100 books like Flourishing

Friedman, a longtime New York Times foreign affairs columnist, was one of the first to show me what I should love and hate about globalization, circa 1999, at the peak of Western support for neoliberal globalization.

Although his gee-whiz, gung-ho enthusiasm for the world of the Lexus (high-tech globalization with global supply chains and integrated financial markets) sometimes wears thin, he also covers the problems caused by globalization. He even appeals to the need for the “olive trees” of community, family, and religion to make globalization ethical.

Even when the breezy tone annoys me, this book is still my go-to guide for mapping the effects of globalization on business, economics, politics, culture, and the environment.

I find Sam’s book imperative: love it or hate it, praise it or criticize it; Sam gets us to think seriously about culture and identity as he opens an important debate for our complex democracies to engage with. I taught with Sam at Harvard and never ceased to be amazed by his profound understanding of the world. We may disagree with him, but he certainly gets us talking.

Hamid’s prose is sparkling, reflecting his experience of globalization, as a Princeton-trained native of Pakistan who lives in Lahore, New York, and London.

Framed as a self-help book and narrated in twelve short chapters with self-help titles like “work for yourself,” this novel follows the life story of one man in a country that sounds a lot like Pakistan, as he moves from the village to the city and tries to make it in business.

I loved Hamid’s vivid portrait of challenging daily living conditions in a developing country, including unclean water, stifling rural life, urban overcrowding, and corrupt bureaucrats. While reading, I felt like I was living in Lahore, rooting for a Pakistani friend to succeed.

Is the self-help advice ironic or earnest? The reader will have to judge. 

Professor Peters was my first and foremost guide when it came to framing the ethics of globalization from within my own religious perspective.

She helped all of us later writers by mapping the academic terrain, describing two dominant theories of globalization and two resistance theories. The two dominant theories are neoliberalism (as exemplified by Thomas Friedman) and reformist social development (as exemplified by John Maynard Keynes), while the two resistance theories stem from ecological and postcolonial perspectives.

She evaluates all four theories according to how they contribute (or don’t) to human flourishing. While I don’t always agree with her conclusions, she is asking the right questions and applying them to the most important perspectives on globalization.

There is no other book that I have gifted as often to friends. In The Invitation Oriah challenges us to recognize what we ache for in this life. Her words encourage us to embrace our human experiences and be open to possibilities. She writes about finding hope in obstacles and connecting to the beauty in life. As a poet I was initially drawn to “The Invitation,” a poem Oriah wrote, which led to her writing this book. Her words inspire!

Not everyone has the time, patience, or ability to read a complete book – so enter this enchanting volume! Mark Bajerski’s book is a treasury of uplifting quotes. Each day, you arbitrarily ‘choose’ a page, then read its spiritual message. Spirit guides your choice, so the message you receive is the most appropriate for you at that moment in time. Then, you simply Hold that Thought.

I have found that these uplifting spiritual truths reinforce my spirit no matter what circumstances I face, and so touched and delighted was I when a friend gifted a copy to me that I, in turn, gifted copies to my friends.

A gem of a book and a daily reminder that the Universe abounds with magic.

Reading High Magick, opened my eyes. Before my formal magickal training, I innately knew that Magick and Witchcraft open a path to access the divinity within. My Wiccan Elder High Priestess recognized this inner sight and chose me for private Magickal lessons with tailored parables in the oral, storytelling Goddess tradition. I didn’t realize I had been learning High Magick. Although structured in a linear, Divine Male perspective, this book offers the same endpoint: Magick is a direct connection to the Divine Source. I have always applied magick to transform trauma into wellbeing and Damien Echols, sentenced to death and later acquitted, did the same. By incorporating magickal practices, he preserved his humanity and safeguarded himself against negativity, thus elevating his awareness to envision his release from prison.

An unforgettable book about the power of women restoring themselves and each other and how that will also help us restore the Earth. Full of mythology, If Women Rose Rooted is about women seeking our roots and rootedness. While seeking a place to live, the author is also searching for the true place within herself. Blending memoir, the land, and folk stories, this book can help women everywhere come home to themselves. 

Baba Muktananda is surely the most entertaining – dare I say, “cool” — of all the great gurus. This book, a collection of Satsang, or Q&A sessions, with the Siddha Yoga Guru, is a very easy-going, unpretentious discussion of the most important things about finding yourself. As the title promises, you are not a finite being; you are infinite. It’s very convincing.

For many years the Science and Nonduality (SANDs) conferences have been bringing together scientists and mystics to discuss where science and spirituality meet.

This beautifully arranged collection of essays and insights highlight SANDs topics on the convergence of spirituality and science, weaving scientific theory and spiritual wisdom from some of the most influential thinkers of our time, with pieces that get straight to the heart of the matter. This volume offers timeless wisdom and new insight into humanity’s age-old questions that encourage our spirit and challenge our mind.