Many aspects of life can cause worry and concern: love, work, money, possessions, appearance. Challenges in any one of these areas can obscure the path to happiness, but cumulatively they can seem insurmountable. In the style of The Little Book of Letting Go, best-selling author Hugh Prather outlines a series of practices to promote happiness and change the attitudes and actions that undermine it. Some of the exercises can be done in a moment, others over the course of several days. All link awareness with practice to create profound change in our lives.
Hugh Prather, Jr. was a writer, minister, and counselor, most famous for his first book, Notes to Myself. , which was first published in 1970 by Real People Press. It has sold over 5 million copies, and has been translated into ten languages. Together with his second wife, Gayle Prather, whom he married in 1965, he wrote other books, including The Little Book of Letting Go; "I Touch the Earth, The Earth Touches Me"; How to Live in the World and Still Be Happy; I Will Never Leave You: How Couples Can Achieve The Power Of Lasting Love; Spiritual Notes to Myself: Essential Wisdom for the 21st Century; Shining Through: Switch on Your Life and Ground Yourself in Happiness; Spiritual Parenting: A Guide to Understanding and Nurturing the Heart of Your Child; Standing on My Head: Life Lessons in Contradictions; A Book of Games: A Course in Spiritual Play; Love and Courage; Notes to Each Other; A Book for Couples; The Quiet Answer; and There is a Place Where You Are Not Alone. Born in Dallas, the younger Hugh Prather earned a bachelor's degree at Southern Methodist University in 1966 after study at Principia College and Columbia University. He studied at the University of Texas at the graduate level without taking a degree. While he could be categorized as a New Age writer, he drew on Christian language and themes and seemed comfortable conceiving of God in personal terms. His work underscored the importance of gentleness, forgiveness, and loyalty; declined to endorse dramatic claims about the power of the individual mind to effect unilateral transformations of external material circumstances; and stressed the need for the mind to let go of destructive cognitions in a manner not unlike that encouraged by the cognitive-behavioral therapy of Aaron T. Beck and the rational emotive behavior therapy commended by Albert Ellis.
If you have ever been one to believe that "If you are not outraged, then you are not paying attention", then this book can help. It's a great book about being able to take the good with the bad in the world. I read, and re-read portions of this book often. I would often read a page or two, then fill my journal with reflections.
Absolutely did not live up to its name. This felt a little more preachy and hopeful than I expected. I wanted something more philosophical. I wanted something that talked about how horrible the world is and gave me hope for how to make a difference. This talked about completely insignificant problems. Feels a bit like “have you tried getting over yourself and just not being sad?” Alright not everything in here was terrible. 2.3 stars
Some notes: • Decide on an all-encompassing purpose on whatever you do. • It is not making a mistake but dwelling on it that delays us. • “Are you sure you want to call him? He is a very busy person.” = “He is more important than you.” • We have no chance of getting happy when we are angry. • Responsibility does not mean guilt. Guilt is an inefficient reaction. Yet indulging on it is not without consequences. Guilt blocks insight by focusing on ourselves and excluding the people we affected. Unless it is a deeply felt remorse for what we have caused and a strong determination to undo the damage, guilt is just another form of self-indulgence.
Prather writes in a friendly not judgmental way, his vibes is of a loving gentle grandad.
He has a unique look on life where he mixes psychoanalysis, eastern philosophy and Christianity along with his life experiences and he genuinely tries to be helpful.
It is a wholesome self help book although a bit much on spirituality for my taste.
This is one of those books that has every other page dog-eared so you can refer to it later. I took it one step further and wrote stuff down into a notebook! Great suggestions on how to live more peacefully...
Loved this book. Every part of it makes sense. Though practically it becomes a bit different at times, but most of it can be controlled in our heads. It’s up to everyone how they wanna judge the situation,
It's a tricky one isn't it, to live in this world. Happiness aside, just living can be a challenge. I like Hugh's thoughts, I like how he acknowledges that his framework for thinking works for him and that doesn't mean it will work for you. That's part of the real story to it, though this is no novel. The exercises he offers are very good to STOP the brain and maybe think about those things you are always thinking about in a new way. Not a precise science or ritual, it's just an adjustment to the ways of living. Not my favorite, but not too bad, no unrealistic altruism.