Download or read book Shopping for Meaningful Lives written by Bruce P. Rittenhouse and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2013-03-27 with total page 213 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Consumerism is a problem. It deforms individual character, our sense of obligation to one another, and our concern for future generations and the environment. Even in the aftermath of the worst economic downturn in seventy years, it remains a defining feature of Western cultures. But, beyond this assessment, neither Christian theologians and ethicists nor secular economists and sociologists have understood what drives consumerism or what can be done to counteract it. This is the problem that Bruce P. Rittenhouse solves in Shopping for Meaningful Lives. Dr. Rittenhouse analyzes economic, sociological, and psychological evidence to prove that consumers behave differently than the current theories predict. Dr. Rittenhouse shows that consumerism functions as a religion. It provides a means of assurance that an individual life is meaningful. Because we need this assurance to live out our everyday lives, consumerism takes precedence over whatever other values a person professes--unless a person can adopt a different way to secure the meaning of his or her life. This interpretation explains how consumers actually behave. From the perspective of Christian theology, consumerism is a wrong answer to a problem of human existence that should be answered by faith in Christ.
Download or read book Shopping for Meaningful Lives written by Bruce P. Rittenhouse and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2013-03-27 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Consumerism is a problem. It deforms individual character, our sense of obligation to one another, and our concern for future generations and the environment. Even in the aftermath of the worst economic downturn in seventy years, it remains a defining feature of Western cultures. But, beyond this assessment, neither Christian theologians and ethicists nor secular economists and sociologists have understood what drives consumerism or what can be done to counteract it. This is the problem that Bruce P. Rittenhouse solves in Shopping for Meaningful Lives. Dr. Rittenhouse analyzes economic, sociological, and psychological evidence to prove that consumers behave differently than the current theories predict.Dr. Rittenhouse shows that consumerism functions as a religion. It provides a means of assurance that an individual life is meaningful. Because we need this assurance to live out our everyday lives, consumerism takes precedence over whatever other values a person professes--unless a person can adopt a different way to secure the meaning of his or her life. This interpretation explains how consumers actually behave. From the perspective of Christian theology, consumerism is a wrong answer to a problem of human existence that should be answered by faith in Christ.
Download or read book Making Meaningful Lives written by Iza Kavedžija and published by University of Pennsylvania Press. This book was released on 2019-07-26 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What makes for a meaningful life? In the Japanese context, the concept of ikigai provides a clue. Translated as "that which makes one's life worth living," ikigai has also come to mean that which gives a person happiness. In Japan, where the demographic cohort of elderly citizens is growing, and new modes of living and relationships are revising traditional multigenerational family structures, the elderly experience of ikigai is considered a public health concern. Without a relevant model for meaningful and joyful older age, the increasing older population of Japan must create new cultural forms that center the ikigai that comes from old age. In Making Meaningful Lives, Iza Kavedžija provides a rich anthropological account of the lives and concerns of older Japanese women and men. Grounded in years of ethnographic fieldwork at two community centers in Osaka, Kavedžija offers an intimate narrative analysis of the existential concerns of her active, independent subjects. Alone and in groups, the elderly residents of these communities make sense of their lives and shifting ikigai with humor, conversation, and storytelling. They are as much providers as recipients of care, challenging common images of the elderly as frail and dependent, while illustrating a more complex argument: maintaining independence nevertheless requires cultivating multiple dependences on others. Making Meaningful Lives argues that an anthropology of the elderly is uniquely suited to examine the competing values of dependence and independence, sociality and isolation, intimacy and freedom, that people must balance throughout all of life's stages.
