How did you get into this way of thinking?
Andrew Marshall: It has been a gradual process over many years and I’ve been drawn to a number of influences during my life. For example, in my twenties and thirties I was very interested in yoga and meditation; in later years I have been much influenced by Buddhist thought. Due to a long chain of events in my personal life, my awareness of the changes we can all make in our lives, for better or indeed for worse, through the mind began to grow and so I began to apply the knowledge and principles set out in this book.

Have you seen the results of your teaching and if so how was the person affected?
Andrew Marshall: The short answer is that I see people smile more, laugh more, be at greater ease with themselves and with others. If problems in life come, they deal with them much more easily as they can see and understand causes and effects in a much clearer way. They are more content, more fulfilled; their sense of well-being is enhanced, they are more intuitive and less likely to make mistakes in life. But in the true sense, I don’t teach anything; I simply help people to learn about themselves.

What inspired you to write this book?
Andrew Marshall: If you know of something that makes people happier and improves their quality of life, it shouldn’t be kept hidden. The workshops and courses that I run can only reach a limited number of people so it seemed absolutely right to reach a wider audience by publishing some of the knowledge as a book.

Do you have any plans to publish any other books?
Andrew Marshall: The second book is already under way. It is about the extraordinary power and effects of love, of its potential for changing lives at every level, far more than we realise, and how we can cultivate it in a very practical but powerful way. It isn’t about sentimental love but about the amazing energy of the heart that I refer to in The Great Little Book of Happiness. Who knows what might come after that?

What sets your book apart from any other books that are published that contain the same ideas?
Andrew Marshall: The knowledge and principles in this book are very profound but are approached in a way that is easy to understand, assimilate and apply. Everything in the book has been tried and tested not only by myself but by many others. It condenses years of study, years of teaching and years of practical application in eight easy to read chapters which are not intended to be read and put to one side - this is a book to work with and to dip into over a period of time. It draws on the knowledge from ancient traditions but is written for today. The Great Little Book of Happiness isn’t a collection of cheerful things to do or a book on positive thinking; it actually enables the reader to dissolve the causes of unhappiness and to create very real causes for an increasingly happier life.

Do you feel that society has a need for your book?
Andrew Marshall: We live in a largely secular age where spiritual, moral and ethical principles have largely been forgotten. Values have been lost and unhappiness and suffering are to be found everywhere. People are becoming more and more out of touch with themselves. But neither politicians nor religious leaders can provide the solution for us. We have to look within and find our true nature. The wonderful thing is, we can do so while leading a normal life but we need to learn how to do it. This book can help enormously with that.

What do you hope will be the outcome of the book?
Andrew Marshall: A happier person is a better person and happier people make for a better world. If this book can make some contribution to a movement in that direction, no matter how small, by changing a few hearts and minds, that will be a very good outcome.