Like many people who consciously decided to leave the constrictive religion to which they were randomly born (and raised), I see retrospectively that the decision was an essential act of self-preservation and self-actualization. I abandoned the transactional relationship with a Judging God, including its barter of mindless obedience in exchange for a heavenly eternity after death. In doing so, I discovered my true soul. Through “godless” practices and continual seeking, I have discovered a profound, meaningful spirituality. The books on this list are among so many that have expanded my thinking and helped me become, I hope, a better human along the way. It is my pleasure to recommend them to you.
I receivedThe Book of Awakening in 2015 after my husband, Jamie, died of ALS. It collected dust on my bookshelf for far too long. Once I finally cracked it, I made up for lost time by returning time and again to this beautiful, inspiring collection of deeply personal essays — one for each day of the year. Among other things, Nepo is a poet, a teacher, and a cancer survivor. He brings his considerable literary skill to telling moving, high-impact stories about what really matters in life, along with sprinklings of wisdom from a variety of ancient traditions. God isn’t referenced as the Big White Guy in the Sky who’s pulling the strings, but rather as a beautiful, ineffable presence that connects the divine light in each individual.
A new edition of the #1 NYT’s bestseller by Mark Nepo, who has been called “one of the finest spiritual guides of our time” and “a consummate storyteller.”
Philosopher-poet and cancer survivor Mark Nepo opens a new season of freedom and joy—an escape from deadening, asleep-at-the wheel sameness—that is both profound and clarifying.
His spiritual daybook is a summons to reclaim aliveness, liberate the self, take each day one at a time, and savor the beauty offered by life's unfolding. Reading his poetic prose is like being given second sight, exposing the reader to life's multiple dimensions, each one drawn…
I started writing way back in grade school, and I love to read. My first book came out in 1990, after much work and many classes. It was one of the proudest days of my life. To date, I've published over forty books, both fiction and non-fiction. I worked hard on my writing and, later, also on developing my psychic gifts to help lost, lonely souls. Both are the result of lots of studying and development, but both of which give me immense satisfaction. Along with years of writing experience, I have over thirty years of paranormal investigative experience.
Geek Corbin and shape-shifting dragon Subtle Jewel, both plagued by demons of their past, are forced into a shaky reliance to stop a war between realms. Their growth is both delicate and understated. I was swept into the trials that slowly built and firmed their lives.
To me, many fantasy books are the same old, same old. Chaos Heir: Beholden is written so well, I easily fell into the story and dangerous adventures of Corbin and Subtle Jewel. It wasn't just escapism, although I truly hated to stop reading to attend to real-world responsibilities.
I rooted for these two, loved the twists and cleverness that let them overcome the dangers and adversities. The story shows how they refuse to let life's falls defeat them.
“It's like you’re two different people, Mr. Knight. One of you is a brilliant young man with a bright future, and the other is a slacker with no greater designs for his life than to see how badly he can fail. … You need to decide which of those people you will be."College student Corbin Knight uses video games to escape a childhood mistake that destroyed his family. Then his past resurfaces when an elf called Shadow returns with an ultimatum for his Beholden: honor your oath or die. Under the Truman-Aelfking Accord, a pact between elf and Beholden, even…
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.
This guy tells rip-roaring stories while skewering all the spiritual hucksters you’re likely to meet. I was locked into a spiritual mystery school when a member of the group recommended McKenna as the real thing.
Most spiritual books are boastful; this guy comes off as completely ordinary, except he happens to have freed himself from emotional suffering. Most of the time. The rest of the time, he’s making fun of the bliss bunnies, chanters, philosophizers, charlatans, and sheeplike followers who populate the New Age landscape.
From a spiritual master unlike any, a spiritual masterpiece like no other.
AUTHOR, TEACHER AND SPIRITUAL MASTER Jed McKenna tells it like it's never been told before. A true American original, Jed succeeds where countless others have failed by reducing this highest of attainments — Spiritual Enlightenment — to the simplest of terms.
Effectively demystifying the mystical, Jed astonishes the reader not by adding to the world's collected spiritual wisdom, but by taking the spirituality out of spiritual enlightenment. Never before has this elusive topic been treated in so engaging and accessible a manner.
I’ve long been fascinated by how we know what we know, how objective knowledge differs from subjective knowing, and how we can validate knowledge as reliable vs. deceptive or distorted. These questions eventually led to encounters with nondual spiritual traditions such as Advaita Vedanta, Taoism, and the Dzogchen and Mahamudra lineages of Tibetan Buddhism. These teachings bring feelings of happiness and joyful contentment—a sense of “coming home.” I love how they fiercely and compassionately challenge some of my most cherished assumptions about myself and the world. Like a skilled surgeon expertly repairing a broken bone, the nondual teachings dissolve mistaken beliefs and reveal my unbounded wholeness.
