Me: Sometimes, we’re happy just because we’re happy. Other times, it takes a lot of work. What do you tell people who, unlike you, struggle with negativity and other emotional stuff on a daily basis?
Leta: My advice is to love what is. Just that.
Me: How? Can you give me a much clearer, more practical idea of what’s going on in your head as you are loving and appreciating throughout your day? Maybe a small example of a few moments inside your head?
Leta: Often, my head is just saying, “I love God.” I have thoughts. I’m human, after all. But my head is empty probably a lot more than most humans.
I will meet people I don’t like. I will encounter things and situations I don’t like. They may even be grotesque to my sensibilities. However, I am challenged to love the divine within all things. I am challenged to be One with all things. I am challenged to broaden my perspective so that I find the divine innocence at the heart of everything. I am challenged to love and accept everyone, even people I don’t like. If I meet someone I don’t like, I ask myself if this is a situation I can change. Am I willing to put forth the effort to like them (which would mean changing everything about myself, going into another personality and being someone I am not)? The answer is no. However, I can see the divine innocence in them. I can understand them and love them even though I may not like them. None of it scares me. I love it all. I have a relationship with myself that allows for constant self-inquiry leading to understanding and love that takes me beyond the disconnected to the connected. I have so much fun.
If you don’t love a great dear neath experience book, check your pulse; you’re probably already dead. (Miss you.) That said, books in this sub-genre are not all created equal. Some are super inspiring, while others just aren’t quite to my taste. A lot of them come from a religious perspective I don’t agree with and others are, well, a bit corny. That said, the stories themselves (sans lesson plan) can be interesting regardless.
I chose the books in the first list below because I’ve read and enjoyed them and because they offer good, practical life advice. If you want to get more immersed the subject, though, try the books in the “Other Recommended Near Death Experience Books” section. I chose them because they’re either well-known, seemingly well-researched, or just recommended on some website somewhere. (High standards, I know.)
My favorite book from this list: Dying To Be Me: My Journey from Cancer, to Near Death, to True Healing by Anita-Moorjani. That book is definitely my friend.
Dying To Be Me: My Journey from Cancer, to Near Death, to True Healing, Anita-Moorjani Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon’s Journey into the Afterlife, Eben Alexander Life After Life: The Bestselling Original Investigation That Revealed “Near-Death Experiences”, Raymond Moody Science and the Near-Death Experience: How Consciousness Survives Death, Chris Carter Visions, Trips, and Crowded Rooms: Who and What You See Before You Die, David Kessler
Other Recommended Near Death Experience Books
Application of Impossible Things: A Near Death Experience in Iraq, Natalie Sudman Mindsight: Near-Death and Out-of-Body Experiences in the Blind, Kenneth Ring Imagine Heaven: Near-Death Experiences, God’s Promises, and the Exhilarating Future That Awaits You, John Burke and Don Piper Beyond Sight: The True Story of a Near-Death Experience, Marion Rome Near Death in the ICU: Stories from Patients Near Death and Why We Should Listen to Them, Laurin Bellg MD Evidence of the Afterlife: The Science of Near-Death Experiences, Jeffrey Long and Paul Perry God and the Afterlife: The Groundbreaking New Evidence for God and Near-Death Experience, Jeffrey Long and Paul Perry My Journey to Heaven: What I Saw and How It Changed My Life, Marvin J. Besteman and Lorilee Craker Love The Person You’re With: Life-Changing Insights from the Most Compelling Near-Death Experiences Ever Recorded, David Sunfellow Dying to Wake Up: A Doctor’s Voyage into the Afterlife and the Wisdom He Brought Back, Rajiv Parti and Raymond Moody Life After Death, Powerful Evidence You Will Never Die, Stephen Hawley Martin Real Messages From Heaven: And Other True Stories of Miracles, Divine Intervention and Supernatural Occurrences, Faye Aldridge Near-Death Experiences, The Rest of the Story: What They Teach Us About Living and Dying and Our True Purpose, P. M. H. Atwater Embraced By The Light, Betty J. Eadie Consciousness Beyond Life: The Science of the Near-Death Experience, Pim van Lommel Near-Death Experiences Examined: Medical Findings and Testimonies from Lourdes, Patrick Theillier Awakenings from the Light: 12 Life Lessons from a Near Death Experience, Nancy Rynes Near-Death Experiences as Evidence for the Existence of God and Heaven: A Brief Introduction in Plain Language, J. Steve Miller and Jeffrey Long Near Death Experiences of Doctors and Scientists: Doctors, and Scientists Describe Their Personal Near-Death Experiences, John J. Graden Wisdom of Near-Death Experiences: How Understanding NDEs Can Help Us Live More Fully, Penny Sartori and Pim van Lommel The Night I Spoke to God: A Miraculous True Story of A Near-Death Experience, Michael L. Eads The Gifts of Near-Death Experiences: You Don’t Have to Die to Experience Your True Home, Sheila Fabricant Linn and Dennis Linn How To Stop Negative Thoughts: What My Near-Death-Experience Taught Me About Mind Loops, Neuroscience, and Happiness, Barbara Ireland Surviving Death: A Journalist Investigates Evidence for an Afterlife, Leslie Kean NDE: They Went To Heaven And Back – Stories of People That Got A Second Chance, Gerard Radcliff The Big Book of Near-Death Experiences: The Ultimate Guide to What Happens When We Die, P.M.H. Atwater
Me: What is the essence of meditation? What is it, really?
