Recommended Reading
Below are links to some of the books that have really helped me on my journey. They are all available for purchase on the Book Depository with free shipping worldwide, perfect for all us #booknerds! Of course, Amazon is another option.
MINDFULNESS + MEDITATION
- Rick Hanson
Wherever You Go, There You Are
- Jon Kabat-Zinn
- Jon Kabat-Zinn
Mindfulness: A practical guide to finding peace in a frantic world
- Mark Williams & Danny Penman
- David Michie
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
- Eckhart Tolle
- Eckhart Tolle
- Byron Katie
- Brene Brown
- Brene Brown
- Martin Seligman
- Martin Seligman
Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience
- Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
- Rick Hanson
- Daniel Goleman
- Russ Harris
- Louise Hay
- Chade Meng-Tang
MINDSET
Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself
- Joe Dispenza
- Bruce Lipton
- Carol Dweck
Resilient: Find Your Inner Strength
- Rick Hanson
BUSINESS
- Simon Sinek
- Carrie Green
- Emma Isaacs
- Jen Sincero
CAREER
- Martha Beck
- Richard Bolles
Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-Lived, Joyful Life
- Bill Burnett & Dave Evans
MANIFESTATION
CREATIVITY
MONEY MINDSET
You are a Badass at making money
- Jen Sincero
Money and Mindfulness: Living in Abundance
- Lisa Messenger
- Denise Duffield Thomas
- Napolean Hill
HEALTH + HEALING
AFFIRMATION + ORACLE CARDS
Heart Thought Cards Affirmation Cards
- Louise Hay
The Universe Has Your Back Oracle Cards
- Gabby Bernstein
- Rebecca Campbell
- Steven Farmer
Top Picks
Spiritual Books to Nurture & Nourish the Soul
“I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of
library.” ― Jorge Luis Borges
Spirituality is the deep craving we all share to connect with that which is greater than ourselves.
Throughout our lives, we occasionally feel the invitation to go deeper into exploring who
we are, questioning the world around us, and transforming the way we relate to the world. This
journey isn’t one unique to our present day, and many have shared their discoveries and
insights through books since the beginning of time.
What Makes a Spiritual Book Valuable?
● It is time-tested. We often give a lot of importance to the latest trendiest
books or fashionable authors, but when it comes to spirituality, the best
advice is timeless.
● It doesn’t focus on any particular religion. I don’t focus on promoting any
particular religion in the below list and instead, prioritize the message built
upon themes that foster perception, provoke thought and expand
consciousness and overall spiritual awareness.
● It is transformative. The most impactful spiritual books have the ability to
open and touch our hearts, change the way we look at the world and
ourselves, and help us to access a sense of inner peace and reflection.
My
My Top Picks - Spiritual Books (Fiction)
The Book of Mirdad by Mikhail Naimy
Deeply influenced by Gibran’s book ‘The Prophet,’ The Book of Mirdad shares the
wisdom of an abbot of a monastery that stands where Noah’s ark came to rest after the
flood. This deep book touches on a variety of themes and finds harmony through
contradiction, birth through death, and unity through difference.
Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach
This is a story about Jonathan, a seagull whose passion for flying makes him different from
other seagulls. His wish to perfect his flying results in him being an outcast from his group.
At first finding this rejection devastating, the experience of him being outcasted culminates
in him moving to a “higher plane” where he meets other seagulls like him and his
subsequent return to his flock.
Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
Siddhartha follows the journey of a young Nepalese man named Siddhartha during the time
of Buddha, and his quest to find spiritual enlightenment. Along the way, he makes several
attempts at enlightenment but finds spiritual fulfillment in a much simpler way than the one
proposed by all of the world’s wise men.
My Top Picks -Spiritual Books (Non-Fiction)
Tao Te Ching by Jonathan Star
The Tao Te Ching contains a series of ancient Chinese meditations on the mysterious
nature of the Tao, the essence of life that is found where we least expect it. This is a book
best read in small doses to let its wisdom reveal itself slowly to you. The translation you
choose is also important. I recommend the Jonathan Star (the one pictured here) or the
Jane English translations.
The Untethered Soul by Michael A. Singer
In The Untethered Soul, Singer explores the reality that you are not your passing thoughts
or emotions: you are the quiet space behind your thoughts. Separating the two allows us to
free ourselves from the endless attachment to those transient stories and find our true
selves.
Start Where You Are by Pema Chödrön
Chödrön offers a guide to compassionate living, explaining that we all armor our hearts, our
“soft spots” instinctively and that to live well and in the present moment, we need to feel our
emotions fully without letting them overwhelm us, while also expanding our compassion and
loving-kindness for others.
Awareness by Anthony De Mello
Awareness by De Mello is full of hard truths that we sometimes need to hear if we want to
mature in our journey such as “I’m an ass and you’re an ass.” He points out how we’re all
sleep walking through life, and clobbers us over the head with a firm but kind wake-up call.
Journey to the Heart by Melody Beattie
Journey to the Heart is an enjoyable way of bringing new spiritual reflections and
explorations of emotions into everyday life with its thoughtful daily passage. Chances are
that you’ll have many moments of synchronicity as you read the daily reflections.
