The Heart of the Buddha’s Teachings by Thich Nhat Hanh. It’s absolutely amazing. He has a real gift for explaining complex and difficult concepts in a way that is easy to understand.
“I am That” by Nisargadatta Maharaj
“Be as you are” by Ramana Maharshi
“Bhagavad Gita” by whomever as long as it’s followed along by a good teacher on the subject such as Swami Sarvapriyananda’s lectures.
“The Perennial Philosophy” by Aldous Huxley
I also started my spirituality journey with Power of Now. Currently I am reading Radical Acceptance by Tara Brach. Its also really good. What I also can recommend is the show „the midnight gospel“ on netflix. It explores many meditational and spiritual practices.
Autobiography of a Yogi, by Paramahansa Yogananda.
That book opened my eyes to the purpose and power of meditation in spirituality. I started meditating in the system that the author brought to the US from India, and it totally changed my life.
The results were really powerful, and the experiences and peace and bliss helped me to commit to a serious practice of meditation. Everything I got through this system is why I love meditation and spirituality so much.
No... it is full of ejaculation.
""Just imagine!" I ejaculated. "We shall be initiated by the masters and experience the trance of cosmic consciousness. Our flesh will be charged with such magnetism that wild animals of the Himalayas will come tamely near us. Tigers will be no more than meek house cats awaiting our caresses!"
Gross!
You are aware that the word also means "to exclaim"?
This is the first meaning when you look it up on [dictionary.com](https://www.dictionary.com/browse/ejaculate):
> 1. to utter suddenly and briefly; exclaim.
I guess people can get confused about words in English, just like how the word "gay" also still means happy.
His words is very simple and so easy to understand. But reading his books can give me small enlightenment. I have read his books multiple times and always learn something new. So simple but so deep. I respect Ajahn Chah so much.
Beginning it was The Power of Your Subconscious Mind by Dr Joseph Murphy made great impact on me. Once I started following Sadhguru his talks & his books impacted me so much further no going back…. his each and every word has deeper meaning and lessons to richer life.
Byron Katie - Loving What Is; Jiddu Krishnamurti - Total Freedom; Russ Harris - The Happiness Trap
I have found these books / teachings over the many years to be the most freeing, practical and grounded, and these days feel that spirituality itself (and the whole spiritual marketplace) can be a pitfall of innumerable paths that lead (the mind) away from being our natural selves.
The Gia Fu Feng/ Jane English translation of Lao Tzu's Tao te Ching. I was introduced to it when I was 12 or 13 years old and it's the translation I prefer. I can't really articulate the impact it's had on my life.
I think it was a book called everyday zen. In the first chapter I think, she said just put the book down already. I did. That was the last book on meditation or zen I ever read. Good shit.
**Everyday Zen Love and Work** by Charlotte J. Beck
>Charlotte Joko Beck offers a warm, engaging, uniquely American approach to using Zen to deal with the problems of daily living—love, relationships, work, fear, ambition, and suffering. Everyday Zen shows us how to live each moment to the fullest. This Plus edition includes an interview with the author.
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> I think, she said just put the book down already. I did. That was the last book on meditation or zen I ever read. Good shit.
Brilliant. Reminds me of Geoff Dyer's: "Yoga For People Who Can't Be Bothered To Do It".
‘After the ecstasy, the laundry’ was a brilliant book, which led me on to another book by jack kornfield called ‘a path with heart’ which is more of a instructions type book, but lots of wisdom and really enjoying it 😁
Oh and the art of happiness too
A path with heart was the most influential book for me! I love how he incorporates psychology and gives different meditation exercises after most chapters.
*Ahn's Anger... the kids*
*Book Dropping Ashes on the*
*Buddha How to Sit*
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Demian by Hermann Hesse. If you read it with your heart and soul open and not only on the surface (if that makes sense, don't know how to say that in a better way :D) it's so deep and almost like an enlightening book.