Leta: What is real about meditation other than the practice of being present in your body, experiencing an IS-ness and connecting to a bigger-than-small-you field? There is no real meditation in my experience. Anything that promotes a feeling of bigger-than-small-you experience is a meditation. It can be folding the laundry, washing the dishes, sitting down on the toilet and so much more! There is meditation in everything. It is how you approach the experience that counts. Like a plug, we can plug in anything we do in our daily lives into the socket of “bigger-than-small-me” experience. This is the key to meditation in my experience.
What could be better than a great alternative spirituality book that’s also free? Not much. Not much at all. But if you’ve ever done a Google search for “free spiritual ebook” or “free alternative spirituality ebook,” you know it’s not that easy. There are thousands and thousands of these volumes online, some from ages ago and some published just last week. Where do you start?
My advice: Start with the classics. Not just any of the classics, though; the ones that have received wide appreciation. Then take my advice (and the advice of others) on the modern stuff.
I chose these books because they inspired me deeply, changed me for the better, and helped me find greater inner peace. Let me know what else is out there that deserves to be here and I will gratefully update this list.
Best Free Alternative Spirituality Ebooks
The Work of Byron Katie: An Introduction, Byron Katie Beginning Your Love Revolution, Matt Kahn Hoist on My Own Petard: Or: How Writing 10% Happier Threw My Own Advice Right Back in My Face, Dan Harris Autobiography of A Yogi, Paramahansa Yogananda As a Man Thinketh, James Allen Secret of the Ages, Robert Collier Be Still, Emmet Fox Think and Grow Rich, Napolean Hill Science of Mind, Ernest Holmes Feeling Is The Secret, Neville Goddard The Power of Positive Thinking, Norman Vincent Peale Scientific Christian Mental Practice, Emma Curtis Hopkins The Practice of the Presence of God, Brother Lawrence 100 Daily Messages Volumes One through Four, Leta Hamilton and Archangel Michael
This self-help success story was contributed by Jack Wright.
For several months, I had a mantra. A long one, one that I made up that said everything I wanted to remember each day. Since I haven’t had a whole lot of luck with many other types of meditation (I’ve pretty much always used mantras as a focal point during sitting practice rather than focusing on the breath or just clearing my mind), I figured I might as well make it a good, complete one. Each stanza is, for me, a consolidation of a great spiritual principle that upon contemplation can allow us to feel the feeling of feeling good (my definition of the state of meditation).
Here is the mantra that I used:
Angels, guides, God and all there is,
1. Please. Please. Help. Help.
2. Notice. Notice. Accept. Accept.
3. Surrender. Surrender. Flow. Flow.
4. Love. Love. Give. Give.
5. Body. Body. Energy. Energy.
6. Thank you. Thank you. Life. Life.
I love this mantra. I love mantras in general, actually. And yet, I don’t use this one anymore. In fact, for the past year or so, I’ve used mantras only sporadically. Why is this? The reason is simple: other spiritual practices took precedent.
I just don’t have time for them all.
Here, a self-interview about using this practice for depression.
So do you recommend mantra meditation for depression, or not?
Absolutely. I have a strong feeling that I will circle back to it–maybe even to using it daily–after my Byron Katie obsession is no longer in the critical learning period.
And mantras in general? Do they help, too? Or is it best to combine them with meditation?
Mantras are just mantras. Unless they’re used in a certain way, in a meditative frame of mind, they’re just not all that effective.
I remember a time several years back when I thought I wanted to buy a particular house. So one day I said this mantra over and over for, like, a solid hour while doing yoga: “This is my house.” And I didn’t feel at peace about it at all–and I did not end up buying that house (thank God).
So what was the difference?
First, the mantra should be something that feels deeply right to you. Something that really increases your peace. And second, the mantra should be something you use as a means to an end–achieving a state of meditation–not as an end in itself.
So does that mean you shouldn’t use mantras while doing the laundry or at work?
Not at all. Sit-down meditation is awesome, but you can meditate anytime. I call this “walking meditation.”
How effective is mantra meditation for depression, really?
The thing about being depressed is that it’s really, really hard to boost yourself up out of it using the usual methods. I can remember so many times that I tried to force myself out of a bad mood using some kind of sitting or walking meditation, usually with a mantra, and just ended up more pissed off and frustrated. Maybe I’m just really bad at it (actually, I’m pretty sure this is the case). But I have a feeling I’m not the only one with this problem.
Sometimes it works really well. Other times, it’s just not enough. Personally, I’ve found that meditation is best when I’m already feeling either emotionally neutral (it then kicks me into a bit of a high) or already positive (it then kicks me into an awesome high). When I’m actually depressed, I need something … stronger.
I love buying books for myself. Like, a lot. But guess what? I love buying them for my kids even more.
Unfortunately, when it comes to the topic of alternative spirituality, children’s books are relatively rare. Here’s a list of those I’ve discovered so far. Please let me know of others you discover and fall in love with.
