The Book of Joy : Lasting Happiness in a Changing World

Two spiritual giants. Five days. One timeless question.

Two great spiritual masters share their own hard-won wisdom about living with joy even in the face of adversity.   

The occasion was a big birthday. And it inspired two close friends to get together in Dharamsala for a talk about something very important to them. The friends were His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. 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?

Both winners of the Nobel Prize, both great spiritual masters and moral leaders of our time, they are also known for being among the most infectiously happy people on the planet. From the beginning the book was envisioned as a three-layer birthday cake: their own stories and teachings about joy, the most recent findings in the science of deep happiness, and the daily practices that anchor their own emotional and spiritual lives. 

Both the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Tutu have been tested by great personal and national adversity, and here they share their personal stories of struggle and renewal. Now that they are both in their eighties, they especially want to spread the core message that to have joy yourself, you must bring joy to others. 

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 unprecendented 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.

During that landmark week in Dharamsala, they demonstrated by their own exuberance, compassion, and humor how joy can be transformed from a fleeting emotion into an enduring way of life.  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.

The Book Depository  or Amazon

Thank You for Being Late: An Optimist's Guide to Thriving in the Age of Accelerations

A field guide to the twenty-first century, written by one of its most celebrated observers.

In his most ambitious work to date, Thomas L. Friedman shows that we have entered an age of dizzying acceleration--and explains how to live in it. 

We all sense it―something big is going on. You feel it in your workplace. You feel it when you talk to your kids. You can’t miss it when you read the newspapers or watch the news. Our lives are being transformed in so many realms all at once―and it is dizzying.

In Thank You for Being Late, a work unlike anything he has attempted before, Thomas L. Friedman exposes the tectonic movements that are reshaping the world today and explains how to get the most out of them and cushion their worst impacts. 

You will never look at the world the same way again after you read this book: how you understand the news, the work you do, the education your kids need, the investments your employer has to make, and the moral and geopolitical choices our country has to navigate will all be refashioned by Friedman’s original analysis.

Friedman begins by taking us into his own way of looking at the world―how he writes a column. After a quick tutorial, he proceeds to write what could only be called a giant column about the twenty-first century. 

His thesis: to understand the twenty-first century, you need to understand that the planet’s three largest forces―Moore’s law (technology), the Market (globalization), and Mother Nature (climate change and biodiversity loss)―are accelerating all at once.

Due to an exponential increase in computing power, climbers atop Mount Everest enjoy excellent cell-phone service and self-driving cars are taking to the roads. 

A parallel explosion of economic interdependency has created new riches as well as spiraling debt burdens. 

Meanwhile, Mother Nature is also seeing dramatic changes as carbon levels rise and species go extinct, with compounding results.

How do these changes interact, and how can we cope with them?  

These accelerations are transforming five key realms: the workplace, politics, geopolitics, ethics, and community.

To get a better purchase on the present, Friedman returns to his Minnesota childhood and sketches a world where politics worked and joining the middle class was an achievable goal. 

Today, by contrast, it is easier than ever to be a maker (try 3-D printing) or a breaker (the Islamic State excels at using Twitter), but harder than ever to be a leader or merely "average." 

Friedman concludes that nations and individuals must learn to be fast (innovative and quick to adapt), fair (prepared to help the casualties of change), and slow (adept at shutting out the noise and accessing their deepest values), and he explores how communities can create a “topsoil of trust” to anchor their increasingly diverse and digital populations.

With  vitality, wit, and optimism, Friedman shows that we can overcome the multiple stresses of an age of accelerations―if we slow down, if we dare to be late and use the time to reimagine work, politics, and community. Thank You for Being Late is Friedman’s most ambitious book―and an essential guide to the present and the future.

The book is available from The Book Depository and Amazon

The Practicing Mind : Developing Focus and Discipline in Your Life - Master Any Skill or Challenge by Learning to Love the Process

In those times when we want to acquire a new skill or face a formidable challenge we hope to overcome, what we need most are patience, focus, and discipline, traits that seem elusive or difficult to maintain. 

