When our functional mind applies its technological efficiency and mathematical orderliness to emotional states, it breaks down happiness into its presumed components and measures these components by quantifiable elements: a beautiful dress, a marriage, a promotion, a car, a vacation, lots of money, and the like; multiplies those things with an intensity of addiction; and ends up darkening the world with clutter to the point that no light of life can get in.

No addition ever brings contentment, never mind happiness. As Gary Zukav says in The Seat of the Soul, "An addiction cannot be satisfied by its object." You hear people saying, "I have everything I wanted: health, money, family, science, et cetera. Why am I not happy?" The reason is that the wish to acquire possessions and power works against the achievement of happiness. Only if you wish for what you already have will you be closer to happiness. In an experiment at the State University of New York in Buffalo, subjects were asked to complete the sentence "I'm glad I'm not a ..." After five repetitions of this exercise, the subjects experienced a distinct elevation in their feelings of life satisfaction. Another group of subjects were asked by the experimenters to complete the sentence "I wish I were a..." This time the experiment left the subjects feeling more dissatisfied with their lives. Possessions and achievements may register only on the scale of addition. Happiness, however, is measured on the scale of subtraction. The love of God is the emptying of the house so that light can get in. Did Jesus say, when hallowed you'll be full?