Why Be Happy?: The Japanese Way of Acceptance

by Scott Haas

Overview

This beautiful and practical guide to ukeireru, the Japanese principle of acceptance, offers a path to well-being and satisfaction for the anxious and exhausted.


Looking for greater peace and satisfaction? Look no further than the Japanese concept of ukeireru, or acceptance. Psychologist Scott Haas offers an elegant, practical, and life-changing look at ways we can reduce anxiety and stress and increase overall well-being. By learning and practicing ukeireru, you can:

• Profoundly improve your relationships, with a greater focus on listening, finding commonalities, and intuiting
• Find calm in ritualizing things such as making coffee, drinking tea, and even having a cocktail
• Embrace the importance of baths and naps
• Show respect for self and others, which has a remarkably calming effect on everyone
• Learn to listen more than you talk
• Tidy up your life by downsizing experiences and relationships that offer more stress than solace
• Cultivate practical ways of dealing with anger, fear, and arguments — the daily tensions that take up so much of our lives

By practicing acceptance, we learn to pause, take in the situation, and then deciding on a course of action that reframes things. Why Be Happy? Discover a place of contentment and peace in this harried world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780738285498
Publisher:	Hachette Books
Publication date:	07/07/2020
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	1,038,773
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Scott Haas is a writer and clinical psychologist and the author of four books. The winner of a James Beard award for his on-air broadcasts on NPR's Here and Now, he holds a Ph.D. from the University of Detroit and he did his doctoral internship at Massachusetts Mental Health Center, a Harvard Medical School teaching hospital. He works in Japan three to four times each year. He is based in Cambridge, MA.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 The World 3

Chapter 2 Acceptance 21

Chapter 3 Breathing in Harmony 51

Chapter 4 Sleep 67

Chapter 5 Soaked 83

Chapter 6 What Is Nature? 97

Chapter 7 Silence 115

Chapter 8 Apologies 131

Chapter 9 Everything Is Nothing 139

Chapter 10 No Place Is Ever Quite Like Home 149

Chapter 11 Yes, I Understand 157

Chapter 12 What Would Dogen Do? 165

Chapter 13 How to Make a Decision 185

Chapter 14 Read the Air 197

Chapter 15 Contentment 207

Chapter 16 Revisiting Acceptance 217

Acknowledgments 229

Bibliography 231

Editorial Reviews

"Respect, flexibility, and the inspiration to articulate core values are the key elements to understanding different cultures. With these three approaches, Why Be Happy? describes quite eloquently the values that Japanese people want to hand to the next generation."—Yoji Yamakuse, author of Japaneseness

"Scott Haas describes dualism of life in Japan perfectly. He allows the reader to view the culture through his experiences as the Japanese simultaneously strive for perfection or imperfection, depending on whether you view it (the culture) from a western or Japanese standpoint. I highly recommend Why Be Happy? to anybody who's interested in learning about Japan. Omedetoo gozaimasu!"—Kenny Garrett, Grammy Award-winning jazz musician

"Why be Happy? is a fascinating, suggestive contemplation, filtered through experiences in Japan, of the happiness perplex in America. Haas perceives the basic elements of contentment in Japan as acceptance and empathy and asks if these aren't more satisfyingly found in the connections between people than in the isolated (American) individual."—Merry White, PhD, Professor of Anthropology, Boston University

"Scott Haas has written a valuable book that is enormously helpful for integrating our Western approach with Japanese practices for stress reduction. Both anecdotal and grounded in research, the book is extremely pragmatic. By focusing on Japanese methods to reduce stress, he then suggests that the subsequent calm can enable people to better address the systemic and institutional causes of their stress."—Robert B. Saper, MD, Director of Integrative Medicine, Boston Medical Center

"Scott Haas understands that Japanese cuisine reflects culture and history; he takes us behind the scenes and shows how the food is a sure way to appreciate Japan."—Shinichiro Takagi, owner and chef at Relais & Chateaux, two Michelin star restaurant Zeniya in Kanazawa, Japan

"Scott Haas's insightful and engrossing exploration into the Japanese way of acceptance is a road map to a more meaningful life. This wonderful book excites with food for thought that is sumptuous, savory, and nuanced."—Drew Nieporent, Restaurateur: Nobu, Tribeca Grill, Bâtard

"Scott Haas asks a very philosophical question, and he is really interesting and deep. Every time you open a page, you'll be amazed."—Kenichiro Ooe, former chef at Kozue, Park Hyatt Tokyo, featured in Lost in Translation

From the Publisher

Narrator Gary Furlong enthusiastically delivers this advice on how we can reduce our stress and overreactivity and be happy by adopting aspects of the Japanese way of life. Furlong’s authentic pronunciation of Japanese words brings persuasiveness to his discussion of how Japan’s attitudes about the relationship between self and the community, along with social rules and rituals, helps set the stage for social cohesiveness and a state of acceptance. While Furlong’s animated narration can be playful, it is appropriately balanced with respect—especially in addressing the question of cultural appropriation. This is likely to be an engaging and uplifting listen for those interested in Japanese culture. M.F. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

JULY 2020 - AudioFile

Narrator Gary Furlong enthusiastically delivers this advice on how we can reduce our stress and overreactivity and be happy by adopting aspects of the Japanese way of life. Furlong’s authentic pronunciation of Japanese words brings persuasiveness to his discussion of how Japan’s attitudes about the relationship between self and the community, along with social rules and rituals, helps set the stage for social cohesiveness and a state of acceptance. While Furlong’s animated narration can be playful, it is appropriately balanced with respect—especially in addressing the question of cultural appropriation. This is likely to be an engaging and uplifting listen for those interested in Japanese culture. M.F. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

JULY 2020 - AudioFile