100 books like Life Force, the Scientific Basis

By Claude Swanson,

Here are 100 books that Life Force, the Scientific Basis fans have personally recommended if you like Life Force, the Scientific Basis. Shepherd is a community of 10,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Science and Human Transformation: Subtle Energies, Intentionality and Consciousness

Don Weiner Author Of Beyond the Wonderful: Transforming the World with the Light of Your Being

From my list on science and spirituality in an evolving universe.

Why am I passionate about this?

I believe that spiritual awakening is a service to the universe, and not just for our own enlightenment. Spirituality generally has been viewed as a return to some other realm of consciousness, rather than a means to awakening what we think of as divinity in life. There can never be a “finish line” to spirituality, as there is no end to the possibilities which collective co-evolution can bring about. The only way that intractable problems of humanity will ever be resolved is if a large number of people awaken to higher states of consciousness, while firmly grounded in life.

Don's book list on science and spirituality in an evolving universe

Don Weiner Why did Don love this book?

This opened up new insights into my spiritual journey. Dr. Tiller presents amazing research that shows that when there is a link between subtle energy and ordinary physical space, the physical properties of that space are changed, such that disorder decreases, rather than increases. He has done experiments in which experienced meditators are asked to store an intention in a bit of circuitry that is not connected to anything, such that the pH in water in another laboratory that the circuitry is placed near will increase by one point. This happens, and the experiment has been replicated many times. This is already amazing enough, but the entropy (disorder) in the laboratory decreases, which is contrary to the 2nd law of thermodynamics in ordinary physical space. My inspiration from this research was that any time we bring about a connection between subtle energy and our environment, new possibilities become available.

By William A. Tiller Ph.D.,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Science and Human Transformation as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Overall this book is a paradigm-breaking book for science in that it reveals in some detail a viable larger perspective and framework for scientific description of nature and human evolvement in that framework. It is also a conscious-raising book and a hope-raising book for humanity in that it shows people how to use their own intentionality to bring about...beneficial...changes...in their own bodies. Such changes naturally lead to significant growth in the individual's consciousness.


Book cover of Gödel's Proof

David B. Black Author Of Wartime Software

From my list on teaching and inspiring the best programmers.

Why am I passionate about this?

I started programming in high school and wrote software in many domains for 30 years, from the early ARPA-net to massive credit card software. I wrote a FORTRAN compiler with one assistant in a year. I got hassled to do proper project management. Nightmare. It was all about inflated expectations instead of moving fast and winning. Then in 25 years of venture capital investing, I learned from many young companies how the little startups built quickly and well things that giants like Google literally could not get done. This book and my others spell out what I learned from the little guys who beat the giants.

David's book list on teaching and inspiring the best programmers

David B. Black Why did David love this book?

Nagel’s book is the most understandable explanation I’ve found about one of the most cosmically seminal math proofs: Godel’s incompleteness theorem.

It takes the idea of recursion and self-reference to the ultimate conclusion about truth, understanding, and boundaries of existence. This may sound hootie-tootie, but think of the sequence of abstraction in math: arithmetic, algebra, calculus, etc.

Once you add in recursion (self-reference), you’ve got the most important concepts underlying true understanding and productivity in software – something never discussed in computer science, and certainly not in practical programming.

Think about the so-called Von Neumann computer architecture, which underlies all modern computers – instructions are data, stored in the same place as ordinary data, and some instructions write data that are instructions. This is recursion taken to the next level. 

By Ernest Nagel,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Gödel's Proof as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

An accessible explanation of Kurt Goedel's groundbreaking work in mathematical logic
In 1931 Kurt Goedel published his fundamental paper, "On Formally Undecidable Propositions of Principia Mathematica and Related Systems." This revolutionary paper challenged certain basic assumptions underlying much research in mathematics and logic. Goedel received public recognition of his work in 1951 when he was awarded the first Albert Einstein Award for achievement in the natural sciences-perhaps the highest award of its kind in the United States. The award committee described his work in mathematical logic as "one of the greatest contributions to the sciences in recent times."
However, few…


Book cover of Mutual Causality in Buddhism and General Systems Theory: The Dharma of Natural Systems

Yuha Jung Author Of Transforming Museum Management: Evidence-Based Change through Open Systems Theory

From my list on encouraging readers to question the status quo.

Why am I passionate about this?

My areas of expertise are museum management and arts administration. More specifically, I study structures of arts organizations and how they are connected or disconnected to their communities and larger societies using the systems theory and concept of mutual causality. In the process, I point out where the systems (i.e., museums) become stagnant and find a leverage point to address that stagnation by bringing in new input and different ways of thinking about the culture and structure of the organization. In most of my research, I try to find blindspots of following or doing “what was just there (i.e., status quo)” instead of evaluating what it did and how it can be improved. 

