Start your Happiness Book Club
04 Aug 2016 | Suzy Greaves
Psychologies is partnering with Action for Happiness
to encourage people to set up Book Clubs focused on
Happiness.
The world can be an uncertain place. But I believe that we are
all part of a global family. In the midst of ongoing political
change and uncertainty, we need to stop talking about division and
unease and start listening - to each other and to our own
wisdom.
As Editor of Psychologies, I am determined to help create 'safe
places' where we can have meaningful conversations about the things
that matter. I believe we can choose compassion over fear, and make
decisions which are wise and caring rather than self-interested or
ego-led; we can be part of a movement figuring out positive
solutions for ourselves and our fellow human beings.
In this spirit, Pyschologies and Action for Happiness are launching
Happiness Book Clubs. Our vision is to create more
happiness in the world through the way in which we approach our
lives and the way we treat each other. The idea is to meet once a
month to experiment with how you can put happiness - yours and
other people's - at the heart of your philosophy.
What's the goal?
To help create a genuinely happier society by providing a place
for us to connect once a month to talk about how we can survive and
thrive in the world. Let's be the change we want to see.
How does it work?
Every month, invite your friends, family or people you'd like to
get to know, and create your own book club to discuss our book of
the month, recommended and reviewed by Action for Happiness
positive psychology expert, Vanessa King. Psychologies will also
post monthly interviews with the book's author on Life Labs and Facebook group.
Why start a Happiness Book Club?
Researchers have found people are happier when they are with
others (even if you're an introvert). Happy people are also more
sociable and helpful. So, being around others makes us happier, and
when we are happier, we are more fun to be around, creating an
'upward spiral' of happiness.
Our first book
This month, Vanessa King from Action for Happiness recommends Ed
Halliwell's new book, Into The Heart Of Mindfulness (Little Brown,
£13.99) - so please let us know what you think.
About the book
Plagued by anxiety and depression for much of his twenties and
thirties, Ed Halliwell frantically searched for ways to understand
and relieve his distress. He discovered mindfulness and the deeper
he went into the practice the more it transformed his life, easing
his depression and helping him see each moment as precious.
As a former editor of FHM magazine, Ed's life has changed
radically and he now teaches mindfulness to others. In this book,
Ed explores how mindfulness can help us transform our unhelpful
biases and habits, enable us to live more at peace with stress and
uncertainty, cultivate cheerfulness and compassion, and help us to
find our life's calling.
Ed emphasises that mindfulness training is a lifelong path and
complete way of being rather than just a short course or quick fix.
With practical advice and refreshing candour, he explores how
working with the realities of our minds, bodies and day-to-day
existence - rather than striving for positive results - can help us
rediscover a richly nourishing, deeply-textured life.
Related events
Psychologies will be discussing the book with Ed Halliwell live
at the Margate Book Festival on 20 August 2016. And Ed will also be
the special guest speaker at a big Action for Happiness event in
London on 15 November 2016.
Suzy Greaves is editor of Psychologies
and author of Making The Big Leap and The Big Peace. She believes
that happiness is about living life to the full right here, right
now, committing to a few goals now and again and taking Oscar, the
Psychologies dog for a walk when it all gets a bit too much!