Download or read book Things That Matter written by Joshua Becker and published by WaterBrook. This book was released on 2023-12-12 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: #1 WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER • Discover practical steps you can take today to live a life focused on things that matter, from the bestselling author of The More of Less and The Minimalist Home. “Things That Matter points the way to free ourselves from the distractions of everyday life so that we can build the lives we seek to create.”—Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project Everywhere around you are distractions: That text you respond to quickly, just to get it out of the way. The newest money-making side hustle to cross your mind. The evening spent organizing your overflowing kitchen cupboards. Disruptions are the enemies of a life well lived—both the new distractions of our generation and timeless ones that have existed for centuries. They all add up to make you feel restless, tired, and unfulfilled. They’re keeping you from living with joy, from accomplishing the good that only you can do. But that can change today. In Things That Matter, Joshua Becker uses practical exercises, questions, insights from a nationwide survey, and success stories to give you the motivation you need to • identify the pursuits that matter most to you • align your dreams with your daily priorities • recognize how money and possessions keep you from happiness • become aware of how others’ opinions of you influence your choices • embrace what you’re truly passionate about instead of planning that next escape • figure out what to do with all those emails, notifications, and pings • let go of past mistakes and debilitating habits Things That Matter is a book about living well. It’s about overcoming the chatter of a world focused on all the wrong things. It’s about rethinking the common assumptions of today to find satisfaction and fulfillment tomorrow. How do we get to the end of our lives with minimal regrets? We set aside lesser pursuits to seek lasting meaning. And we discover the joy of doing it every day.
Download or read book Heaven All Around Us written by Simon Carey Holt and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2018-02-14 with total page 227 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: If living with a deep awareness of God in our lives is important, how do we do it without moving to a monastery? How do we discern and respond to God amidst the places, routines, and relationships of our everyday lives? In this book, we go in search of God’s presence in homes and neighborhoods, supermarkets and sporting arenas, workplaces and weekends. Along the way we look for practices that can lead us more deeply into the way of Jesus: activities like cooking and laundry, walking and sleeping, shopping and conversation with friends. Throughout, we want to better understand how to make God a central part of our lives, and to hear Jesus’ call to “follow me” more clearly in the world around us.
Download or read book Sacred Consumption written by Peter Mundey and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2023 with total page 163 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explores the quasi-religious nature of consumerism and how American Christianity interacts with consumerism. The author uses mixed methods to unpack the nexus between the Christian faith and consumption and how habitual discretionary consumption functions as a pseudo-faith in America.
Download or read book Making Sense of Everyday Life written by Susie Scott and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2013-08-27 with total page 317 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This accessible, introductory text explains the importance of studying 'everyday life' in the social sciences. Susie Scott examines such varied topics as leisure, eating and drinking, the idea of home, and time and schedules in order to show how societies are created and reproduced by the apparently mundane 'micro' level practices of everyday life. Each chapter is organized around three main themes: 'rituals and routines', 'social order', and 'challenging the taken-for-granted', with intriguing examples and illustrations. Theoretical approaches from ethnomethodology, Symbolic Interactionism and social psychology are introduced and applied to real-life situations, and there is clear emphasis on empirical research findings throughout. Social order depends on individuals following norms and rules which are so familiar as to appear natural; yet, as Scott encourages the reader to discover, these are always open to question and investigation. This user-friendly book will appeal to undergraduate students across the social sciences, including the sociology of everyday life, the sociology of emotions, social psychology and cultural studies, and will reveal the fascinating significance our everyday habits hold.
Download or read book Christian Ethics written by Stivers, Laura, A. and published by Orbis Books. This book was released on 2020-08-15 with total page 311 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The fifth edition of this classic introduction to Christian ethics via the case method approach, utilizing case studies of contemporary ethical issues"--
Download or read book Green Consumerism written by Juliana Mansvelt and published by SAGE. This book was released on 2011-06-28 with total page 561 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Colorful bracelets, funky brooches, and beautiful handmade beads: young crafters learn to make all these and much more with this fantastic step-by-step guide. In 12 exciting projects with simple steps and detailed instructions, budding fashionistas create their own stylish accessories to give as gifts or add a touch of personal flair to any ensemble. Following the successful "Art Smart" series, "Craft Smart" presents a fresh, fun approach to four creative skills: knitting, jewelry-making, papercrafting, and crafting with recycled objects. Each book contains 12 original projects to make, using a range of readily available materials. There are projects for boys and girls, carefully chosen to appeal to readers of all abilities. A special "techniques and materials" section encourages young crafters to try out their own ideas while learning valuable practical skills.
