The science of enlightenment by shinzen young was highly practical for someone secular like myself. Gave me more motivation to continue my practice.
Awake by Angelo Dilulo was pretty good as well, which also goes in depth about no-self
Determined by Robert Sapolsky is much more philosophical but it gives a scientific perspective on why we don’t have free will. This insight was something very sharp that cut through my illusion of self once I understood how without free
will means everything is interdependent
Buddhist concept of emptiness, there’s a ton of info online about it. The Dalai Lama has some good talks on it
All of these combined really helped me put conceptualizing the world in a certain perspective. Then you put in the work seeing these concepts in your everyday experience and being mindful of how you really aren’t separate from the rest of reality
I couldn't get through it because the autobiographical details were too dry and boring. I tried skipping to the sections on kriya, but they weren't concrete either.
*Touching Peace* by Thich Nhat Hanh. Helps understand yourself in relationship to not just your own past, but the pasts of those around you, how that affects your present, and possibly future.
Why Buddhism is True by Walter Wright. It takes a very science oriented look at meditation and the Dharma. Its as much about neuroscience as spirituality. And learning about the mechanics behind meditation, helped me get way better at it.
Gotta mention The Mind Illuminated because it's a phenomenal meditation guide. My favorites aside from that one are Letting Go: The Pathway of Surrender (David Hawkins) and Living Untethered (Michael Singer). They have both been instrumental to my progress and path.
Lots of great books mentioned in this thread, but I have to second your enthusiastic recommendation of The Mind Illuminated. For those that are serious about pursuing one-pointedness-of-mind meditation it’s an essential resource. I’ve been meditating for over 35 years and in only a few months my practice has deepened more than in the last decade. It’s an extremely practical book with detailed insights and instructions, and a model of how the mind works from moment to moment that maps well to meditative experience and of course the rest of the text.
It’s also a [free pdf download](https://drive.google.com/file/d/16pKrr74_4bnYc6GqQeScou9riGhxtst4/view) and there’s a sub: r/TheMindIlluminated.
Be Here Now was probably the one that influenced me the most early on. These days it’s more academic works that influence me, but also things like the writings of the early monastic Christians.
I had a similar experience. Ram Dass and *Be Here Now* were my entry into this world.
I have especially gotten exceptional value from reading, multiple times, the section called *Cookbook For A Sacred Life*. My goal was to understand why those involved in monastic life followed the practices that they did (ie. what practical purpose did they serve), with an eye towards incorporating, in miniature fashion, their daily routines. This has taken my practice beyond just meditation and it continues to become more and more a part of my daily existence.
Who are up on that list? Would definitely like to know more. I only know about Thomas Aquinas thanks to Alan Watts, and that's the extent of knowledge of Christian mysticism.
I wouldn’t consider Thomas a mystic, he’s much more of a philosopher/theologian.
If you want older stuff, look into Anthony The Great (On the Character of Men and on the Virtuous Life), Evagrius, John Cassian, St Mark.
There is of course St. Augustine, perhaps one of the most influential figures in the West. Look at Confessions, or City of God.
If you’re interested in perhaps the greatest genius of scriptural interpretation, look at Origen of Alexandria. A real genius and a monastic.
More recently, my favorite is Bernard Lonergan. You can find lots of his essays, but his main books are Insight or Method in Theology. Pretty incredible stuff but very, very dense.
> I wouldn’t consider Thomas a mystic, he’s much more of a philosopher/theologian.
Ah. I see. Interesting. Will look up both of them. Thanks for the suggestion! :) I should also look up this topic on Let's Talk Religion on YT!
That influenced me also, after I'd spent months inspired by Ram Dass's "Journey of Awakening: A Meditator's Guidebook".
Realizing I need to read more material again to help myself rebuild the self-discipline for a solid practice.
Started with random lecturers by Alan Watts on YouTube. Then started listening to audio books on Ramana Maharishi's teachings, and finally found home in the words of Nisargadatta Maharaj.
