I was walking in the garden the other day and I found a little booklet in the grass. It's called "Steps Toward Inner Peace", by Peace Pilgrim. I found several aspects of the booklet interesting. For one thing, it's written by a contemporary woman who says making money was easy for her. She chose to give up a conventional material pursuit in favor of a life spent trying to be happy and make others happy. The book is available on the web at this website: http://www.peacepilgrim.org/book/index.htm and it's free. Here's the summary:

Four Preparations

1. Assume right attitudes toward life
2. Live good beliefs
3. Find your place in the Life Pattern
4. Simplify life to bring inner and outer well-being into harmony

Four Purifications

1. Purification of the body temple
2. Purification of the thoughts
3. Purification of the desires
4. Purification of the motives

Relinquishments

1. Relinquishment of self will
2. Relinquishment of the feeling of separateness
3. Relinquishment of attachments
4. Relinquishment of all negative feelings

I see similarities to Buddhism in these preparations, purifications and pursuits. And, similarly, Peace's approach to life appeals to me because it's a logical philosophy.

There you go. A little food for thought.