Cultivating Lasting Happiness: A 7-Step Guide to Mindfulness

by Terry Fralich

Cultivating Lasting Happiness is the definitive practical guide to understanding mindfulness and integrating it into your life. Terry Fralich has created a path for developing the awareness and skills to minimize suffering and maximize positive states - all to enhance well being. With insights, case examples, exercises, meditations and practice guides, you have all the tools to weave the seven steps of mindfulness into a beautiful tapestry...and a more creative and joyful way of life.

306 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2012

Reviews

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was given to me as a starting point to explore mindfulness. While I found much of the prose florid and far too much, the parts in between all the groan-worthy stuff about my "inner radiance" were interesting to me. The bits I liked the most dealt with the basic neuroscience of why people destroy themselves from the inside without really wanting to our meaning to. If nothing else I will be reading some more books about neuroscience. I will remember concepts like "alarm system" and "emotional hijacking" and "non-judgmental attention". I also found the practical discussion of the brain's "alarm system" helpful in sorting out personal ineptitude from the way that the human body is designed to work. The idea that the amygdala area of the brain "values speed over accuracy" in identifying threats and actually works in a very "sloppy" fashion, as often as not incorrectly identifying something as a threat due to memory association, was super helpful and illuminating for me. I also liked the hopeful idea that this "alarm system" can be drained of much of its power through the application of mindfulness over long periods of time. These parts bumped it up to three stars- probably wouldn't more than two if I encountered them anywhere else before. If authors could resist the temptation to talk about the inner suns of our gorgeous souls and just go with the practical science and benefits of mindfulness, I think a lot more people would read these sorts of books. I find information far more soothing than strained metaphors, at least in this area. I can't be the only person who thinks so. I intend to read more about mindfulness and continue to look between the lines for the useful information. Recommendations welcome.

[Bryce · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent combination of neurological research and its application in more fully understanding and managing your mental/emotional life through mindfulness. This book is a great introduction to meditation and is full of ideas for more fully integrating spirituality into the practical aspects of living.

[Peggy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a wonderful dissection of how the emotional mind works. Rather than telling the reader how to think "happy", the author explains in great detail why we don't, and often can't, just think our way to happy.
Although the author uses the word mindfulness in the title, the book is really more about understanding the way the mind analyzes stimuli and prompts what it considers to be the correct emotional response. This analysis is frequently based on years of misinformation.
Thus, more often than not, our response is completely wrong if we are seeking to be happy.
The how and why of this process is the meat of the book and I found it absolutely fascinating.
Science, studies, footnotes, appendixes, references but easy to read and understand.
I cannot recommend this book highly enough, I'd go to 6 stars if I could!

[Toby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fralich has a very interesting approach, he skirts the line between a lot of different faiths and beliefs and leaves his ideas open to all kinds of people with all kinds of faith. I can absorb his thoughts into my Christian faith and use them to draw closer to God and to experience God's grace more fully. But a Buddhist could find just as much for themselves, or any number of other faiths and backgrounds.

There is definitely a lot of flowery, fluffy, motivational material in the book, but there is also some practical, solid advice in how to use mindfulness to observe and confront some of the negative thoughts and ideas we all have about ourselves.

It's worth a read for anyone finding themselves charging through life without knowing why, or for people like me that kind get so angry, so easily. It will help to me to observe some of that and head it off at the pass before I let it take control.

[Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Be mindfull of yourself, actions and surrondings. Stop-Breath-Reflect-Choose. It takes time. Visual Image right when you wake up. Who do you want to be?