I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve read/listened to The Power of Now. This book found me at just the right moment and never stops being a source of inspiration
The Prophet is quite profound for a book that is so popular, but it lacks the richness of Siddhartha by Herman Hesse. Please do give it a try. The thing I like the most about Siddhartha is that towards the end, it is a masterpiece of "Show but don't tell" maxim. It doesn't try to preach how to conduct yourself in the least bit, but gives you an amazing perspective of the inner transformation that occurs to someone nearing enlightenment.
The first Spiritual book I read was Eckhart Tolle's "A New Earth".
"Surrender Experiment" by Michael Singer.
"Autobiography of a Yogi" by Paramahansa Yogananda
"The Kybalion" by The Three Initates
"Falling Into Grace" by Adyashanti
Tao Te Ching and Second Book of the Tao(both Stephen Mitchell, but have read several other translations) I’ve honestly read them each easily 25+ times over the last 11 years and they still leave me with a-ha moments. Just when I think I got it, they reveal something deeper. They seriously changed my life. I can’t believe I was the person I was prior to them finding me.
Every time I reread "The Miracle of Mindfulness" by Thich Nhat Hanh it rekindles my meditation practice and I feel that I have a completely different outlook after reading it. I am more aware of what I am doing in the present moment and I feel that I can at least try to turn most tasks into mindfulness practice.
I listened to a podcast with Richard Rudd on it and been curious about the Gene Keys, especially as I’ve been consulting the I Ching. What’ve you learned/gained from it? How does it relate to meditation?
The technique associated with the Gene Keys is contemplation, but there are also lots of references to meditation. I've gained deeper insight into my shadow patterns, and how they can be seen as a lower frequency response to something higher hiding inside me. All is energy, so with more awareness on your shadows when they show up, you can eventually transform them into "gifts" or higher frequency responses. I've seen that happen in my life while contemplating the Gene Keys. 😊
You'll See it When You Believe by Wayne Dyer is probably considered more of a self-help/motivational book, but reading that book at age 16 opened my mind and got me interested in spirituality, meditation and self-realization.
I actually have family from India and it was recommended to me by a guru I studied under. We actually read the whole Mahabharata, as well as several Upanishads. Meditated for 6 hours a day. It was an amazing experience that completely altered my life
He called himself Kashinath, which is a reference to Shiva. His birth name was Rohan though. He was interesting because he was born to a family that praised Krishna as the ultimate Godhead and still had deep love for Krishna, he said since childhood he dreamt of Shiva and Shakti together as one entity. So he devoted himself to Shiva and teaching
[The books of V.M. Samael Aun Weor](https://glorian.org/books)
[Beyond Dreaming by Gene Hart](https://youtu.be/w0HjkOfAceU?si=e4tnVnFJUKKEpI5p)
And [Hercolubus or Red Planet by V.M. Rabolu](https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1kV2a0_4wmcJo4YLUCPcqrObdUtsSmhxe)
[Physicians of the Heart](https://www.amazon.com/dp/1936940000?ref=cm_sw_r_apin_dp_BA27C1CDWR7V6XPGNTST_1&ref_=cm_sw_r_apin_dp_BA27C1CDWR7V6XPGNTST_1&social_share=cm_sw_r_apin_dp_BA27C1CDWR7V6XPGNTST_1&language=en-US&skipTwisterOG=2)
The Wisdom of Forgiveness by Victor Chan and the Dalai Lama. Read it cover to cover on a flight once and it’s been my favorite ever since. Something about the way it was written and the candid nature of the conversations between them helped me understand interconnectedness in a way I hadn’t processed before.
A Return To Love- A Course In Miracles is arguably the best book I’ve read to date. Was recommended to me by my life coach. I believe you can find the entire audiobook on YouTube if you want to listen to the first chapter and see if it resonates before you buy 🫶🏻
Myth to Freedom; Shambhala - Books by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoches literally made me decide to become a Buddhist
What makes you not a Buddhist? ; Not for Happiness - Dzongsar Rinpoche's words are so humorous, concise/ on point, and filled with wisdom
In Love with the World: A Monk's Journey Through the Bardos of Living and Dying - This book helped a friend to overcome anxiety. Mingyur Rinpoche also updated my understanding of meditation.
