The best books to support your spiritual awakening

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a shaman, seer, and spiritual teacher who lives in Austin, Texas with my husband Luke Storey, black cat Jelly Bean and dog Cookie. I’m devoted to being of service by living by the calls of inner wisdom, mysticism, energy medicine, and shamanic practices I’ve mastered through studies with spiritual teachers, both of and beyond this world. I lead global courses, events, and talks to reconnect people to their fullest power and confidence through sacred practices. My book was named “a top meditation to try” by O, The Oprah Magazine, and I’ve been called "a leading shaman for expanding others into their full gifts and power" by Forbes.


I wrote...

Animal Power: 100 Animals to Energize Your Life and Awaken Your Soul

By Alyson Charles, Willian Santiago (illustrator),

Book cover of Animal Power: 100 Animals to Energize Your Life and Awaken Your Soul

What is my book about?

Brimming with 100 different vibrant animal illustrations, transformative practices, and captivating stories from around the world, Animal Power is an enlightening guide to the power of the animal realm and how they bring peace, healing, and empowerment to your life.

Learn how to connect with the animal power of the bear for comfort and protection, the leopard for confidence, the seal for healthy relationships, and the peacock for creative inspiration, and many others. The practices are paired with illuminating stories from spiritual teachers around the world, plus sidebars with fascinating details on ancient traditions, global mythology, and scientific trivia. Delivered in an enchanting package overflowing with insight and magic, Animal Power is a celebration of the natural world and an inspiring companion for modern mystics, nature and animal lovers, and the spiritually curious.

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Discover Your Dharma: A Vedic Guide to Finding Your Purpose

Alyson Charles Why did I love this book?

This book is a powerful companion to support you in shifts within your personal, business and spiritual life. As many are waking up each day to a very deep yearning to discover who they truly are and what their true purpose in life is, Discover Your Dharma will guide you in unearthing these most potent truths, all while delivering said guidance in a down-to-earth, relatable and digestible way. This book will empower you to take aligned action to finally live the life your soul is seeking.

By Sahara Rose Ketabi,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Discover Your Dharma as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Say Yes to Your Higher Calling.

"Discover Your Dharma is a timely book for readers to decondition their minds, remember their essence, and step into the purpose they were born to express." —From the foreword by DEEPAK CHOPRA

It is no coincidence you have found this book. Your soul is calling you to step fully into your purpose, your truth, the reason why you are here: your dharma. This lifetime is about figuring out what your dharma is. When you say yes to your higher calling, everything you've been seeking naturally manifests. This book will guide you through the journey…


Book cover of The Knowing: 11 Lessons to Understand the Quiet Urges of Your Soul

Alyson Charles Why did I love this book?

This powerful book will return you to the remembrance of how to trust your own intuition and get into a most miraculous and co-creative space with the Divine. Filled with personal stories of growing up with their father, the late renowned spiritual teacher Dr. Wayne Dyer and their mother, Marcelene, The Knowing is a trusted ally in opening yourself up to remembering the spiritual wisdom within you. The book also clearly shares 11 lessons to understand the quiet urges of your soul, which provide a comprehensive pathway to reconnect to the power you’ve always had, but now know how to unlock.

By Serena Dyer Pisoni, Saje Dyer,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Knowing as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

To his millions of fans around the world, Dr. Wayne Dyer was the beloved "Father of Motivation," but to Serena and Saje and their six siblings, he was simply "Dad." When he died suddenly in 2015, the sisters were blindsided by grief and felt unprepared to navigate life's challenges and conflicts without his guidance.

The experience launched them on an adventure from loss to understanding as they came to realize and metabolize their father's teachings with a new urgency, intimacy, and power as they applied them to their lives. As their journey unfolded, they realized their father's wisdom-"The Knowing"-was embedded…


Book cover of Grounded: A Fierce, Feminine Guide to Connecting with the Soil and Healing from the Ground Up

Alyson Charles Why did I love this book?

Dr. Erin, a PhD in policy, planning and development from the University of Southern California, shares about everything from goddess history, to permaculture, to the skewed portrayal of spirituality in mainstream media, to how to connect with Great Mother Earth, to how being led to experience an orgy connected her with sacred sexuality. In Grounded, you can prepare to be held in the safest of space as you learn about and navigate so many aspects of spirituality, including spiritual breakdowns, what radical responsibility is, life-changing mantras and body trauma and relationship healing – this book is a favorite for transcending limiting beliefs and taking you to a way of walking the spiritual path with sacredness, ancient truth, embodiment, wildness and integrity. 