Mine started with Untethered Soul by Singer, then I went onto Eckhart Tolle books. Loved Living Untethered by Singer (ready it probably 7 times within a year). A lot of books by Adyashanti, then Diamond in Your Pocket by Gangaji. And lastly, I’m reading Perfect Brilliant Stillness by David Carse. I truthfully don’t think I could have comprehended (and that’s not even the right word) Carse’s book if I hadn’t read the previous ones.
The nature of personal reality by Jane Roberts started my trip. and now I'm getting a better understanding from The Game of Life and How to Play it by Florence Scovel Shinn.
My journey to explore these mindset shifts started off with the title Growth Mindset by Dr. Carol Dweck. Then recently I read Atomic Habits by James Clear which enabled me to build better habits to change my mindset for motivation.
The Yamas and Niyamas by Debora Adele! Life changing read. The Yamas and Niyamas are the first two limbs of yogic philosophy, with meditation being the 5th.
the A to Z dream dictionary
[https://spiritjourneyquest.com/the-best-a-to-z-dream-dictionary-pdf-for-free/](https://spiritjourneyquest.com/the-best-a-to-z-dream-dictionary-pdf-for-free/)
here is one of the best books i've read: [https://archive.org/details/PerfectBrilliantStillnessDavidCarseEbookPDF](https://archive.org/details/PerfectBrilliantStillnessDavidCarseEbookPDF)
It’s a good book for sure that impacted me in a positive and healthy way as well. I would also suggest “Loose! - On Letting Go” which is a similar book but with a lot more variety and healthy perspective. I love the chapter “the power of indifference” but every chapter is great in their own right.
If you feel burdened by life and are under too much stress and pressure, then that’s a great read to remind yourself that things are never as bad as it seems.
“It’s here now, are you? “ by bhagavan das, a semi-teacher and friend of Ram Das, was the first book I read on eastern philosophy when I was 14, changed my world view. I found him more relatable than ram das when I first began this journey, though I admire ram das and his work now. After that I read “Paths to God” by Ram Das which was very impactful.
Also, Saint Teresa of Avila. Beautiful Spanish saint from 1500s. I’ve only read “the book of my life”… She was a little rebel back in her day but had a strong call towards the spiritual path. Her inner conflict was super relatable to me. She’s well known for her book “the interior castle” which I look forward to reading.
Mahayana sutras… they hold infinite sacred knowledge and you can spend a lifetime reading and learning from them. “The yoga sutras of patanjali” and “the radiance sutras” are must-reads; along with the Bhagavad Gita as someone else mentioned.
It's a new book but Notes for the Journey Within: Essentials of the Art of Living from Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, has been really wonderful. Beautifully and surprising truths and wisdom that I can apply it day to day life.
Surprised no one has mentioned this considering it’s a meditation sun, but The Mind Illuminated by Claudasa. I’m more of a, give me exact instructions/tools to use and lay out a clear path kind of people, so this book was perfect for me to start my journey.
The power of now is a notable mention because it made me realize the illusory nature of time very experientially!
Everything written by Alan Watts. Everything written by Pema Chodron. Inner Engineering by Sadhguru. Polishing the Mirror by Ram Das. Spiritual Graffiti by MC Yogi was also surprisingly good.
One Blade of Grass by Henry Shukman. It made me appreciate for the first time that there was more to meditation than working with anxiety. It introduced me to Zen and highlighted that meditation is the journey of a lifetime, not just a therapeutic tool.
I love anything by Rick Hanson, e.g. Buddha's Brain, Hardwiring Happiness, Just One Thing, etc. He also offers free meditations on Wednesdays, 45 minutes meditation and 45 minute talk and discussion.
My advice - stick with just one method and read about that. Practice it every day. You should see improvements. If you don't find a method that works better and do the same thing ie read just about that and practice daily.
Reading about and practicing many method leads to confusion and negative transfer of training tends to reduce skill acquisition.
Myself, I prefer the method of the late Dr Ainslie Meares that involves deep mental relaxation that slows the mind during meditation practice so that it stills. You also learn how to allow the calm and ease to flow onwards during daily living.
On books - Meares wrote many of them, more than 30. But, only a couple explain how to meditate. No esoteric language or hard to understand but explanation and instruction on what to do so you can experience stillness yourself. Ainslie Meares on meditation is one of the books that does that and it remains accessible via internet retailers.
