Reviews

Carlson offers insight into how to maintain a healthy psychological state, defining this "natural state" as happiness, contentment, and gratitude, where one can come from a place of wisdom when facing life's challenges. The author describes five aspects that affect psychological health: thinking, moods, feelings, separate realities, and living in the present. He clearly explains how he believes these aspects foster or adversely affect one's happiness. His practical suggestions include recognizing that thoughts are not reality, refusing to act while in a low mood, and using feelings to monitor moods and thoughts, which are particularly useful in keeping relationships of all kinds in balance. The one flaw with the program is that Carlson is too dismissive of therapy as a tool, characterizing it as keeping people "stuck" in bad psychological habits. Since he offers more balanced evaluations of other tools available to help people, this refusal to balance the view of therapy is glaring. This shortcoming in an otherwise helpful program does not negate the usefulness of Carlson's own suggestions. Recommended for public and academic libraries.-Kathleen A. Sullivan, Phoenix P.L. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.