Review of Happiness is All We Want!
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Carol V
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Review of Happiness is All We Want!
[Following is a volunteer review of "Happiness is All We Want!" by Ashutosh Mishra.]
In his book Happiness Is All We Want, Ashutosh Mishra describes life as a journey. He says that we are guided by our thinking but subconsciously we are always drawn to that which gives us pleasure, often to our detriment.
Our body, mind and spirit are what we have to help us achieve happiness, but we need to learn how to use it more effectively. We are too easily swayed by immediate gratification but this default response can be countered by mindfulness.
Our rushed lifestyle can be overwhelming and causes illness. What is good for us is usually delayed and easier alternatives like processed foods and sedentary lifestyles are preferred. This often contributes to an unhealthy mindset which in turn affects relationships.
Parts 1, 2 and 3 of this book is devoted to mind, body and spirit respectively. He provides detailed guidance on how to manage life's journey with greater success by consciously focusing on attaining a healthy mind, body and spirit.
He discusses meditation and prayer which will appeal to the novice as well as the more experienced person.
In the second section he uses the donkey and the horse as symbols of physical strength. He discusses activities and behavior which will enhance physical health and cautions that which will be detrimental.
In section 3 he discusses spirituality which he regards as the ultimate source of happiness as it cannot be affected by external factors. This is from the Indian philosophical perspective but he acknowledges and makes reference to other religions as well.
I appreciate the way he explained a few forms of meditation. By adding practical tips on how to do it and emphasizing a slow start, he made it seem quite easy to do. The comparison with animals followed by real life examples added clarity to his message.
Some sentences were quite long and the consistent omission of the article "the" forced me to reread often in order to grasp the gist of some messages. For example, "In addition to above..."instead of "In addition to the above...".
Excessive examples, comparisons and alternative statements disturbed the flow of reading, for example, "...if you wish to reduce your weight or if you wish to lose flab." Many of these were repeated in the following paragraphs as well.
He used many generalizations and cliches. I feel that too many assumptions were made.
The inclusion of statistics was not always necessary and could affect the reader's interest in the core subject. For example, the last paragraph of 7 lines on page 85 continues on page 86 with another 8 lines dealing with the consumption of soft fizzy drinks per capita in some first world countries!
The URLs which he recommends no longer exist.
I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars. 2 stars have bee deducted for the verbose style of writing and another for common errors which would have been rectified by an editor.
I would recommend this book to people interested in the Indian philosophical perspective on religion and those interested in learning to meditate or trying to improve their lifestyle.
******
Happiness is All We Want!
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
In his book Happiness Is All We Want, Ashutosh Mishra describes life as a journey. He says that we are guided by our thinking but subconsciously we are always drawn to that which gives us pleasure, often to our detriment.
Our body, mind and spirit are what we have to help us achieve happiness, but we need to learn how to use it more effectively. We are too easily swayed by immediate gratification but this default response can be countered by mindfulness.
Our rushed lifestyle can be overwhelming and causes illness. What is good for us is usually delayed and easier alternatives like processed foods and sedentary lifestyles are preferred. This often contributes to an unhealthy mindset which in turn affects relationships.
Parts 1, 2 and 3 of this book is devoted to mind, body and spirit respectively. He provides detailed guidance on how to manage life's journey with greater success by consciously focusing on attaining a healthy mind, body and spirit.
He discusses meditation and prayer which will appeal to the novice as well as the more experienced person.
In the second section he uses the donkey and the horse as symbols of physical strength. He discusses activities and behavior which will enhance physical health and cautions that which will be detrimental.
In section 3 he discusses spirituality which he regards as the ultimate source of happiness as it cannot be affected by external factors. This is from the Indian philosophical perspective but he acknowledges and makes reference to other religions as well.
I appreciate the way he explained a few forms of meditation. By adding practical tips on how to do it and emphasizing a slow start, he made it seem quite easy to do. The comparison with animals followed by real life examples added clarity to his message.
Some sentences were quite long and the consistent omission of the article "the" forced me to reread often in order to grasp the gist of some messages. For example, "In addition to above..."instead of "In addition to the above...".
Excessive examples, comparisons and alternative statements disturbed the flow of reading, for example, "...if you wish to reduce your weight or if you wish to lose flab." Many of these were repeated in the following paragraphs as well.
He used many generalizations and cliches. I feel that too many assumptions were made.
The inclusion of statistics was not always necessary and could affect the reader's interest in the core subject. For example, the last paragraph of 7 lines on page 85 continues on page 86 with another 8 lines dealing with the consumption of soft fizzy drinks per capita in some first world countries!
The URLs which he recommends no longer exist.
I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars. 2 stars have bee deducted for the verbose style of writing and another for common errors which would have been rectified by an editor.
I would recommend this book to people interested in the Indian philosophical perspective on religion and those interested in learning to meditate or trying to improve their lifestyle.
******
Happiness is All We Want!
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: ABM is B2B. by Sangram Vajre
