, philosophy, history, and world religions to develop'an archaeology of happiness.'Sifting through the wisdom of the ages, Chittister offers inspiring insights that will help seekers everywhere cultivate true and lasting happiness within.

Being happy depends on becoming a complete person— spirituality is the path that leads you to wholeness. “To become complete human beings, to find happiness, we need to develop our human spirits to the fullest. This is what it means to be spiritual: to be the best we can be; to exercise all the qualities and traits that are unique to humankind and that give us the identity as human beings. This spirituality is an integral component of being human, and we cannot have true and enduring happiness without it.” For many of us, the journey toward personal and spiritual fulfillment is fraught with unexplained feelings of emptiness in the struggle to reach what seems an elusive and murky goal. It doesn't have to be this way. Using simple, accessible language and clear examples, this wellspring of wisdom shows you that true happiness is attainable once you stop looking outside yourself for the source and realize that it can be found within you. You will identify the unique abilities that comprise your human spirit—such as gratitude, humility, compassion, and generosity—and explore how to use them in ways that will not only remove your feelings of incompleteness, but also allow you to experience happiness in an invigorating and spiritually refreshing way. Based on ancient wisdom and modern psychology, the thoughtful, heartfelt anecdotes and inspiring, easy-to-follow exercises will carry you beyond your present state of discontent and open for you an entirely new path toward becoming the best you you can possibly be.

Conversations on Non-Duality'is a fascinating compilation of life stories of ordinary people, from a rich variety of backgrounds, all of whom have been through extraordinary experiences leading to amazing new perceptions. This collection of life stories explores the means by which each individual went about achieving an end to their'suffering'. Some started with therapy, self-help workshops or books written by spiritual masters, whilst others travelled to exotic places and studied with gurus. Others leapt from the despair of addiction to drugs and alcohol to simply waking up unexpectedly to a new reality. In simple terms, Non-Duality means no separation. Although it appears that there are separate individuals and objects in our world, in reality there is only Oneness. The spiritual search is the search for Oneness, for completeness and for unity. When this realisation truly hits us, it can transform us and our lives.

Author Kerie Boshka gives you practical step-by-step guidance on how to open up your life to amazing possibilities. She shows you how to hear God for yourself, overcome grief, start over, fight negativity, strengthen relationships, heal from sorrow, put an end to daily struggles, and live a life of blessing and abundance. In spite of the disturbing circumstances that may be plaguing your life, you will not walk away from this book without gaining courage and hope as you face the future. Join Kerie as she reveals how our most tragic experiences can bring forth within us truth, wisdom, and growth if we allow them to.

A PDF version of this book is available for free in open access via www.tandfebooks.com as well as the OAPEN Library platform, www.oapen.org. It has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 3.0 license and is part of the OAPEN-UK research project.There is growing evidence that rising levels of prosperity in Western economies since 1945 have not been matched by greater incidences of reported well-being and happiness. Indeed, material affluence is often accompanied instead by greater social and individual distress. A growing literature within the humanities and social sciences is increasingly concerned to chart not only the underlying trends in recorded levels of happiness, but to consider what factors, if any, contribute to positive and sustainable experiences of well-being and quality of life. Increasingly, such research is focusing on the importance of values and beliefs in human satisfaction or quality of life; but the specific contribution of religion to these trends is relatively under-examined. This unique collection of essays seeks to rectify that omission, by identifying the nature and role of the religious contribution to wellbeing.A unique collection of nineteen leading scholars from the field of economics, psychology, public theology and social policy have been brought together in this volume to explore the religious contribution to the debate about happiness and well-being. These essays explore the religious dimensions to a number of key features of well-being, including marriage, crime and rehabilitation, work, inequality, mental health, environment, participation, institutional theory, business and trade. They engage particularly closely with current trends in economics in identifying alternative models of economic growth which focus on its qualitative as well as quantitative dimensions. This unique volume brings to public notice the nature and role of religion's contribution to wellbeing, including new ways of measurement and evaluation. As such, it represents a valuable and unprecedented resource for the development of a broad-based religious contribution to the field. It will be of particular relevance for those who are concerned about the continuing debate about personal and societal well-being, as well as those who are interested in the continuing significance of religion for the future of public policy.