The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz
Ruiz’s Four Agreements are based on ancient Toltec wisdom and provide a relatively simple
formula for living well. The four agreements are: be impeccable with your word, don’t take
anything personally, don’t make assumptions, and always do your best. This book can help
us to shed false agreements we have made in life with ourselves, thus, coming closer to the
Divine and our True Selves.
COMMENTS
Let me know in the comments below if any of these books have resonated with
you in a deep way. If you think there are any other books that should be added
to this list, feel free to share them also!
I Welcome your comments!!!!
Best Spiritual Documentaries To Watch
Here are my top nine picks for the best spiritual documentaries to watch out
there:
1. Samsara (2012)
Samsara (2011) explores the wonders of our world from the mundane to the miraculous,
looking into the unfathomable reaches of humanity’s spirituality and the human experience.
Neither a traditional documentary nor a travelog, Samsara takes the form of a nonverbal,
guided meditation.
2. My Octopus Teacher (2020)
My Octopus Teacher (2020) offers a heartwarming look at the way a meaningful bond
can transcend just about any barrier. This documentary portrays Craig Foster’s growing
intimate relationship with an octopus as he follows her around for nearly a year. They form a
bond where she plays with Foster and allows him into her world to see how she sleeps, lives,
and eats.
Foster describes the effect of this mentorship-like relationship the octopus provided him,
teaching him a lesson on the fragility of life and humanity’s connection with nature.
2. My Octopus Teacher (2020)
I Am (2010) (Tom Shadyac) asks the question: “What is wrong with the world, and what
can we do about it?” and explores Shadyac’s personal journey after a bicycle accident in
2007, which led him to answers surrounding the nature of humanity, the world’s
ever-growing addiction to materialism, and human connections.
Tom conducts interviews with scientists, religious leaders, environmentalists, and
philosophers, including Desmond Tutu, Noam Chomsky, Lynne McTaggart, Elisabet
Sahtouris, David Suzuki, Howard Zinn, and Thom Hartmann. The film asks two central
questions: “What’s Wrong With the World?” and “What Can We Do About it?”.
4. InnSaei (2016)
The ancient Icelandic word for intuition is “InnSæi,” but in Iceland, it has multiple
meanings. It can mean “the sea within” which is the borderless nature of our inner world, a
constantly moving world of vision, feelings, and imagination beyond words. It can also mean
“to see within” which means to know yourself and to be self-aware enough to be able to put
yourself in other people’s shoes. And finally, it can mean “to see from the inside out” which
is to have a strong inner compass to navigate your way in our ever-changing world.
In this inspiring and thought-provoking documentary about InnSæi: the Power of Intuition,
Hrund Gunnsteinsdottir, and Kristín Ólafsdóttir go on a soul-searching, global journey to
uncover the art of finding connection within and between ourselves in today’s world of
distraction, disconnection, and stress.
5. Kumaré (2011)
Vikram Gandhi conducts an experiment, in which he poses as a guru to satirize the New Age
movement and attracts a number of devotees, but unexpectedly finds that his followers are
receiving genuine benefits from his deception.
6. Mantra: Sounds into Silence (2017)
Mantra: Sounds into Silence (2017) explores the growing music and social phenomenon
of chanting mantras and the electric power of kirtan (or community-based devotional
singing). It’s a film about spirituality not religion, about sincere people reconnecting with
their true selves and with others.
Mantra: Sounds into Silence features interviews and music by Deva Premal and Miten with
Manose, Krishna Das, Snatam Kaur, Lama Gyurme and Jean-Philippe Rykiel, Jai Uttal, and
more.
7. Happy (2011)
Happy (2011) explores human happiness through interviews with people from all walks of
life in 14 different countries, weaving in the newest findings of positive psychology.
Directed, written, and produced by Roko Belic, Belic spent several years interviewing over
20 people, ranging from leading happiness researchers to a rickshaw driver in Kolkatta, a
family living in a “co-housing community” in Denmark, a woman who was run over by a
truck, a Cajun fisherman, and more.
8. Human (2015)
Human (2015) offers a collection of stories about, and images of, our world, offering an
immersion into the core of what it means to be human. Through stories full of love and
happiness, as well as hatred and violence, this documentary brings us face-to-face with the
Other – the mysterious and often rejected side of ourselves and others – making us deeply
reflect on our existence.
From stories of everyday experiences to accounts of the most unbelievable lives, these
poignant encounters share a rare sincerity and underline who we are – our darker side, but
also what is most noble in us, and what is universal.
9. Unity (2015)
Unity (2015) is a documentary that explores humanity’s transformation presented in five
chapters: “Cosmic,” “Mind,” “Body,” “Heart,” and “Soul.” This documentary is for all who
hunger for a deeper meaning to existence and a more unified way of living with one another
and with all expressions of life.
Just imagine a world that doesn’t rely on opposites (us/them, rich/poor, black/white,
gay/straight, human/animal, etc.) but rather a world that perceives only wholeness. UNITY
presents the notion of a world in which we are all equally valued, even though we are not the
same: Human, Animal, and Tree.
10. Home (2009 film)
Home (2009) shares aerial footage from 54 countries, this documentary presents a
depiction of how Earth’s problems are all interlinked due to the pressure humanity has
placed on the environment and the consequences of climate change.
COMMENTS
Let me know in the comments below if any of these books have resonated with
you in a deep way. If you think there are any other books that should be added
to this list, feel free to share them also!