Chapter 1. The Path of Joy

Why do you think the author was drawn to spirituality in the first place? Is spirituality a natural tendency of most people? Or is that kind of curiosity something only some people have?

Do you agree that joy is different from pleasure, as “The Path of Joy” story from the Upanishads seems to imply? Why or why not? Does thinking about your own life experiences help to clarify the meaning of the verse?

Chapter 2. Making Peace with the Universe

What did William James mean by “the spiritual mood”? Does anyone in your book club or seminar recognize this feeling and have an experience of it to report?

Why does the author try to distinguish between feelings and thoughts? Do you typically pay attention to your own feelings and thoughts? Do you consider them differently? Why might doing so be helpful or therapeutic?

What do you think about the author’s justification for exploring spirituality? Do you think spirituality can be practical? Or is spirituality of cultural interest, but not really personally practical in any other way?

Chapter 3. Socrates: An Old Man and His Daemon

Why did the author turn to Socrates initially?

How does the author describe a daemon (a demon)? Do you think this could still be a valid concept?

What do you think about the voice that spoke to Socrates? Do you think it could have been divine? Divine (daemonic) seems to be psychological to Socrates. Is it valid to think about divinity as an aspect of human psychology?

How does Socrates seem to understand “happiness” (eudaemonia)? What could it mean to be “well with one’s spirit”?

Chapter 4. Abu Hamid al-Ghazali: The Greatest Midlife Crisis in the History of Islam

What seems to have caused Ghazali’s breakdown? Have you ever wondered whether anything you have learned might help in your pursuit of happiness?

Ghazali seems to have needed a spiritual reboot. Have you ever needed a spiritual reboot? Did you pursue it? How did your experience compare to his? Did you learn anything from his experience? What do you think might have interested Ghazali about your experience? 

Has anyone in your group used a mantra or dhikr? What do you think might happen if you were to use Ghazali’s dhikr of “God, God, God ...”? Go ahead and try, it’s as simple as the instructions offered in the book.

Chapter 5. Qiu Chuji: Chinngis Khan Learns to Cherish Life

What was bothering Chinngis (Genghis) Khan? Why did he seek spiritual counseling as he unhappily approached retirement at age sixty? What was making him unhappy?

How did the advice of the Daoist monk surprise the great khan? Do you find Qiu Chuji’s advice ironic? Do you think it could be personally helpful?

Can a change in perspective also change your mood? Do you think the perspectives championed by ancient Daoism have anything to offer today regarding personal wellbeing?

Chapter 6. Mary Lou Williams: Jazz for the Soul

Have you ever felt your problems in life to be insurmountable? Have you ever decided, like Mary Lou Williams, simply to stop to take some time to think? What did you discover?

Have you ever wondered whether your own contribution makes the world better or worse? What did Mary Lou Williams do about this feeling? What did you?

Have you ever wondered whether you are wasting your talent? Have you tried to pay your talents forward, as Mary Lou Williams finally decided to do? What was the result?

Chapter 7. Bobby Sichran and the Divine Presence

What is the value of friendship? What did the author learn from his childhood friendship? 

How do your own friends contribute to your life and your feeling of personal well being? Be specific, little things add up.

Conclusion: Giving Into Gravity

What does the author mean by “giving into gravity?” Have you faced circumstances in your life when you felt spiritual gravity and decided to take it seriously? How did it make you feel to do that?

What is the author’s own personal lesson from having written the book? Do his personal takeaways make any sense for you? How and how not?