Here are 100 books that The Way of a Pilgrim fans have personally recommended if you like
The Way of a Pilgrim.
Shepherd is a community of 10,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.
Shepherd is reader supported. When you buy books, we may earn an affiliate commission.
In my journey, I've sought to blend my interest in ancient wisdoms into a coherent, accessible philosophy I call "Nowism." My aim has been to simplify and share complex teachings in a way that resonates and helps. Through my writing, performing, and speaking, I try to bring these concepts to life, hoping to ignite a spark of understanding and self-discovery in others. More than anything, before I leave this world, I want to contribute something (no matter how small) to the legacy of personal empowerment. I aspire to help people see the world more clearly, to understand themselves more deeply, and to find joy in the present moment.
Be Here Now transcends the typical book format with its unique blend of illustrations and diagrams, creating an immersive experience.
It inspired me to practice a life-changing exercise: sitting, conjuring the feeling of being enough, without striving for more. This practice, sparked by the book's wisdom, led to a profound shift in how I perceive the world. While watering a garden, I experienced a moment of heightened awareness, where everything felt more electric and alive.
This transformative journey even inspired my TEDx talk 'Using the Present to Create the Future.' I highly recommend this book to anyone on a path of mindfulness and self-discovery.
Beloved guru Ram Dass tells the story of his spiritual awakening and gives you the tools to take control of your life in this “counterculture bible” (The New York Times) featuring powerful guidance on yoga, meditation, and finding your true self.
When Be Here Now was first published in 1971, it filled a deep spiritual emptiness, launched the ongoing mindfulness revolution, and established Ram Dass as perhaps the preeminent seeker of the twentieth century.
Just ten years earlier, he was known as Professor Richard Alpert. He held appointments in four departments at Harvard University. He published books, drove a Mercedes…
Fascinated with consciousness, spirituality, and the power of mind, I started reading books by Thich Nhat Hahn, Wayne Dyer, Deepak Chopra, and Alan Watts as early as 5th grade. But I was also infatuated with math and logic, which led to a degree in mathematics at UC Berkeley. Knowing there was more to understanding truth beyond logic, I balanced out my worldview with an M.A. in transpersonal psychology. For more than twenty years, I have passionately devoted myself to the study and practice of transformation. As a certified coach using expertise in interpersonal neurobiology, design thinking, and Conversational Intelligence®, I have provided thousands of transformative experiences for individuals, executives, teams, and organizations.
Singer made distinct all the imperceptible knowings I’ve felt throughout my existence about the power of the mind, beliefs, and all the habits we have that hold us back. He made the invisible visible and with that came more choices and possibilities. I felt invigorated, at peace and also empowered while I read this book. I honestly couldn’t put it down!
I reveled in not just the content but the style with which he presents truths about our existence. (And it was just so enjoyable to read!) The last part about death changed me in a profound way and offered me the gift of presence in a way I’ve never been able to achieve through other means.
Who are you? When you start to explore this question, you find out how elusive it really is. Are you a physical body? A collection of experiences and memories? A partner to relationships? Each time you consider aspects of yourself, you realize that there is much more to you than any of these can define. In this book, spiritual teacher Michael Singer explores the question of who we are and arrives at the conclusion that our identity is to be found in our consciousness, the fact of our ability to observe ourselves and the world around us. By tapping into…
I am Srikumar Rao – best selling author, TED speaker, and elite coach. I have spent more than five decades studying the teachings of the world’s greatest masters and distilling them into exercises that enable successful individuals to reach entirely new orbits of accomplishment while remaining serene as a Zen monk. My course, Creativity and Personal Mastery, was among the highest-rated and most popular at many of the world’s top business schools and is the only one to have its own alumni association. My work has been covered by major media worldwide and my talks have been viewed by tens of millions on all six continents.
This is the book that introduced the Indian sage Ramana Maharshi to the Western world.
An enlightened being, Ramana Maharshi’s teachings have transformed the lives of millions and his influence is growing around the world.
Brunton was a spiritual seeker who came to India in colonial times and toured widely. His accounts of meetings with holy men and charlatans comprise about two-thirds of the book and they are entertaining.
The final third is about his meeting with Ramana Maharshi and the impact the silent sage had on him and how his fevered, relentlessly restless mind finally became quiescent. This book is required reading for my course.
