I’m a husband, father, writer, and recovering addict – and not necessarily in that order. Early in my marriage, I became a full-blown, low-bottom cocaine addict. While it wasn’t surprising that active addiction nearly led to divorce, my wife and I were baffled and discouraged when my newfound sobriety brought its own existential marital issues. Frustratingly, there was a dearth of resources for couples in recovery, especially compared to the ample support available to recovering addicts. As an avid freelance writer, I decided to add to this sparse genre by sharing our struggles, setbacks, and successes en route to a happy, secure marriage.
You can’t stay married if you’re dead. Don’t die. Read this book.
There’s a reason TIME Magazine included the central text of the world’s most prolific recovery organization on its list of Best 100 Nonfiction Books of All Time: the book that gave AA its name likely has saved more lives than any other singular narrative in the past century.
AA not really for you? Reading Alcoholics Anonymous does not mean joining Alcoholics Anonymous. The themes co-authors Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith discuss – and the Twelve Steps of Recovery in particular – have near-universal relevance to anyone attempting to break the grip of alcohol or drugs.
More than eight decades after its publication, the book offers timeless truths that captivate addicts via ironclad identification.
Many thousands have benefited from "The Big Book" and its simple but profound explanation of the doctrines behind Alcoholics Anonymous, which was founded in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith. This original 1939 edition outlines the famous 12 steps, and offers counsel for those who wish to join the program but doubt the existence of a higher power. It also contains encouraging personal stories, in which AA members relate their experiences with alcohol and how they found the path to sobriety. "The Big Book" has gone through numerous editions and remains the most widely used resource for recovering…
Since I was a child, I have been fascinated by the question, “What is the nature of reality, and how can we know it?” To engage this question, I have explored neuroscience throughout my career, trying to understand how our brain perceives reality. During that time, I have also come to recognize the profound importance of religious, spiritual, and philosophical approaches to this question. I have been particularly fascinated by the intense spiritual experiences that people throughout time and all cultures have described. My work in this book and throughout my career has looked at this intersection of spirituality and the brain, a field, sometimes referred to as Neurotheology.
The Varieties of Religious Experience has not only been an inspiration to me throughout my career, but has laid the foundation for the entire exploration of the most powerful experiences people have.
By combining psychology and religion, James embarked on a journey to recount and organize our understanding of religious experiences. Importantly, he also related his analysis to religion itself providing a basis for exploring the field of neurotheology – linking the brain and spirituality – long before we had the technology of MRI or PET brain scans.
His remarkable combination of philosophy, psychology, religion, and spirituality
First published in 1902, “The Varieties of Religious Experience” is William James’ philosophical and psychological examination of the nature of religion in human civilization. Based on James’s own Gifford Lectures given at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland between 1901 and 1902, James argues that “Scientific theories are organically conditioned just as much as religious emotions are; and if we only knew the facts intimately enough, we should doubtless see ‘the liver’ determining the dicta of the sturdy atheist as decisively as it does those of the Methodist under conviction anxious about his soul. When it alters in one way…
I have always been curious, but it wasn’t until university that I discovered my fascination with brain science. Here was a real challenge. An incredibly complex system, full of mysteries and unknowns, that needed breaking down, and understanding at the most fundamental level. And not only that, but it was something that affected us all, every day. I was hooked. Since graduating, I have worked as a science communicator, sharing my love of the brain with anyone who will listen- via podcasts, books, blogs, and on stage. I also founded Braintastic Science! which provides spectacular shows, workshops, and resources to help young people understand and get the best out of their amazing brains.
Humans are inherently superstitious. Even those of us who think of ourselves as scientists will ‘touch wood’ after saying something, or avoid walking under ladders. But why? In this book, Hood argues that these behaviors, and more complex beliefs like religion, develop as a byproduct of something our brains do that is vital for human survival—finding patterns. This is one of the first pop-sci books on psychology I read, and I clearly remember seeing Hood deliver a talk about it while I was at University. It helped stoke my curiosity about the topic, and how our incredible brains can drive such complex and nuanced behaviours. It is still one of my favourites over 10 years later.
Why is it that Tony Blair always wore the same pair of shoes when answering Prime Minister's Questions? That John McEnroe notoriously refused to step on the white lines of a tennis court between points? And that President-elect Barack Obama played a game of basketball the morning of his victory in the Iowa primary, and continued the tradition the day of every following primary?
