The most recommended books on the subconscious

Who picked these books? Meet our 29 experts.

29 authors created a book list connected to subconscious, and here are their favorite subconscious books.
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Book cover of Lucid Dreaming Made Easy: A Beginner's Guide to Waking Up in Your Dreams

Theresa Cheung Author Of The Dream Dictionary from A to Z

From my list on dream decoding.

Why am I passionate about this?

I was born into a family of psychics and spiritualists, where dream decoding was the order of the day. I did my Bachelor's degree in Theology and English at King's College, Cambridge University, and since graduating have devoted my life to spreading the word about the healing and transformative power of dream work. I share my passion for mainstreaming dream decoding as a potent personal and spiritual growth tool through my numerous dream and spiritual awakening books, podcasts, media appearances, my Sunday Times bestselling author status, and my collaboration with scientists, neuroscientists, and psychologists researching dreams and the science of consciousness; I have earned the title Queen of Dreams.

Theresa's book list on dream decoding

Theresa Cheung Why did Theresa love this book?

Lucid dreaming is the holy grail of dreamwork. It is the art of becoming conscious within your dreams. Charlie Morley is one of the world's leading experts in lucid dreaming and has trained with both Eastern and Western experts in this surreal art. 

This book is the perfect introductory guide and explains in an easy-to-read style how lucid dreaming can be a gateway into your subconscious, and learning how to use this virtual reality dream state can help you live a more fulfilling life, understand toxic behaviour, heal anxiety, overcome fear, and explore infinite creativity. 

By Charlie Morley,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Lucid Dreaming Made Easy as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Change your waking life through waking up in your sleep.

Please note: This book was previously published under the title Lucid Dreaming (Hay House Basics series).

Lucid dreaming is the art of becoming conscious within your dreams. Charlie Morley has been lucid dreaming since he was a teenager and has trained with both Eastern and Western experts in this profound practice. In this introductory guide, Charlie explains how lucid dreaming is a powerful gateway into the subconscious mind and how it can help you transform, improve and heal all areas of your life. Learn how you can use the virtual…


Book cover of Strangers to Ourselves: Discovering the Adaptive Unconscious

Valerie Tiberius Author Of What Do You Want Out of Life? A Philosophical Guide to Figuring Out What Matters

From my list on understanding what's really important.

Why am I passionate about this?

When I entered my fifties, I was very surprised to discover that I didn’t have my life all figured out. This was especially surprising since the nature of a good human life has been my research topic for decades. What I have learned, from philosophy and from my collaborations with psychologists, is that it’s always going to be a process. We have to figure out what matters and how to get it, we have to navigate value conflicts, and we have to accept that the answers will change as our circumstances change. The books I’ve recommended aren’t guides to life, but I think they’re great for understanding the process. 

Valerie's book list on understanding what's really important

Valerie Tiberius Why did Valerie love this book?

To achieve the things that matter to us, we have to know what they are.

We tend to think we know ourselves really well – certainly better than anyone else knows us. But in this book, psychologist Timothy Wilson presents fascinating evidence that we don’t know ourselves as well as we think we do.

In particular, we tend to rationalize our choices after the fact in ways that don’t actually reflect our deeper, emotional state.

This book opened my mind to the idea that we need to “look under the hood” to figure out what matters to us most. 

By Timothy D. Wilson,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Strangers to Ourselves as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"Know thyself," a precept as old as Socrates, is still good advice. But is introspection the best path to self-knowledge? What are we trying to discover, anyway? In an eye-opening tour of the unconscious, as contemporary psychological science has redefined it, Timothy D. Wilson introduces us to a hidden mental world of judgments, feelings, and motives that introspection may never show us.

This is not your psychoanalyst's unconscious. The adaptive unconscious that empirical psychology has revealed, and that Wilson describes, is much more than a repository of primitive drives and conflict-ridden memories. It is a set of pervasive, sophisticated mental…


Book cover of Black Boy, Black Boy

Artika Tyner Author Of Justice Makes a Difference: The Story of Miss Freedom Fighter, Esquire

From my list on children celebrating diversity.

Why am I passionate about this?

The library has always been my favorite place to visit. As a child, I would travel the world through books. I learned about different cultures and studied other languages. Through these experiences, I gained a deep appreciation for cultures around the world. I also learned an important lesson that inclusion is the thread that weaves together a rich multicultural tapestry. Fast forward to today, I share these lessons through my work as an author, leadership scholar, and law professor. My booklist reflects a celebration of diverse cultures, introduces learning tools for becoming an inclusive leader, and provides an invitation to join me in taking intentional action for justice and equity.  

Artika's book list on children celebrating diversity

Artika Tyner Why did Artika love this book?

It introduced children from all backgrounds to the possibility of what they can become.

It challenges the limitation of stereotypes and biases. It is a reminder that you can be not just who you want to be, but also fulfill the destiny of who you ought to be. 

By Crown Shepherd, Mychal Baston (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Black Boy, Black Boy as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 7, 8, 9, and 10.

What is this book about?

Black Boy, Black Boy, what do you see?

I see a bright future ahead of me!

