Happy: Why More or Less Everything is Absolutely Fine

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Oh, my! I'm not exactly un-educated but I found the language very high-blown and academic. It was hard going at times but then, it would suddenly switch into story-telling. It fried me and I found much of the book hard to get though. It is VERY long and I would say that it could have been edited to half the length and still been detailed enough. I really don't know why he wanted to make it so incredibly detailed. Don't get me wrong, it's beautifully crafted, but I would say it belongs more on the reading list for a degree than your average Joe's weekend reading. we are terrible at reading each other’s thoughts. Yet we consistently behave as if we have been endowed with this entirely handsome ability.” In an interview in New Scientist in 2005, when asked how he "acquired his psychological skills", Brown says that he learnt skills as a hypnotist, which he was not sure how to apply until he started performing close-up magic. When asked whether he is able to detect lies, Brown claimed to be able to read subtle cues such as micro-muscle movements that indicate to him if someone is lying. Concerning his apparent success at hypnotising people, he stated that he can normally spot a suggestible type of person and chooses that person to be his participant. He believes that the presence of a television camera also increases suggestibility. [41]

That's probably all that I need to write. This little book explains Derren's philosophy of life, which is heavily based in Stoicism. Rather than chase often unachievable goals and endless acquisitions, he argues that to live a happier life we need to realise that we cannot control the future. Instead we should accept that which we cannot control and try to manage our judgement of events rather than the events themselves. Alexander, Ella (24 November 2014). "Derren Brown on the disappointment of coming out: 'It's not that people react badly to it – they really don't care' ". The Independent . Retrieved 10 September 2023. You can’t change the past, and dwelling on it makes you miserable. But it doesn’t have to be this way. He talks a about "enjoying the moment" or mindfulness and, as we all know, this is probably the best way to combat anxiety and his explanations of how the mind works are as good as you would expect from someone so skilled in the field. There are also some very good sections about how to accept the ups and downs of life - and of our own emotions - and how to steer our minds into working for us rather than against us.Channel 4 plans 3D shows, The Queen, Derren Brown". Macworld.co.uk. 24 August 2009. Archived from the original on 10 June 2011 . Retrieved 1 March 2010.

Stage & Screen: 2007-08 UK Tour 'Mind Reader – An Evening of Wonders' ". Derren Brown . Retrieved 10 October 2021. a b c d "Stage & Screen: 2003-04 UK Tour 'Derren Brown: Live' ". Derren Brown . Retrieved 10 October 2021.Happy helped me to change my outlook. I went from unhelpful, negative thoughts to being OK and at peace. It's a thought provoking book and I have no doubt that it will help some people but I fear that he's fallen into the same trap as the very people he despises. At times, he encourages the reader to come to the book with an open mind and make their own decisions but then hammers home his point of view with a zeal which many preachers would envy! At one point, he had me seriously doubting my own, carefully thought out and examined map of the world. Now, that's not a bad thing - I believe we should all question our belief systems from time to time - but I'm concerned that his arguments are so forceful that it leaves a novice of self-exploration in danger of taking everything he says as gospel. Something which I'm sure, he'd rather they didn't. After all - none of us are "right" and he's the first person to say that the stories we tell ourselves are just that - fiction. I got to know about him through someone mentioning him when I was trying to learn about hypnosis and then I watched "Miracle" on Netflix. In this magician and performer, is such an extraordinary, clear-minded thinker and writer. Aitkenhead, Decca (17 October 2010). "Derren Brown: 'I'm being honest about my dishonesty' ". The Guardian. London . Retrieved 29 November 2013.