The discipline of pleasure

Chocolate... sex... volunteer work... sport... art... spiritual rapture You cannot turn off the pleasure impulse. Better to join it - with discipline. In an eclectic mix of personal anecdote, psychological insight and philosophical musings, James Bampfield shines a new light on the role of pleasure in life. The whole spectrum of pleasure is explored and given meaning through his typology of ego pleasure, simple pleasure, soul pleasure and spirit pleasure. His suggestion is that we move away from a rigid truth perspective - characterized either by an over-focus on duty and obligation or on suffering and sacrifice - and prioritize enjoyment. Bouncing off thinkers such as Epicurus and Freud and spiritual figures such as the Buddha and the Dalai Lama, the author argues that pleasure offers a feminine balance to the exaggerated masculine pursuit of truth which has brought the world as much misery as 'progress'. As Eckhart Tolle did in The Power of Now, Bampfield introduces us to a new way of thinking about happiness, one that will lead us to greater personal fulfilment and, he believes, a more peaceful society.