Best Alternative Spirituality Books for Children
Sara, Book 1: Sara Learns the Secret About the Law of Attraction, Esther Hicks and Jerry Hicks Sara, Book 2: Solomon’s Fine Featherless Friend, Esther Hicks Sara, Book 3: A Talking Owl is Worth a Thousand Words!, Esther Hicks Sara and the Foreverness of Friends of a Feather, Esther Hicks and Jerry Hicks Om Baby, Child of the Universe, Schamet Horsfield Sitting Still Like a Frog: Mindfulness Exercises for Kids (and Their Parents), Eline Snel Milton’s Secret, Eckhart Tolle Emir’s Education in the Proper Use of Magical Powers, Jane Roberts New Thought Children Stories, Christopher Morley Emma & Mommy Talk to God, Marianne Williamson I Am, Wayne Dyer and Kristina Tracy Incredible You!, Wayne Dyer and Kristina Tracy It’s Not What You’ve Got!, Wayne Dyer and Kristina Tracy No Excuses!, Wayne Dyer and Kristina Tracy Unstoppable Me!, Wayne Dyer and Kristina Tracy Tiger-Tiger, Is It True?: Four Questions to Make You Smile Again, Byron Katie and Hans Wilhelm The Four Questions: For Henny Penny and Anybody with Stressful Thoughts, Byron Katie and Hans Wilhelm Santa’s God: A Children’s Fable About the Biggest Question Ever,Neale Donald Walsch All the World, Liz Garton Scanlon Oh, The Places You’ll Go!, Dr. Seuss
This self-help success story was contributed by Jack Wright.
Is positive thinking effective for increasing wellness and inner peace? I mean, really. It’s so corny. So Pollyanna. And yet, we spiritual people swear by it. Non-spiritual people, too. We give it credit for so many of our life achievements.
What gives?
I love this question. Really, really love it, partly because the answer isn’t straightforward. So the other week when I ran across an interview with Eckhart Tolle and Dr. Wayne Dyer in which it was asked, my ears perked up.
Strangely, positivity is a very polarizing subject. You have the extreme believers and the extreme haters. The believers think it’s the reason for everything good that ever happens (I’m looking at you, Rhonda Byrne). The haters view these people as not only misled, but downright ridiculous. Barbara Ehrenreich, for example, has become well known for books like Bright-sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America. Not the book idea I’d want to commit to for several years of my working life.
But there are a few less skeptical, more balanced approaches to the anti-positivity argument as well. And I was pleased that in the Dyer-Tolle interview, both shared interesting, balanced perspectives. They agreed that if a person really wants to achieve greater inner peace, positivity isn’t the goal, or even necessarily a great starting point. Instead, they say, work on being true to yourself, being honest–even if there’s some difficult emotions that come up.
Then Dyer mentioned Anita Moorjani, who wrote a book (Dying to Be Me) about her near death experience and what she learned from it. In it, she says that it’s not about positive thinking. It’s not about manufacturing good feelings where there are none. It’s not about mantras, and the law of attraction, and The Secret, and Norman Vincent Peale.
Positive thinking is a mere substitute for the real thing. Real enlightenment. Real joy. Real love.
It’ll only get you part of the way.
Pema Chodron would likely agree. Her (awesome) books are full of insights about the importance of honesty and authenticity–even suffering. She has a ton–really, just a ton–of amazing quotes on this topic. Here’s one, from When Things Fall Apart: “To stay with that shakiness—to stay with a broken heart, with a rumbling stomach, with the feeling of hopelessness and wanting to get revenge—that is the path of true awakening. Sticking with that uncertainty, getting the knack of relaxing in the midst of chaos, learning not to panic—this is the spiritual path.”
So, okay. Maybe positive thinking isn’t all it’s touted to be. But, well–what is, right? Any idea that has entered the popular consciousness with as much force and repetition (not to mention anecdotal and even scientific evidence, a la the placebo effect) suffers from oversimplification syndrome. Maybe positivity isn’t the cure-all, or even one of the truly great spiritual practices out there. That doesn’t mean I’m giving it up anytime soon.
Briefly, here’s my take: I’ve experienced chronic dysthemia (low-level depression) for most of my life. Spirituality and prayer have always been a source of help for me, as have many other practices. But the very first true breakthrough I ever experienced regarding my depression resulted from reading a book on changing one’s thoughts. It was called Telling Yourself the Truth: Find Your Way Out of Depression, Anxiety, Fear, Anger, and Other Common Problems by Applying the Principles of Misbelief Therapy, and I still recommend it to this day (though there are other, similar books on the subject I prefer now). The basic message: your negative thoughts are responsible for your negative feelings. To change the feeling, change the thought. Oh, and by the way, those negative thoughts aren’t true, anyway–not nearly as true as the more objective–and yes, more positive–alternative perspectives.
The message was simple, and in some ways quite obvious, and yet, as a Christian who had always relied on prayer alone for healing, it was radical to me. When I began “taking my thoughts captive,” as the Bible teaches, I was finally able to cap off some of the depression.
These days, I use positive thinking as a tool every day of my life, both in a knee-jerk sort of way and as a dedicated journaling practice. Don’t get me wrong–I’d love to be more like Eckhart Tolle, who is able to “just be.” And Moorjani, who tells us that rather than try to drum up better-feeling thoughts, we should simply live a life that celebrates who we really, authentically are–whatever that may be.
Oh, the infamous law of attraction. We’ve all heard about it, and have potentially practiced it. There are some people who believe in the law strongly, while there are others that think it’s absolutely ridiculous.
I’ve had amazing experiences practicing positive thinking with the intent of manifesting my goals, but sometimes the greatest beauty comes in the little gifts that we receive from the Universe. Life is made up of moments, not extraordinary events, and the sycronicity that I notice in my day-to-day life is, honestly, what keeps me consistently in awe. Reading about elephants as a commercial comes on about elephants, receiving a call from a friend I was just about to reach out to, sitting next to someone on a flight who’s just as into quantum psychics as I am–these are not coincidences, these events are the law of attraction bringing the frequencies that I emit back into my physical existence. As I’ve become more spiritual, and have ultimately developed more of a direct connection to Source, I’ve seen more and more of this happening. My divine journey IS the destination, and tuning into my higher self allows for my third eye to notice even the most quaint of destined circumstances. I know that it is the grand manifestations, though, that are more sexy–and I’ve had my fair share of those as well.