I’ve read the 52 stories in this book repeatedly, and each time—despite their familiarity—they seem fresh and new. They put a smile on my face and make my heart sing. This is due, in no small part, to how great a storyteller Lex Hixon is.
I love his artful weaving of deep wisdom into each tale of the intimate relationship between master and disciple and his descriptions of that blessèd moment when the disciple himself or herself becomes a master. I’ve long been fascinated by the question: What really happens during spiritual awakening, aka enlightenment? This book explores this question and at least hints at some sublimely satisfying answers.
I started writing way back in grade school, and I love to read. My first book came out in 1990, after much work and many classes. It was one of the proudest days of my life. To date, I've published over forty books, both fiction and non-fiction. I worked hard on my writing and, later, also on developing my psychic gifts to help lost, lonely souls. Both are the result of lots of studying and development, but both of which give me immense satisfaction. Along with years of writing experience, I have over thirty years of paranormal investigative experience.
When I realized I had psychic/medium abilities (thanks to my Aunt Belle Brown), I started delving into these gifts deeply, as well as doing paranormal investigations.
After years of training under others, developing myself, and writing about the paranormal, I became confident enough to teach others. By then I had founded a crew (Supernatural Researchers of Texas) and they asked me to teach them.
You are Psychic! was our first "textbook." Sanders is an MIT-trained scientist with a wonderful program for expanding psychic abilities. I found this book invaluable for one of my first books for myself, and the SRT crew agreed it taught them a lot.
Use a scientifically proven method to harness your inborn psychic abilities and achieve breakthroughs in everyday life!
Everyone has occasional psychic experiences, but few people realize that it is possible to access ESP on command. Using his extensive study of biomedical chemistry and brain science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Pete A. Sanders, Jr., has developed a method to show how we can tap into our psychic abilities at will to expand our knowledge and gain control of our destiny.
By sharing the techniques that he and his instructors have taught to more than half a million people, You…
I started writing way back in grade school, and I love to read. My first book came out in 1990, after much work and many classes. It was one of the proudest days of my life. To date, I've published over forty books, both fiction and non-fiction. I worked hard on my writing and, later, also on developing my psychic gifts to help lost, lonely souls. Both are the result of lots of studying and development, but both of which give me immense satisfaction. Along with years of writing experience, I have over thirty years of paranormal investigative experience.
This book is chock full of more advanced lessons for improving your gifts of psychic abilities.
It was my crew's second "textbook." The Sanders program guide laid a good foundation to build upon, and this book expanded on those lessons. Vanden Eynden calls it a down-to-earth guide, and it is. It has a different slant, more into meditation to get in touch with your spirit guides. But she has a wealth of other information.
The SRT crew enjoyed her lessons and found their gifts growing even more. We use these abilities in our investigations, which are becoming geared to helping homeowners with problematic or malevolent ghosts.
Are you fascinated by the spirit world? Wish you could communicate with loved ones on the Other Side? According to Spiritualist minister Rose Vanden Eynden, everyone possesses innate capabilities for spirit communication. Emphasizing the principles of modern Spiritualism, So You Want to Be a Medium? demonstrates how to enhance one's spiritual senses for working between worlds.
Through exercises involving meditation, breathing, dream work, symbols, and energy systems, the author teaches how to prepare one's mind and body for spiritual communication. Readers also learn about the many kinds of spirit guides and elemental energies, how to get in touch with them,…
Certified Master Life Coach and CEO of Wainwright Global, Barbara Wainwright is known as the most sought-after teacher in the coaching industry. She is famous for training and certifying over 6,500 professional coaches worldwide since 2006 and for empowering individuals to actualize their life purpose, live inspired lives, and connect with their true passion. Barbara is an international speaker, author, and educator with 3 books available on Amazon.com. I have been seeking spiritual enlightenment and personal growth all of my adult life. Now I am sharing some of my strengths through my podcast and video series Show Up For God and God Will Show Up For You in Miraculous Ways.
This book was the beginning of my spiritual journey.
Accepting that we are responsible for every aspect of our lives was a hard pill to swallow. Life happens for us, not to us. What is the purpose? The purpose (I believe) is to learn unconditional love and acceptance.
Does that mean we have to be around people that hurt us? No. It means to accept people for who they are and move on.
This book challenged me and my way of thinking. “Your thoughts create your reality” is explained in detail in this book. I’m grateful that this book was written.
