My favorite books about leveraging the now and the power of your mind to transform your life

Why am I passionate about this?

A shock diagnosis of a blinding eye disease at the age of 37, coupled with a trip to South Africa to write about the devastating toll of AIDS, drove home the importance of focusing on the Now. This newfound perspective led me to radically change my life and turn my author dream into reality. Eleven years later another shock diagnosis—this time with aggressive breast cancer—led me to the intersections between spirituality and science. That’s where I learned about the proven impact our thoughts and beliefs have on our health and overall life. I now use my transformative journey to empower audiences and help them pursue the lives they want—regardless of the challenges they face. 


I wrote...

Focus

By Ingrid Ricks,

Book cover of Focus

What is my book about?

At the age of 37, I learned I suffered from Retinitis Pigmentosa, an incurable eye disease that was stealing my eyesight and would eventually leave me completely blind. Gripped with the terrifying fear that I would miss out on my daughters’ lives, become a burden to my husband, and lose the career and independence that defined me, I embarked on a quest to fix my eyesight that ended up fixing my life. 

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment

Ingrid Ricks Why did I love this book?

I discovered this transformational book when I was in my early 30s. At the time, I was holding onto deep emotional pain from traumatic experiences I had endured throughout my childhood and adolescence. Tolle helped me realize that I was causing myself needless suffering by reliving past events over and over in my mind. The Power of Now drills down on the unnecessary misery we humans inflict on ourselves by either reliving the past or worrying about the future instead of living fully in the present—which is the only thing any of us can control or change. This wisdom-packed book was a godsend for me and helped me to refocus my attention on the now when my eyesight began closing in on me and I found myself gripped with fear over the future that awaited me. 

By Eckhart Tolle,

Why should I read it?

23 authors picked The Power of Now as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

**CHOSEN BY OPRAH AS ONE OF HER 'BOOKS THAT HELP ME THROUGH'**

The international bestselling spiritual book, now with a new look for its 20th anniversary. Eckhart Tolle demonstrates how to live a healthier, happier, mindful life by living in the present moment.

************

'I keep Eckhart's book at my bedside. I think it's essential spiritual teaching. It's one of the most valuable books I've ever read.' Oprah Winfrey

To make the journey into The Power of Now we will need to leave our analytical mind and its false created self, the ego, behind. Although the journey is challenging, Eckhart…


Book cover of You Are the Placebo: Making Your Mind Matter

Ingrid Ricks Why did I love this book?

You Are the Placebo was recommended to me after I was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer. I was already grappling with a rare degenerative eye disease that was stealing my vision and felt powerless against these diseases until I immersed myself in this book and learned about the power of our thoughts and beliefs to promote healing. Dr. Joe Dispenza, who used his thoughts to heal from a devastating spinal injury, details his extensive research into the mind-body connection and incorporates numerous medical case studies to support his claims that our mind impacts our physical well-being. This book has become my go-to—along with the guided meditations by the same name.

By Joe Dispenza,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked You Are the Placebo as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Throughout history up until the present, many cultures have traditionally experienced the effects of verifiable healings, along with hexes, curses, witchcraft, voodoo and other mysterious phenomena. These effects - many of which were elicited by unscientific means - were brought about by the beliefs and lore of the society. Even today, pharmaceutical companies use double- and triple-blind randomised studies in an attempt to exclude of the power of the mind over the body. In You Are the Placebo, Dr. Joe Dispenza explores the history, the science and the practical applications of the so-called placebo effect. Citing many amazing individual cases…


Book cover of Dying to Be Me: My Journey from Cancer, to Near Death, to True Healing

Ingrid Ricks Why did I love this book?

This book, which is part memoir, part healing, and transformation, is about a woman’s near-death experience after her body was ravaged by stage-four cancer and the miraculous spontaneous healing that followed. It’s an incredible story on its own. But what I found particularly fascinating were Moorjani’s conclusions regarding the thoughts, beliefs, and life experiences that led to her illness, as well as her overall take on how readers can promote healing in their own lives. 

By Anita Moorjani,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Dying to Be Me as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In this truly inspirational memoir, Anita Moorjani relates how, after fighting cancer for almost four years, her body began shutting down-overwhelmed by the malignant cells spreading throughout her system. As her organs failed, she entered into an extraordinary near-death experience where she realized her inherent worth . . . and the actual cause of her disease. Upon regaining consciousness, Anita found that her condition had improved so rapidly that she was released from the hospital within weeks-without a trace of cancer in her body!

