Smoley interweaves ideas from great thinkers such as Epicurus, Hobbes, Freud, Machiavelli, and Tolstoy with his own dry and irreverent wisdom, gleaned from forty years of spiritual study and practice (and real-world experience), to show how to live happily, successfully, and meaningfully.

Richard Smoley is editor of Quest: Journal of the Theosophical Society and former editor of Gnosis: A Guide to the Western Inner Traditions. He has published eleven books, including Forbidden Faith: The Secret History of Gnosticism; Inner Christianity: A Guide to the Esoteric Traditions; and Supernatural: Writings on an Unknown History. He has spent more than forty-five years studying the world’s mystical traditions.