How to Live in the World and Still Be Happy

by Hugh Prather

So many things in life can cause us concern and work, love, money, the things we own or don't own, physical appearance. Each one of these large segments of our life can be an obstacle to happiness; taken together, the accumulation of life concerns can become an enormous boulder blocking our way. Now, beloved author Hugh Prather, who has touched so many people with his bestselling books across the years, gives us an actual program that shows us How to Live in the World and Still Be Happy . Filled with concrete exercises developed by Hugh Prather during his years of counseling, teaching, and administering, How to Live in the World and Still Be Happy shows us how to examine our own lives so that we can learn to change the attitudes and actions that hold us back from experiencing and achieving lasting happiness.

Genres: Self Help, Nonfiction, Psychology

260 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 30, 2002

About the author

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.

Reviews

[Lis · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[juulia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my cup of tea. As much as I try, I don't think I'll ever like self help books.

[Kat V · Rating 2 out of 5]

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

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

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...

[Mela Nie · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Amanda Roelant]

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.

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Deepshikha · Rating 5 out of 5]

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,

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think I need to re-read this soon; it was like a firehose of good advice, and I think I missed a lot.

[Elizabeth]

As heard on Clear+Vivid: https://omny.fm/shows/clear-vivid-wit...

[Ming's fantasy myth library · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/5 stars

The writing style is too philosophical and poetic for me, made me feel distant and irrelevant though I actually like philosophy

[Abbegale · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love everything this man writes- Simple, Uplifiting exercies on letting go of anger/negative emotion and allowing ourselves to find true joy...

[Lily · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book I return to again and again for its pragmatic insights on how to cope in spiritual productive ways with this very real world.