Finding Happiness: Monastic Steps for a Fulfilling Life

This is a follow-up to FINDING SANCTUARY by Abbot Christopher Jamison, and is just as good. Jamison starts with an interesting "history" of happiness and from there develops a strong case for the stepping stones to living a fulfilled life, by overcoming the 8 negative thoughts. These are acedia(sloth), gluttony, lust, greed, anger, sadness, vanity and pride. Astute readers will notice that one of the originial 7 deadly sins, ENVY, isn't on the list. The way to overcome the negative thoughts is by practicing the corresponding 8 virtues, which are spiritual awareness, moderation, chaste love, generosity, gentleness, gladness, magnanimity, and humility. The chapters are all well written and easy to comprehend. The one on Sadness is the best, with Jamison keenly noting that sadness can indeed be "survived." The one thing I would disagree with is that anger and sadness are automatically negative thoughts. Some anger is plainly wrong and sinful, but some isn't. And sometimes we have clearly valid reasons for being sad. Ultimately, as Jamison points out, Happiness isn't "..an object to be grasped but a lifelong process that culminates in a happy death." (pg.177) This is an easy to read book based on the writings of John Cassian, interspersed with the Abbot's observations living in Sussex. Those with a contemplative bent will benefit greatly but also anyone who wishes to live a more fulfilled life. I highly recommend it.

Finding Happiness, by Abbot Christopher Jamison, is a nicely written book based on the writings of John Cassian, who was the first person to systematically write down the teachings of the desert monks and nuns. The first was St. Antony of Egypt, who as a 20 year old in 271 AD, went into the desert to live a religious life to discover himself and GOD. Over the next few centuries, the desert monks and nuns discovered authentic insights about the interior world. In the fourth century, John Cassian wrote about these insights calling the Eight Thoughts or the eight principle obstacles to perfection. Abbot Jamison explains the Eight Thoughts an easy-to-read style with anecdotes and commentaries from modern life in England. He also brings his experiences with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to compliment the religious explanations. His writing has a Roman Catholic undertone, but is fairly balanced and informative. The book starts with the history of happiness and the problems on how happiness id defined. What I found most eye-opening was the continued influence of Plato, Aristotle, and the Stoics on our definition of happiness. Illustrating the eight thoughts with comparisons of modern issues, Abbot Jamison brings these into the daily routine of life for those in and out of the monastery.

Interestiong book. It's written by Abbott Christopher Jamison, host of "The Monastery" -a documentary BBC television series. The basic idea that runs through the book is that happiness comes to people indirectly as the fruit of defeating the causes of our unhappiness. To that end, a major chunk of the book is spent discussing "eight thoughts" to get you heading in the right direction (acedia, gluttony, lust, greed, anger, sadness, vanity, and pride). No "happiness formula" here, just at lot of good wisdom of a religious flavor. Readers wanting a more scientific look at happiness might be better off with a book like "Finding Happiness in a Frustrating World".