Three months prior to my 21st birthday, I made the decision to move to Colorado to embark on the biggest adventure of my young life. I didn’t have any friends there, any family, a job, a place to live; heck, I’d never even visited the place before. But what I did have was a strong determination and unwavering faith that I was following my heart, my intuition, and the spiritual place where my guides speak to me. I knew it HAD to work out.
So, a month prior to leaving I flew out with my mother to find a place to live. I had my list of apartments with a perfectly calculated route to optimize our time there. Three days flew by, and . . . nothing. I felt discouraged as we began to accept the fact that our trip was failure.
Then, on our way back to our hotel, we passed a leasing company. I toured a beautiful apartment in Denver’s affluent Wash Park area that just so happened to be right in my price range. I was approved without a job, and made the big move a weekend after I turned 21. I then found an amazing job within two weeks of my move, and have had the opportunity to work with many inspiring start-up companies. My plan was live there for a year, but it took four years for my adventure to come to a completion in the beautiful state of Colorado. I would not be the person I am today without having made that move.
Six months after moving back to the state of Texas, I decided to take another leap of faith and quit my corporate job to launch my own marketing start-up company, The Auzenne Agency, which has allowed me the freedom to live my life according to my own terms. It has allowed for more time with family, the means to travel when I please, and to also truly make a true impact on other start-up companies.
Thinking positive thoughts emits positive energy which brings about the intuitive guidance for inspired action to achieve all that your heart desires.
Me: People describe the feeling of meditation in different ways. For some, it’s just relaxation. For me, it’s slightly increased peace–a bit of space between myself and my neurotic mind. What does meditation feel like to you?
Leta: When I meditate, I see myself as the vast universe. I feel a hugeness from the inside out that can only be described as vast empty space. When I see a photo of the universe, of galaxies and the lights emerging from them, the colors they display, I feel that is the best description, visually speaking, of what I feel inwardly as I meditate.
I feel the whole universe is the space of my inner self.
This feeling is cherished and it is why I return to meditation again and again. Even when I have moments without meditation (without that feeling of vastness from the inside out), I remember it and return to it. Whether I am in the kitchen, car or store, I return to the vastness I feel when I am in meditation. Maybe that explains why I maintain the notion that meditation is more than just sitting with eyes closed and legs crossed. It is any time the feeling of vastness comes over me.
Me: Are you able to feel this anytime, even when you’re not alone?
Leta: It is harder to accomplish in the company of others. When I am with others, I am pulled back into the world and the illusion of separation. I am pulled into the physicality present in our form-sense orientation. I am reminded of my humanness when I am with others. This is not a bad thing in and of itself. However, I desire the balance of isolation as well to accompany it. I desire my own time without having to speak to another soul as much as I desire human interaction, love, friendship, and all the things intertwined with human-experiencing.
So I only have this to say: meditate. Breathe. Give back to society in whatever way you can. Volunteer. Think about others in everything you do. Lose yourself happily, because you are seeking nothing. Nothing means no-thing. Give yourself permission not to have goals–to have the goal of loving what is every moment.
That is the most awesome goal of all.
Vision boards, the law of attraction, bringing into your reality what you visualize/hold in your mind, etc., are part of the game of living on earth and they have their place, but I am more interested in being the galaxy and all the galaxies. I am more interested in returning to that place of great big BIG-ness that I feel when I meditate.
It must be a rush of endorphins or whatever brain chemicals rush through my skull that cause me to be so drawn to that meditative state. It is pure bliss and it comes whenever I am focused, steady and silent in my Self. It comes whenever I tell it to, but that is after years of practice.
This self-help success story was contributed by Jenny Thorne.
In the world of alternative spirituality, it’s become a bit of a cliche: Everything we see, everything we experience, is merely ourselves, reflected back at us. We are here to discover who we really are, say our Buddhist teachers (like the great Pema Chodron) and our channels (like Esther Hicks, Jane Roberts and many others). This is supposed to make us feel better when things go wrong, I suppose; it’s not really happening, right?
But that isn’t the only reason we appreciate this teaching. We also like it because it gives us a sense of control. In his awesome pop psychology bestseller, What Makes Your Brain Happy and Why You Should Do the Opposite, David DiSalvo tells us about the human mind’s neurotic need for certainty and understanding–even in the face of very few facts.
Knowing what’s really going on at all times–with ourselves and everyone around us–is a major driving force of our actions and thoughts, he writes. There is a distinct physical and chemical pleasure response from coming up with a reason or explanation–no matter how accurate that explanation may be.
Enter all kinds of false conclusions. We even assign meaning to pure coincidence, making causal inferences from scant information.
So in a sense, believing the world is a projection of our own minds is a pretty attractive scenario. If I can change my mind, I can change my life, we conclude. Who doesn’t want that kind of power?
However, there’s a flip side to this perceived super power, a quandary to consider: What about when something goes wrong? Who do we blame when someone is truly mean, truly heinous, truly inconsiderate, truly . . . well, wrong?
Hmmmm . . . . That’s a hard one, isn’t it?
Clearly, your partner was not being nice when he told you he’d rather spend a night out with the guys than with you. Obviously, your mother should never suggest you go on a diet, and your sister is unfair to expect you to babysit her kids every week.