By Erin Yu-Juin McMorrow,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Grounded as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

We know the environment is in trouble - and we are seeing direct effects on human heath as a result. Only after we restore our natural connection with the earth can we help to heal it and ourselves. This is the premise of Grounded, at once a clarion call and revolutionary guide from author Dr. Erin McMorrow.

With Grounded, McMorrow teaches us how to transform ourselves, our socioeconomic systems, and the environment that sustains us by aligning with the natural cycles of the earth. McMorrow explores both the ecological and spiritual basis of our existing climate crises - including what…


Book cover of Crystal Healing for Women: A Modern Guide to the Power of Crystals for Renewed Energy, Strength, and Wellness

Alyson Charles Why did I love this book?

If the healing power of crystals has ever drawn you in, I recommend having this book as a staple in your life. I personally know the author and she teaches from a truly pure, embodied, and reverent space. With this book you will learn everything from how to ethically source, care for and collect crystals, how to work with them for different purposes, the 10 crystals every woman needs, and specific crystal rituals for love, fertility, and more. Beautifully put together with breathtaking photos and integrity-filled practices, this book will elevate the power of nature in your life, health, and heart!

By Mariah K. Lyons,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Crystal Healing for Women as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Crystal Healing for Women
A Modern Guide to the Power of Crystals for Renewed Energy, Strength, and Wellness

Discover the physical, mental, and spiritual healing power of crystals and awaken the healer within.

     Believed to hold restorative powers over our health, crystals have served humanity for millennia. With Crystal Healing for Women, you can unlock the ancient secrets of healing and wisdom held within these stones. Crystal healer and Reiki Master Mariah K. Lyons shares her knowledge in this beautifully-illustrated, practical guide that helps women awaken to their feminine divinity and healing powers, and rekindle their instinctual relationship with nature.…


Book cover of The Art and Science of AcroYoga: Move Connect Play by Jason Nemer

Alyson Charles Why did I love this book?

Even if Yoga isn’t a regular practice for you, I still highly recommend picking up this book as the potent wisdom it holds inside will definitely invigorate your perspectives and has the potential to awaken you further. I’ve had the honor of doing AcroYoga with Jason, the co-founder of AcroYoga, and the spiritual transmissions and activations that happen are indescribable! If you are ready to expand, ready to invite more play, joy, and laughter into your life, ready to connect more deeply with yourself, your body, and others – this book is a must-have. You will learn not only how to do AcroYoga but also how this practice can take your life in entirely new directions.

By Jason Nemer,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Art and Science of AcroYoga as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 3, 4, 5, and 6.

What is this book about?

Get ready to learn how to fly.

AcroYoga is a movement practice that combines the balance and connection of yoga with the fitness and intensity of acrobatics, as well as the holistic healing power of physical therapy. People come to it for all kinds of reasons-they may have chronic pain and are looking for a long-term solution to manage it, they may want to lose weight, gain muscle or increase their mobility, or maybe they just want to experience it with their friends or partners to deepen their relationships. Some even just want to have some fun together.

In Move,…


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A Whale of a Tale: A Sabbath Summer Solstice Story

By Kerry M. Olitzky,

Book cover of A Whale of a Tale: A Sabbath Summer Solstice Story

Kerry M. Olitzky Author Of Heroes with Chutzpah: 101 True Tales of Jewish Trailblazers, Changemakers & Rebels

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Rabbi Academic Practitioner Educator

Kerry's 3 favorite reads in 2023

What is my book about?

This is a picture book created to help children learn how to determine Shabbat, the Jewish Sabbath, in countries where the summer sun remains high in the sky.

Tova travels with her mother to Alaska during the summer solstice. In the Land of the Midnight Sun, she is uncertain how to tell time because the sun never rises or sets. Tova wonders how she will know when the Sabbath begins or ends. Eventually, she talks to a wise orca. The whale shares her secret to understanding time with a circular sun and reminds Tova of the magic of Shabbat is more than telling time.

A Whale of a Tale: A Sabbath Summer Solstice Story

By Kerry M. Olitzky,

What is this book about?

A Whale of a Tale: A Sabbath Summer Solstice Story is a picture book created to help children learn how to determine Shabbat, the Jewish Sabbath, in countries where the summer sun remains high in the sky. Tova travels with her mother to Alaska during the summer solstice. In the Land of the Midnight Sun, she is uncertain how to tell time because the sun never rises or sets. Tova wonders how she will know when Sabbath begins or ends. Eventually, she talks to a wise orca. The whale shares her secret to understanding time with a circular sun and…


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