Jane Nelsen is a licensed Marriage, Family, and Child Therapist and author or coauthor of 18 books including the two-million selling Positive Discipline series. The inner wisdom which is our birthright has a hard time flourishing in the face of our relentless stream of emotions and rigid ways of thinking. Nelsen posits understanding and listening as two keys back to serenity. Or as Deepak Chopra is quoted as saying in this paperback: "Keep before you the vision of freeing your mind, and expect when you succeed at doing this, you will be greeted by a stream of joy."

At the heart of this book is the presentation of four principles that will assist you in your quest for peace of mind:

1. The Principle of Thinking as a Function
2. The Principle of Feeling as a Compass
3. The Principle of Separate Realities
4. The Principle of Mood Levels or Levels of Consciousness

Nelsen notes that "we are all in the process of either evolving, learning, and growing or refusing to grow." In the last group are people who often get waylaid by thought-system detours such as anger, insecurity, self-importance, judgments from others, and perceptual prisons. Although the path often seems hard to take, serenity and happiness can be achieved along with the holy grail of contentment.