In this enticing and practical book, Thomas Sterner demonstrates how to learn skills for any aspect of life, from golfing to business to parenting, by learning to love the process. 

Early life is all about trial-and-error practice. If we had given up in the face of failure, repetition, and difficulty, we would never have learned to walk or tie our shoes. So why, as adults, do we often give up on a goal when at first we don t succeed? 

In his study of how we learn (prompted by his pursuit of disciplines such as music and golf), Sterner has found that we have forgotten the principles of practice the process of picking a goal and applying steady effort to reach it. 

The methods Sterner teaches show that practice done properly isn't drudgery on the way to mastery but a fulfilling process in and of itself, one that builds discipline and clarity."

  Book Depository  or Amazon

On Fire. The 7 Choices to Ignite a Radically Inspired Life

In the bestselling tradition of Brene Brown's Daring Greatly and Nick Vujicic s Life Without Limits comes a rousing 7-step plan for living a life on fire, filled with hope and possibility from an inspirational speaker who survived a near-fatal fire at the age of nine and now runs a successful business inspiring people all around the world. 

When John O'Leary was nine years old, he was almost killed in a devastating house fire. With burns on one hundred percent of his body, O'Leary mustered an almost unimaginable amount of inner strength just to survive the ordeal. 

The insights he gained through this experience and the heroes who stepped into his life to help him through the journey - his family, the medical staff, and total strangers changed his life. 

Now he is committed to living life to the fullest and inspiring others to do the same. 

An incredible and emotionally honest account of triumph over tragedy, On Fire contains O'Leary s reflections on being that little boy, the life-giving choices made then, and the resulting lessons he learned. 

O'Leary very clearly shares that without the right people providing the right guidance, at the right time, he never would have made it through those five months in the hospital, let alone the years that followed as he struggled to regain mobility, embrace his story, and ignite clarity of his life's purpose. 

On Fire encourages us to seize the power to choose our path and transform our lives from mundane to extraordinary. 

Once we stop thinking solely on the big moments in our lives, we can begin to focus on those smaller opportunities that tend to pass us by. These are the events, the inflection points in our lives that can determine how we feel about life now, where we are headed in the future, and how many lives we can impact along the way. 

We can't always choose the path we walk, but we can choose how we walk it. 

Empowering, inspiring, remarkably honest, and heartfelt, O'Leary's strength and incredible spirit shine through on every page."

You can buy the book from The Book Depository  or Amazon

Bloom : Navigating Life and Style

'For me, the word "bloom" encapsulates the idea that anything is possible when you put your mind to it. It's a word that hints at becoming who you are meant to be.' 

What makes you happy? What makes you you? What defines your style? 

In Bloom, Estee Lalonde shares the moments, people and things that have made her who she is today. She reveals her life lessons, and offers her tips for surviving life and finding you. 

Celebrate your bloom story and what makes you unique.

About Estee Lalonde 
Estee Lalonde is one of the stand-out voices of the digital generation. 
A beauty-and-lifestyle vlogger and social influencer, she has attracted a global audience of millions across her YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat platforms and is known for her friendly, honest and relatable personality. 
Estee Lalonde won InStyle UK's Best Beauty Reviewer Award in 2015 and has partnered up with a number of key global brands, from Burberry and The Body Shop to the United Nations for their Global Goals campaign. 
From a small town in Canada, Estee has lived in the UK for nearly a decade with her boyfriend Aslan and dog Reggie. Both feature across her channels and are also adored by her fans. www.esteelalonde.com @EsteeLalonde www.youtube.com/esteelalonde

Buy from The Book Depository , Amazon , or The Nile

How Spiritual Principles and Brain Science Can Put an End to Bad Habits and Addictions Forever

The Little Book of Big Change: The No-Willpower Approach to Breaking Any Habit

Little changes can make a big, big difference!  In The Little Book of Big Change, psychologist Amy Johnson shows you how to rewire your brain and overcome your bad habits—once and for all.