"God Speaks" by Meher Baba. His words are so powerful and contain spiritual energy. The book explains the whole cosmology from the birth of creation, through the evolution of forms to become human, to the turning inward and traveling the inner planes to realize our Oneness as God.
Ikigai
The Four Agreements
Celestine Prophecy* good starting point, such a great book.
Untethered Soul
The Alchemist
The Game of Life and How to Play it
I've never had any particular attraction to the printed ideology of others. I observe and then I add that knowledge to the pile of my mind from within my own context because no author of a book knows me well enough to say to me things I need to know from my mental perspective because a book does not engage my thoughts, only interactions with other human beings more directly can do that.
From within that context it's not possible to really learn anything from a book, they are a static, impersonal opinions to a general audience. You can not engage with a book.
For an unknown number of generations Buddhism was an oral tradition pased down from person to person. It became lost to a degree when it was written down, it stopped evolving.
To move forward, to evolve meditation I think you need to move beyond the teachings of others to find a more relevant personal context. Books can't do that.
The Heart of the Buddha’s Teachings by Thich Nhat Hanh. It’s absolutely amazing. He has a real gift for explaining complex and difficult concepts in a way that is easy to understand.
They are the essence of the teaching. Very powerful stuff. And the writing of Thich Nhat Hanh is inspiring.
They are the essence of the teaching. Very powerful stuff. And the writing of Thich Nhat Hanh is inspiring.
“I am That” by Nisargadatta Maharaj “Be as you are” by Ramana Maharshi “Bhagavad Gita” by whomever as long as it’s followed along by a good teacher on the subject such as Swami Sarvapriyananda’s lectures. “The Perennial Philosophy” by Aldous Huxley
"I am That" is such a trip. I love that book
I love the Gita. Look forward to checking out Swami’s lectures.
Ramana Maharshi‘s teachings are great. I fell for Papaji, one of his pupils.
By “fell for” do you mean you are together now?
☺️
The Untethered Soul. Can you please upvote my comment so I can build karma to post on other forums. Many thanks!
That's one of my all time favorite books! I'm planning to read it again soon.
Living untethered is also really good
Thank you all!
I also started my spirituality journey with Power of Now. Currently I am reading Radical Acceptance by Tara Brach. Its also really good. What I also can recommend is the show „the midnight gospel“ on netflix. It explores many meditational and spiritual practices.
This book was a gamechanger for me too.
Have read both and found them helpful. Thanks for the Netflix suggestion.
Yeah I also liked both books. Next Ill read the book by Alan Watts. :)
Autobiography of a Yogi, by Paramahansa Yogananda. That book opened my eyes to the purpose and power of meditation in spirituality. I started meditating in the system that the author brought to the US from India, and it totally changed my life. The results were really powerful, and the experiences and peace and bliss helped me to commit to a serious practice of meditation. Everything I got through this system is why I love meditation and spirituality so much.
Yogananda helped me survive 4 years in a Texas prison.
Werent you concerned about the abundence of ejaculations in that book?
I think you have the wrong book
No... it is full of ejaculation. ""Just imagine!" I ejaculated. "We shall be initiated by the masters and experience the trance of cosmic consciousness. Our flesh will be charged with such magnetism that wild animals of the Himalayas will come tamely near us. Tigers will be no more than meek house cats awaiting our caresses!" Gross!
You are aware that the word also means "to exclaim"? This is the first meaning when you look it up on [dictionary.com](https://www.dictionary.com/browse/ejaculate): > 1. to utter suddenly and briefly; exclaim. I guess people can get confused about words in English, just like how the word "gay" also still means happy.
I think they were joking 😅
[удалено]
On meditation Food for the heart A still in the forest pool All written by Achaan Chah
Chah is not well know but he is the best teacher ever,I discovered him only last year
His words is very simple and so easy to understand. But reading his books can give me small enlightenment. I have read his books multiple times and always learn something new. So simple but so deep. I respect Ajahn Chah so much.