Download or read book A New Era of Consumer Behavior written by and published by BoD – Books on Demand. This book was released on 2023-03-29 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The complexities of consumer behavior call for comprehensive and detailed analytical studies. The need for both businesses and academics across the world to understand the behavior of consumers in crisis situations has been clearly illustrated by the Covid pandemic. A New Era of Consumer Behavior - In and Beyond the Pandemic presents research on both theoretical and practical aspects of this topic in three sections: “Digital Shifts in Consumer Behavior”, “Digitalization of Consumer Behavior in the Tourism Sector” and “Consumer Protection and Sustainability”.
Download or read book The Sacraments and Consumer Culture written by Timothy Brunk and published by Liturgical Press. This book was released on 2020 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What does consumerism have to do with the sacraments? We live in cultures where our senses of meaning, identity, and purpose are often found in what we purchase. Apart from the question of hedonism, there is the question of how we orient ourselves in an environment in which we end up marketing our very selves. In this book, Timothy Brunk examines how this consumer culture has had a corrosive effect on the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church. He also assesses how sacramental worship can provide resources for responsible Christian discipleship in today's consumer culture.
Download or read book Shopping Malls and Other Sacred Spaces written by Jon Pahl and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2008-12-29 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Christian historian Sidney Mead has observed: "In America space has played the part that time has played in older cultures of the world." In Shopping Malls and Other Sacred Spaces, Jon Pahl examines this provocative statement in conversation with what he calls the "spatial character" of American theology. He argues that places are always imaginatively constructed by the human beings who inhabit them. Sometimes this spatial theology works to our benefit; other times it poses spiritual risks. What happens when our banal "clothing of the sacred" violates our genuine need for comfort and intimacy? Or when we remember that the fleeting pleasures of a shopping trip or a Disneyland escape are designed to fill someone else's pocket rather than the spiritual emptiness in our own hearts? Pahl develops several ways to "clothe the divine from within the Christian tradition." He introduces a theology of place that reveals aspects of God's character through biblical metaphors drawn from physical spaces, such as the true vine, the rock, and the living water. Accessible and thought provoking, this enlightening book provides a better grasp of our particularly American way of lending religious significance to spaces of all kinds.
Download or read book Minimalism written by Rebecca Morres and published by Self Publisher. This book was released on 2020-09-07 with total page 83 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book consists of two titles, which are the following: Book 1: Minimalism has become a popular topic, and not for nothing! Minimalism lies at the core of a life filled with more contentment and inner peace. Many people have attested to this fact, and it is for that reason why this guide has been put together to enlighten you about the many advantages that minimalism has. Aside from the obvious benefits, we will also focus on common questions and answers, the true meaning of minimalism, lifestyle choices that can rejuvenate your spirit, and Feng Shui wisdom to optimize your living space. Join me in this quest for happiness through having less. Book 2: Everyone is different, and there is nothing wrong with that. However, what does this mean for the application of minimalist principles? It means that minimalism is a stretchable concept that can be mixed into our everyday lives and into our personal lifestyle and choices. It also means that minimalists can be categorized, more or less, into different types. All these topics will come to light in this comprehensive book. Aside from that, the history of minimalism will briefly be explained, as well as the main steps for beginners to take. Are you thinking about minimalism? Then this book is definitely for you.
Download or read book Bringing Loyalty To Life written by Richard Beattie and published by SRA Books. This book was released on 2023-06-08 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After more than 40 years in the retail loyalty business Richard Beattie, founder and chairman of the world-leading, pioneering loyalty giant TCC, shares fifty essential lessons about shopper behaviour, delivering key insights into how to create successful customer loyalty programmes in an ever-changing retail landscape. Based on the many thousands of loyalty solutions that TCC has designed for its partners over the course of three decades as well as the company’s extensive research into shopper behaviour, this book is an invaluable, in-depth resource for retail professionals at any level who are seeking to understand the past, present and future of loyalty and want to: discover how loyalty campaigns can drive increased revenue and growth design loyalty campaigns for their business and measure their success create deep and enduring emotional connections with customers be a force for positive change in the community keep up with retail trends and stay ahead of the competition. Discover the key components of successful loyalty campaigns and learn how this industry expert has helped numerous global retailers change shopper behaviour.