No matter what your bad habit is, you have the power to change it. Drawing on a powerful combination of neuroscience and spirituality, this book will show you that you are not your habits. Rather, your habits and addictions are the result of simple brain wiring that is easily reversed. By learning to stop bad habits at the source, you will take charge of your habits and addictions for good.

Anything done repeatedly has the potential to form neural circuitry in the brain. In this light, habits and addictions are impersonal brain wiring problems that result from taking your habitual thinking as truth, and acting on that thinking in the form of doing your habit—over and over. This book offers a number of small changes you can make in your everyday life that will help you stop your bad habit in its tracks.

If you want to understand the science behind your habit, make the decision to end it, and commit to real, lasting change, this book will help you to finally take charge of your life—once and for all.

About the Author

Amy Johnson, PhD, is a life coach, public speaker, and author of two previous books. She works with clients worldwide, helping people see their habits in a way that ends them forever. To find out more, please visit www.dramyjohnson.com.

You can buy the book from Amazon ,  The Book Depository ,  Fishpond.com.au , The Nile.com.au

The Space Within : Finding Your Way Back Home

There is a space within you where you are already perfect, whole, and complete.

It is pure consciousness - the space inside of which all thoughts come and go.

When you rest in the feeling of this space, the warmth of it heals your mind and body.

When you operate from the infinite creative potential of this space, you produce high levels of performance and creative flow.

When you sit in the openness of this space with others, you experience a level of connection and intimacy that is breathtakingly enjoyable and filled with love.

And when you explore this space more deeply, you will find yourself growing closer and closer to the divine, even if you're not sure there is such a thing and wouldn't know how to talk about it if there was.

Every problem we have in life is the result of losing our bearings and getting caught up in the content of our own thinking; the solution to every one of those problems is to find our way back home.

This is both the invitation and the promise of this book.

One problem.

One solution.

Infinite possibilities.

Are you ready to begin?"



About the Author 

 Michael Neill is an internationally renowned transformative coach and the bestselling author of four books. He has spent the past 25 years as a coach, mentor and creative spark plug to celebrities, CEOs, royalty and people who want to get more out of themselves and their lives. He is the also the founder of Supercoach Academy, an international coach training program with students and graduates from 22 countries. Michael's books have been translated into 16 languages, and his public talks, retreats and seminars have touched and transformed lives at the United Nations and on six continents around the world. www.supercoach.com

BUY THE BOOK  -  Book Depository,  The Nile ,  Fishpond  ,  Amazon  

365 Tiny Love Challenges

From the founder of the popular online community Tiny Buddha.com comes a daily inspirational guide of simple and creative challenges to help you actively spread love to those around you.

Tiny Buddha's 365 Days of Tiny Love Challenges is a simple guide to help readers pursue happy, connected lives and bring greater love into the world. 

Each week begins with an inspirational message written by members of the TinyBuddha.com online community, followed by seven days of short challenges that focus on self-love, giving and receiving love in relationships and friendships, and spreading love in the world, such as: 

* Write a list of three things you appreciate about yourself and place it somewhere in your home where you'll frequently see it throughout the day 

* Compliment someone who serves you in some way (for example, a waiter, barista, or bus driver) on how well they do their job 

* Keep an eye out for someone who looks sad-a friend, coworker, or even stranger-and say something that might make them laugh or smile. 

By using the book each day throughout the year, readers will learn to develop closer bonds in relationships, let go of anger and bitterness, better understand themselves and their loved ones, and turn strangers into friends.

Lori Deschene is the founder of tinybuddha.com, a community of thousands of people interested in sharing wisdom for a happier life. She is a regular speaker at Wisdom2.0 and a freelance writer whose work has appeared in national magazines. This is her first book.

