Tommy Chong is a Canadian-American actor, writer, director, musician, cannabis rights activist, and comedian. He is known for the Cheech and Chong comedy albums and movies along with many other roles. He is a poet and a philosopher and these are his picks for the books that mark his spiritual journey through life.
I first did the I Ching when I was in my 20s. The first reading I had was by a guitar player in Vancouver, and it came out like perfection. This was before my success, before Cheech, and it just lit up my path forward in life. It wasn’t until I was headed to jail that I picked it up again. My brother-in-law sent me a copy, and it was the first thing I did when I got inside. The first line I got back was “you are in jail for a reason”. It was astounding. The word penitentiary comes from the word penance, I took that to heart and that is what I did. I view my time in jail as a religious retreat.
Translated by the eminent Taoist Master Alfred Huang, The Complete I Chinghas been praised by scholars and new students of the I Ching since its first edition. A native Chinese speaker, Master Huang first translated the original ideograms of the I Ching into contemporary Chinese and then into English, bringing forth the intuitive meanings embodied in the images of the I Ching and imbuing his translation with an accuracy and authenticity not possible in other English translations. However, what makes his translation truly definitive is his return to prominence of the Ten Wings, the commentaries by Confucius that are essential…
A long time ago, I used to own part of a Jazz club. There was a jazz guitar player named Sunny Greenwich and he turned me onto this book. It is a compelling story of an English man who was a reincarnated Tibetan lama. This book changed my life and it gave me a vision of who we really are, why we are, and how we are. And, how we are all connected to our spiritual selves. When our bodies die they go back to their spiritual selves, and we are just out here to gain experience. This book sent me to some good places and helped open my eyes so I could see the next book on my path.
T. Lobsang Rampa was preordained to be a Tibetan priest, a sign from the stars that could not be ignored. When he left his wealthy home to enter the monastery, his heart was filled with trepidation, with only a slight knowledge of the rigorous spiritual training and physical ordeal that awaited him.
I read this book when I first moved out to California from Canada. I was living on the beach and having a great time. Catherine Ponder has this energy that is like Tim Robbins and her message is that you can have anything you want if you put your mind to it. It helped me chart my way forward in the entertainment industry and helped me find my path.
This book is the result of several recent recessions and many years of lean living. Nobody likes recessions and nobody likes lean living - and indeed nobody should like them. For fifteen years I tried to find such a book as this one. During those years of searching the bookshelves, I found that there are many books which give various ideas, but in none of them did I find a set of compact, simple laws for assuring success. I began searching for a book such as this after having been widowed and left with a small son to rear and…
The Catherine Ponder book really helped me and I had done what she said. Now I needed more and I put that out in the cosmos - and boy did it deliver. I was walking to the gym after a movie shoot in New York and I felt my entire body turn. The next thing I knew I was in front of a Harper Collins bookstore. Something took me into that store and I just followed it, something took my hand and put it around a biography of Joel Goldsmith. It was freaky and it still gives me chills to think about it. This book has so much and it gave me a deep love for what a miracle life is. When you are ready to read this book, you won’t be disappointed.
Since the beginning of time, human nature has driven people to explore beyond their surroundings. The results have shaped the world not just in terms of geographic boundaries, but also in the context of spiritual values. Seeking direction, generations have looked to others for spiritual guidance hoping to find timeless wisdom that will withstand any turmoil or hardship. Over time, one message has provided comfort and continues to ring true today seek the answer from within, and you will find the Truth.
Now considered a spiritual classic, THE INFINITE WAY and this…
This book gives you some major knowledge, about God, about yourself, and about the time you have on this planet. I can’t tell you how many times I just sit and soak in this knowledge. It is a beautiful place to rest your mind within. Lately, I’ve been thinking about how precious our time is. We are so busy in the moment and sometimes we forget to use that precious time. My daughters read some of this book to me while I was recovering from cancer and I really think it changed their perception and lives as much as it has for me.
Beginning with Tommy's experiences growing up in Canada in the forties and fifties as a mixed-race kid and going on to become a comedy legend, The I Chong is at once a memoir, a spiritual exploration of his time in prison, and a political indictment of the eroding civil liberties in post-9/11 American society. He tells the unbelievable story of his trip down the rabbit hole of America's war on drugs and of his experiences in the federal prison system, and he offers up timely observations on combating the conservative political forces at work in this country. Introspective, inspiring, and incendiary, The I Chong is a unique chronicle of one man's life and how his humorous and spiritual point of view saved him during his wrongful incarceration at the hands of an administration without boundaries.
I’m passionate about helping people see the incredible beauty of God’s unfolding plan of redemption and restoration that unfolds in the pages of the Bible. In the Old Testament, this plan is hidden in mystery and symbolism. But then in the New Testament, this great mystery is unveiled in all its glory, and the symbolism emerges from the shadows and steps into the light! For the past 15+ years, it has been my great honor to read the Bible with people for their very first time and help them watch this great mystery unfold. These books do that very same thing!
The Bible is the greatest mystery novel ever written. It begins in the Old Testament with seemingly random accounts of ancient people in far away places with strange customs. There’s the prophecy of a coming Hero who will conquer the villain and restore peace to the land. The mystery reaches its climax of anticipation as the Old Testament comes to a close and 400 years of silence ensues and the world longingly waits for its deliverer. Then, in a stable outside a small village in a conquered nation, a peasant woman gives birth to a baby boy. And the great…
The Essence: A Guided Journey of Discovery through the Bible
The Unfolding Story of God's Ultimate Plan of Restoration
The Bible is the greatest book ever written, and it's more than just a book-it's the very Word of God. It unveils the unfolding story of God's ultimate plan to restore mankind's relationship with Him. The answers to life's deepest questions are found within its pages. It reveals who we are, why we are here, who God is, and how we can know Him. However, for many people, the great riches of the Bible remain undiscovered and its exquisite beauty, unseen. The relevance of the peculiar accounts of ancient people in…