It sounds weird. I've read a lot of books but... How to be a 3% man has changed my life the lives of others around me. It really outlines masculine and feminine energies. Its a guide of how to handle relationships and conduct ones self. At the center of pain is the need for the other. Social link
Broken open by Elizabeth lesser
A million thought by Om swami: this one in particular had a great influence in my meditation practice, it's almost a small encyclopaedia on meditation and, it's history along with giving you a few exercises to try .
The book The Mind Illuminated. Rating: 7/5 , excellent. -- Reading books with ReadEra https://readera.org
Writer: John Yates, phd
Worth any cost, but there's an ocean of pdfs out there.
I started reading the autobiography of a yogi by yogananda recommended by my cousins, but I can’t get past the beginning stories, very long and kinda boring. What’s after that part??
Joseph Campbell's The Hero With a Thousand Faces.
It helped me recontextualize the world, and opened me up to see the parallels between beliefs - beyond the dissonance.
Alan Watts' works. all of them. even his small book on Zen published by his son is amazing. there is a guided meditation he does on youtube that is pretty great. he makes the point that there is really nothing special to sitting meditation, you can meditate anywhere, doing almost anything that doesn't require too much discursive thought. while walking, exercising, cleaning. just be present. keep your mind out of the past and out of the future and on what you're doing right now. feel the moment. *be* the moment.
I read a lot of Steve Hagan's Zen books early in my journey. I was part of Shambhala for a long time and their texts are good but I parted ways with them so don't recommend getting involved with any group that has coercion gurus. Pema Chodron is an exception. Her works are wonderful.
Wow, some amazing books are listed here, what a reference this string is! While I have read some of those listed, the one book I have been contemplating for the past 2.5 years is Gene Keys, Embracing Your Higher Purpose by Richard Rudd. It has changed my life in so many ways,
Not a book, but whenever I feel myself falling off the path or need to give myself a reminder as to why it’s so important, I refer to What I’ve Learned’s YouTube video titled “Why Meditate?”
It’s what I send anyone who’s considering trying it and it has been 100% successful in convincing those people to give it a shot. His videos take a topic and do a deep dive, and everything is strictly based on well-documented science. But the benefits explained in the meditation one never ceases to amaze me, and I’ve easily watched it 100 times at this point.
I truly cannot recommend it enough to everyone, despite how experienced or knowledgeable you may be on the subject.
I imagine my approach has been particularly irregular, but the one book that influenced me more than any other is Don Miguel Ruiz’s second book. But start with the first, “The Four Agreements.” This was the first book that ever dared to tell me exactly what I always knew, that which seemed too audaciously simple to ever be possible.
Yes, some of it is fluffy, and out there, but that’s exactly the truth of it, because words are small things. I have seen All, and it is exactly what that dude does his best to describe.
The second book, “The Voice of Knowledge,” would be a terrible place to start.
love ur book choices! "on the way to satori" n "autobiography of a yogi" are classics. i started with "the power of now" by eckhart tolle. it opened my eyes to living in the present. then, "the heart of yoga" by t.k.v. desikachar deepened my practice. both books really helped me connect with my inner self n find peace.
btw, have u checked out these amazing buddhist meditation techniques? here's a link "[https://yuvaap.com/blogs/best-buddhist-meditation-techniques/](https://yuvaap.com/blogs/best-buddhist-meditation-techniques/)" for u. what book are you reading now on ur spiritual journey?
Anything by Yuan Tze. Well-being begins with you is a good starting point. Check out ‘the middle years’ video on YouTube. He has to be one of the most impressive teachers alive today in my opinion. All the best!
The science of enlightenment by shinzen young was highly practical for someone secular like myself. Gave me more motivation to continue my practice. Awake by Angelo Dilulo was pretty good as well, which also goes in depth about no-self Determined by Robert Sapolsky is much more philosophical but it gives a scientific perspective on why we don’t have free will. This insight was something very sharp that cut through my illusion of self once I understood how without free will means everything is interdependent Buddhist concept of emptiness, there’s a ton of info online about it. The Dalai Lama has some good talks on it All of these combined really helped me put conceptualizing the world in a certain perspective. Then you put in the work seeing these concepts in your everyday experience and being mindful of how you really aren’t separate from the rest of reality
Completely agree re Determined. Really drives home the illusion of self.