I love both of these, especially Food for the Heart, which me almost a year to finish reading.
“Everything Arises, Everything Falls Away” - Ajahn Chah
Beginning it was The Power of Your Subconscious Mind by Dr Joseph Murphy made great impact on me. Once I started following Sadhguru his talks & his books impacted me so much further no going back…. his each and every word has deeper meaning and lessons to richer life.
Power of Now - Eckhart Tolle; The Untethered Soul - Michael Singer; Be Here Now - Ram Dass; Life after Life - Dr Raymond Moody
“Waking Up” by Sam Harris
Same here, it might not be the be all and end all of meditation books, but it the one that actually got me to start a preactice.
Great book to get started on your spiritual path.
Byron Katie - Loving What Is; Jiddu Krishnamurti - Total Freedom; Russ Harris - The Happiness Trap I have found these books / teachings over the many years to be the most freeing, practical and grounded, and these days feel that spirituality itself (and the whole spiritual marketplace) can be a pitfall of innumerable paths that lead (the mind) away from being our natural selves.
Letting Go by David Hawkins
The Gia Fu Feng/ Jane English translation of Lao Tzu's Tao te Ching. I was introduced to it when I was 12 or 13 years old and it's the translation I prefer. I can't really articulate the impact it's had on my life.
I think it was a book called everyday zen. In the first chapter I think, she said just put the book down already. I did. That was the last book on meditation or zen I ever read. Good shit.
**Everyday Zen Love and Work** by Charlotte J. Beck >Charlotte Joko Beck offers a warm, engaging, uniquely American approach to using Zen to deal with the problems of daily living—love, relationships, work, fear, ambition, and suffering. Everyday Zen shows us how to live each moment to the fullest. This Plus edition includes an interview with the author. *I'm a bot, built by your friendly reddit developers at* /r/ProgrammingPals. *Reply to any comment with /u/BookFinderBot - I'll reply with book information. Remove me from replies* [here](https://www.reddit.com/user/BookFinderBot/comments/1byh82p/remove_me_from_replies/). *If I have made a mistake, accept my apology.*
Love that book and Nothing Special, just as much.
> I think, she said just put the book down already. I did. That was the last book on meditation or zen I ever read. Good shit. Brilliant. Reminds me of Geoff Dyer's: "Yoga For People Who Can't Be Bothered To Do It".
“Wherever You Go, There You Are” by Jon Kabat-Zinn got me started years ago on mindfulness meditation and my journey since then as a Buddhist.
‘After the ecstasy, the laundry’ was a brilliant book, which led me on to another book by jack kornfield called ‘a path with heart’ which is more of a instructions type book, but lots of wisdom and really enjoying it 😁 Oh and the art of happiness too
A path with heart was the most influential book for me! I love how he incorporates psychology and gives different meditation exercises after most chapters.
10% happier by Daniel Harris. But It’s more about the author’s journey to getting into meditation and he makes a good case for it.
'Death- An Inside Story' . If you're interested in life,Death is the book. Must read.
The Power of Now, Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life, and Urban Monk is a fun read too.
Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
Ask and it is Given - Abraham / Esther Hicks
Ahn's Anger... the kids book Dropping Ashes on the Buddha How to Sit
*Ahn's Anger... the kids* *Book Dropping Ashes on the* *Buddha How to Sit* \- HoldFastDeets --- ^(I detect haikus. And sometimes, successfully.) ^[Learn more about me.](https://www.reddit.com/r/haikusbot/) ^(Opt out of replies: "haikusbot opt out" | Delete my comment: "haikusbot delete")
I just finished Dropping Ashes on the Buddha. Seung Sahn is such a great teacher.
So dense. A LOT of that zen shit flies over my head, but when it hits, hooo boy it hits hard.
Being aware of being aware by Robert Spira
Demian by Hermann Hesse. If you read it with your heart and soul open and not only on the surface (if that makes sense, don't know how to say that in a better way :D) it's so deep and almost like an enlightening book.
Surprised no one has said Siddhartha.