'He found many marvelous things...But now and then a man of real spirituality set his feet on the way that finally led him to what he had looked and hoped for.' New York Times Book Review
The late Paul Brunton was one of the twentieth century's greatest explorers of and writers on the spiritual traditions of the East. A Search in Secret India is the story of Paul Brunton's journey around India, living among yogis, mystics and gurus, some of whom he found convincing, others not. He finally finds the peace and tranquility which come with self-knowledge when he meets…
I am Srikumar Rao – best selling author, TED speaker, and elite coach. I have spent more than five decades studying the teachings of the world’s greatest masters and distilling them into exercises that enable successful individuals to reach entirely new orbits of accomplishment while remaining serene as a Zen monk. My course, Creativity and Personal Mastery, was among the highest-rated and most popular at many of the world’s top business schools and is the only one to have its own alumni association. My work has been covered by major media worldwide and my talks have been viewed by tens of millions on all six continents.
His workshops were legendary and had a deep impact on thousands. His books have touched millions. He was eclectic and open-minded and readily acknowledged the power of spiritual practices from traditions outside the Church.
For this, his books were removed from Catholic bookstores and a warning issued that his writings could mislead young minds. He was passionate about truth and cavalier about dogma.
As a software developer who discovered Zen, I am not a master, but rather a humble student. Embracing Zen has transformed my perspective on work and life, providing me with invaluable tools to manage stress and maintain balance. Through this book, I hope to share these insights and empower others to experience the profound benefits of Zen in their own lives.
This groundbreaking work by Philip Kapleau provides an authoritative introduction to Zen practice, weaving together personal accounts, teachings, and practical guidance.
Delve into the fundamentals of Zen, including zazen (meditation), koan study, and enlightenment experiences. Accessible and informative, The Three Pillars of Zen is popular, and I quickly understood why. It is for sure not an easy read, but it helps as orientation in the world of Zen, teaching terms, thoughts, and the general philosophy of Zen.
I was totally confused, especially in my early days, but studying this book helped me to access new terminology, think and understand my teachers better.
In this classic work of spiritual guidance, the founder of the Rochester Zen Center presents a comprehensive overview of Zen Buddhism. Exploring the three pillars of Zen—teaching, practice, and enlightenment—Roshi Philip Kapleau, the man who founded one of the oldest and most influential Zen centers in the United States, presents a personal account of his own experiences as a student and teacher, and in so doing gives readers invaluable advice on how to develop their own practices. Revised and updated, this 35th anniversary edition features new illustrations and photographs, as well as a new afterword by Sensei Bodhin Kjolhede, who…
After my father died when I was eleven years old, I started asking those deeper spiritual questions. This started me on a journey both personally and academically to find needed answers to my queries. I became fascinated with mystical experiences and how seekers navigated their way through the vicissitudes of the spiritual journey. With this interest as a focal point, I received a doctorate in theology, attended retreats, and received guidance from Sufi, Buddhist, and Christian teachers. I taught mysticism and world religions at Ithaca College and co-founded Light on the Hill Retreat Center in 1991, where I still guide people of any or no faith on their spiritual journeys.
This engrossing and inspiring book portrays the author’s wondrous encounters with Sufi master, Hazrat Inayat Kahn, first as a beginning student and then as his assistant. He witnesses the experiences of this sage as he moves through the stages of illumination, dark night of the soul, and unitary consciousness. Interspersed throughout the book are the essential teachings of Sufism as taught by Inayat Khan, its message of love, harmony, and beauty, the Ten Sufi Thoughts, meditation, and the workings of the inner life. Memories of a Sufi Sage is a great introduction to Sufism and one of its great mystics.
After my father died when I was eleven years old, I started asking those deeper spiritual questions. This started me on a journey both personally and academically to find needed answers to my queries. I became fascinated with mystical experiences and how seekers navigated their way through the vicissitudes of the spiritual journey. With this interest as a focal point, I received a doctorate in theology, attended retreats, and received guidance from Sufi, Buddhist, and Christian teachers. I taught mysticism and world religions at Ithaca College and co-founded Light on the Hill Retreat Center in 1991, where I still guide people of any or no faith on their spiritual journeys.
Representing modern Shamanism, Plotkin offers a descriptive model of five stages of The Journey of Soul Initiation based on the accounts of well-known seekers like Carl Jung and lesser-known individuals who attend the Animus Valley Institute. The latter group’s experiences occurred during treks into wild places, vision fasting, dream work, and active imagination. Plotkin illustrates each stage with extensive examples and unlike many other descriptions of inner processes, his account thoroughly addresses the difficulties and dangers of the journey. Using a very different induction process, Plotkin’s stages are striking similar to those models developed in classical Christian mysticism and the Ten Oxherding Pictures, which I use in my own book.