Within these pages, Anita recounts stories of her childhood in Hong Kong, her challenge to establish…


Book cover of E-Squared: Nine Do-It-Yourself Energy Experiments That Prove Your Thoughts Create Your Reality

Ingrid Ricks Why did I love this book?

I have listened to the audio version of this book so many times that I can almost recite it. It features nine scientific experiments readers can perform on their own to demonstrate the validity of the spiritual principles Grout teaches—mainly that what we focus on we energize and draw to us. I absolutely love this book and have been amazed by the positive outcomes that have transpired in my life when I practice gratitude and focus on what I want rather than what I fear.

By Pam Grout,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked E-Squared as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

E-Squared is a lab manual with simple experiments to prove once and for all that there really is a good, loving, totally hip force in the universe. Rather than take it on faith, you are invited to conduct ten 48-hour experiments to prove each of the principles in this book. Yes, you read that right. It says prove.

The experiments, each of which can be conducted with absolutely no money and very little time expenditure, demonstrate that spiritual principles are as dependable as gravity, as consistent as Newton's 2nd law of motion. For years, you've been hoping and praying that…


Book cover of The Map of Consciousness Explained: A Proven Energy Scale to Actualize Your Ultimate Potential

Ingrid Ricks Why did I love this book?

I love this book because it draws a straight line between our emotions and attitudes and the energy frequencies we attract. In this series of lectures, Hawkins lays out the energy field on a plus or minus scale with 200 being the magic neutral number. Then, using extensive data collected from twenty years of ongoing muscle testing and calibrations, he matches a broad range of emotions and behaviors (everything from fear, shame, and despair to courage, acceptance, and love) with numbers on that scale. Just being aware of this has enabled me to make some serious mind shifts when I find myself in negative territory. 

By David R. Hawkins,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked The Map of Consciousness Explained as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The Map of Consciousness Explained is an essential primer on the late Dr David R. Hawkins's teachings on human consciousness and their associated energy fields.

Using muscle testing, Dr Hawkins conducted more than 250,000 calibrations during 20 years of research to define a range of values, attitudes and emotions that correspond to levels of consciousness. This range of values - along with a logarithmic scale of 1 to 1,000 - became the Map of Consciousness, which Dr Hawkins first wrote about in his New York Times bestseller, Power vs. Force.

In this book, readers will gain an introduction and deeper…


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Creativity, Teaching, and Natural Inspiration

By Mark Doherty,

Book cover of Creativity, Teaching, and Natural Inspiration

Mark Doherty Author Of Creativity, Teaching, and Natural Inspiration

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a highly experienced outdoorsman, musician, songwriter, and backcountry guide who chose teaching as a day job. As a writer, however, I am a promoter of creative and literary nonfiction, especially nonfiction that features a thematic thread, whether it be philosophical, conservation, historical, or even unique experiential. The thread I used for thirty years of teaching high school and honors English was the thread of Conservation, as exemplified by authors like Aldo Leopold, Rachel Carson, Edward O. Wilson, Al Gore, Henry David Thoreau, as well as many other more contemporary authors.

Mark's book list on creative nonfiction books that entertain and teach through threaded essays and stories

What is my book about?

I have woven numerous delightful and descriptive true life stories, many from my adventures as an outdoorsman and singer songwriter, into my life as a high school English teacher. I think you'll find this work both entertaining as well as informative, and I hope you enjoy the often lighthearted repartee and dialogue that enhances the stories and experiences.

When I started teaching in the early 1990s, I brought into the classroom with me my passions for nature, folk music, and creativity. This book holds something new and engaging with every chapter and can be enjoyed by all sorts of readers, particularly those who enjoy nonfiction that employs wit, wisdom, humor, and even some down-to-earth philosophy.

Creativity, Teaching, and Natural Inspiration

By Mark Doherty,

What is this book about?

Creativity, Teaching, and Natural Inspiration follows the evolution of a high school English teacher as he develops a creative and innovative teaching style despite being juxtaposed against a public education system bent on didactic, normalizing regulations and political demands. Doherty crafts an engaging nonfiction story that utilizes memoir, anecdote, poetry, and dialogue to explore how mixing creativity and pedagogy can change the way budding students visualize creative writing: A chunk of firewood plunked on a classroom table becomes part of a sawmill, a mine timber, an Anasazi artifact...it also becomes a poem, a song, an essay, and a memoir. The…


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