The most beautiful books to heal your heart, warm your soul and give you essential spiritual truths that help you keep your head up on your spiritual journey

Although not specifically a spiritual/self-help book like my other picks, I just love it so much. It's like an old, trusted friend. I read it in high school and at least a dozen times since. It was a companion when I traveled in Europe and always helped me when I was feeling low or lost. It seemed to bring me back to my core.

The decency of the actions of Atticus the Father has served me as a guide to my wish to attain. "They just trust him to do right; it's that simple." Like my Father when I was younger. No greater compliment could be given.

I was heartbroken by the persecution and unfairness against African-American persons. That speaks deeply to me. I am white and am ashamed of racism, mistreatment, and cruelty in any way.

I also fell in love with Scout, the young girl. Their exploration and fascination with their neighborhood remind me so much of childhood and the fullness and richness of those simple times and ways I wish were still here. I believe we need to keep that child alive within us.

Yes, this book stuck with me. I had it sitting there for a year and turned to it after a terrible breakup. Many of the quotes I read were so meaningful that I began my own book of quotes that I copied down so I could return to them when I needed healing or to be reminded of certain understandings that struck home.

One that I really liked was when he said you shouldn't blame anyone else for their actions. Instead, they see things as follows: "Their soul required them to act that way." It takes away blame and makes you think of the soul, its development, the unfolding of the soul, and its purpose and mystery.

I think it takes away the feeling of ownership of another person. No one owns anyone else. In that sense, allowing and understanding they are free is very free. In that thinking, no one owns me; my path is uniquely my own, and lessons are my own. It's a very powerful and beautiful perspective and I feel a very evolved way of viewing life, taking it to a higher soul level.

I remember my Mother, who was a social worker, had this little self-help book and had me read it when I was a teenager. 

I found it a transformational book that taught me to learn who I was and to treat myself like you would treat your best friend. It taught me to learn who I was and focus on the things I liked doing that made my life more full. I feel it, in the long run, allowed me the strength to go within and find comfort and strength there, not only when times got tough but also during times when I have been alone.

For my life, a lot of that time has existed. But I find those times to be fulfilled rather than lonely. I'm happy with my own company and don't 'need' anyone else. I believe it layed a groundwork for an independence that has served me to travel on many paths that have led me on many spiritual studies and unique experiences. It gave me an attitude of enjoying my own experience.

I remember realizing that things were happening for a reason, and then I read in the prologue that he said: "that our falls were necessary and of divine origin." Yes! I knew it!

This was the third book that I was sure I was led to at the beginning of my spiritual journey. It was enlightening, and I began realizing that God was at work in my life. 

I remember him speaking about our eyes pointing the wrong way. They have to turn and look inward. I like that philosophy of self-improvement and self-understanding. It's not really about self-criticism but through greater understanding and acceptance, which allows for self-love and change. 

I feel at my core that peeling layers of an onion is a desire for love. I suspect this is the case for most of us.

It was very exciting. The book is about coincidences/synchronicities and being guided by signs, visions, and feelings. I was already caught up in a spiritual path when this book appeared, and it was like a whirlwind time for me. I was led into many different studies, eventually returning to Christianity. This book was close to the beginning of a journey that began 30 years ago. 

This book, though, opened my eyes to the connection between a higher intelligence and yourself. Its magnificent guidance led me, which I still rely on today. I swear that that ability has saved me daily by following Christ. I learned that the world was very full, alive, exciting, and not mundane.

The companion reader was helpful and one very significant thing that I learned is how we choose our parents and to understand why and the qualities they have that I needed in this sojourn. It helped me understand which qualities I took on from each patent.

I thank God for an exciting journey. At that time, there seemed to be a spiritual awakening that seems absent now.