The New Happiness: Practices for Spiritual Growth and Living with Intention

Description

We all want to be happy, but how do we achieve it? This unique workbook blends spiritual wisdom with evidence-based psychological practices to help you achieve lasting fulfilment. Most of us are searching for happiness in one form or another, but the happiness we've been conditioned to pursue is often elusive and fleeting. When we base our happiness on what we have--such as material possessions or status recognition from others--our happiness is no longer in our control. This workbook will show you that happiness is not about accumulating and consuming, or even achieving some deep state of spiritual bliss. Instead, you'll find a fresh perspective on how to achieve authentic happiness rooted in spiritual values and actions. Written by two best-selling authors in the field of psychology (The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook), this guide blends mindfulness-based spiritual practices with evidence-based acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) to help you develop your own spiritual action plan. Using the practical guidance and exercises in this guide, you'll create a set of principles and behaviors aligned with your deepest values and sense of purpose, and learn to make decisions with a wise mind. Every moment of your life is an opportunity to make choices based on your own personal, deeply held spiritual values--why not start now? This workbook will give you the hands-on tools you need to get started.

Matthew McKay, PhD, is a professor at the Wright Institute in Berkeley, CA. He has authored and coauthored numerous books, including The Relaxation and Stress Reduction Workbook, Self-Esteem, Thoughts and Feelings, When Anger Hurts, and ACT on Life Not on Anger. He has also penned two novels, Us and The Wawona Hotel. McKay received his PhD in clinical psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology, and specializes in the cognitive behavioral treatment of anxiety and depression. He lives and works in the greater San Francisco Bay Area.

"Get ready for a unique experience with spirituality. There are plenty of spiritual books preaching what to believe. This book defines spirituality as the process of 'doing' rather than the process of 'believing'. The authors focus on our behavior as the expression of our spirituality. So rather than 'talk' or argue about different faiths--who is right or wrong--this book is about helping you to use your spirituality as guidelines for making daily choices and acting in valued directions. The book presents fresh definitions of spirituality followed by practical guidelines, along with how to deal with obstacles while moving in valued directions, and finally a section helping the reader with a deeper understanding how spirituality can be expressed in daily life--for example, with compassion. The authors present you with lots of practical exercises. One I particularly like was called 'Morning Intention, ' which combines a morning routine like making tea with a reminder of a valued intention for the day, as a way of preparing for valued living. Today, most psychotherapists or people dealing with people are including spirituality, and this book will provide you with a great palette of concepts and ways to practice doing that." --JoAnne Dahl, PhD, professor in the department of psychology at Uppsala University in Uppsala, Sweden; licensed psychologist; psychotherapist; peer-reviewed acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) trainer; and Association for Contextual Behavioral Science fellow--JoAnne Dahl, PhD "In a world full of loss, fear, and uncertainty, working to find our deepest purpose through connecting to inner wisdom and our spiritual core is of utmost importance; it is the path to wiser choices and a fulfilling life. In Matthew McKay and Jeffrey Woods' book, the reader is guided on a spiritual journey designed to create awareness to choice, and to great clarity about personal values in the service of growth and sustaining a spiritual environment--leading us to our true meaning. In this short but beautiful, wildly painful, blissfully amazing life, The New Happiness is a welcome promise for spiritual development and connection to love and all that matters in life." --Robyn D. Walser, PhD, author of The Heart of ACT, coauthor of Learning ACT and The Mindful Couple, and assistant professor at the University of California, Berkeley--Robyn D. Walser, PhD "This is an uplifting and valuable book for anyone who has been wondering how they might create more happiness in their life. The authors' ingeniously practical advice is to identify a life purpose and start a practice of engaging in simple spiritual practices. From the onset, it is very clear that this is not a book about spiritual beliefs or a particular belief system. Instead, the book uses new and proven psychological principles to help seekers identify a unique life purpose for themselves, live from the heart with intention, and deal with barriers to spiritual practice with compassion. Although the book is very practical, it is by no means superficial. It does not shy away from 'deeper issues' such as impermanence, finding a state of grace--that beautiful state of calm contentment--and bringing spirit into daily life. By focusing on practice rather than theory or philosophy, the authors endeavor to help readers achieve a goal that many readers might have always viewed as too lofty or unachievable. This book provides hope and gives actionable advice in a personally meaningful area where really concrete and useful information is often hard to come by. I agree with the promise at the end of the book that the practices learned in this book will help readers keep Spirit alive--'in you and through you.'" --Georg H. Eifert, PhD, Chapman University professor emeritus of psychology, and coauthor of The Mindfulness and Acceptance Workbook for Anxiety--Georg H. Eifert, PhD "This rare and uniquely practical book offers enormous wisdom and guidance for anyone--spiritual or not, religious or not--seeking a deeper sense of meaning, purpose, and joy in their lives. The New Happiness will awaken you to your inner truth, your purpose in being here, and help you create the conditions for genuine happiness on your life journey." --John P. Forsyth, PhD, professor, and coauthor of Anxiety Happens and The Mindfulness and Acceptance Workbook for Anxiety--John P. Forsyth, PhD