I mean, let’s face it: It’s one thing to believe in theory that everything that happens is a just projection of ourselves. It’s another thing entirely to act like we believe it, to truly believe that we’re the only ones responsible for our reality.
Some spiritual-but-not-religious folks have a code word for what happens when things go wrong. They call it “co-creation.” They think that even enlightened people experience bad stuff on occasion (in other words, even Esther Hicks gets sick). This is because, well, we’re not really the only ones out here on this plane of reality. And some, but not all, of the out-there stuff affects us.
We’re all in this thing together.
Another explanation, which I like even better, comes from a lesser-known but equally awesome teacher named Matt Kahn. (Get a free long excerpt of his book, Whatever Arises, Love That, here.) Kahn says that when bad stuff happens, it’s not because you didn’t create or visualize right; it’s because there’s some serious work going on inside you. The idea is similar to the Buddhist idea of working out one’s karma. (See Kahn’s video, “The Karmic Return,” for more.)
For quite a while, I accepted these explanations, and in fact I still do–partly. I do believe (for now, anyway) that there really are other people out there, and that those other people are actually doing things. If reality is a projection, I think it’s a collective one.
However, there’s another layer to this idea that I only recently truly discovered. And the teacher that led me to it was Byron Katie.
Here is Katie’s take on the topic in a nutshell. She says that it’s not that so-called “bad” stuff never happens to enlightened or “advanced” people. (She probably gets her disproportionate share of hate mail, for example, due to her nobody-is-a-victim philosophy.) But when you know that a comment just isn’t true, that comment doesn’t feel truly mean to you anymore. Instead, it just feels like pain. It feels like an angry child is speaking to you, someone who doesn’t understand you–someone who’s hurt and afraid.
Recently, I started using Byron Katie’s method of questioning my negative beliefs, and it has really changed things for me. I didn’t realize how negative I was until I started writing down the automatic thoughts in my mind. From the first time I did The Work (Byron Katie’s name for her process, which is similar to cognitive behavioral therapy), I was able to step back significantly from my experiences and realize that what happens to me isn’t really what’s happening to me. What’s happening to me is what’s happening in my own mind.
Needless to say, this was an incredibly freeing revelation.
I love a heartfelt, person-to-person alternative spirituality blog. And of course, I love to hear different perspectives on spirituality–not just articles, but real opinions. These bloggers deliver on all these points. Hope you like them, too.
He’s not just spiritual. He’s creative. And his whole mission in life is to inspire you to be more creative, too–to make your dreams into goals, and goals into achievements. (Oh, and he’s a really good writer.)
Snarky. Sarcastic. Super fun. Spiritual. All the stuff we want from a blogger. Her posts are long and very well thought-out. And she’s got a huge following, and a book.
Normally, I don’t do online videos. I like the quiet too much. But I’ve gotten addicted to Byron Katie’s amazing, life-altering perspective. She is my new guru, for sure.
What a duo these two are. And their message is really exceptional. Their blog could use a little more TLC, but I like keeping their work in my thoughts and learning about what they’re up to. And if you haven’t yet seen a Matt Kahn YouTube video, well, you may not yet truly be living. His videos are his real blog.
I’ve been following Centrella for some years now, and she’s come a long way, baby. Her book, Hustle Believe Receive, is awesome, and I enjoy her vulnerability on topics from motherhood to midlife.
Spirituality, science, philosophy–always a great combination. This is a blog for people who like to keep up on the latest research in spiritual practice, particularly Buddhist practices and meditation.
Nedkov is a spiritual counselor, and her posts seek to inspire you to treat yourself with more kindness, love and grace. She uses A Course in Miracles as her basic text.
Hesselink asks tough questions, then answers them from her unique perspective. She doesn’t put on airs, though–this is a real person just telling it like she sees it.
Pavlina is a channel who writes about reincarnation, divination, omens and the like, bringing some common sense to her uncommon ability. Here’s a sample of her direct writing style:
“Let’s say you’re some bloke named Oliver Queen and you die, are you still Oliver Queen on the other side, like forever? Or do you become someone else? Something else?
People ask me variations of this question a lot …”
Other Top Alternative Spirituality Blogs:
Maybe these aren’t so much blogs as just websites with a bunch of good content. Either way, they merit attention, for obvious reasons. (Namely, that they have a huge following and promote authors who have changed the world.)
On a cold Friday the 13th in January over a decade ago, I signed the mortgage agreement for my first home. And I wasn’t scared about it at all. Though I wasn’t exactly rich–I’d decided that waiting tables was my true calling, at least for a while–I believed that by saving every dollar I could and paying at least a little ahead on the mortgage each month, I just might be able to pay off the house in ten years. With that goal in mind, I took in renters and saved every dollar I could. I didn’t drive a car, for instance. And sometimes I even passed up the bus, deciding it wasn’t worth that $1 fee.
Five years later, I was nowhere close to my goal, but I didn’t worry about that–I just kept making payments. Something in me told me that it would all work out as it should.
I married my first husband, and worked as much as I could, using most of my earnings for the house. Then I divorced and married my husband, which gave me another big edge. Still, the goal was pretty far away. Then the year before having my second child, I got a great job, and started paying in big chunks. Finally, the day came when my husband gave me the approval to take the twenty grand out of our savings account and pay our very last installment.
In the February nine years after signing the mortgage, I made the final payment on the house–nearly one year ahead of schedule.
I believe in hard work. And planning, and being careful with money. But I also believe in the power of setting an clearly defined intention.