A melodic mantra with a powerful message: Black boys can be a doctor, a judge, the president . . . anything they want to be!

Each page depicts a boy looking into the future, seeing his grown-up self, and admiring the greatness reflected back at him. This book is created to teach Black boys there are no barriers--if you can dream it, you can be it!

This book is for Black boys so they see themselves as the heroes of the story.

This book…


Book cover of Success Through Manipulation: Subconscious Reactions That Will Make Or Break You

Sandy Graham Author Of You Speak For Me Now

From my list on to influence human society.

Why am I passionate about this?

Over the past decade, I’ve become very concerned with the direction authoritarianism is taking human society. It’s a global problem that now infects America, leaving us with a partisan divide we may not be able to bridge. My recommended books helped me understand the situation and how one might speak out against this negative force effectively. Convinced that bombarding readers with facts alone is useless, I chose to provide a novel that is interesting and captivates readers. My goal is to entice readers to press on to the end regardless of their political persuasion, in hopes that along the way some thought will be devoted to the issues raised.

Sandy's book list on to influence human society

Sandy Graham Why did Sandy love this book?

Our future is determined by us, and our actions are determined by our thought processes. In other words, the future of human society can be influenced by manipulating group thought. Colin applies years of training and experience as a hypnotist to give us a view of how the human brain functions and how it can be manipulated.

He views it as two computing systems. A subconscious mind performing 40 million tasks/second deals only in the present, ignoring abstract things like “yesterday,” “don’t,” etc. The second conscious mind uses 40 tasks/second to control and program the first. It doesn’t exist in babies and develops during childhood. How that growth is managed determines its adult thought process and ultimately group thought. Colin provides insights on how it can be manipulated for good or bad results.

By Colin Christopher, Chris Simon (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Success Through Manipulation as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

MANIPULATIONGet it, before it gets you! Do you realize you are being manipulated, or are you oblivious? Do you know who or what is manipulating you? Can you identify the manipulation? If you can identify it, can you do anything about it? How is manipulation affecting you? Can you change these effects? Can you use them to your advantage?Success through Manipulation delves deeply into how you think and how your mind reacts to your environment, friends, family, work, and much more.Learn how to stop reacting, become consciously aware and take control of your mind. Manipulate your thinking and become more…


Book cover of Jung on Active Imagination

Shaun McNiff Author Of Art Heals: How Creativity Cures the Soul

From my list on art healing.

Why am I passionate about this?

By chance, just over 50 years ago, I became an art therapist in a state hospital on the Northshore of Boston where I have always lived. With support from Rudolf Arnheim at Harvard University and others, I committed myself to furthering personal and community well-being through art. In my mid-twenties I established a graduate program at Lesley University which spawned an international community of expressive arts therapy. I have worked worldwide in advancing art healing and art-based research. Now University Professor Emeritus, and for the first time without a full-time position, I am trying to embrace the unpredictable ways of creation, and as I wrote, Trust the Process.

Shaun's book list on art healing

Shaun McNiff Why did Shaun love this book?

C. G. Jung anticipated everything we do today, and more, with his practice of active imagination over 100 years ago. I have used this book as a primary reading in my courses. I also consider it to be among the best books dealing with the creative process, especially the emphasis on how the individual ego, or person of the artist, is a participant in a larger intelligence of creative imagination. We relax a grip on the controls to enable the expression to manifest itself, as Jung personally demonstrates in The Red Book, Liber Novus, just recently available to the public.

By C.G. Jung, Joan Chodorow (editor),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Jung on Active Imagination as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

All the creative art psychotherapies (art, dance, music, drama, poetry) can trace their roots to C. G. Jung's early work on active imagination. Joan Chodorow here offers a collection of Jung's writings on active imagination, gathered together for the first time. Jung developed this concept between the years 1913 and 1916, following his break with Freud. During this time, he was disoriented and experienced intense inner turmoil --he suffered from lethargy and fears, and his moods threatened to overwhelm him. Jung searched for a method to heal himself from within, and finally decided to engage with the impulses and images…


Book cover of Dynamics of the Unconscious

Noel Eastwood Author Of Psychological Astrology And The Twelve Houses

From my list on for learning psychological astrology.

Why am I passionate about this?

I've had a deep passion for the esoteric world since childhood. I read books on everything to do with ghosts, magic, and astral travel, and began drawing up astrology charts from books I had borrowed from the library as a teenager. I studied astrology back in the mid-1980s when the new age was in full swing. Ten years later I went back to university and studied to become a psychologist. I am a firm believer that an understanding of personality through depth psychotherapy, and the hidden wisdom found in alternative schools of knowledge, can enhance one’s personal and spiritual growth in the difficult times we face today.

Noel's book list on for learning psychological astrology

Noel Eastwood Why did Noel love this book?

Liz Greene and Howard Sasportas are brilliant at uncovering the very nuts and bolts that form our personalities. Your unconscious urges, drives, and instincts are clearly shown in the astrology chart through the planets, their signs, and house placement. Understanding these foundational aspects of the chart gives you an enormous advantage when doing readings for your clients, your friends, family, and particularly for yourself.