Superstitious habits are common. Do you ever cross your fingers, knock on wood, avoid walking under ladders, or step around black cats? Sentimental value often supersedes material worth. If someone offered to replace your childhood teddy…
“And what do you do?” someone asked at a crowded reception at the NY Academy of Science. “Write—comparative religion.” Startled, he backed away, asking suspiciously, “Why religion? Are you religious?” Yes, incorrigibly—although I grew up among people who regarded religion as obsolete as an outgrown bicycle stashed in a back closet. While many of us leave institutions behind, identifying as “spiritual, not religious,” I’ve done both—had faith, lost it; then began exploring recent discoveries from Israel and Egypt—Dead Sea Scrolls, Christian “secret gospels,” Buddhist practices, asking, Why is religion still around in the twenty-first century? What I love is how such stories, art, music, and rituals engage our imagination and illuminate our experience.
This book is full of stories, using case studies that include the lives of Walt Whitman, Saint Augustine, and Russian writer Leo Tolstoy—that I found fascinating. Here psychologist William James challenges what he—and I—were both taught: namely, that religions are primarily childish fantasies (the view of Sigmund Freud, founder of psychoanalysis, in The Future of an Illusion). But after James, as a young man, experienced a terrifying depression, he describes his surprise at what felt to him like a spiritual breakthrough that enabled him to recover. James skips questions about dogma and belief, instead identifies a range of different “varieties of religious experience” that, far more than “belief,” can give rise to spiritual insight.
Standing at the crossroads of psychology and religion, this catalyzing work applied the scientific method to a field abounding in abstract theory. William James believed that individual religious experiences, rather than the precepts of organized religions, were the backbone of the world's religious life. His discussions of conversion, repentance, mysticism and saintliness, and his observations on actual, personal religious experiences - all support this thesis. In his introduction, Martin E. Marty discusses how James's pluralistic view of religion led to his remarkable tolerance of extreme forms of religious behaviour, his challenging, highly original theories, and his welcome lack of pretension…
Admittedly, I’m just a painfully average Joe, but therein lies the paradoxical aptness of my credentials. Like most people, I wasn’t raised specially educated or trained, fed by a spiritual spoon. Instead, my qualifications arise from transitioning out of the common, materialistically driven, atheistic perspective to see the contrasting light of the other side. What was originally a drive for self-development has evolved into a passion for spirituality, which inevitably arises if one introspects long enough. These past few years, I’ve been motivated to try and make more sense out of this senseless topic with the intent of sharing its value with others.
This book offers an interesting perspective on the potential biological basis for religious experiences and beliefs, supported by scientific research.
Even without a background in neuroscience or psychology, I still found it to be a fully understandable book, well-written but not overly complicated. In the modern era where we need to provide a logical basis and justification, it adds to the overall endeavor to bridge science and spirituality.
While I can’t say this book has many practical tips, it has deepened my perspective on the subject of spirituality, allowing me to better comprehend and visualize physical correlates of certain esoteric experiences.
Is Man the product of a God...or is "God" the product of human evolution?
From the dawn of our species, every human culture―no matter how isolated―has believed in some form of a spiritual realm. According to author Matthew Alper, this is no mere coincidence but rather due to the fact that humans, as a species, are genetically predisposed to believe in the universal concepts of a god, a soul and an afterlife. This instinct to believe is the result of an evolutionary adaptation―a coping mechanism―that emerged in our species to help us survive our unique and otherwise debilitating awareness of…
I love travelogues and wrote a dual POV travel memoir with my husband. Travel writing allows us to see the world through others’ eyes, and my favorites are by those who used travel as a way to escape or heal. I’m more invested when I know this person not just wants, but needsthis journey. I understand this feeling. I empathize with them, I root for them, and I am happy for them when they reach their destination. I adoreEat, Pray, Loveand Wild, and want to recommend five other memoirs that have stayed with me as examples of brave people who left home behind in search of something better.
Guy left his demons in England and set out on a pilgrimage. After mental health issues and a year of being afraid to leave his home, Guy re-entered the world by trekking through 10 countries in 10 months, hoping the journey would heal him. He traveled down ancient paths through changing landscapes, and the charity of everyday strangers kept him and his hope alive.
He finally arrived in Jerusalem, and though neither his physical nor emotional journey ended in the climax he’d hoped, he’d gained understanding. I’ve experienced the clarity that can come with putting physical distance between you and your issues, and though they say not to run away from your problems, sometimes a really long walk can actually help.
Winner - Edward Stanford Travel Memoir of the Year 2019. Shortlisted - Rathbones Folio Prize, Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize, and Somerset Maugham Award 2019.
'An extraordinary travelogue, strange and brilliant' - i
In 2013 Guy Stagg walked from Canterbury to Jerusalem. Though a non-believer, he began the pilgrimage after suffering several years of mental illness, hoping the ritual would heal him. For ten months he hiked alone on ancient paths, crossing ten countries and more than 5,500 kilometres. Travelling without support, he had to rely each night on the charity of strangers.
