100 books like The Book of Not Knowing

Deepak Chopra has been exploring the relationship between spirituality and science for many decades, and Menas Kafatos’s peer-reviewed research on cosmology and astrophysics, among other topics, is well documented. Their work in this book makes it clear that instead of living in a material, unknowing and uncaring universe, we instead live in what they call a human universe, one that is living, conscious, and evolving. This book makes the case convincingly that we create our own reality in a conscious universe that responds to the beliefs and thoughts that reside in our minds. I have watched Mr. Chopra speak numerous times, and I appreciate his loving and gentle delivery. This book gave me a condensed and satisfying explanation of his worldview.

As a trained physicist, I think this book contains what may be the best explanation of physics in terms non-scientists can understand, as well as how that discipline can be useful in understanding what it really is to be a human being. In particular, I found this book to be quite helpful in grasping how 20th-century physics helps illuminate extra-ordinary experiences. I had one of these experiences, which occurred outside the bounds of our common understanding of the world and of ourselves. He also helps readers understand the gradual demise of scientific materialism, the belief that all things can or will be explained by science, including consciousness. I found this book an enjoyable read and it kept my interest throughout.

I fell in love with the Dalai Lama while reading this book. While telling his own story, he makes it clear that the most important knowledge a human being can have is not amenable to the usual idea of scientific inquiry, which typically involves analyzing external phenomena. I learned about how inner awareness yields to contemplative investigation in the Buddhist tradition, enabled by the development of refined attention through meditation. As I read this book, I could feel the love that remains when all judgment about ourselves and others is finally released.  

For me, this book is the bible. Reading it in the early ’70s, I had never before felt the excitement of exploring a worldview as different from that which I inherited from my culture as it could be. As I read, I experienced a powerful calling to question every aspect of my worldview and every belief I had considered to be just the way things are. I believe it was that calling that allowed me to open my mind and my heart to a more loving and satisfying understanding of myself and of human beings in general. Of all the spiritual teachings I have encountered, none has been more profound in making me a better human being than those in this book.

As a spoken word artist accustomed to embodying different characters, Embracing Our Selves provided me with a profound insight: our personalities are a tapestry of internal characters.

This book masterfully unpacks the various voices within us, from the vulnerable child to the ambitious pusher. It teaches that these voices, each a distinct part of our being, seek recognition and understanding. By identifying which 'character' is in control at any given moment and exploring its desires, we gain deep insights into our own psyche.

This book has been instrumental in my life, offering a framework for understanding the complexity of human personality in a way that aligns with my experiences as an artist. It's a must-read for anyone interested in delving into the multifaceted nature of their inner self and learning how to harmoniously integrate these diverse aspects.

This book is so amazing because it describes the real-life spiritual adventures of the legendary transpersonal psychologist, Dr. Stan Grof, who has taken many journeys into non-ordinary states of consciousness.

The book describes what becomes possible when we shift our awareness away from a mere materialist outlook on the world and give consciousness a fundamental role. I like to refer back to it, again and again, to remind myself that the limitations of my perception are the limitations of my mind: If I open up my mind, even the so-called impossible will begin to happen.  

This book, published by the traditionally conservative American Psychological Association, is one of the first scholarly works coming out of the new look of consciousness. It goes beyond the taken-for-granted assumptions of traditional materialism. After addressing the limitations of the materialist view, it organizes its chapters into broad topics such as shared mind, the nature and experience of time, interactions with discarnate beings, separation from the brain, and direct mental influence.

In later chapters, the authors examine what all this tells us about the essential nature of consciousness itself and its relationship to physical phenomena. 

Dr. Neil Theise is a physician scientist whose been on a spiritual journey since childhood. A constant part of his explorations has been to understand how complex systems behave that illuminate the very nature of life itself, from quantum foam to single-celled organisms, to human beings, to entire ecosystems, and beyond.

In this book, Neil elegantly illuminates in clear and accessible prose the many surprising underlying connections within a universe that is itself one vast complex system. He takes us to the frontiers of human knowledge, where science meets philosophy and beyond.

He restores wonder to our experience of the every day, allowing us to approach the world with greater understanding and a renewed sense of meaning.

To the best of my recollection, the word ‘leadership’ doesn’t appear in this book.

Yet, since I first encountered it in a Harvard Business School doctoral seminar on leadership—and ignored numerous assignments because I couldn’t put it down—I have recommended it to countless professionals.

Too often, leadership is presented as a disembodied (cap)ability, unmoored from its organizational context.

Philosopher Hofstadter and computer scientist Dennett’s remarkable collection of articles includes both fairy tales (yes!) and Alan Turing’s essay defining artificial intelligence. Collectively, they explore not just the “self and soul” in the sub-title but also how humans interact with organizations and technology.

This book taught me leadership isn’t about being a puppeteer. Each of the newest developments in artificial intelligence has reminded me that I must re-read this book.

Chalmers is the philosopher who first called Consciousness the “Hard Problem” and this is his attempt to solve it. It’s a hugely ambitious work that puts up an entirely new theory then tests it so hard that he leaves nothing for his critics to do. You may not swallow the theory, but it’s worth reading just to follow the meticulous thinking and imaginative leaps of a terrific brain.