By Liz Greene, Howard Sasportas,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Combining the symbolism of astrology with that of psychology, the authors show you how to understand depression, the quest for the sublime, the astrology and psychology of aggression, and alchemical symbolism for tracking life changes. Charts. Reading list.


Book cover of Kiss Kiss

Tamel Wino Author Of Ékleipsis: the Abyss

From my list on story collections that gnaw at your subconscious.

Why am I passionate about this?

Tamel Wino is a Canadian fiction writer from resplendent British Columbia whose works focus largely on the degeneration of sanity and morality. He studied Health Sciences and Psychology, which only furthered his interest in human nature. With inspirations including Shirley Jackson, Cormac McCarthy, Clive Barker, Margaret Atwood, and Edgar Allan Poe; Tamel’s expositions are strongly grounded in traditions of dark fiction. Yet, with his bold narrative voice and incisive plot construction, Wino is paving a new movement within the space.

Tamel's book list on story collections that gnaw at your subconscious

Tamel Wino Why did Tamel love this book?

Roald Dahl, who's mostly known for his writings of children’s literature, also wrote a plethora of brilliant adult short works of fiction. The author is relentlessly masterful in conjuring up bizzare, macabre stories. Subtle yet profound, these tales will be burrowed deep inside the reader's subconscious, lurking and writhing...

By Roald Dahl,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

In Kiss Kiss you will find eleven devious, shocking stories from the master of the unpredictable, Roald Dahl.

What could go wrong when a wife pawns the mink coat that her lover gave her as a parting gift? What happens when a priceless piece of furniture is the subject of a deceitful bargain? Can a wronged woman take revenge on her dead husband?

In these dark, disturbing stories Roald Dahl explores the sinister side of human nature: the cunning, sly, selfish part of each of us that leads us into the territory of the unexpected and unsettling. Stylish, macabre and…


Book cover of Pre-Closing for Network Marketing: "Yes" Decisions before the Presentation

Bernie De Souza Author Of Getting "Yes" Decisions: What insurance agents and financial advisors can say to clients.

From my list on closing skills for insurance agents and network marketers.

Why am I passionate about this?

I see salesmen talking and selling, but never being able to close. They use outdated techniques from 30 years ago. The world now is over exposed and over marketed to. Buyers are more sophisticated. We have to change.

Bernie's book list on closing skills for insurance agents and network marketers

Bernie De Souza Why did Bernie love this book?

Most salespeople believe the closing happens at the end of the presentation. It doesn’t. It happens in the first few seconds.

The biggest change in the selling process has happened over the last 25 years. Brain science has proven that the subconscious minds of our prospects make snap decisions about us. This book shows us what to say during those first critical seconds. Prospects and clients judge us harshly, and they do it in the first few seconds.

The case studies and proof will change how we look at selling forever.

By Keith Schreiter, Tom Schreiter,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Pre-Closing for Network Marketing as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Get our prospects to make a "yes" decision immediately ... even before our presentation begins!

Pre-closing is natural. We make a final decision to go to a movie before we see the movie. We make a final decision to go to a restaurant before we see the menu. It is the same with sales presentations. Prospects decide first if they want our business or product, before they see our facts, features and benefits.

Closing at the end of our presentations creates stress for us and our prospects. We hate the feeling of pushing for a final decision at the end…


Book cover of The Hidden Brain: How Our Unconscious Minds Elect Presidents, Control Markets, Wage Wars, and Save Our Lives

Jenny Grant Rankin Author Of Increasing the Impact of Your Research: A Practical Guide to Sharing Your Findings and Widening Your Reach

From my list on getting people to accept facts.

Why am I passionate about this?

Though my two doctorates and experience landed me in the arenas of education and data-sharing, I soon realized that merely sharing information was not the way to get people to embrace fact. My books and speaking (I’ve lectured at Cambridge, Columbia, Oxford, Comic-Con, etc.) now focus on how to persuade people to absorb, remember, care about, and act on new information. I teach everyone from scientists to parents about how to share information in ways that get around people’s mental blockades. I’m also a Mensan and Fulbright Specialist who writes for Psychology Today and was honored by the White House.

Jenny's book list on getting people to accept facts

Jenny Grant Rankin Why did Jenny love this book?

I first fell in love with Vedantam’s way of weaving storytelling with research via his podcast Hidden Brain. When I found out he had written a book I was thrilled, and his written account of our unconscious minds did not disappoint. Vedantam doesn’t shy away from anything (terrorism, capital punishment, race, gender, politics…) in tackling why our reasons for thinking things are not what we believe them to be. He helps us understand the power (for good or for bad) of our “hidden brains” in a way you will never forget.

By Shankar Vedantam,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

The hidden brain is the voice in our ear when we make the most important decisions in our lives—but we’re never aware of it. The hidden brain decides whom we fall in love with and whom we hate. It tells us to vote for the white candidate and convict the dark-skinned defendant, to hire the thin woman but pay her less than the man doing the same job. It can direct us to safety when disaster strikes and move us to extraordinary acts of altruism. But it can also be manipulated to turn an ordinary person into a suicide terrorist…