Money accounts for just 2-4% of our happiness, according to former Vassar College instructor and activist Jeff Golden. What about the remaining 96-98%?
Photo by Caroline Veronez on Unsplash
There is an intimate relationship between material wealth and poverty of spirit, posits Jeff Golden, whose award-winning book, “Reclaiming the Sacred: Healing Our Relationships with Ourselves and the World“, begins with scientific revelations regarding the things that nourish the human spirit and the things that don’t, most notably money and possessions.
“As we’ve surrounded ourselves with more and more possessions, we’ve grown further from the sacredness of the world, and the sacredness of ourselves,” Golden states. “As we’ve elevated economic growth and consumption to the highest measures of success and purpose, we’ve closed ourselves off from so much of the joy and wonder that are inherent in us and the world.”
The result of 12 years of research, Reclaiming the Sacred draws upon the work of thousands of psychologists and economists, cosmologists and activists, saints and poets, to ground readers in their inherent joy, purpose and belonging — both for their own sakes and for the sake of the world.

Golden explores the profound consequences of materialism, including how it impacts the global climate crisis. Then he goes beyond all of that, diving into the very heart of humanity’s existence, by charting a path — both scientific and mystical — for reclaiming the inherent joy and richness of life.
Reclaiming the Sacred explores profound questions, including:
- How important is money to happiness?
- What is the optimal amount of money and possessions for a person to be happy?
- Does having kids make people happy? Getting married? Having sex? Working?
- What are some of the most serious effects of global warming?
- What kinds of changes will people have to make as individuals and as a society as a result of global warming? How will those changes allow people to actually live better lives?
- What does the economic system get wrong when it comes to what really matters, and how should progress be measured?
Ultimately, Reclaiming the Sacred takes readers on a journey that follows the golden threads of happiness, abundance and belonging — and leads them home.
“We have an opportunity to reweave ourselves back into the human community and the family of all living beings, the family of the land and trees, the otters and grasses — to live with them in relationships of respect and wonder,” Golden adds. “We have an opportunity to reclaim ourselves and this world as sacred.”