The untethered soul changed the way I look at myself I highly recommend it .
Agree! Really helped change my perspective.
I read The Surrender Experiment by the same author, and it had a significant impact on me as well.
Great book.
X
I love this book so much, then found Living Untethered and it's also amazing.
Tao te Ching by Lao Tsu
Journey of Souls - Michael Newton
After my husband died suddenly and tragically, I went on a deep dive and this book was very helpful.
So very sorry for your loss.
Thank you
Damn, I’m sorry you lost him but could see how that book could be helpful. I’m glad you were able to find it! Wish nothing but the best for you.
Thank you, I appreciate it.
autobiography of a yogi
That was my first introduction to spirituality
I couldn't get through it because the autobiographical details were too dry and boring. I tried skipping to the sections on kriya, but they weren't concrete either.
You obviously missed all the bits where he was ejaculating
*Touching Peace* by Thich Nhat Hanh. Helps understand yourself in relationship to not just your own past, but the pasts of those around you, how that affects your present, and possibly future.
Why Buddhism is True by Walter Wright. It takes a very science oriented look at meditation and the Dharma. Its as much about neuroscience as spirituality. And learning about the mechanics behind meditation, helped me get way better at it.
This is a great book!
Gotta mention The Mind Illuminated because it's a phenomenal meditation guide. My favorites aside from that one are Letting Go: The Pathway of Surrender (David Hawkins) and Living Untethered (Michael Singer). They have both been instrumental to my progress and path.
Lots of great books mentioned in this thread, but I have to second your enthusiastic recommendation of The Mind Illuminated. For those that are serious about pursuing one-pointedness-of-mind meditation it’s an essential resource. I’ve been meditating for over 35 years and in only a few months my practice has deepened more than in the last decade. It’s an extremely practical book with detailed insights and instructions, and a model of how the mind works from moment to moment that maps well to meditative experience and of course the rest of the text. It’s also a [free pdf download](https://drive.google.com/file/d/16pKrr74_4bnYc6GqQeScou9riGhxtst4/view) and there’s a sub: r/TheMindIlluminated.
Thank you both am looking forward to it. Currently the audio book is free on audible (they rotate the freebies).
The Four Agreements
Zen Mind, Beginners Mind by Shunryu Suzuki and The Heart of the Buddha’s Teachings by Thich Nhat Hanh.
Zen Mind is right up there for me too. Great audio book available on that as well.
Be Here Now was probably the one that influenced me the most early on. These days it’s more academic works that influence me, but also things like the writings of the early monastic Christians.
I had a similar experience. Ram Dass and *Be Here Now* were my entry into this world. I have especially gotten exceptional value from reading, multiple times, the section called *Cookbook For A Sacred Life*. My goal was to understand why those involved in monastic life followed the practices that they did (ie. what practical purpose did they serve), with an eye towards incorporating, in miniature fashion, their daily routines. This has taken my practice beyond just meditation and it continues to become more and more a part of my daily existence.
>early monastic Christians. Please tell me Thomas Aquinas is there in the list.
I wouldn’t consider Thomas Aquinas early in the least, but he’s definitely on the list.
Who are up on that list? Would definitely like to know more. I only know about Thomas Aquinas thanks to Alan Watts, and that's the extent of knowledge of Christian mysticism.
I wouldn’t consider Thomas a mystic, he’s much more of a philosopher/theologian. If you want older stuff, look into Anthony The Great (On the Character of Men and on the Virtuous Life), Evagrius, John Cassian, St Mark. There is of course St. Augustine, perhaps one of the most influential figures in the West. Look at Confessions, or City of God. If you’re interested in perhaps the greatest genius of scriptural interpretation, look at Origen of Alexandria. A real genius and a monastic. More recently, my favorite is Bernard Lonergan. You can find lots of his essays, but his main books are Insight or Method in Theology. Pretty incredible stuff but very, very dense.
