Finding Joy: A Practical Spiritual Guide to Happiness

by Dannel I. Schwartz, Mark Hass (With)

Overview

Searching for happiness in our modern world of stress and struggle is common; finding it is more unusual. This guide explores and explains how to find joy through a time-honored, creative—and surprisingly practical—approach based on Kabbalah and the teachings of Jewish mystics.

The very core of the Jewish mystical tradition is centered on the belief that if our focus is spiritual, then true appreciation of our lives, and true joy, are possible. Step by step, Finding Joy describes the basis of happiness in the context of Jewish mystical tradition and shows, in an easy-to-understand way, how we can use its concept of the 10 divine "rays of light," the Sefirot, to remedy the everyday unhappiness in our lives.

Clear, creative, personal and down-to-earth, Finding Joy introduces the ancient insights of the Jewish mystics, and offers practical week-by-week exercises for the soul which bring them into our daily routines. Finding Joy is not an instant cure for modern life's burdens. Instead, it’s a guide to a time-honored method for thinking and living ... and finding real joy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781580230094
Publisher:	TURNER PUB CO
Publication date:	09/01/1998
Edition description:	Revised ed.
Pages:	178
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

Dannel I. Schwartz is spiritual leader of Temple Shir Shalom in West Bloomfield, Michigan, one of the fastest growing congregations in the U.S. He is well-known for his ability to motivate and inspire. He is the author of On the Wings of Healing, and his articles on religion and spirituality have been featured in Moment Magazine, The American Rabbi, the Detroit Free Press, the Jewish Spectator, and the Detroit News. He frequently is a guest lecturer at universities, synagogues and community centers on the subjects of spirituality, intermarriage strategies and modern Jewish philosophy.

Mark Hass has been on the staff of the Detroit News and the Miami Herald.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments 9
Introduction 13

Chapter 1 Why Didn't You Enjoy All the Permitted Pleasures? 19
Chapter 2 Mind over Matter: If You Don’t Mind, It Doesn’t Matter 35
Chapter 3 The Battle for Our Minds 51
Chapter 4 Wanting It More; Enjoying It Less 63
Chapter 5 Getting Through the Pain 77
Chapter 6 Making Success and Ambition Work for You 91
Chapter 7 Creating a Road Map to Happiness 105
Chapter 8 Getting Your Attitude Adjusted 115
Chapter 9 Making Sense, Not Excuses 127
Chapter 10 The Power of "No" 141
Chapter 11 Be Mystical. Be Happy. 149
Chapter 12 Pursuing Happiness 163

Glossary 177
Suggested Readings 181

Editorial Reviews

Schwartz, the spiritual leader of Temple Shir Shalom in West Bloomfield, Mich., asserts that the Jewish mystical tradition can provide the unhappy with a "practical spiritual guide to happiness." Schwartz demonstrates that the Kabbalah teaches that true joy is possible if the true focus of people's lives is spiritual. In each chapter, Schwartz examines some of the reasons that people are unhappy, and he then explores the ways in which people can use the teachings of the Sefirot, or the 10 divine "rays of light," like Chesed (lovingkindness), Hokhmah (wisdom), and Binah (understanding) to attain happiness. Each chapter concludes with a set of weekly spiritual exercises that put into practice the lessons of the chapter. Although many of the lessons Schwartz teaches in this book echo the bromides of much popular spirituality ("If we don't exercise our inner joy, we will not be able to cope with the worst of times"), his focus on the spirituality of the Jewish mystics provides the book with a depth that saves it from being just another superficial spiritual handbook. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

"This new book is not only practical and universal, but is deeply spiritual in its approach to finding happiness. Jewish mysticism transcends the traditional psychotherapies and 'feel-good' platitudes of today and provides solid, workable teachings about ourselves and the world in which we live."
—Dr. Stephen R. Covey, author of number one best-selling The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

"A direct and easy guide to a Jewish spirituality that doesn't make it 'a big deal.’ ‘So easy is this for you—so do-able with word and heart’ (Deut. 30:14)."
—Rabbi Zalman M. Schachter-Shalomi

“Pithy, effective and remarkable.... A good read for those who seek to do good and enjoy happiness.”
—Msgr. Tom Hartman, The God Squad

From the Publisher