Yuha's book list on encouraging readers to question the status quo

Yuha Jung Why did Yuha love this book?

This book spoke to me as a scholar of systems theory and due to my upbringing in Buddhist culture. Macy discusses how core teachings of interdependence in Buddhism and the mutual causation concept of general systems theory are similar. This book emphasizes the interdependent relationships among different people, things, societies, and ecosystems as mutually affecting and not unidirectional, leading to and encouraging collective action toward mutual benefits. I also love this book because it can introduce readers to philosophical thoughts that are other than Western, which we tend to be bombarded with in academic publications and education in the US. 

By Joanna Macy,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Mutual Causality in Buddhism and General Systems Theory as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This book brings important new dimensions to the interface between contemporary Western science and ancient Eastern wisdom. Here for the first time the concepts and insights of general systems theory are presented in tandem with those of the Buddha. Remarkable convergences appear between core Buddhist teachings and the systems view of reality, arising in our century from biology and extending into the social and cognitive sciences. Giving a cogent introduction to both bodies of thought, and a fresh interpretation of the Buddha’s core teaching of dependent co-arising, this book shows how their common perspective on causality can inform our lives.…


Book cover of Humanity in a Creative Universe

Don Weiner Author Of Beyond the Wonderful: Transforming the World with the Light of Your Being

From my list on science and spirituality in an evolving universe.

Why am I passionate about this?

I believe that spiritual awakening is a service to the universe, and not just for our own enlightenment. Spirituality generally has been viewed as a return to some other realm of consciousness, rather than a means to awakening what we think of as divinity in life. There can never be a “finish line” to spirituality, as there is no end to the possibilities which collective co-evolution can bring about. The only way that intractable problems of humanity will ever be resolved is if a large number of people awaken to higher states of consciousness, while firmly grounded in life.

Don's book list on science and spirituality in an evolving universe

Don Weiner Why did Don love this book?

This book was very inspiring to me, and reinforces the idea that each of us is a unique and integral part of an evolving universe. The future is not fixed, and as we awaken to our higher possibilities, what becomes possible for everything is augmented. We live in a purpose-driven universe, and not the one described for centuries as a clockwork universe. 

By Stuart A. Kauffman,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Humanity in a Creative Universe as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In the hard sciences, which can often feel out of grasp for many lay readers, there are "great thinkers" who go far beyond the equations, formulas, and research. Minds such as Stephen Hawking philosophize about the functions and nature of the universe, the implications of our existence, and other impossibly fascinating, yet difficult questions. Stuart A. Kauffman is one of those great thinkers. He has dedicated his lifetime to researching "complex systems" at
prestigious institutions and now writes his treatise on the most complex system of all: our universe.

A recent Scientific American article claims that "philosophy begins where physics…


Book cover of Spiritual Emergency: When Personal Transformation Becomes a Crisis

Peter Mark Adams Author Of The Power of the Healing Field: Energy Medicine, Psi Abilities, and Ancestral Healing

From my list on energy healing, consciousness, and wellbeing.

Why am I passionate about this?

Peter Mark Adams and his wife, Kenzie, have shared a healing and personal development practice for more than 20 years specializing in energy and meridian therapies, breathwork, and meditation. Peter and Kenzie have practiced and taught a range of meditative and energy-based techniques, including Mind Connection Healing (MCH), Usui Reiki, Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), Mindfulness, Vivation, Integrative and Rebirthing Breathwork. Peter’s non-fiction is published by Inner Traditions and Scarlet Imprint; literary prose and poetry by Corbel Stone Press and Paralibrum. His essays on energy healing have appeared in the peer-reviewed Paranthropology Journal and the Journal of Exceptional Experiences and Psychology as well as on his academia.edu page.

Peter's book list on energy healing, consciousness, and wellbeing

Peter Mark Adams Why did Peter love this book?

Comprehensive in scope, deep in the accumulated experience and knowledge brought to bear on the issue of mental, emotional, and physical well-being; this amazing work played a crucial role in awakening me to the broader horizons of the healer’s work. Ranging from crises of psychic, spiritual, and kundalini awakening to the trauma of UFO encounters; this work seeks to chart a supportive path whereby spontaneous traumatic openings to that ‘something larger’ which lays beyond us can be viewed and responded to as susceptible to integration, rather than suppressive medical interventions, thereby opening unparalleled opportunities for profound personal and spiritual growth.  