Download or read book Asian Department Stores written by Kerrie L. MacPherson and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-12-16 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this pioneering study of the development of the Asian department store, economists, anthropologists and historians examine various aspects of retailing, business organization, networking and consumerism in the expanding economies of Asia.
Download or read book Minimalist Living Strategies And Habits written by Patty Morgan and published by Patty Morgan. This book was released on 2020-06-09 with total page 199 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Do you frequently feel overwhelmed by the amount of clutter in your home? Do you find it hard to keep up with your busy and hectic schedule and your productivity suffers as a result? Despite your constant efforts, your home is still loaded with clutter and mess everywhere? Do you feel as if your mind is also cluttered? If your answer to these question is yes, you are definitely in the right place. The book brings effective, yet easy to follow minimalist strategies and principles that you can embrace today for a more simplified life. If you struggle with cluttered home, a stuffed closet and a hectic schedule, keep in mind that you are not alone. Since we live in this modern and very chaotic world, we often find it hard to keep up with daily demands, pressures, and unrealistic expectations. If despite your constant efforts to keep your home decluttered and tidy, you still find it hectic, your answer may be embracing a minimalist lifestyle. In this book, you will explore valuable minimalist practices which will help you not only declutter your home, but also simplify your life as you remove daily distractions and focus on what is truly important and valuable to you. Contrary to popular belief, living a minimalist lifestyle does not mean that you live in the tiniest apartment with several pieces of furniture, five items of clothing, and only the bare essentials. Minimalism is actually all about embracing what is truly important by getting rid of everything else which does not fall into this category. By doing so, you gain more time and energy that you can invest in pleasurable activities, like your hobbies or anything else which brings you joy and happiness. Inside You Will Discover What does living a cluttered life packed with distractions mean What is clutter and what are the different types What causes clutter in your life and what it says about you minimalism The origins of minimalism and misconceptions How can you embrace a minimalist lifestyle and what are its major benefits How to set your own minimalism rules and devise your own minimalism version How to boost your productivity with minimalism practices and strategies How to efficiently declutter every area in your home step by step How to develop a minimalist mindset for inner peace and serenity How minimalism can help you clear your mental clutter And much, much more... Get this book NOW, and learn how to declutter your living area as well as your mind with minimalism practices for more joy and happiness!
Download or read book Buddhist Economics written by Clair Brown and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2017-02-21 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the tradition of E. F. Schumacher's Small Is Beautiful, renowned economist Clair Brown argues persuasively for a new economics built upon equality, sustainability, and right living. "Buddhist Economics will give guidance to all those who seek peace, fairness, and environmental sustainability." -Jeffrey Sachs, author of The Age of Sustainable Development. Traditional economics measures the ways in which we spend our income, but doesn't attribute worth to the crucial human interactions that give our lives meaning. Clair Brown, an economics professor at U.C. Berkeley and a practicing Buddhist, has developed a holistic model, one based on the notion that quality of life should be measured by more than national income. Brown advocates an approach to organizing the economy that embraces rather than skirts questions of values, sustainability, and equity. Complementing the award-winning work of Jeffrey Sachs and Bill McKibben, and the paradigm-breaking spirit of Amartya Sen, Robert Reich, and Thomas Piketty, Brown incorporates the Buddhist emphasis on interdependence, shared prosperity, and happiness into her vision for a sustainable and compassionate world. Buddhist economics leads us to think mindfully as we go about our daily activities, and offers a way to appreciate how our actions affect the well-being of those around us. By replacing the endless cycle of desire with more positive collective activities, we can make our lives more meaningful as well as happier. Inspired by the popular course Professor Brown teaches at U.C. Berkeley, Buddhist Economics represents an enlightened approach to our modern world infused with ancient wisdom, with benefits both personal and global, for generations to come.