What could be better than reading direct revelations from the other side? Not much, as it turns out. Channeled books give us something we get nowhere else: crazy-sounding rants from spiritual beings who for various reasons haven’t quite perfected their English grammar.
Oh, and some unique, life-changing firsthand insights, too.
For these reasons, Best Channeled Books is a book category that’s close to my heart, as it may be to yours. I chose the books in the first section because they inspired me deeply, changed me for the better and helped me find greater inner peace. The second section features all of the other channeled books I’ve come across but may not have read yet. Let me know what I’ve missed and I will update this list and likely promptly devour.
Best Channeled Books
Conversations with God, Parts One through Three, Neale Donald Walsch The Law of Attraction: The Basics of the Teachings of Abraham, Esther Hicks, Jerry Hicks and Abraham Ask and It Is Given: Learning to Manifest Your Desires, Esther Hicks, Jerry Hicks and Abraham The Magical Approach: Seth Speaks About the Art of Creative Living, Jane Roberts and Seth Seth Speaks: The Eternal Validity of the Soul, Jane Roberts and Seth Whatever Arises, Love That, Matt Kahn A New Dispensation: Plain Talk for Confusing Times, Kryon Book Ten, Lee Carroll and Kryon 100 Daily Messages Volumes One through Four, Leta Hamilton and Archangel Michael
Other Recommended Channeled Books
Neale Donald Walsch
Friendship with God, Neale Donald Walsch Communion with God, Neale Donald Walsch The New Revelations, Neale Donald Walsch Tomorrow’s God: Our Greatest Spiritual Challenge,Neale Donald Walsch Home with God, Neale Donald Walsch
Neale Donald Walsch Books That Aren’t Channeled
Conversations with God – Guidebook, Book 1, Nancy Ways Conversations with God – Guidebook, Book 2, Anne-Marie Barbier Conversations with God – Guidebook, Book 3, Alissa Goefron The Conversations with God Companion: The Essential Tool for Individual and Group Study,Neale Donald Walsch Conversations with God for Teens,Neale Donald Walsch Conversations with God for Teens Guidebook,Neale Donald Walsch Conversations With God for Parents: Sharing the Messages with Children,Neale Donald Walsch Meditations from Conversations With God,Neale Donald Walsch Meditations from Conversations With God: Book 1,Neale Donald Walsch Meditations from Conversations With God, Book 2: A Personal Journal,Neale Donald Walsch Questions and Answers on Conversations With God,Neale Donald Walsch The Wedding Vows from Conversations With God,Neale Donald Walsch and Nancy Fleming-Walsch Neale Donald Walsch on Relationships,Neale Donald Walsch Neale Donald Walsch on Holistic Living,Neale Donald Walsch Neale Donald Walsch on Abundance and Right Livelihood,Neale Donald Walsch Applications for Living from Conversations With God (compilation of three books; Relationships, Holistic Living, and Abundance and Right Livelihood),Neale Donald Walsch Bringers of the Light,Neale Donald Walsch Recreating Your Self,Neale Donald Walsch Moments of Grace: When God Touches Our Lives Unexpectedly, Neale Donald Walsch Part of the Change: Your Role As A Spiritual Helper,Neale Donald Walsch Happier Than God: Turn Ordinary Life into an Extraordinary Experience,Neale Donald Walsch When Everything Changes, Change Everything: In a Time of Turmoil, a Pathway to Peace,Neale Donald Walsch The Little Book of Life: A User’s Manual,Neale Donald Walsch The Mother of Invention: The Legacy of Barbara Marx Hubbard and the Future of YOU,Neale Donald Walsch When God Steps In, Miracles Happen,Neale Donald Walsch The Storm Before the Calm,Neale Donald Walsch What God Wants: A Compelling Answer to Humanity’s Biggest Question, Neale Donald Walsch The Only Thing That Matters,Neale Donald Walsch What God Said,Neale Donald Walsch God’s Message To The World: You’ve Got Me All Wrong,Neale Donald Walsch Conversations with God: The Making of the Movie, Monty Jones with Neale Donald Walsch Re-Minder Cards: Conversations With God, Book 1,Neale Donald Walsch
Esther Hicks, Jerry Hicks and Abraham
Money, and the Law of Attraction: Learning to Attract Wealth, Health, and Happiness, Esther Hicks, Jerry Hicks and Abraham The Vortex: Where the Law of Attraction Assembles All Cooperative Relationships, Esther Hicks, Jerry Hicks and Abraham The Amazing Power of Deliberate Intent: Living the Art of Allowing, Esther Hicks, Jerry Hicks and Abraham The Teachings of Abraham: The Master Course CD Program, 11-CD set, Esther Hicks, Jerry Hicks and Abraham Getting Into The Vortex: Guided Meditations CD and User Guide, Esther Hicks, Jerry Hicks and Abraham The Astonishing Power of Emotions: Let Your Feelings Be Your Guide, Esther Hicks, Jerry Hicks and Abraham A New Beginning I: Handbook for Joyous Survival, Esther Hicks, Jerry Hicks and Abraham A New Beginning II: A Personal Handbook to Enhance Your Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness,Esther Hicks, Jerry Hicks and Abraham
Jane Roberts and Seth
