By letting go of harmful desire, I got more of the physical depth that I'd wanted before, yet the shapes of the poses barely mattered now. What did matter was how good it felt to just be with what is and let go of what isn't.

Worry has historically played a vital role in our survival and it helps us cope with many of the challenges we face today. At the same time, worry that is too intense and too unrelenting can definitely cut down on your happiness and enjoyment of life.

When we are doing something mindfully, our senses are more heightened, causing our experiences to become that much more satisfying.

Given how much time I spend wandering around consumed by how stellar life will be once I lose the last five pregnancy pounds, get my book written, get the baby to sleep through the night, that to realize quite suddenly that I am happy right now is miraculous. It stops me in my tracks.

Aging and changing might be inevitable, but they ain't easy. They precipitate in us a great uncertainty. The myriad dramatic disturbances of modern middle life create an overwhelming crisis of identity and purpose for each of us.

We spend our lives trying to get to some imaginary there, where lasting happiness awaits. What we don't know how to do is to get to here, where we are. We discover well-being when we shift our focus toward this moment and what is actually here.

As the year draws into a close, many of us reflect back to our personal highs and lows. Even people who are not totally convinced of the end followed by a new beginning get pulled into the general feeling of warm hugs, introspection and slowing down.

The $64 question is, can we maintain balance, awareness and open-heartedness while we engage fully in the activities of this world? Can we make the five seducers work for us or will we work for them?

While we often have little or no control over the situations that affect us, we do have control over our own perceptions of them. We do have the very real and extremely potent power of perspective.

The American Dream could be stated as "You have to do it yourself to have what you want, so you can be who you are." But this is totally backward on a spiritual level.

What lifts you up during difficult times? Is there something in your life that can reliably center you? And even more, do you have anything readily av...

Is that screen and keyboard often in your hand the greatest personal and professional tool ever, or is it the devil's device, insidiously sucking the time out of your life and the life out of your soul?

Since the definition of "happiness" is so general, I decided to ask 100 different people how the would define the word. Here's what I found: