The Happiness Hypothesis by Jonathan Haidt is one of those rare books that pulls together two vastly different traditions — in this case psychology and the ancient wisdom traditions — and with superb clarity shows how much they have in common and what the implications of this are for the ways in which we live.
Among the many intriguing insights he comes out with, here is a particularly thought provoking one (page 211):
If religious people are right in believing that religion is the source of their greatest happiness, then may be the rest of us who are looking for happiness and meaning can learn something from them, whether or not we believe in God.
Very interesting. I am going to grab this book soon. I think essence of any religion is faith and believe in something more powerful than you. Such positive thinking creates good positive energy and probably has the power to alter things.
I am not a religious person but I do believe in the power of faith and impact of positive energy on an individual’s psychology.
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He’s brought out another once since which is also excellent: Jonathan Haidt – The Righteous Mind. To know more see link.
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