The Nature of Personal Reality, Jane Roberts and Seth The Seth Material, Jane Roberts The “Unknown” Reality, Volume One, Jane Roberts and Seth The “Unknown” Reality, Volume Two, Jane Roberts and Seth The Nature of the Psyche: Its Human Expression, Jane Roberts and Seth Dreams, Evolution and Value Fulfillment, Volume One, Jane Roberts and Seth Dreams, Evolution and Value Fulfillment, Volume Two, Jane Roberts and Seth A Seth Reader, Jane Roberts The Early Sessions (Sessions 1 through 510 of the Seth Material), Jane Roberts The Personal Sessions, Jane Roberts The Early Class Sessions, Jane Roberts Seth, Dreams and Projection of Consciousness, Jane Roberts
Jane Roberts Books That Aren’t Channeled
How To Develop Your ESP Power/ The Coming of Seth, Jane Roberts Adventures in Consciousness: An Introduction to Aspect Psychology, Jane Roberts Dialogues of the Soul and Mortal Self in Time, Jane Roberts Psychic Politics: An Aspect Psychology Book, Jane Roberts The Individual and the Nature of Mass Events, Jane Roberts The Oversoul Seven Trilogy, Jane Roberts The God of Jane: A Psychic Manifesto, Jane Roberts If We Live Again, Or, Public Magic and Private Love, Jane Roberts
Lee Carroll and Kryon
The End Times: New Information for Personal Peace, Kryon Book One, Lee Carroll and Kryon Don’t Think Like a Human: Channelled Answers to Basic Questions, Kryon Book Two, Lee Carroll and Kryon Alchemy of the Human Spirit: A Guide to Human Transition into the New Age, Kryon Book Three, Lee Carroll and Kryon The Parables of Kryon, Kryon Book Four, Lee Carroll and Kryon The Journey Home, Kryon Book Five, Lee Carroll and Kryon Partnering with God: Practical Information for the New Millennium, Kryon Book Six, Lee Carroll and Kryon Letters from Home: Loving Messages from the Family, Kryon Book Seven, Lee Carroll and Kryon Passing The Marker: Understanding the New Millennium Energy, Kryon Book Eight, Lee Carroll and Kryon The New Beginning: 2002 and Beyond, Kryon Book Nine, Lee Carroll and Kryon Lifting the Veil: The New Energy Apolcalypse, Kryon Book Eleven, Lee Carroll and Kryon The Twelve Layers of DNA: An Esoteric Study of the Mastery Within, Kryon Book Twelve, Lee Carroll and Kryon The Recalibration of Humanity: 2013 and Beyond, Kryon Book Thirteen, Lee Carroll and Kryon
Lee Carroll Books That Aren’t Channeled
The Indigo Children: The New Kids Have Arrived, Lee Carroll Indigo Celebration: More Messages, Stories, and Insights from the Indigo Children, Lee Carroll The Indigo Children Ten Years Later: What’s Happening with the Indigo Teenagers!, Lee Carroll and Jan Tober
Geoffrey Hoppe and Tobias
The Creator Series, Geoffrey Hoppe and Tobias Live Your Divinity, Geoffrey Hoppe and Tobias Journey of the Angels, Geoffrey Hoppe and Tobias Masters in the New Energy, Geoffrey Hoppe and Tobias Act of Consciousness, Geoffrey Hoppe and Tobias Crimson Circle Library (video, audio and text), Geoffrey Hoppe and Tobias The Tobias Materials: The Creator Series – New Tools for Our New Spiritual Journey, Geoffrey Hoppe and Tobias Masters in the New Energy, Geoffrey Hoppe and Tobias A Letter to Awakening Humans, Geoffrey Hoppe and Tobias Call to Awaken (Audio CD), Geoffrey Hoppe and Tobias Opening into Consciousness – A Guided Experience (Audio CD), Geoffrey Hoppe and Tobias The Twelve Signs of Your Awakening Divinity, Geoffrey Hoppe and Tobias Journey of the Angels: The Tobias Materials, Geoffrey Hoppe, Tobias and Linda Benyo
Other Recommended Channeled Books and Channels
A Course in Miracles, Helen Shucman The Great Human Potential: Walking in One’s Own Light, Wendy Kennedy Darryl Anka and Bashar A Vision, W.B. Yeats The Great Shift: Co-Creating a New World for 2012 and Beyond, Martine Vallee The Secret of Effortless Doing: Be . . . And It Will Be, Ronny and Zach Sivan Oahspe Bible, John Ballou Newbrough The Cosmic Tradition, Max Theon and Alma Theon Book of the Law, Aleister Crowley Toward the Light, Johanne Agerskov Arten and Pursah Channelings, Gary Renard The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ, Levi H. Dowling The Urantia Book George Van Tassel Gina Lake Eileen Caddy Chelsea Quinn Yarbro JZ Knight Rueckert John Edward Sylvia Browne James Van Praagh Lisa Williams John Holland Sally Morgan Vladimir Megre
Contributor: Author Leta Hamilton, whose books include The Way of the Toddler and a four-book series called 100 Daily Messages
Mollie: Other than saying “I love you, God” repeatedly, is there something you do to stay in touch with the Divine during the day? What do you do when you’re at loose ends?
Leta: When I am at loose ends, I usually muscle test. Muscle testing has been a huge tool in my life and I use it every day. (For more on this, read David Hawkins’ Power Versus Force.) This technique is so useful in my life I don’t know how to emphasize it strongly enough.
Loose ends means time to check in. I think of many things … and check in as I go along. Sometimes the guidance is to just sit, breathe, be patient, wait. Sometimes the guidance is to move to a different room. Sometimes it is to write. Sometimes to watch TV. There is no rule to it.
Listening, centering and checking in are my go-to pauses when I don’t know where to go next, what to do next. I wait until the thing comes. Often, it is a small micro-movement. It can be as simple as turning my body in a different direction.