BUY THE BOOK ... Book Depository,  The Nile, Fishpond, Amazon.

The Power of Habit : Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business

A young woman walks into a laboratory. Over the past two years, she has transformed almost every aspect of her life. She has quit smoking, run a marathon, and been promoted at work. The patterns inside her brain, neurologists discover, have fundamentally changed.

Marketers at Procter & Gamble study videos of people making their beds. They are desperately trying to figure out how to sell a new product called Febreze, on track to be one of the biggest flops in company history. Suddenly, one of them detects a nearly imperceptible pattern—and with a slight shift in advertising, Febreze goes on to earn a billion dollars a year.

An untested CEO takes over one of the largest companies in America. His first order of business is attacking a single pattern among his employees—how they approach worker safety—and soon the firm, Alcoa, becomes the top performer in the Dow Jones.

What do all these people have in common? They achieved success by focusing on the patterns that shape every aspect of our lives. 

They succeeded by transforming habits.

In The Power of Habit, award-winning New York Times business reporter Charles Duhigg takes us to the thrilling edge of scientific discoveries that explain why habits exist and how they can be changed. With penetrating intelligence and an ability to distill vast amounts of information into engrossing narratives, Duhigg brings to life a whole new understanding of human nature and its potential for transformation. 

Along the way we learn why some people and companies struggle to change, despite years of trying, while others seem to remake themselves overnight. We visit laboratories where neuroscientists explore how habits work and where, exactly, they reside in our brains. We discover how the right habits were crucial to the success of Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, and civil-rights hero Martin Luther King, Jr. We go inside Procter & Gamble, Target superstores, Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church, NFL locker rooms, and the nation’s largest hospitals and see how implementing so-called keystone habits can earn billions and mean the difference between failure and success, life and death.

At its core, The Power of Habit contains an exhilarating argument: The key to exercising regularly, losing weight, raising exceptional children, becoming more productive, building revolutionary companies and social movements, and achieving success is understanding how habits work. 

Habits aren’t destiny. As Charles Duhigg shows, by harnessing this new science, we can transform our businesses, our communities, and our lives.

About the Author

Charles Duhigg is an investigative reporter for "The" "New York Times." He is a winner of the National Academies of Sciences, National Journalism, and George Polk awards, and was part of a team of finalists for the 2009 Pulitzer Prize. He is a frequent contributor to "This American Life," NPR, "PBS NewsHour, " and "Frontline." A graduate of Harvard Business School and Yale College, he lives in Brooklyn with his wife and two kids.

  Fishpond,  The Nile,  Book Depository,  Amazon

Avoiding the Enemies to Happiness

Did you know... there are enemies to your happiness, enemies waiting to trip you up and destroy your joy and meaning in life? 

Some of them are obvious, but many are elusive and insidious. 

By learning about these enemies, their signs and symptoms, you can defeat and destroy them before they impact your day-to-day and long-term happiness. 

What's more, by learning how to build strengths and supportive patterns and habits in your life, you can transcend these enemies and create a life filled with deep joy, purpose and meaning - A life of happiness and the skills to enjoy and share it.

Avoiding the Enemies to HAPPINESS is a practical 'how to' guide for avoiding the enemies and causes of unhappiness. This book provides potent and life-changing strategies and techniques for generating happiness in your life. 

These strategies and techniques are drawn from the powerful fields of Positive Psychology, NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming), Cognitive Psychology and the latest neuroscience research from the newly burgeoning field of mBIT (multiple Brain Integration Techniques). 

Avoiding the Enemies to HAPPINESS coaches you in how to become aware of the obstacles and insidious enemies to happiness and how to interrupt dysfunctional patterns in your life. 

It facilitates you in the vitally important skills and behaviors necessary for increasing happiness, joy, meaning and success. 

Avoiding the Enemies to HAPPINESS is a simple and powerful guide to achieving happiness in a world of massive change.