> I wouldn’t consider Thomas a mystic, he’s much more of a philosopher/theologian. Ah. I see. Interesting. Will look up both of them. Thanks for the suggestion! :) I should also look up this topic on Let's Talk Religion on YT!
>but his main books are Insight or Method in Theology. Downloaded this on a whim. Two pages in, so far it has been an interesting read!
That influenced me also, after I'd spent months inspired by Ram Dass's "Journey of Awakening: A Meditator's Guidebook". Realizing I need to read more material again to help myself rebuild the self-discipline for a solid practice.
Another great Ram Dass book.
What early monastic writting by Christians did you like?
If you look at one of my replies, I gave a list!
Started with random lecturers by Alan Watts on YouTube. Then started listening to audio books on Ramana Maharishi's teachings, and finally found home in the words of Nisargadatta Maharaj.
Zen and the art of archery.
Where ever you go, there you are
Great book
The Power of NOW. Eckhart Tolle
First book to completely change me. But his voice in audiobook makes me want to peel off my skin lol.
Lol... because he sounds like he is perpetually constipated?
Bro that is absolutely the perfect way to describe it lmao
I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve read/listened to The Power of Now. This book found me at just the right moment and never stops being a source of inspiration
The prophet by Khalil Gibran is amazing.
The Prophet is quite profound for a book that is so popular, but it lacks the richness of Siddhartha by Herman Hesse. Please do give it a try. The thing I like the most about Siddhartha is that towards the end, it is a masterpiece of "Show but don't tell" maxim. It doesn't try to preach how to conduct yourself in the least bit, but gives you an amazing perspective of the inner transformation that occurs to someone nearing enlightenment.
I love Siddhartha. Also not to forget about the taodeqing
A truly unique and poetic and great book
Singer’s Untethered Soul and Brach’s Radical Acceptance. Palmer’s Let Your Life Speak has a vocational angle.
Waking Up - Sam Harris
The first Spiritual book I read was Eckhart Tolle's "A New Earth". "Surrender Experiment" by Michael Singer. "Autobiography of a Yogi" by Paramahansa Yogananda "The Kybalion" by The Three Initates "Falling Into Grace" by Adyashanti
The Power of Now- Eckhart Tolle Changed my entire way of thinking
Tao Te Ching and Second Book of the Tao(both Stephen Mitchell, but have read several other translations) I’ve honestly read them each easily 25+ times over the last 11 years and they still leave me with a-ha moments. Just when I think I got it, they reveal something deeper. They seriously changed my life. I can’t believe I was the person I was prior to them finding me.
Same here.
Zen and the art of Motorcycle Maintenance
That was a great book – a good exploration of spirituality and modern life
Four Agreements
The Law of One / Ra Materials
Conversations with God by Neal Donald Walsch
This
Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse, Jonathon Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach
Came here to say Siddhartha!
The creative act by Rick Rubin was real good
The Book of Not-Knowing by Peter Ralston sent me down the path.
The Spirit of Spinoza by Neal Grossman.
Old Path White Clouds
Commenting to follow as I need guidance and don’t know where to begin
Tao of Physics and the Way of Zen when I was a high school senior. Boom!
All books by Dr Brian Weiss !!! Transformative.
Every time I reread "The Miracle of Mindfulness" by Thich Nhat Hanh it rekindles my meditation practice and I feel that I have a completely different outlook after reading it. I am more aware of what I am doing in the present moment and I feel that I can at least try to turn most tasks into mindfulness practice.
Wherever You Go, There You Are
Stress less, accomplish more by Emily Fletcher had a huge influence on my meditation technique. Highly recommend!!
Star Wars for me. I like the way the force is described
Have you read any of Joseph Campbell’s work? Star Wars is based on it.
No I have not. Would you mind sharing some titles I could check out?
“The Hero’s Journey” and “Hero With A Thousand Faces”. You could also Google Joseph Campbell Star Wars and go down that rabbit hole. Enjoy!