A philosophy professor, my central interest has always been something historical: what is going on in this strange modern world we live in? Addressing this required forty years of background work in the natural sciences, history, social sciences, and the variety of contemporary philosophical theories that try to put them all together. In the process, I taught philosophy courses on philosophical topics, social theory, and the sciences, wrote books, and produced video courses, mostly focused on that central interest. The books listed are some of my favorites to read and to teach. They are crucial steps on the journey to understand who we are in this unprecedented modern world.
Best recent book examining human morality from a scientific, psychological point of view.
Darwinians used to think humans had to be selfish and immoral. Contemporary evolution argues the opposite, that humans evolved moral limits on our selfishness in order to live together. Haidt’s is the best book presenting this new evolutionary psychology.
But it goes further to connect those scientific issues with contemporary politics, explaining why people from “red” and “blue” states cannot understand each other: they each embody a short list of human moral values, but different ones. This is a great book for thinking carefully about human morality and contemporary politics. Students love it, and so do I.
'A landmark contribution to humanity's understanding of itself' The New York Times
Why can it sometimes feel as though half the population is living in a different moral universe? Why do ideas such as 'fairness' and 'freedom' mean such different things to different people? Why is it so hard to see things from another viewpoint? Why do we come to blows over politics and religion?
Jonathan Haidt reveals that we often find it hard to get along because our minds are hardwired to be moralistic, judgemental and self-righteous. He explores how morality evolved to enable us to form communities, and…
Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein have been thinking deep thoughts and writing jokes for decades, and now they are here to help us understand philosophy through jokes, and jokes through philosophy. They like philosophy and they like jokes, not necessarily in that order. Best of all, they like combining them.
First published in 1844, Soren Kierkegaard's concise treatise identified-long before Freud-anxiety as a profound human condition, portraying human existence largely as a constant struggle with our own spiritual identities.
I was close to Jesus when I was young, speaking with Him nightly. I walked away from Him. The troubles and some of these books got me back on the spiritual path for healing, love, heart, meaning, understanding, and warmth. All the things my soul craves. It also craves partnership, but this always seems to fail or be missed. Much of my life has been about healing when I was the age 18-25, and going to school for Child Care Work and Social Work. Eventually, learning Reiki, Spiritual healing, Christian Spiritual Healing, and prayer work. Many teachings from Buddhist classes, Native-American circles and classes, Meditations, Kabbalah, dowsing, Mediumship, Past-life regressions, then back to Jesus and Mother Mary.
Yes, this book stuck with me. I had it sitting there for a year and turned to it after a terrible breakup. Many of the quotes I read were so meaningful that I began my own book of quotes that I copied down so I could return to them when I needed healing or to be reminded of certain understandings that struck home.
One that I really liked was when he said you shouldn't blame anyone else for their actions. Instead, they see things as follows: "Their soul required them to act that way." It takes away blame and makes you think of the soul, its development, the unfolding of the soul, and its purpose and mystery.
I think it takes away the feeling of ownership of another person. No one owns anyone else. In that sense, allowing and understanding they are free is very free. In that thinking, no…
#1 New York Times Bestseller With a new introduction by the author and additional material, this 25th anniversary edition of the #1 New York Times bestseller by Thomas Moore provides a powerful spiritual message for our troubled times. In this special 25th anniversary edition of Thomas Moore's bestselling book Care of the Soul readers are presented with a revolutionary approach to thinking about daily life-everyday activities, events, problems and creative opportunities-and a therapeutic lifestyle is proposed that focuses on looking more deeply into emotional problems and learning how to sense sacredness in even ordinary things. Basing his writing on the…
For years, I’ve asked myself why I crashed. What was the complex web of principles and circumstances that landed a successful, upstanding, highly qualified person into a psychiatrist’s office? And, further, what inner strengths led me to ultimate transformation and a better understanding of myself and my environment? This book has been a project of self-exploration, of the stories and decisions that helped me climb, fall, and recover—exploring the confluence of love and career.
Richard Barrett’s book is like the engineer's guide to self-enlightenment. Like David Brooks in the second mountain, the author describes a personal journey to discover one’s inner purpose and soul.
The book's first section explores ways to develop self-knowledge, even providing a variety of charts to explain the author's philosophical concepts: exploring consciousness, self-identity, and beliefs. Part two defines ways to discover one’s purpose and then articulates pathways and strategies to live that purpose.
Had I read and studied this book in my early life, my path might have been much different. That is, of course, if I had the mind to follow Barrett’s suggestions.
Everything you need to know about personal transformation. Drawing on leading-edge theories of science, religion and psychology, Richard Barrett provides a detailed account of the interactions of the personality with the soul. He weaves together a comprehensive model of consciousness with the soul at the center. He teaches you ten strategies for attaining soul consciousness and how to see and live life from the perspective of the soul.