About the Author

Grant Soosalu is an international leadership consultant, trainer and writer with backgrounds and expertise in Leadership, Coaching, Psychology, NLP, Behavioral Modeling and Applied Physics. He has advanced degrees and certifications in Psychology, Positive Psychology, Applied Physics and Systems Development. Grant is a qualified TQM Trainer and has achieved Master Practitioner Certification in the behavioral sciences of NLP & Advanced Behavioral Modeling. Grant has also been awarded a Graduate Coaching Diploma in the newly emerging field of Authentic Happiness Coaching

You can buy the book from Fishpond.com.au, Book Depository, Amazon, The Nile

Why we do what we do - an alternative to current reward/punishment theory

In a book that challenges authoritarian thinking about motivation, a distinguished social psychologist offers an alternative to current reward/punishment theory, which, far from anarchy, espouses our ordered, internalized sense of freedom, responsibility, and commitment.

If you reward your children for doing their homework, they will usually respond by getting it done. 

But is this the most effective method of motivation? 

No, says psychologist Edward L. Deci, who challenges traditional thinking and shows that this method actually works against performance. 

The best way to motivate people--at school, at work, or at home--is to support their sense of autonomy. 

Explaining the reasons why a task is important and then allowing as much personal freedom as possible in carrying out the task will stimulate interest and commitment, and is a much more effective approach than the standard system of reward and punishment.

 We are all inherently interested in the world, argues Deci, so why not nurture that interest in each other? Instead of asking, "How can I motivate people?" we should be asking, "How can I create the conditions within which people will motivate themselves?"

”An insightful and provocative meditation on how people can become more genuinely engaged and succesful in pursuing their goals." —Publisher's Weekly

About Edward Deci

Edward L. Deci, Ph.D., professor of pyschology at the University of Rochester, is director of its human motivation program. Richard Flaste, former Science and Health Editor of The New York Times, led the team that won the Pulitzer Prize for national reporting in 1987.

If you want to buy the book, best price for Australians is from The Book Depository.  You can also buy from fishpond.com.au , The Nile ,   or Amazon

Guidance and inspiration for dealing with uncertainty

This book from Pema Chodron offers short, stand-alone readings designed to help us cultivate compassion and awareness amid the challenges of daily living. 

More than just a collection of 'thoughts for the day', "Comfortable with Uncertainty" offers a progressive programme of spiritual study. 

The book leads the reader through essential concepts, themes, and practices on the Buddhist path. 

By the end of the cycle of readings, the reader will have completed the basic training for becoming a 'warrior-bodhisattva', one who courageously takes up the path of awakening compassion - both for oneself and others.

The book will be cherished by the many readers of "The Places That Scare You" and "When Things Fall Apart" since it offers pithy and stirring passages gleaned from Chodron's previous books. 

The readings explore topics such as loving-kindness, meditation, mindfulness, 'nowness', letting go, and working with fear and other painful emotions. 

Through the course of the book, readers will learn practical methods for heightening awareness and overcoming habitual patterns that block compassion. Readers will also develop a working knowledge of tonglen, an on-the-spot meditation practice for easing emotional suffering (both our own and others'). 

"Comfortable with Uncertainty", like a set of traditional Buddhist prayer beads, strings together 108 gems that will be cherished for their guidance and inspiration.

About the Author

Pema ChOdrOn is an American Buddhist nun in the lineage of ChOgyam Trungpa. She is resident teacher at Gampo Abbey in Nova Scotia, the first Tibetan monastery in North America established for Westerners. She is the author of many books and audiobooks, including the best-selling "When Things Fall Apart "and "Don't Bite the Hook."

You can buy the book:  Best price for Australians   OR  from Amazon

Leave YOUR Legacy: The Power to Unleash Your Greatness

This resource has been moved to another part of the site.

You should be taken there shortly.

