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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.
Introduction xi
PART 1: LIFE, LIBERTY, AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS
1 The Pursuit of Happiness 3
2 Spiritual Deficiency Syndrome 11
PART 2: THE UNIQUE HUMAN SPIRIT
3 The Ability to Be Self-Aware 27
4 The Ability to Be Humble 37
5 The Ability to Choose 43
6 The Ability to Be Patient 51
7 The Ability to Make the Most of Circumstances 57
8 The Ability to Improve 63
9 The Ability to Be Compassionate 71
10 The Ability to Have Perspective 81
11 The Ability to Have Purpose 87
12 The Ability to Search for Truth 99
13 The Ability to Change 105
PART 3: 10 STEPS TO HAPPINESS
Step 1: "I am aware that I have some shortcomings, and I want to become a better person." 117
Step 2: “I realize that I can be in charge of my behavior.” 121
Step 3: “I realize that changing my character traits is a slow process, but I am willing to persist. I'm going to work on my character defects, one by one.” 125
Step 4: “I am going to look for ways to overcome my negative character traits.” 129
Step 5: “I will cultivate enjoyable spiritual experiences.” 137
Step 6: “I will give serious consideration to the relative importance of things.” 139
Step 7: “I will avoid things that are inimical to my spirituality.” 143
Step 8: “I will laugh more.” 145
Step 9: “I will work to keep setbacks from discouraging me.” 147
Step 10: “I realize there is never an end to spiritual growth.” 149
Epilogue 151
Suggestions for Further Reading 153