Finding the Freedom to Get Unstuck and Be Happier

The ancient and scientific secrets to getting unstuck from negative habits.

Everyone gets stuck in habitual patterns, including emotional, behavioral, and relational habits. We have the same arguments repeatedly with our parents, partners, and children despite wanting to stop. Often by the time we realize we’re stuck, we no longer know how to get unstuck. The secret to finding freedom is to understand karma and free will.

Why is it useful to understand karma and free will correctly? If you misunderstand karma, you’re more likely to get stuck. And if you misunderstand free will, you’re more likely to stay stuck.

Joining Western psychological science and traditional Buddhism, experimental psychologist and Zen monk Douglas Cheolsoeng Gentile describes how our minds can be simultaneously our greatest weakness and greatest asset. We are controlled by both external forces and internal habits of mind, while simultaneously believing ourselves to be ‘free’. This conundrum can be solved by seeing where our biases begin, how our natural ability to learn traps us, and how we unintentionally undermine the progress we intend to make. This book can help you find freedom from negative habits, relationship patterns, and feelings.

You don’t need to be Buddhist to be able to use these ideas to be happier, just as you don’t need to be a mathematician to be able to add. You just need to learn to have an accurate understanding of the concepts and processes and to make them work for you