Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve long been fascinated by how we know what we know, how objective knowledge differs from subjective knowing, and how we can validate knowledge as reliable vs. deceptive or distorted. These questions eventually led to encounters with nondual spiritual traditions such as Advaita Vedanta, Taoism, and the Dzogchen and Mahamudra lineages of Tibetan Buddhism. These teachings bring feelings of happiness and joyful contentment—a sense of “coming home.” I love how they fiercely and compassionately challenge some of my most cherished assumptions about myself and the world. Like a skilled surgeon expertly repairing a broken bone, the nondual teachings dissolve mistaken beliefs and reveal my unbounded wholeness. 


I wrote

Taoism for Beginners: Understanding and Applying Taoist History, Concepts, and Practices

By Elizabeth Reninger,

Book cover of Taoism for Beginners: Understanding and Applying Taoist History, Concepts, and Practices

What is my book about?

Taoism is one of the most elusive spiritual traditions. Its multitude of lineages, philosophies, practices, and ceremonies can make it…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of The Perfume of Silence

Elizabeth Reninger Why did I love this book?

I love how Francis Lucille’s teaching stays rooted in the most essential question—“Who am I, really?—in ways that are, in turn, serious and playful, gentle and fierce. Love and Beauty and Truth are deeply honored throughout this lovely book, which presents a series of dialogues between Francis and students asking questions about him.

As Francis is fond of saying, “A true answer dissolves not only the question but also the questioner.” I appreciate the opportunity to witness this process, again and again, as Francis so skillfully points (like the proverbial finger to the moon) to “that which can’t be spoken”—but can be most intimately known. 

By Francis Lucille, Rupert Spira (editor),

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

This book is about enlightenment, spiritual awakening, self realization, meditation, awareness, consciousness, happiness, love, relationships, psychological suffering and human predicament. Based largely on actual dialogues between Francis Lucille, a spiritual teacher of non-duality, and some of his disciples, the music of freedom that it conveys resonates between the words, and gives the reader an inkling of the peace and happiness that are experienced in the presence of an authentic master. Francis Lucille was for over twenty years a close friend and disciple of Jean Klein, a well recognized French teacher of non-duality. They both belong to a lineage of Advaita…


Book cover of Awakening to the Natural State

Elizabeth Reninger Why did I love this book?

Both John Wheeler's books and audio interviews have blown my mind—in the best way! I simply adore his unwavering commitment to clear, direct pointers to the self-evident fact of "being" and "awareness" as our true nature and most essential identity.

Again and again, John Wheeler reminds me that this being-awareness—this continuous background of clear, steady presence—is the “space” in which all thoughts, sensations, and perceptions appear and disappear. It is what always remains unchanged, like a vast blue sky through which various clouds come and go. John invites me to clearly understand and joyfully affirm: I am the sky of awareness. 

By John Wheeler,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Awakening to the Natural State as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

John Wheeler met Bob Adamson (a student of Nisargadatta Maharaj) on a trip to Australia in 2003. In short order, Bob cleared up John's doubts and questions and pointed out to him the fact of our real nature: self-shining, ever-present awareness. Bob Adamson has encouraged John to share this understanding of 'who we really are.' The articles contained in this book (extended by another 30 articles in this edition) cover some of John's experiences with meeting 'Sailor' Bob Adamson and various aspects of the understanding which subsequently unfolded. Interspersed with these are chapters of email correspondence with enquirers who have…


Book cover of Mind Magic: The Neuroscience of Manifestation and How It Changes Everything

Elizabeth Reninger Why did I love this book?

This is one of those books that I almost couldn’t put down, and I was genuinely sad about its end. Unlike many manifestation manuals, this one avoids the twin pitfalls of New-Age wishful thinking and blaming the victim for circumstances beyond their control.

These techniques are rooted in brain science as well as loving-kindness and compassion. They demonstrate how the power of our human mind, when properly understood and employed, may appear to be “magical.” I loved learning about the author’s own rise out of poverty to billionaire-level wealth, then losing that all and rebuilding it on a firmer foundation of true wisdom and compassion. And how skillfully I was guided along a step-by-step path toward fulfilling my most cherished intentions/goals/dreams. 

By James R. Doty,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Brilliant, passionate, and effective, this could be the best guide ever written to making your dreams come true. Integrating brain science, wisdom traditions, and practical psychology, it brings readers along a proven, step-by-step path toward fulfilling their goals. A beautiful gem of a book. - Rick Hanson, PhD, bestselling author of Buddha's Brain

This empowering book helps readers discover the power of manifestation. Neurosurgeon, compassion expert and bestselling author Dr James Doty reframes manifesting not as a way of gaining great wealth and possessions, but as a daily practice. He teaches us how to direct our attention in the right…


Book cover of Living Buddha Zen

Elizabeth Reninger Why did I love this book?

