Happiness
The Mechanics of Happiness is getting some quite remarkable feedback, it’s only fair that I share some of it…. Hi Peter, I have opted to read the book from beginning to end, not picking out individual books. I am blown away at your brilliance and insight; it truly is a read that makes you feel as though you are having an enlightening conversation with the author. It’s... Read More
The storm, the question and the tornado
Here’s an extraordinary experience. I wanted to think about a particular issue that was perplexing me. So I set off to walk the five miles or so to the small Midwestern town near where I was staying. Just the act of walking slows a person down to a more appropriate speed for clear thinking and we tend to move so fast it has to be conscious decision to slow down. It was hot,... Read More
Buddha on kindness
Often I draw inspiration from the trace left by those who have gone before. Those whose lives have been lived virtuously and whose wisdom travels the ages timelessly. Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha’s words to me are always simple and appropriate. This piece on Kindness I always find to be particularly insightful and a sound guide. “This is what should be done By one... Read More
Development
“If you wish to achieve worthwhile things in your personal and career life, you must become a worthwhile person in your own self-development.” Brian Tracy Ultimately there will be returns in this journey of yours, according to your attitude will these returns be defined. The main objectives are growth or development, personal fulfilment or satisfaction and their inevitable... Read More
Interview with Peter J. Levine
Artist, philosopher and sometime interviewer Elizabeth Dee meets Peter Levine, author of The Mechanics of Happiness: Engineering a Positive Approach to Your Life. I’ve met some of the great polemicists, I’ve met some angry people and I’ve met social revolutionaries. Peter Levine is different and I’m trying to find out how. We are in a central London hotel, a quiet one not... Read More
Belief and reason
Here’s a curious thing about belief. What you believe in can be anything. It doesn’t have to make sense, it doesn’t need an externally verifiable point of reference, it doesn’t need to be based in anyone else’s reality at all. This, like so much in the human experience, is a dichotomy. It allows great freedom but it also requires responsibility to yourself and to others... Read More
Notes from Chicago
Flew to Chicago from London yesterday. Several observations… I’m always stunned at just how small the world and subsequently the planet has become. The weather was very good all the way for the journey which allows for some excellent arial views. Flew over Iceland, yes, that Iceland, and as ever I am stunned by its beauty, the mountains capped by snow, the archipelago,... Read More
Another reader writes…
I asked for some feedback and got this, I won’t say anything about it other than to express the profound sense of humility and gratitude such things cause in me : THE MECHANICS OF HAPPINESS PETER J. LEVINE Inspiring, powerfully uplifting and thought provoking. The author manages to convey the profound mysteries... Read More
A reader writes…
I received this letter from a reader of my book, The Mechanics of Happiness…, Liz Vinton. “This book has been a true inspiration to me. It touched me at a very deep level. You have managed to give us life’s worldly wisdoms in a truly uplifting way. This is a very rare quality to have. You have given us a lifetime of experience in your own unique way. I feel that... Read More
The Angel, the miracle and the future
mir•a•cle ˈmɪr ə kəl Show Spelled[mir-uh-kuh l] –noun 1. an effect or extraordinary event in the physical world that surpasses all known human or natural powers and is ascribed to a supernatural cause. 2. such an effect or event manifesting or considered as a work of god. 3. a wonder; marvel. 4. a wonderful or surpassing example of some quality: a miracle of modern... Read More
