Sustainable Happiness

Today’s greatest health challenges, the so-called diseases of civilization—depression, trauma, obesity, cancer—are now known in large part to reflect our inability to tame stress reflexes gone wild and to empower instead the peaceful, healing and sociable part of our nature that adapts us to civilized life. The same can be said of the economic challenges posed by the stress-reactive cycles of boom and bust, driven by addictive greed and compulsive panic. As current research opens up new horizons of stress-cessation, empathic intelligence, peak performance, and shared happiness, it has also encountered Asian methods of self-healing and interdependence more effective and teachable than any known in the West. Sustainable Happiness is the first book to make Asia’s most rigorous and complete system of contemplative living, hidden for centuries in Tibet, accessible to help us all on our shared journey towards sustainable well-being, altruism, inspiration and happiness.

In this innovative and cogent presentation of her concept of sustainable happiness, Catherine O’Brien outlines how the leading recommendations for transforming education can be integrated within a vision of well-being for all. Solution-focused, the book demonstrates how aspects of this vision are already being realized, and the potential for accelerating education transitions that enable people and ecosystems to flourish. Each chapter assists educators to understand how to apply the lessons learned, both personally and professionally. The aim is to support educators to experience themselves as change-makers with growing confidence to implement new teaching strategies and inspire their students to become change-makers as well—engaged in deep learning that develops character, connections with life, and invigorating collaborations that revitalize the very purpose of education.

We're bombarded by messages telling us that more, bigger, and better things are the keys to happiness-but after we pile up the stuff and pile on the hours, we end up exhausted and broke on a planet full of trash. Sarah van Gelder and her colleagues at YES! Magazine have been exploring the meaning of real happiness for eighteen years. In this much-needed volume, they marshal fascinating research, in-depth essays, and compelling personal stories that lead to a life-altering conclusion: what makes us truly happy are the depth of our relationships, the quality of our communities, the contribution.

In this innovative and cogent presentation of her concept of sustainable happiness, Catherine O’Brien outlines how the leading recommendations for transforming education can be integrated within a vision of well-being for all. Solution-focused, the book demonstrates how aspects of this vision are already being realized, and the potential for accelerating education transitions that enable people and ecosystems to flourish. Each chapter assists educators to understand how to apply the lessons learned, both personally and professionally. The aim is to support educators to experience themselves as change-makers with growing confidence to implement new teaching strategies and inspire their students to become change-makers as well—engaged in deep learning that develops character, connections with life, and invigorating collaborations that revitalize the very purpose of education.

If you take control of the way you feel about all subjects, you will profoundly take control of all aspects of your life. Emotions dont just happen nor are they inflicted on us by life or others, it just appears that way! Sustainable Happiness is designed to give you this control. This is achieved by painting a unique psychological picture relating to how feelings are thought generated within all physical experience. Thus, giving you a self-empowered way of attaining, sustaining and increasing your own happiness whilst simultaneously building insight and understanding of other peoples actions and behaviours. With this empowered understanding of emotion backed up with practical skills you will walk forward shining a continuously brightening inner light. Emotionally responsible individuals shape a happy healthy society, hence anyone wishing to find peace within themselves adds to social peace by default, this is far reaching. Happiness is a life skill you can develop given the desire to do so. There is nothing more important to us all. Sustainable Happiness presents a powerful and direct how-to life manual geared towards anyone who wishes to take control of their life thus feel vibrant and thrive in a way unique unto themselves.

This book is designed with the intention of liberating your spirit from the confines of misguided beliefs, thoughts, goals, and behaviours that foster unhappiness, dissatisfaction, and discontent. It serves as a gentle reminder of the ultimate purpose of human existence: to unlock the full potential of our lives and embrace each moment with happiness, joy, and fulfilment. Happiness, as the essence of life, is the driving force that has driven humanity's pursuit of growth and progress throughout history. However, how many of us have truly experienced genuine happiness and fulfilment? Happiness often seems elusive, like a fleeting game of hide-and-seek, where moments of joy quickly give way to disappointment. Some dwell in the shadows of the past, while others are trapped by the conditional promises of the future. We often surrender control of our happiness to external circumstances, fate, or a higher power— a path leading to the quagmire of unhappiness and discontent. Nevertheless, the innate longing for happiness and satisfaction persists within us, propelling us to make choices and act in pursuit of lasting fulfilment. In this concise volume, the author endeavours to synthesize diverse perspectives from philosophy, science, religion, and spirituality to present a comprehensive model of happiness—one that promises sustainable contentment, irrespective of external circumstances. Central to this model are two indispensable pillars: Awareness and Self-Control. Drawing from years of research, countless interviews, and numerous case studies spanning various demographics, the author asserts that sustainable happiness is not an abstract idea but an achievable internal state. It is not contingent upon external events or conditions but rather, on our internal landscape—our thoughts, beliefs, and values—all of which can be transformed through the application of simple yet proven techniques.

Facing the current advanced era, it is very nice to see the young generation studying, developing, and advancing their way of thinking and their outputs in their contribution to life and community. However, some of the challenges faced are, on the contrary, many young people today are detached from noble behaviour, especially the Muslim generation who live without the appropriate direction of Islamic behaviour. Furthermore, many Muslims are intelligent but corrupt in behaviour, negatively impacting their bad behaviour on their attitudes and the people who interact with them. This bad behaviour results in a far-from happiness slump and always feels lacking and greedy.

Ultimately, people want to be happy. For most of us, we seek happiness outside of ourselves. We hope that our pursuit of a higher-paying job, a nicer house, a new mate, a faster speedboat, etc. will bring happiness. These external desires might satisfy our appetite in the short-term, but when the shiny newness inevitably wears off, we find ourselves feeling emotionally bankrupt, and often in overwhelming debt. We all want to know the secret to happiness, even though very few of us actually have the motivation and dedication to work for it. Recognizing and changing patterns of behavior that don't serve us, adopting positivity practices, living mindfully and flourishing often require a substantial life overhaul, not just a makeover. Here's the secret-there is no secret to happiness. Much research has been done and countless books, classes, conferences, and programs come out every year, each with a "new" take on this age-old enigma.