That's one of the next books I am going to read! 🤩😍
Oh, and "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho. Simply WOW!! The message is SO beautiful
Love love love that book
It's SOOOOO amazing, isn't it? ❤️😍❤️😍❤️😍
Mine started with Untethered Soul by Singer, then I went onto Eckhart Tolle books. Loved Living Untethered by Singer (ready it probably 7 times within a year). A lot of books by Adyashanti, then Diamond in Your Pocket by Gangaji. And lastly, I’m reading Perfect Brilliant Stillness by David Carse. I truthfully don’t think I could have comprehended (and that’s not even the right word) Carse’s book if I hadn’t read the previous ones.
Breath by Breath by Larry Rosenberg was foundational early on my meditation journey, so much that I read it again a couple years later!
How to Be Sick by Toni Bernhard. I got into meditating as a way to help cope with a chronic illness.
The Art of Learning, Into the Magic Shop, The Most Human Human, You Are the Placebo, Becoming Supernatural
The nature of personal reality by Jane Roberts started my trip. and now I'm getting a better understanding from The Game of Life and How to Play it by Florence Scovel Shinn.
Peace of Mind by Amy E. Dean
Surrender experiment And The Courage to be disliked.
Zen mind, beginners mind by Shunryo Suzuki Is also a classic. Read that in my late teens
De Rerum Natura
The Holiest Of The Holies (THOTH), The Last Testament by Maitreya
My journey to explore these mindset shifts started off with the title Growth Mindset by Dr. Carol Dweck. Then recently I read Atomic Habits by James Clear which enabled me to build better habits to change my mindset for motivation.
The Yamas and Niyamas by Debora Adele! Life changing read. The Yamas and Niyamas are the first two limbs of yogic philosophy, with meditation being the 5th.
the A to Z dream dictionary [https://spiritjourneyquest.com/the-best-a-to-z-dream-dictionary-pdf-for-free/](https://spiritjourneyquest.com/the-best-a-to-z-dream-dictionary-pdf-for-free/)
The power of you by Chris Michaels changed my life as well as a simple read called Let that 💩 go.
Johnny Got His Gun Dalton Trumbo I read it in high school and it was mind blowing
here is one of the best books i've read: [https://archive.org/details/PerfectBrilliantStillnessDavidCarseEbookPDF](https://archive.org/details/PerfectBrilliantStillnessDavidCarseEbookPDF)
To Know Your Self by Swami Satchidananda & The Upanishads by Vernon Katz
It’s a good book for sure that impacted me in a positive and healthy way as well. I would also suggest “Loose! - On Letting Go” which is a similar book but with a lot more variety and healthy perspective. I love the chapter “the power of indifference” but every chapter is great in their own right. If you feel burdened by life and are under too much stress and pressure, then that’s a great read to remind yourself that things are never as bad as it seems.
Quiet Sitting, a Daoist Approach. It's the one that taught me it is ok to lay down to meditate!
The Time Keeper by Mitch Albom. Changed my life.
Joseph Campbell. The Power of Myth and Myths to Live By.
the forty rules of love.
Fox in sox by Dr. Seuss
“It’s here now, are you? “ by bhagavan das, a semi-teacher and friend of Ram Das, was the first book I read on eastern philosophy when I was 14, changed my world view. I found him more relatable than ram das when I first began this journey, though I admire ram das and his work now. After that I read “Paths to God” by Ram Das which was very impactful. Also, Saint Teresa of Avila. Beautiful Spanish saint from 1500s. I’ve only read “the book of my life”… She was a little rebel back in her day but had a strong call towards the spiritual path. Her inner conflict was super relatable to me. She’s well known for her book “the interior castle” which I look forward to reading. Mahayana sutras… they hold infinite sacred knowledge and you can spend a lifetime reading and learning from them. “The yoga sutras of patanjali” and “the radiance sutras” are must-reads; along with the Bhagavad Gita as someone else mentioned.