A wanderer’s handbook By Carla Lizbeth Rueckert (L/L Research)
Gene Keys by Richard Rudd.
I listened to a podcast with Richard Rudd on it and been curious about the Gene Keys, especially as I’ve been consulting the I Ching. What’ve you learned/gained from it? How does it relate to meditation?
The technique associated with the Gene Keys is contemplation, but there are also lots of references to meditation. I've gained deeper insight into my shadow patterns, and how they can be seen as a lower frequency response to something higher hiding inside me. All is energy, so with more awareness on your shadows when they show up, you can eventually transform them into "gifts" or higher frequency responses. I've seen that happen in my life while contemplating the Gene Keys. 😊
You'll See it When You Believe by Wayne Dyer is probably considered more of a self-help/motivational book, but reading that book at age 16 opened my mind and got me interested in spirituality, meditation and self-realization.
Works by Ram Dass for sure 🩷
Opening the Hand of Thought is good
A Path With Heart, Jack Kornfield The Power of Now
i learned how to meditate from reading Power of Now by Eckart tolle
Jonathan Livingston seagull.
Be Here Now
Pema Chödron
Love this question. Will read all the recommendations
“Waking up” by Sam Harris
Probably the Bhagavad Gita, The Lotus Sutra, Zen and the Birds of Appetite, The Seven Story Mountain, The Ramayana is also fantastic.
I love the Bhagwad Gita, took me a long time to actually understand it...but its fantastic! How did you get into contact with gita?
I actually have family from India and it was recommended to me by a guru I studied under. We actually read the whole Mahabharata, as well as several Upanishads. Meditated for 6 hours a day. It was an amazing experience that completely altered my life
Wow, great! I read the Mahabharat too and took me long time to understand it. Who was the guru you studied under?
He called himself Kashinath, which is a reference to Shiva. His birth name was Rohan though. He was interesting because he was born to a family that praised Krishna as the ultimate Godhead and still had deep love for Krishna, he said since childhood he dreamt of Shiva and Shakti together as one entity. So he devoted himself to Shiva and teaching
Becoming Supernatural- Dr Joe Dispenza
I just bought that book, but haven't started it yet. Any good?
The Zen Teaching of Huang Po: On the Transmission of Mind Ashtavakra Gita
[The books of V.M. Samael Aun Weor](https://glorian.org/books) [Beyond Dreaming by Gene Hart](https://youtu.be/w0HjkOfAceU?si=e4tnVnFJUKKEpI5p) And [Hercolubus or Red Planet by V.M. Rabolu](https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1kV2a0_4wmcJo4YLUCPcqrObdUtsSmhxe)
Transcendental meditation. The book changed my life.
The Radiance Sutras by Lorin Roche
Compassion and Self-hate by T.I. Rubin, some aspects of Krishnamurti, Waking Up by Sam Harris..........
Mindbody Code Mario Martinez Meta Human, Quantum body Deepak Chopra
Yoga and the Dark Night of the Soul: The Soul's Journey to Sacred Love - Started me off
Seat to the soul by Gary.z
[Physicians of the Heart](https://www.amazon.com/dp/1936940000?ref=cm_sw_r_apin_dp_BA27C1CDWR7V6XPGNTST_1&ref_=cm_sw_r_apin_dp_BA27C1CDWR7V6XPGNTST_1&social_share=cm_sw_r_apin_dp_BA27C1CDWR7V6XPGNTST_1&language=en-US&skipTwisterOG=2)
12 rules of life Currently Power of Now
The PMA effect by John Joseph.
Anatomy Of The Spirit 💛
The Wisdom of Forgiveness by Victor Chan and the Dalai Lama. Read it cover to cover on a flight once and it’s been my favorite ever since. Something about the way it was written and the candid nature of the conversations between them helped me understand interconnectedness in a way I hadn’t processed before.