By Stanislav Grof,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

From Spiritual Emergency to Healing and Rebirth

Increasing numbers of people involved in personal transformation are experiencing spiritual emergencies — crises when the process of growth and change becomes chaotic and overwhelming. Individuals experiencing such episodes may feel that their sense of identity is breaking down, that their old values no longer hold true, and that the very ground beneath their personal realities is radically shifting. In many cases, new realms of mystical and spiritual experience enter their lives suddenly and dramatically, resulting in fear and confusion. They may feel tremendous anxiety, have difficulty coping with their daily lives, jobs,…


Book cover of There's a Spiritual Solution to Every Problem

Luminita D. Saviuc Author Of 15 Things You Should Give Up to Be Happy: An Inspiring Guide to Discovering Effortless Joy

From my list on mental, emotional, and spiritual healing.

Why am I passionate about this?

Raised in a fearful and toxic environment where love was completely absent and terror was always at home, I had to learn to let go of my many programs, fears, and traumas so that I could avoid making the mistake of thinking and believing that the story of my past was going to become the story of my life. Through a long journey of letting go, getting lost in order to be found, I realized that who I Am, and who we all are, is far greater and far nobler than what we are programmed to believe. And now my mission is to teach people from all over the world how to let go so they can thrive.

Luminita's book list on mental, emotional, and spiritual healing

Luminita D. Saviuc Why did Luminita love this book?

Imagine being able to feel a peace so deep that you never knew existed; a love so profound that it transforms you and your whole life… Well, by reading the wonderful words of Dr. Wayne Dyer and by following his wise guidance, you will get to experience all of that and even more. In fact, at the end of the book you will have this profound feeling that you no longer are the same person you were when you first started reading this book and that you have become better, wiser, more peaceful, and far more loving and trusting than you used to be.

By Wayne W. Dyer,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked There's a Spiritual Solution to Every Problem as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In this inspiring new program, bestselling author Wayne W. Dyer shows us that there is an omnipresent spiritual force right at our fingertips that contains the solution to our problems -- from ill health, to financial worries, to relationship difficulties. Drawing from various spiritual traditions, especially from the prayer of St. Francis of Assisi, Dyer helps us unplug from the material world and awaken to the divine within.


Book cover of Hold that Thought: The Little Book of Healing and Empowerment

Tracy J Holroyd Author Of The Enchanted Mirror

From my list on spirituality, consciousness and nature of reality.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a writer and lecturer who is irresistibly drawn to the spiritual and paranormal, but whose academic qualifications are in maths and science. So, I have struggled to find my niche in life: a belief in God and Spirit, a passion for the ‘paranormal,’ and an attraction to the scientific – subjects whose advocates attack one another without compunction. Then, I watched the film What the Bleep Do We Know? and found the communion of spirit and science that had eluded me for so long. Thus, I have a new passion: quantum physics, consciousness, and the creation of reality  which means, for me, the Universe is truly full of magic.

Tracy's book list on spirituality, consciousness and nature of reality

Tracy J Holroyd Why did Tracy love this book?

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.

By Mark Bajerski, Paulo Goode (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Hold that Thought as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Are you open to receiving all the love that the Universe so freely intends for you? Do you limit yourself by a belief that you are powerless to change your life? Are you ready to rediscover your inner beauty and to share that beauty with the world?

Hold that Thought is an incredible collection of divine messages and truths that guides us to the greatest source of our inner light, healing and strength. Mark Bajerski, author and international spiritual healer, beautifully shares these ‘whispers’ from Spirit, whispers that are intended for each one of us. Mark spent years of his…


Book cover of Healing with Form, Energy, and Light: The Five Elements in Tibetan Shamanism, Tantra, and Dzogchen

Peter Mark Adams Author Of The Power of the Healing Field: Energy Medicine, Psi Abilities, and Ancestral Healing

From my list on energy healing, consciousness, and wellbeing.

Why am I passionate about this?

Peter Mark Adams and his wife, Kenzie, have shared a healing and personal development practice for more than 20 years specializing in energy and meridian therapies, breathwork, and meditation. Peter and Kenzie have practiced and taught a range of meditative and energy-based techniques, including Mind Connection Healing (MCH), Usui Reiki, Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), Mindfulness, Vivation, Integrative and Rebirthing Breathwork. Peter’s non-fiction is published by Inner Traditions and Scarlet Imprint; literary prose and poetry by Corbel Stone Press and Paralibrum. His essays on energy healing have appeared in the peer-reviewed Paranthropology Journal and the Journal of Exceptional Experiences and Psychology as well as on his academia.edu page.

Peter's book list on energy healing, consciousness, and wellbeing

Peter Mark Adams Why did Peter love this book?

Cutting a tangent across the cultural background of most healers, this work is redolent of a worldview that was lost when the great tides of modernity swept away our native awareness of the depth and complexity of nature, natural processes, and how they affect our health and well-being. It is with something approaching joy, therefore, to encounter a tradition that counts its continuous, uninterrupted heritage by the millennia rather than the years! This work, above all others, has done more to help me to re-connect with and relate to nature, natural processes, and their healing potential than any other and served to illuminate a greatly expanded view of the healer’s path. Secure in its ageless worldview, strong on its metaphysics, filled with practical self-development exercises; and yet this work delivers all of this in a clear, easily understandable language. 

By Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Healing with Form, Energy, and Light as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A Buddhist manual for replacing an anxious, narrow, uncomfortable identity with one that is expansive, peaceful, and capable.
 
In the shamanic worldview of Tibet, the five elements of earth, water, fire, air, and space are accessed through the raw powers of nature and through non-physical beings associated with the natural world. The Tibetan tantric view recognizes the elements as five kinds of energy in the body and balances them with a program of yogic movements, breathing exercises, and visualizations. In Dzogchen teachings, the elements are understood to be the radiance of being, and are accessed through pure awareness. 

Healing with…


Book cover of Your Faith is Your Fortune

Luminita D. Saviuc Author Of 15 Things You Should Give Up to Be Happy: An Inspiring Guide to Discovering Effortless Joy

From my list on mental, emotional, and spiritual healing.

Why am I passionate about this?

Raised in a fearful and toxic environment where love was completely absent and terror was always at home, I had to learn to let go of my many programs, fears, and traumas so that I could avoid making the mistake of thinking and believing that the story of my past was going to become the story of my life. Through a long journey of letting go, getting lost in order to be found, I realized that who I Am, and who we all are, is far greater and far nobler than what we are programmed to believe. And now my mission is to teach people from all over the world how to let go so they can thrive.

Luminita's book list on mental, emotional, and spiritual healing

Luminita D. Saviuc Why did Luminita love this book?

Our confidence in ourselves, says Neville Goddard, is determined by our faith in the God-power present within each and every one of us. If we happen to fail in life, it’s only because of a lack of faith - in ourselves. But faith can be taught. And all throughout this book, you are taught how to strengthen your faith so that, through the power of your faith, you can create the life of your dreams with ease, love, and grace.

By Neville Goddard,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Your Faith is Your Fortune as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"Your Faith is Your Fortune" is the powerful and inspiring work by Neville Goddard, a mystic, philosopher, and believer in the Law of Attraction. Goddard was a prolific author and wrote many works on his theory of manifestation through feeling. Goddard's theories have had a profound influence on generations of mystics and students of metaphysics and have guided the work of such authors as Wayne Dyer. In "Your Faith is Your Fortune", Goddard presents a new and modern interpretation of the Bible through the philosophies of metaphysics and mysticism. Goddard argued that the Bible is a great human drama, full…


Book cover of The Presence of the Past: Morphic Resonance and the Memory of Nature

Peter Mark Adams Author Of The Power of the Healing Field: Energy Medicine, Psi Abilities, and Ancestral Healing

From my list on energy healing, consciousness, and wellbeing.

Why am I passionate about this?

Peter Mark Adams and his wife, Kenzie, have shared a healing and personal development practice for more than 20 years specializing in energy and meridian therapies, breathwork, and meditation. Peter and Kenzie have practiced and taught a range of meditative and energy-based techniques, including Mind Connection Healing (MCH), Usui Reiki, Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), Mindfulness, Vivation, Integrative and Rebirthing Breathwork. Peter’s non-fiction is published by Inner Traditions and Scarlet Imprint; literary prose and poetry by Corbel Stone Press and Paralibrum. His essays on energy healing have appeared in the peer-reviewed Paranthropology Journal and the Journal of Exceptional Experiences and Psychology as well as on his academia.edu page.

Peter's book list on energy healing, consciousness, and wellbeing

Peter Mark Adams Why did Peter love this book?

The amazing results achieved with energy healing raise profound questions concerning the nature of consciousness and the human energy anatomy and how these suggest the existence of a much broader conception of reality than consensual thought allows for, and it is with respect to this broader conception that Rupert Sheldrake proves such an informative guide. His central concept - that of the existence of ‘morphic fields’ connecting all sentient life-forms and the influence that they exert on our emotional and physical lives through the phenomena of ‘morphic resonance’ - provides the ‘missing link’ in our understanding of consciousness and as well as the root causes of much of the mental, emotional and physical ill-health that we encounter as healers. 

By Rupert Sheldrake,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Explains how self-organizing systems, from crystals to human societies, share collective memories that influence their form and behavior

• Includes new evidence and research in support of the theory of morphic resonance

• Explores the major role that morphic resonance plays not just in animal instincts and cultural inheritance but also in the larger process of evolution

• Shows that nature is not ruled by fixed laws but by habits and collective memories

In this fully revised and updated edition of The Presence of the Past, Cambridge biologist Rupert Sheldrake lays out new evidence and research in support of his…


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