Dear Friend,
I hope January finds you happy, healthy, and well.
I’m pleased to officially introduce our first book of the new year and of this first winter season at The Contemplative Reading Project: The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World, a conversation with His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
These two spiritual leaders begin their book with “the invitation to joy,” where they write, “to celebrate our special birthdays, we met for a week in Dharamsala to enjoy our friendship and to create something that we hope will be a birthday gift for others. There is perhaps nothing more joyous than birth, and yet so much of life is spent in sadness, stress, and suffering. We hope this small book will be an invitation to more joy and more happiness.”
I want to invite you, too, friends and readers, into joy. A joyful reading experience, a joyful new year, and a joyful life. It’s something I strive for myself, knowing full well, however, that joyful living is both outward looking and internal. It’s something, I think, we can create for ourselves, but which only persists when we make it manifest for those around us as well.
Why Contemplative Reading?
Contemplative reading asks us not just what we’re learning about the book in our hands (or ears), but what we’re learning about ourselves through the experience of reading it. The aim is to create deeper awareness of ourselves and understanding of others. It is often described as “holistic,” but also as “heart-knowing.”
Heart-knowing. Doesn’t that sound nice?
The Plan
The Book of Joy is conveniently broken down into thirty small segments, three of which are introductory pieces and the rest of which are organized into three parts (covering the leaders’ five-day visit). My plan is to read the segments within each of the three major sections, approximately one segment per day, and then report back on each major section. In other words, like this:
- January 9: Reflect on Introduction and The Nature of True Joy
- January 19: Reflect on The Obstacles to Joy
- January 29: Reflect on The Eight Pillars of Joy
There’s a helpful reader’s guide at the back of my edition that is divided into questions for each part of the book. I’ll be referencing this during my reading, though I probably won’t be writing much about it directly (unless I use one or more of the questions to craft my responses.) There’s also a section at the end call “Joy Practices,” which are essentially meditations or journaling exercises. I won’t reflect on these directly, either, though I already have them bookmarked as resources for myself.
Reading & Responding
Each set of reading will guide my responses here on the blog and on social media. I might sometimes share the most provocative line or passage, and what it makes me think about. Other times, I might ask questions about the reading, things I’m wondering about or confused about. And still further, I might compare what I’m reading to what it reminds me of from other readings or experiences.
I don’t want to give too much guidance about how to read, except to say, read attentively, read slowly, and listen to yourself. What thoughts and feelings arise as you’re reading? Write them down and give yourself some moments to reflect on why you’re thinking what you’re thinking, or why you’re feeling what you’re feeling.
Conversations
I will also be interacting on social media, of course, and may share micro-thoughts and favorite quotes or reactions on Instagram, Threads, TikTok, and Facebook. I encourage you to join these conversations or leave your thoughts in the blog comments. On social media, please use #theCRPblog so we can find one another.
Meditation: “If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito.” -Dalai Lama XIV
In kindness,
~Adam
Contemplative Reading Project 
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