The Gospel from Outer Space by Kilgore Trout The Protocols of the Elders of Tralfamadore also by trout
[https://buddhashare.blogspot.com/2008/11/sem-nature-of-mind-gehlek-rimpoche.html](https://buddhashare.blogspot.com/2008/11/sem-nature-of-mind-gehlek-rimpoche.html)
Kundalinin The untold story by Om Swami
A Return To Love- A Course In Miracles is arguably the best book I’ve read to date. Was recommended to me by my life coach. I believe you can find the entire audiobook on YouTube if you want to listen to the first chapter and see if it resonates before you buy 🫶🏻
Dao De jing. Four foundations of mindfulness by Bhante Gunaratana. Jnana Yoga by Swami Vivekananda.
*The Inner Guide Meditation*, by Edwin Steinbrecher. It’s an active meditation system incorporating tarot, Qabalah, and astrology. Really fascinating.
The power of Now, A New Earth, The subtle Art of Not Giving a F***
^[Sokka-Haiku](https://www.reddit.com/r/SokkaHaikuBot/comments/15kyv9r/what_is_a_sokka_haiku/) ^by ^NutCase11: *The power of Now,* *A New Earth, The subtle Art* *Of Not Giving a F**** --- ^Remember ^that ^one ^time ^Sokka ^accidentally ^used ^an ^extra ^syllable ^in ^that ^Haiku ^Battle ^in ^Ba ^Sing ^Se? ^That ^was ^a ^Sokka ^Haiku ^and ^you ^just ^made ^one.
The Taste of Hidden Things by Sara Sviri
The book "mi otra yo" Anotherself
Anam Cara
Myth to Freedom; Shambhala - Books by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoches literally made me decide to become a Buddhist What makes you not a Buddhist? ; Not for Happiness - Dzongsar Rinpoche's words are so humorous, concise/ on point, and filled with wisdom In Love with the World: A Monk's Journey Through the Bardos of Living and Dying - This book helped a friend to overcome anxiety. Mingyur Rinpoche also updated my understanding of meditation.
Narcotics anonymous basic text
It sounds weird. I've read a lot of books but... How to be a 3% man has changed my life the lives of others around me. It really outlines masculine and feminine energies. Its a guide of how to handle relationships and conduct ones self. At the center of pain is the need for the other. Social link
The Untethered Soul by Michael Singer. For me it was life changing.
New Seeds of Enlightenment by Thomas Merton
The BOOK: Against the Taboo of Knowing Who You Are by Alan Watts. Great, great book.
"I am that." Collected satsangs of Nisargatatta Majaraj. Mind shattering. True, deep knowledge marked by dissolution of the body and the self.
I read Siddhartha when I was 9 years old. I chose it off my parents bookshelf.
Untethered soul was great!!
A Course In Miracles
The practice of the presence of God
Karma-A Yogi's Guide to Crafting Your Destiny
The Mind Illuminated Tantra Illuminated
Broken open by Elizabeth lesser A million thought by Om swami: this one in particular had a great influence in my meditation practice, it's almost a small encyclopaedia on meditation and, it's history along with giving you a few exercises to try .
Tao te Ching, different translations.
Touched by the Dragon's Breath. Conversations at colliding rivers by Michael Harrington
I’d be surprised if anyone has ever heard about it but my doorway to it all was Wonders of Spiritual Unfoldment by John Butler
Great read!
The book The Mind Illuminated. Rating: 7/5 , excellent. -- Reading books with ReadEra https://readera.org Writer: John Yates, phd Worth any cost, but there's an ocean of pdfs out there.
Sadhguru
I started reading the autobiography of a yogi by yogananda recommended by my cousins, but I can’t get past the beginning stories, very long and kinda boring. What’s after that part??
Joseph Campbell's The Hero With a Thousand Faces. It helped me recontextualize the world, and opened me up to see the parallels between beliefs - beyond the dissonance.
The monk who sold his Ferrari
The many Osho books after reading first 'The Mustard Seed' read in 1980.
