We spend so much time in pursuit of happiness—trying to purchase it, experience it, meditate our way toward it—but happiness is elusive and doesn’t last. According to the teachings of the Buddha, Cuong Lu writes, “Suffering is not a problem to be solved. It is a truth to be recognized.” Happiness Is Overrated invites us to look deeply at the truths in our lives—not glossing over or denying our suffering—and to focus on the meaning and value already within us.

When does enlightenment come? At the end of the spiritual journey? Or the beginning? In After the Ecstasy, the Laundry, Jack Kornfield brings into focus the truth about satori, the awakened state of consciousness, and enlightenment practices today. The result is this extraordinary look at the hard work we all must do - the laundry - no matter how often we experience ecstatic states of consciousness through meditation and other disciplines.

As much as we might try to resist, endings happen in every moment—the end of a breath, the end of a day, the end of a relationship, and ultimately the end of life. And accompanying each ending is a beginning, though it may be unclear what the beginning holds. In How We Live Is How We Die, Pema Chödrön shares her wisdom for working with this flow of life—learning to live with ease, joy, and compassion through uncertainty, embracing new beginnings, and ultimately preparing for death with curiosity and openness rather than fear.

In her first new book of spiritual teachings in over seven years, Pema Chödrön offers a combination of wisdom, heartfelt reflections, and the signature mix of humor and insight that have made her a beloved figure to turn to during times of change. In an increasingly polarized world, Pema shows us how to strengthen our abilities to find common ground, even when we disagree, and influence our environment in positive ways.

Most of us live in a constant state of fear - of our past, of illness and aging and death, and of losing the things we treasure most. But it doesn't have to be this way, promises Zen master and Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh. Drawing on a lifetime of mindfulness in action, Thich Nhat Hanh shows us how to use the practice of living in the present to acknowledge and embrace our fears, recognize their origins, and render them powerless. The world-renowned Zen teacher guides us through practical exercises for transforming fear into clarity.

Burnout. Many women in America have experienced it. What’s expected of women and what it’s really like to be a woman in today’s world are two very different things - and women exhaust themselves trying to close the gap between them. Sisters Emily Nagoski, PhD, and Amelia Nagoski, DMA, are here to help end the cycle of feeling overwhelmed and exhausted. Instead of asking us to ignore the very real obstacles and societal pressures that stand between women and well-being, they explain with compassion and optimism what we’re up against - and teach us how to fight back.

We live in difficult times. Life so often seems like a turbulent river threatening to drown us and destroy our world. Why, then, shouldn’t we cling to the certainty of the comfortable - to our deep-seated habits and familiar ways? Because, Pema Chödrön teaches, that kind of fear-based clinging keeps us from the infinitely more powerful experience of being fully alive.

Have you ever found yourself thinking your way into a tangle of fret, frustration, or gloom? And then something small - a few kind words, the sun glancing through the clouds, a warm cup of tea - gave you a welcome pause from all your inner chatter? With Making Friends with Your Mind, that's what Pema Chödrön helps us to do, not by chance but with our full intention: to stop fighting with our thoughts and reopen ourselves to wonder as naturally as we breathe.

How to Stop Feeling Like Sh*t is a straight-shooting self-improvement guide for women, one that offers frank advice about the most common self-destructive behaviors women engage in. Andrea Owen—a nationally sought-after life coach—crystallizes what’s behind several invisible, undermining habits, from catastrophizing and people-pleasing to listening to the imposter complex or to one’s inner critic. Powerfully on the mark, the chapters are short and digestible, nicely bypassing weighty examinations in favor of punch points of awareness.

With Quiet, Susan Cain urged our society to cultivate space for the undervalued, indispensable introverts among us, thereby revealing an un­tapped power hidden in plain sight. Now she em­ploys the same mix of research, storytelling, and memoir to explore why we experience sorrow and longing, and how embracing the bittersweetness at the heart of life is the true path to creativity, con­nection, and transcendence.

Yung Pueblo’s path to deep healing began only after years of drug abuse had taken a toll on his mind and body. Searching for a way forward, he found that by honestly examining and addressing the anxieties and fears that he had been running away from, he no longer felt like a stranger inside of his heart and mind. And once he dedicated himself to meditation and trusting his intuition, he started to finally feel mentally lighter, with more love emerging from within. This was not an easy journey, and it's one that he is still on, but it showed him that real healing is possible.

The relentless pursuit of high self-esteem has become a virtual religion - and a tyrannical one at that. Our ultracompetitive culture tells us we need to be constantly above average to feel good about ourselves, but there is always someone more attractive, successful, or intelligent than we are. And even when we do manage to grab hold of high self-esteem for a brief moment, we can't seem to keep it. Our sense of self-worth goes up and down like a ping-pong ball, rising and falling in lockstep with our latest success or failure.

Our most precious resource isn’t money. It’s time. Not only are we allotted just 24 hours a day and an unknown number of years, we also live in a culture that tricks us into feeling “time poor”, like we never have enough. Based on her wildly popular class at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management, Professor Cassie Holmes guides us in how to immediately improve our lives by better investing our time.

Shetty grew up in a family where you could become one of three things—a doctor, a lawyer, or a failure. His family was convinced he had chosen option three: Instead of attending his college graduation ceremony, he headed to India to become a monk, to meditate every day for four to eight hours, and devote his life to helping others. After three years, one of his teachers told him that he would have more impact on the world if he left the monk’s path to share his experience and wisdom with others.

We spend so much of our lives talking to each other, but how much are we simply running on automatic - relying on old habits and hoping for the best? Are we able to truly hear others and speak our mind in a clear and kind way, without needing to get defensive or go on the attack? In this groundbreaking synthesis of mindfulness, somatics, and nonviolent communication, Oren Jay Sofer offers simple yet powerful practices to develop healthy, effective, and satisfying ways of communicating.