If it is taking too long, please click here

What's a Dog For?: The Surprising History, Science, Philosophy, and Politics of Man's Best Friend

As dogs take their place as coddled family members and their numbers balloon to over 77 million in the United States alone, it's no surprise that canine culture is undergoing a massive transformation. 

Now subject to many of the same questions of rights and ethics as people, the politics of dogs are more tumultuous and public than ever--with fierce moral battles raging over kill shelters, puppy mills, and breed standards. 

Incorporating interviews and research from scientists, activists, breeders, and trainers, "What's a Dog For? "investigates how dogs have reached this exalted status, and why they hold such fascination for us humans.

About the Author

John Homans has been the executive editor of "New York" magazine since 1994. This is his first book. He lives in New York City.

You can buy the book from The Book Depository , Fishpond ,  The Nile or Amazon .

Tiny beautiful things. Advice on Life and Love from someone who's been there

Rich with humor, insight, compassion - and absolute honesty - Tiny Beautiful Things is a balm for everything life throws our way, administered by the author of the New York Times-bestselling memoir, Wild.

Life can be hard: your lover cheats on you, you lose a family member, you can't pay the bills. 

But it can be pretty great, too: you've had the hottest sex of your life, you get that plum job, you muster the courage to write your novel. 

Everyday across the world, people go through the full and glorious gamut of life - but sometimes, a little advice is needed. 

For several years, thousands turned to Cheryl Strayed, a then-anonymous internet Agony Aunt. But unlike most Agony Aunts, this one's advice was spun from genuine compassion and informed by a wealth of personal experience - experience that was sometimes tragic and sometimes tender, often hilarious and often heartbreaking. 

Having successfully battled her own demons while hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, Cheryl Strayed sat down to answer the letters of the frightened, the anxious, the confused; and with each gem-like correspondence - of which the best are collected in this volume - she proved to be the perfect guide for those who had got a little lost in life.

About the Author

Cheryl Strayed is the author of the critically acclaimed novel Torch, the huge New York Times-bestselling memoir Wild and the collection of essays Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Someone Who's Been There. Her work has appeared in numerous magazines and journals, including The New York Times Magazine, The Washington Post Magazine, Allure and The Rumpus. She lives in Portland, Oregon.

You can buy this book from

The Book Depository - The Nile - Amazon - Fishpond

A Guide to Spirituality without Religion

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (September 9, 2014)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1451636016
• ISBN-13: 978-1451636017

For the millions of Americans who want spirituality without religion, Sam Harris’s new book is a guide to meditation as a rational spiritual practice informed by neuroscience and psychology.

From multiple New York Times bestselling author, neuroscientist, and “new atheist” Sam Harris,Waking Up is for the 30 percent of Americans who follow no religion, but who suspect that Jesus, Buddha, Lao Tzu, Rumi, and the other saints and sages of history could not have all been epileptics, schizophrenics, or frauds. Throughout the book, Harris argues that there are important truths to be found in the experiences of such contemplatives—and, therefore, that there is more to understanding reality than science and secular culture generally allow.

Waking Up is part seeker’s memoir and part exploration of the scientific underpinnings of spirituality. No other book marries contemplative wisdom and modern science in this way, and no author other than Sam Harris—a scientist, philosopher, and famous skeptic—could write it.

About the Author

Sam Harris is the author of the bestselling books The End of Faith, Letter to a Christian Nation, The Moral Landscape, Free Will, and Lying. The End of Faith won the 2005 PEN Award for Nonfiction. His writing has been published in over fifteen languages. Dr. Harris is cofounder and CEO of Project Reason, a nonprofit foundation devoted to spreading scientific knowledge and secular values in society. He received a degree in philosophy from Stanford University and a PhD in neuroscience from UCLA. Please visit his website at SamHarris.org.

Tim Ferriss interviewed Sam Harris, the author, on his podcast.  

Listen to it >> here.   You can download it in iTunes >> here.

You can BUY THE BOOK from Amazon , The Book Depository, fishpond.com.au, The Nile