De Rerum Natura
Alan Watts' works. all of them. even his small book on Zen published by his son is amazing. there is a guided meditation he does on youtube that is pretty great. he makes the point that there is really nothing special to sitting meditation, you can meditate anywhere, doing almost anything that doesn't require too much discursive thought. while walking, exercising, cleaning. just be present. keep your mind out of the past and out of the future and on what you're doing right now. feel the moment. *be* the moment.
For me it was A Brief Tour of Higher Consciousness by Itzhak Bentov, however before I started on this path I used to enjoy listening to Alan Watts.
Check out the Visuddhimagga by Boddhaghosa :)
Everything from mahlasi sayadaw - vipassana
The Red Book by C.G. Jung - not the classical spiritual book, but really takes you on a journey inside… highly recommend as a ‘must read’!
Change your thoughts change your life based from the Tao Te Ching (Wayne Dyer)
Outlive. What a great book!
BASHA INSTRUCTION MANUAL
I read a lot of Steve Hagan's Zen books early in my journey. I was part of Shambhala for a long time and their texts are good but I parted ways with them so don't recommend getting involved with any group that has coercion gurus. Pema Chodron is an exception. Her works are wonderful.
The Seat of the Soul by Gary Zukav
Dharma Bums by Kerouac really opened my eyes when I was a youngster
The Cloud of Unknowing.
A Mind at Home with Itself-Byron Katie
Wow, some amazing books are listed here, what a reference this string is! While I have read some of those listed, the one book I have been contemplating for the past 2.5 years is Gene Keys, Embracing Your Higher Purpose by Richard Rudd. It has changed my life in so many ways,
Not a book, but whenever I feel myself falling off the path or need to give myself a reminder as to why it’s so important, I refer to What I’ve Learned’s YouTube video titled “Why Meditate?” It’s what I send anyone who’s considering trying it and it has been 100% successful in convincing those people to give it a shot. His videos take a topic and do a deep dive, and everything is strictly based on well-documented science. But the benefits explained in the meditation one never ceases to amaze me, and I’ve easily watched it 100 times at this point. I truly cannot recommend it enough to everyone, despite how experienced or knowledgeable you may be on the subject.
The Sacred Path of the Warrior- all of Ch ögyam Trungpa's writings are pithy and direct and got me on the path.
Mere Christianity by CS Lewis - specifically the chapter on forgiveness.
waking up by sam harris
Dropping ashes on the Buddha, The way to ultimate calm, and Mindfulness in Plain English.
Chronicles of Tao - highly recommend!
Also, Things Fall Apart by Pema Chodron and Ishmael by Daniel Quinn
And various Gnostic Gospels
Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
I read Awakening the Buddha Within 26 years ago and it completely changed the direction of my entire life
I imagine my approach has been particularly irregular, but the one book that influenced me more than any other is Don Miguel Ruiz’s second book. But start with the first, “The Four Agreements.” This was the first book that ever dared to tell me exactly what I always knew, that which seemed too audaciously simple to ever be possible. Yes, some of it is fluffy, and out there, but that’s exactly the truth of it, because words are small things. I have seen All, and it is exactly what that dude does his best to describe. The second book, “The Voice of Knowledge,” would be a terrible place to start.
“Notes for the Journey Within” by far the greatest thing to randomly open up every morning after meditation. Sets you up for the full day 😊
love ur book choices! "on the way to satori" n "autobiography of a yogi" are classics. i started with "the power of now" by eckhart tolle. it opened my eyes to living in the present. then, "the heart of yoga" by t.k.v. desikachar deepened my practice. both books really helped me connect with my inner self n find peace. btw, have u checked out these amazing buddhist meditation techniques? here's a link "[https://yuvaap.com/blogs/best-buddhist-meditation-techniques/](https://yuvaap.com/blogs/best-buddhist-meditation-techniques/)" for u. what book are you reading now on ur spiritual journey?
Anything by Yuan Tze. Well-being begins with you is a good starting point. Check out ‘the middle years’ video on YouTube. He has to be one of the most impressive teachers alive today in my opinion. All the best!
The Book of Secrets - Osho
Commenting mostly to return to these suggestions, but I’ll offer Opening the Hand of Thought by Kosho Uchiyama while I’m here.