Lighten Up: Seven Ways to Kick the Suffering Habit
Lighten Up, Seven Ways to Kick the Suffering Habit                        Book by Deborah Duda                "Joy is the purpose of life," Dalai Lama A practical guide to increasing the joy in our daily lives by healing the suffering habit. KAUA'I, Hawai'i: Ask yourself, "When was the last time I felt joyful?" If the answer is not "Today", reading Lighten Up, Seven Ways to Kick the Suffering Habit will open a door in your life. Part memoir, part exposé, Lighten Up is not a book for sissies. It takes courage to acknowledge the sadness and losses in our lives, let them go, and reclaim our joy. Suffering is the least recognized, most widespread, most pernicious addiction of our time, according to the author. We live in a world where angst is prevalent and, for many, even fashionable. Most of humanity believes suffering is inevitable. While feeling emotional pain is unavoidable as we make peace with the often-profound changes in our lives, suffering -- pain prolonged -- is optional. Lighten Up exposes the severity of the suffering habit and shares practical, and often fun, options for changing our limiting ideas and behaviors so we can live more light-heartedly. "We are hardwired for bliss, both physical and divine," concluded Candice Pert, Ph.D., after thirty years of research as a Georgetown University School of Medicine research professor and a National Institute for Mental Health section chief. Lightening up is the greatest gift we can give to our families, our communities, and our world.  Being a profoundly contented person who feels a joyful kinship with all of life is the major work of a lifetime.