I’ve read the 52 stories in this book repeatedly, and each time—despite their familiarity—they seem fresh and new. They put a smile on my face and make my heart sing. This is due, in no small part, to how great a storyteller Lex Hixon is.

I love his artful weaving of deep wisdom into each tale of the intimate relationship between master and disciple and his descriptions of that blessèd moment when the disciple himself or herself becomes a master. I’ve long been fascinated by the question: What really happens during spiritual awakening, aka enlightenment? This book explores this question and at least hints at some sublimely satisfying answers. 

By Lex Nixon,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Explores the moment when spiritual light transforms itself from one soul on to the heart of another.


Book cover of Natural Awakening: An Advanced Guide for Sharing Nondual Awareness

Elizabeth Reninger Why did I love this book?

This book enters a territory that very few books do—describing ways of facilitating an encounter with our most intimate yet ineffable true nature. Each time I read a few pages (usually the most I can digest at any given time), I feel so grateful for it!

In this uniquely valuable guidebook, I learn things I’ve not learned anywhere else about accessing and sustaining a “field” of nondual awareness in which psychological suffering simply cannot exist. Instead, this apparent suffering naturally dissolves to reveal the radiant awareness that is our true nature.

By Peter G. Fenner,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

"When crystallized identities enter a nondual field of awareness and begin to interact with a being embodying that state, suffering can't be sustained. It dissolves into a space where there is neither suffering nor its absence. Nondual awareness creates a transformational field or vortex that gently or abruptly, but irrevocably moves people into radiant awareness.... This is the paradoxical state that bodhisattvas play in for eternity."

This Guide goes behind the curtains of Dr. Peter Fenner's highly distinctive nondual teachings. It reveals in great detail and clarity the subtle and sometimes mysterious skillful methods he uses in his workshops, trainings,…


Explore my book 😀

Taoism for Beginners: Understanding and Applying Taoist History, Concepts, and Practices

By Elizabeth Reninger,

Book cover of Taoism for Beginners: Understanding and Applying Taoist History, Concepts, and Practices

What is my book about?

Taoism is one of the most elusive spiritual traditions. Its multitude of lineages, philosophies, practices, and ceremonies can make it difficult to understand. My book provides an easy-to-follow map to this rich territory, offering readers a glimpse of the full spectrum of Taoist disciplines without being buried in a mountain of minutiae.

This book introduces key Taoist figures such as Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu and primary texts such as the Tao Te Ching. It answers questions such as: What is Tao? What is ch’i? What’s the meaning of the yin-yang symbol? It debunks some common myths and misconceptions about Taoism. And includes inspiring guidance for exercises and meditations that help readers incorporate Taoist wisdom into their daily lives.

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What Walks This Way: Discovering the Wildlife Around Us Through Their Tracks and Signs

By Sharman Apt Russell,

Book cover of What Walks This Way: Discovering the Wildlife Around Us Through Their Tracks and Signs

Sharman Apt Russell Author Of What Walks This Way: Discovering the Wildlife Around Us Through Their Tracks and Signs

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Explorer Runner Mother

Sharman's 3 favorite reads in 2024

What is my book about?

Nature writer Sharman Apt Russell tells stories of her experiences tracking wildlife—mostly mammals, from mountain lions to pocket mice—near her home in New Mexico, with lessons that hold true across North America. She guides readers through the basics of identifying tracks and signs, revealing a landscape filled with the marks left by browsing deer, predatory weasels, and inquisitive bears, skunks, and raccoons. Master tracker Kim A Cabrera provides photos and illustrations.

Winner of the prestigious John Burroughs Medal, Russell also writes about community, a sense of place, and a renewed connection with the nonhuman world. She explores the health of…

What Walks This Way: Discovering the Wildlife Around Us Through Their Tracks and Signs

By Sharman Apt Russell,

What is this book about?

Did a red fox pass this way? Could that be a bobcat print there in the dirt? Do those tracks belong to a domestic dog or a coyote? Combining lyrical memoir with an introduction to wildlife tracking, What Walks This Way explores the joys of learning to recognize the traces of the creatures with whom we share our world.

The nature writer Sharman Apt Russell tells stories of her experiences tracking wildlife-mostly mammals, from mountain lions to pocket mice-near her home in New Mexico, with lessons that hold true across North America. With wit and compassion, she guides readers through…


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