Soul initiation is an essential spiritual adventure that most of the world has forgotten — or not yet discovered. Here, visionary ecopsychologist Bill Plotkin maps this journey, one that has not been previously illuminated in the contemporary Western world and yet is vital for the future of our species and our planet. Based on the experiences of thousands of people, this book provides phase-by-phase guidance for the descent to soul — the dissolution of current identity; the encounter with the mythopoetic mysteries of soul; and the metamorphosis of the ego into a cocreator of life-enhancing culture. Plotkin illustrates each phase…
Until my early 50s, I detested all things spiritual. These books showed up practically on their own, without dogma or jargon, mainly to convince me that the divine existed. They’re easy to read and open to interpretation. They tricked me into a spiritual life by making it seem logical and simply a place to explore at my leisure. I try to write things that are clear and simple, and these books persuaded me that the ineffable isn’t so hard to write about. Also, I could return to these books years later, and they still speak to me. Each is capable of opening something new to me later in life.
Adyashanti is a firestarter, and he got my spiritual adventure going at the beginning. I entered a one-day retreat he gave at a nearby spiritual center as an atheist, a rationalist, a relatively happy corporate executive, a non-meditator, and a scorner of spirituality.
I believed all religions to be ridiculous superstitions with some nice life lessons mixed in. I came out of the one-day session fascinated by the idea of spirituality as a world of its own that could be explored scientifically.
That’s what Adya does, with plain language and easy-to-believe examples: He encourages people, me included, to become aware of the possibility of greater awareness.
More and more people are "waking up" spiritually. And for most of them, the question becomes: now what? "Information about life after awakening is usually not made public," explains Adyashanti. "It's most often shared only between teachers and their students." The End of Your World is his response to a growing need for direction on the spiritual path. Consider the book you hold in your hands Adyashanti's personal welcome to "a new world, a state of oneness."
Adyashanti begins by describing the "I got it/I lost it" phenomenon that perplexes so many of his students-the fluctuation between what he calls…
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.
This book accompanies the award-winning, cult film What the Bleep Do We Know? It discusses consciousness and perception of reality, taking us to a place where the lines between science and spirituality are blurred. It tells of paradigm-shattering, scientific breakthroughs, with input from scientists, medics, historians, philosophers, and spiritual leaders. It offers theories that explain paranormal phenomena; the stuff that many scientists are reluctant (or afraid) to discuss: telepathy, the eternal spirit, parallel universes, and the creation of reality. With insights from noted contributors, the book presents us with some thought-provoking (often uncomfortable) questions.
For me, however, it simply confirms what I already know to be true: the Creator is not only a scientist; He is also a magician!
"Guides readers on a course from the scientific to the spiritual; from the universal to the truly personal." -Publishers Weekly
What the Bleep Do We Know!? is a book of amazing science, and now the international bestselling book is available in paperback. With researchers and theoretical scientists leading the way, it takes the reader through the looking glass of quantum physics into a universe that is more bizarre and alive than ever imagined.
What is a thought made of? What is reality made of? And most important, how does a thought change the nature of reality?
A higher power exists,…
From about the age of 14, I have been exploring how unusual ideas and experiences might change a person’s life. This led me to become an author and experimental psychologist studying the effects of religious beliefs, rituals, and meditation exercises on our minds and bodies. I have spent a good part of the last 4 years putting together a book which tries to answer many of my questions on the varieties of meditation practices around the world.
Here we have fragments of the lives of female and male hermits living in the Egyptian desert, trying to live the Christian life away from the temptations of cities. Colourful depictions of their relationships, experiences with angels and demons, and the techniques used to move closer to God and conquer human frailty. These accounts are a superb antidote to today’s mindfulness which feels rather mind-numbing compared to these accounts of meditation.
The Desert Fathers were the first Christian monks, living in solitude in the deserts of Egypt, Palestine, and Syria. In contrast to the formalised and official theology of the "founding fathers" of the church, the Desert Fathers were ordinary Christians who chose to renounce the world and live lives of celibacy, fasting, vigil, prayer and poverty in direct and simple response to the gospel. Their sayings were first recorded in the 4th century and consist of spiritual advice, anecdotes and parables. The Desert Fathers' teachings and lives have inspired poetry, opera and art, as well as providing spiritual nourishment and…
Interested in
spirituality,
Christianity,
and
Buddhism?
10,000+ authors have recommended their favorite books and what they love about them.
Browse their picks for the best books about
spirituality,
Christianity,
and
Buddhism.