Reveals the 10 essential principles that can serve as a compass for a spiritual life • Presents the foundational teachings of the Happy Science spiritual movement (more than 10 million members worldwide) • Offers revelations from past spiritual leaders, including Jesus, Buddha, and Moses • Includes information on the ancient continents of Mu and Atlantis and the structure of the spirit world In 1981 Ryuho Okawa began receiving revelations from the spirits of Nikko (1246-1333) and Nichirien (1222-1282), who had been outstanding Buddhist teachers during their lives. Soon he began receiving revelations from Buddha, Jesus Christ, Moses, and Confucius as well as spiritual messages from prominent figures such as Socrates, Isaac Newton, Abraham Lincoln, Mahatma Gandhi, Helen Keller, and Florence Nightingale. In 1985 he began publishing some of these revelations in Japan. A year later he established the spiritual movement Happy Science (Kofuku-no-Kagaku) to help people discover their true potential, to educate them to think and act in a spiritual way, and to help create an ideal world on Earth. The Science of Happiness presents Master Okawa's 10 essential principles that can serve as a compass for a spiritual life: Happiness, Love, the Mind, Enlightenment, Progress, Wisdom, Utopia, Salvation, Reflection, and Prayer. Master Okawa shows how following these principles can bring happiness and spiritual growth not only to ourselves but to all those around us. He provides the tools necessary to transform one's inner world to be receptive to true happiness and enlightenment--and to find one's true purpose in life. He also reveals other extraordinary spiritual truths, such as the secrets of the ancient continents of Mu and Atlantis and the structure of the spirit world.

After years of teaching metaphysical principles all over the world through her seminars, books, church, and international television ministry, Terry Cole-Whittaker realized that there was something extremely important missing from her teachings. Divine discontent led her on an amazing spiritual journey that eventually yielded all that had been missing plus the sacred wisdom whereby everyone can enjoy the benefits of ever-increasing bliss, prosperity, and love. Terry shares this most empowering knowledge, the knowledge of who we really are — perfect souls possessing godlike powers and qualities.

Living in a garage, so poor she could barely feed her dog, and rapidly hitting bottom, author Barb Rogers was desperate to just try anything. She combated and overcame her situation by prayer, choosing to be happy, and improving the flow of chi in her life. And the results were nothing short of dramatic. In these three books, part of the Just Try This series, Rogers shares the simple methods that helped her triumph over incredible adversity. These books are down-to-earth and easy to use. Readers can incorporate Rogers'wisdom and exercises into their lives every day, and they can experience the same dramatic improvements that she did. Simply Happy Every Day shares Barb Rogers'easy system for being happy. It's simple: we accept happiness by realizing what makes us happy and always opting for the road that brings happiness. Then readers learn how to take the second step into happiness:'When we walk in God's light,'writes Rogers,'all things are possible... I believe no matter how bad a situation seems, it will be for the best. I stay in my business and leave God to his. And in doing these things, I know joy... that happiness that lives deep within cannot be taken, only given up willingly. The choice is mine.'Including stories from her own life and others, Simply Happy Every Day is a tribute to the power of surrendering to happiness.

Can science explain powerful human emotions such as love and happiness? Or, are these emotions something more than the action of biochemicals and electrical impulses? Science is constantly uncovering the mysteries of our nature, but we are uneasy about submitting our most intimate feelings to its scrutiny. Religion tells us that God is love but neuroscience counters with love as a well-timed trickle of transmitters and hormones. In the 21st century, is it necessary to discard our traditional beliefs of a loving God in favor of dopamine? With doctorates in both mathematics and theology, Kevin Sharpe explores these notions and asks the question, Has Science Displaced the Soul?Unflinching in facing these issues, Sharpe provides a clear and current summary of the discoveries of science and what our spiritual traditions still have to offer in the ongoing effort to understand our deepest urges. He confronts serious unanswered questions. How can the Divine direct a random process like evolution? How can we reconcile the big bang with creation out of nothing? Does it make sense to claim that the non-biological Divine shares in human purposes and desires? Sharpe's solution is controversial since it requires that we demolish and reconstruct some of our most trusted conceptions. By examining the ways in which scientific and religious claims can be harmonized, he offers a radical and powerful interpretation of love and happiness in the divine context.