We are modern people in a high-tech world. We have first world problems and long to-do lists. And if you grew up in struggle - overcoming homophobia, sexism, trauma, shame, depression, poverty, toxic masculinity, racism, or social injustice - you need a different type of meditation...one that doesn't pretend the struggle doesn't exist. Now, Justin introduces Freedom Meditation - an approach that addresses disillusionment, social justice, and shame; strengthens intuition; cuts through self-doubt; and empowers you to make better decisions.

Believe what you've heard about meditation: it'll focus your mind, open your heart, and sometimes surprise you with insight. And it's not complicated to learn. In fact, everything you need to get started is contained in this audiobook. Lodro Rinzler begins by challenging you to ask yourself why you want to meditate in the first place. (Good news: there's no wrong answer!)

A concise, jargon-free guide to learning what Buddhist meditation is - and isn't - with advice on how to start a meditation practice. If you want to meditate but have no idea where to begin, this book by best-selling author and Buddhist teacher Susan Piver will help you: It contains everything you need to know to start a meditation practice and, even more important, to continue one.

In each episode of their podcast By the Book, Jolenta Greenberg and Kristen Meinzer take a deep dive into a different self-help book, following its specific instructions, rules, and advice to the letter. From diet and productivity to decorating to social interactions, they try it all, record themselves along the way, then share what they’ve learned with their devoted and growing audience of fans who tune in.

Behind our stress, clutter, and confusion is an infinitely spacious place one might call stillness or joy. This is our natural state of being, but we usually don’t experience it, because we are caught in a web of material possessions, desires, and fears. Our clutter often becomes another member of the family that we feed, house, and lug around. In Your Spacious Self, author and professional space clearing expert Stephanie Bennett Vogt shows us that it’s not our stuff but the holding on to it that creates a force field of stuck-ness that clouds our perceptions and paralyzes our lives.

For more than 20 years, Nicola Bird experienced anxiety and panic attacks, sometimes so severely she couldn't leave the house. She tried everything, including medication, psychiatric counselling, yoga, and NLP. Then she stumbled upon a completely different way of understanding the human mind that changed her relationship with anxiety forever. In A Little Peace of Mind, Nicola opens up about her own experiences and shares simple ideas to help you realize your own innate mental health and well-being.

Whether you're a complete novice or you've "tried it before," veteran meditation teacher Dean Sluyter's relaxed, down-to-earth approach will help you test-drive a variety of meditative techniques, such as breath, sound, the senses, the sky, and the simple sense of "I" and discover which ones fit you best. You'll discover that the key to meditation is effortlessness and find all the practical tips you need for adapting these methods to your own life,as you live it, even for a few minutes a day.

These days there's so much fear in the air, you can almost taste it - along with all the varieties of anxiety, anger, and addiction that grow out of it. How can you navigate your way through the fear and confusion, and find your way to peace? In Fear Less, acclaimed teacher and award-winning author Dean Sluyter shows how to use simple meditative techniques and subtle tweaks of body, mind, and breath to open your life to deep, relaxed confidence.

It's time to stop putting yourself at the bottom of every to-do list and start taking care of yourself first. It's time to leave Superwoman in the movies, where she belongs, and say hello to being a super woman - the best, most productive version of the hero you already are.

During his twenty years as a GP, Dr. Rangan Chatterjee, author of the international bestseller Feel Better in 5, has seen first-hand that motivation isn't always enough for us to maintain a healthy lifestyle. It's only when we learn how to support our own mental wellbeing and cultivate core happiness that these choices become easy. In Happy Mind, Happy Life, Dr. Chatterjee shares cutting-edge insights into the science of happiness and reveals ten simple ways to put you back in control of your health.

Everyone can manifest. We're all doing it - every second of every day - without even realising it. For years, journalist and podcaster Jordanna Levin thought that she was psychic. She would worry about things and they would come true. But she wouldn't just worry, she would feel them, take subconscious action towards them and believe with every cell of her being that they would happen - and most of the time, they did. Until one day she changed the game. If she could manifest mishaps and disasters, why not the things she actually wanted?

What if you could be happier, right now, without radically changing your life? As nationally recognized happiness expert Nataly Kogan teaches, happiness is not a nice feeling or a frivolous extra. It’s a critical, non-negotiable ingredient for living a fulfilling, meaningful, and healthy life - and it's a skill that we can all learn and improve through practice. In Happier Now, Nataly shares an illuminating, inspiring, and science-based guide to help you build your happier skills and live with more joy, starting now.

Buddhism has a lot to say about suffering - and there are likely few times we suffer more intensely than when we break up with a romantic partner. It feels like you may never recover sometimes. But Lodro Rinzler has wonderfully good news for those suffering heartbreak: The 2,500-year-old teachings of the Buddha are the ultimate antidote for emotional pain. And you don't need to be a Buddhist for them to apply to you.

Joy is not for just the lucky few - it's a choice anyone can make. In this groundbreaking book, based on his popular course, James Baraz helps you discover a path to the happiness that's right in front of you, offering a step-by-step program that will reorient your mind away from dissatisfaction and distraction and toward the contentment and delight that is abundantly available in our everyday lives. You can decide to be happy.

"No" is sometimes the hardest word to say. It's also the most necessary. How many times have you heard yourself saying yes to the wrong things - overwhelming requests, bad relationships, time-consuming obligations? How often have you wished you could summon the power to turn them down? This program will help you take back your power by showing that a well-placed "No" can not only save you time and trouble, it can save your life.