Alanna Thornton’s Reviews > The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World > Status Update
Alanna Thornton
is on page 182 of 354
“I've never been quite sure where meditation ends and prayer begins, or where prayer ends and meditation begins. I have heard it said that prayer is when we speak to God, and meditation is when God answers.
Whether it is God answering or some wiser part of our own intelligence, I am not sure it mattered to me, as I was just trying to quiet the inner noise and listen through the thick and enveloping silence.”
— 13 hours, 28 min ago
Whether it is God answering or some wiser part of our own intelligence, I am not sure it mattered to me, as I was just trying to quiet the inner noise and listen through the thick and enveloping silence.”
Like flag
Alanna’s Previous Updates
Alanna Thornton
is on page 185 of 354
“I often felt like, for these two men, holiness and lightheartedness were indivisible.”
— 13 hours, 21 min ago
Alanna Thornton
is on page 184 of 354
In the land of Gandhi that we were in, I thought of his totemic words when asked if he was a Hindu: "Yes I am. I am also a Christian, a Muslim, a Buddhist, and a Jew." We were looking for human truth, and we would drink from the cup of wisdom from whatever source it came.
Oh how lovely
— 13 hours, 23 min ago
Oh how lovely
Alanna Thornton
is on page 181 of 354
“Marriages, even the best ones —perhaps especially the best ones-are an ongoing process of spoken and unspoken forgiveness.” <3
— 13 hours, 29 min ago
Alanna Thornton
is on page 177 of 354
"I prefer, after my death," the Dalai Lama said with a laugh, "that you search for my reincarnation, that you carry the investigation rather than an antireligious, atheistic, Communist government."
Lol
— 13 hours, 35 min ago
Lol
Alanna Thornton
is on page 150 of 354
“Joy, it seemed, was a strange alchemy of mind over matter. The path to joy, like with sadness, did not lead away from suffering and adversity but through it.”
— Jan 24, 2026 10:32AM
Alanna Thornton
is on page 144 of 354
A prayer for cultivating Mudita:
As for suffering I do not wish even the slightest; as for happiness I am never satisfied.
In this, there is no difference between others and me.
Bless me so I may take joy in others' happiness.
— Jan 24, 2026 10:26AM
As for suffering I do not wish even the slightest; as for happiness I am never satisfied.
In this, there is no difference between others and me.
Bless me so I may take joy in others' happiness.
Alanna Thornton
is on page 143 of 354
“we should recognize our shared humanity. These are our human brothers and sisters, who have the same right and the same desire to have a happy life. This is not a spiritual thing. It is simply common sense. We are part of the same society. We are part of the same humanity. When humanity is happy, we will be happy.
When humanity is peaceful, our own lives are peaceful.“
— Jan 24, 2026 10:23AM
When humanity is peaceful, our own lives are peaceful.“
Alanna Thornton
is on page 141 of 354
“Mudita recognizes that life is not a zero-sum game, that there is not just one slice of cake in which someone else's taking more means we get less. Mudita sees joy as limitless.”
Wow. Love that
— Jan 24, 2026 10:13AM
Wow. Love that