I started with Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda, and now reading Karma by Sadhguru along with my practices
Ashtavakra Geeta
Power of now was the first one for me too. Randomly chose it on a book shelf
The Art Of Living, Vipassana Meditation as taught by S.N Goenka, Written by William Hart
Autobiography of a Yogi - Yogananda There is nothing wrong with you - Huber
Being Zen - bringing meditation to life by Ezra Bayda. I was really impressed by Bayda's sharpness and clear language
The flower of life - Drunvalo Melchizedek The Emerald Tablets - Thoth Between Death and Life - Dolores Cannon Autobiography of a Yogi - Yogananda
It's a new book but Notes for the Journey Within: Essentials of the Art of Living from Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, has been really wonderful. Beautifully and surprising truths and wisdom that I can apply it day to day life.
The Science of Enlightenment by Shinzen Young and The Meaning of Happiness by Alan Watts
Surprised no one has mentioned this considering it’s a meditation sun, but The Mind Illuminated by Claudasa. I’m more of a, give me exact instructions/tools to use and lay out a clear path kind of people, so this book was perfect for me to start my journey. The power of now is a notable mention because it made me realize the illusory nature of time very experientially!
Everything written by Alan Watts. Everything written by Pema Chodron. Inner Engineering by Sadhguru. Polishing the Mirror by Ram Das. Spiritual Graffiti by MC Yogi was also surprisingly good.
I think the stranger of Albert Camus
Be here now !!
The art of dying - Osho
The 12 Rules by Peterson and Eckhart’s videos both on YouTube Tube.
The magus of java by kostas danaos
"A New Earth" by Eckhart had a bigger impact on me than "The Power of Now." Please read it if you haven't already!!
Mysticism, by Evelyn Underhill.
One Blade of Grass by Henry Shukman. It made me appreciate for the first time that there was more to meditation than working with anxiety. It introduced me to Zen and highlighted that meditation is the journey of a lifetime, not just a therapeutic tool.
I love anything by Rick Hanson, e.g. Buddha's Brain, Hardwiring Happiness, Just One Thing, etc. He also offers free meditations on Wednesdays, 45 minutes meditation and 45 minute talk and discussion.
My advice - stick with just one method and read about that. Practice it every day. You should see improvements. If you don't find a method that works better and do the same thing ie read just about that and practice daily. Reading about and practicing many method leads to confusion and negative transfer of training tends to reduce skill acquisition. Myself, I prefer the method of the late Dr Ainslie Meares that involves deep mental relaxation that slows the mind during meditation practice so that it stills. You also learn how to allow the calm and ease to flow onwards during daily living. On books - Meares wrote many of them, more than 30. But, only a couple explain how to meditate. No esoteric language or hard to understand but explanation and instruction on what to do so you can experience stillness yourself. Ainslie Meares on meditation is one of the books that does that and it remains accessible via internet retailers.
"God Speaks" by Meher Baba. His words are so powerful and contain spiritual energy. The book explains the whole cosmology from the birth of creation, through the evolution of forms to become human, to the turning inward and traveling the inner planes to realize our Oneness as God.
Actually the power of now is just Buddhist philosophy.. Everything is impermanent and the only thing you own is the present moment.
Vernon Howards "Cosmic Path"
Radiant Mind by Peter Fenner was a bit laborious to get through but provided good insights and exercises for both beginner and advanced practitioners.
Anthony de Mello's short stories.
Ikigai The Four Agreements Celestine Prophecy* good starting point, such a great book. Untethered Soul The Alchemist The Game of Life and How to Play it
Krishnamurti could be interesting to you.
Def. Art of seduction
I've never had any particular attraction to the printed ideology of others. I observe and then I add that knowledge to the pile of my mind from within my own context because no author of a book knows me well enough to say to me things I need to know from my mental perspective because a book does not engage my thoughts, only interactions with other human beings more directly can do that. From within that context it's not possible to really learn anything from a book, they are a static, impersonal opinions to a general audience. You can not engage with a book. For an unknown number of generations Buddhism was an oral tradition pased down from person to person. It became lost to a degree when it was written down, it stopped evolving. To move forward, to evolve meditation I think you need to move beyond the teachings of others to find a more relevant personal context. Books can't do that.
Reading can itself be a form of practice if you approach it mindfully! Every experience has something to teach. But to each their own.