Late in 1963, Jane Roberts and her husband were experimenting with a Ouija board when a personality calling himself 'Seth' began forming messages. Soon, Miss Roberts began passing easily into trance - her gestures, her eyes, her voice 'borrowed' by Seth himself. Now for those who want to put his theories to use, Seth has dictated this new book, The Nature of Personal Reality explains how unquestioned belief structure your experience - and how simply listing them can help remove barriers you have uknowingly thrown in your way. Along with other specific exercises for transforming your personal reality, Seth spells…
Like many people who consciously decided to leave the constrictive religion to which they were randomly born (and raised), I see retrospectively that the decision was an essential act of self-preservation and self-actualization. I abandoned the transactional relationship with a Judging God, including its barter of mindless obedience in exchange for a heavenly eternity after death. In doing so, I discovered my true soul. Through “godless” practices and continual seeking, I have discovered a profound, meaningful spirituality. The books on this list are among so many that have expanded my thinking and helped me become, I hope, a better human along the way. It is my pleasure to recommend them to you.
I dithered ferociously about including this title, because Harris’s tone can be off-putting and because he uses sexist language — just like the scriptures do! He should know better. Even so, I loved this book for its science-based arguments that skewer organized religion, and for his articulation of vague questions that had been tumbling in my mind without coming into focus enough to ask them. A few big takeaways for me: The “sacred” texts embraced by major world religions can, and are, used to defend almost any atrocity toward other humans. Harris also makes what should be an obvious point about the oft-touted benefits of religion: Universal love, good works, community, teaching values, etc. can be achieved without dogma or belief in a Supreme Deity. Finally, Harris allows for and honors the “mystical,” connecting human experiences that cannot (yet) be explained by science.
In The End of Faith, Sam Harris delivers a startling analysis of the clash between reason and religion in the modern world. He offers a vivid, historical tour of our willingness to suspend reason in favor of religious beliefs-even when these beliefs inspire the worst human atrocities. While warning against the encroachment of organized religion into world politics, Harris draws on insights from neuroscience, philosophy, and Eastern mysticism to deliver a call for a truly modern foundation for ethics and spirituality that is both secular and humanistic. Winner of the 2005 PEN/Martha Albrand Award for Nonfiction.
As a busy businesswoman and coach, I felt like I had always been pushing for what I thought represented success, racing from task to task, project to project almost without stopping to take a breath. Eventually that caught up with me and I found myself feeling over-stressed and unfulfilled. This was the catalyst that ignited a need to make some changes in my own life. I read these books to both learn and heal myself. They are all now books I refer to–to keep focused on a more mindful way of being and maintain my own self -awareness.
This is one of my favorite books of all time. I read it at least once a year to remind myself to be more present. I have found that when I allow my thoughts to silence and focus on the now, I feel a strong sense of freedom—freedom from self-created stress.
Reading this book has helped me to let go of many unhelpful thoughts and realize that I am so much more than the thoughts swirling around in my head. This is a simple yet profound book for which I am truly grateful.
**CHOSEN BY OPRAH AS ONE OF HER 'BOOKS THAT HELP ME THROUGH'**
The international bestselling spiritual book, now with a new look for its 20th anniversary. Eckhart Tolle demonstrates how to live a healthier, happier, mindful life by living in the present moment.
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'I keep Eckhart's book at my bedside. I think it's essential spiritual teaching. It's one of the most valuable books I've ever read.' Oprah Winfrey
To make the journey into The Power of Now we will need to leave our analytical mind and its false created self, the ego, behind. Although the journey is challenging, Eckhart…
My passion for spiritual books is a result of my meditation and the love I have for the Divine. I feel that my life has been touched by the grace of the Infinite. My books are from this communion I feel. I have an extensive history of journeys to India to see my guru, being a clinical psychologist, developing and teaching Yoga Teacher Trainings and Yoga Therapy Trainings, being an ordained yogic minister, or Acharya, and of many years of meditation, but all of that is only the outer trappings. The real inspiration for my writings is the Infinite Self, the Divine Beloved in which all that is abides.
Ramana is a truly great spiritual teacher, known to many people and the teacher of many teachers in the Non-Dual Lineage.
I find his teachings truly inspiring and to the point, always bringing us back to the nature of the Self. He reminds us that nothing is outside of the Self and that all true self-inquiry leads you back again and again to the infinite, immortal Self of all beings.
I read a few pages at a time and my mind slides into bliss. These are real teachings.
The Vichara Sangraham is the earliest recording of Maharshi's teachings. It has its origins in slips of paper upon which the Maharshi wrote answers to questions put to Him by Gambhiram Seshayya (Gambhiram Seshiar) during 1900 to 1902, when Sri Ramana was dwelling in Virupaksha Cave on holy Arunachala. The present work in prose consists of forty questions and answers covering the entire range of spiritual disciplines required for the gaining of release (moksha).