I think that is why I am called to do yoga once a week. It is full of micro-movements. That is such a big thing for me. I was just thinking about that today … the micro-movements of my yoga class. It totally makes sense now.
I have a fun time on Netflix. I watch these shows that I love and just learn, learn, learn about people. The kids are directed by me about a fifth of the time and the rest is left to peers, Dad, TV and all the rest of the world (church, extended family, school, etc.).
It feels like a balance to me. If that helps, then I am glad. I never know if I am helping or not.
I just do my best to love God. That is pretty much the meaning of everything to me. To love God creates joy in my heart. I love God so much. I can’t express enough how much the love of God plays into my being-ness from moment to moment. It is the reason I live. I feel like a religious fanatic … but that really is how I function from day to day. Life is getting through the days learning how to love God more. God is not a concept or an idea, but a living energy that flows through me with every breath.
Lately I’ve been noticing that the term “spiritual enlightenment” has lost some of its exclusivity. People–friends of mine, and a few authors I’ve read–define it in a multitude of ways: peace. Calm. Positivity. Joy: smiling joy, constant joy, childlike, carefree joy.
Right now, I like this definition: happiness.
Isn’t that the best definition of spiritual enlightenment there is? It’s not knowing God; as I am part of God, I already know her. It’s not something you do; doing is not ultimately important in this life. It’s not having the ability to meditate for hours on end, though clarity of thought is a very wonderful thing.
It’s just happiness.
Happiness is the truth of life, and happiness is enlightenment.
And when you put it that way, suddenly enlightenment feels much more attainable; I know I can get it because, after all, I’ve gotten it before—a little.
Even recently I’ve gotten it. As I have tried to discipline myself to think positively on a continual basis, especially regarding my body, I have felt the happiness that I desire to feel all the time to some (heretofore small) degree.
Still reading Conversations With God, Part Three, and still loving it. Today read a passage in which the God character discusses people who’ve had near-death experiences. He says that even though these experiences are incredibly powerful and life-changing (like the spiritual awakenings that many of the rest of us have had, only much more extreme), after a time the person usually forgets what they’ve learned.
“Is there a way to keep remembering?” Walsch’s character asks God.
God replies that there is. He says that we must remember that the world we see around us is really an illusion, and that instead of acting based on what we see and experience here and now we must act according to what we know is really true, in the world beyond this temporary physical place. Because in the world of the spirit, everything is perfect, everything is beautiful, everything is right, and there is no sin, and no pain, and no fear and no struggle, nor will there ever be.
And that is of course my true goal in life, my challenge—the challenge not just of losing weight, but of achieving enlightenment, and of finally being truly, deeply happy. Not just fulfilled—not just pretty happy.
But really, really, truly, smiling, singing, spreading-it-around, happy.
I have never experienced this feeling on a continual basis, but I have gotten glimpses of it—recently quite a few, actually. I’ve known what it’s like to be able to hold on to my understanding that it is all much bigger than this visible world, with its longing, its pain, its perceived desire—even one as huge and consuming as the desire to be thin—and that it is all truly well with my soul, and with the world, and it always would really be.
Okay, so these aren’t the expected choices. They’re not all classics or best sellers, or even the most substantial, information-heavy works. But I stand by my selections in this list. They’re the alternative spirituality books I liked the most. The most inspiring, the most fun to read–and the ones that helped me the most, too.
So there.
Best of the Best: My Favorite Alternative Spirituality Books of All
The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment, Eckhart Tolle A New Earth, Eckhart Tolle Loving What Is: Four Questions That Can Change Your Life, Byron Katie and Stephen Mitchell I Need Your Love – Is That True?: How to Stop Seeking Love, Approval, and Appreciation and Start Finding Them, Byron Katie and Michael Katz Who Would You Be Without Your Story?: Dialogues with Byron Katie, Byron Katie Conversations with God, Parts One through Three, Neale Donald Walsch Biocentrism: How Life and Consciousness are the Keys to Understanding the True Nature of the Universe, Robert Lanza and Bob Berman 100 Daily Messages Volumes One through Four, Leta Hamilton and Archangel Michael Ask and It Is Given: Learning to Manifest Your Desires, Esther Hicks, Jerry Hicks and Abraham Molecules of Emotion: Why You Feel the Way You Feel, Candace Pert Dying to Be Me, Anita Moorjani Autobiography of a Yogi, Paramahansa Yogananda The Search For Grace: A Documented Case of Murder and Reincarnation, Bruce Goldberg Zero Limits: The Secret Hawaiian System for Wealth, Health, Peace, and More, Joe Vitale Eat Pray Love, Elizabeth Gilbert Many Lives, Many Masters: The True Story of a Prominent Psychiatrist, His Young Patient, and the Past-Life Therapy That Changed Both Their Lives, Brian Weiss Ten Percent Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works–A True Story, Dan Harris The Miracle of Mindfulness: An Introduction to the Practice of Meditation, Thich Nhat Hanh Whatever Arises, Love That, Matt Kahn Fringe-ology: How I Tried to Explain Away the Unexplainable–and Couldn’t, Steve Volk A Field Guide to Lucid Dreaming, Dylan Tuccillo, Jared Zeizel and Thomas Peisel The Shack, William Young A Severe Mercy, Sheldon Vanauken The Practice of the Presence of God, Brother Lawrence
Every day, science is merging with spirituality in new and fascinating ways. The fields of physics, neuroscience, positive psychology and many more are offering us some of the most coffee shop conversation-worthy stories out there.
When you’re in the mood to expand your scientific knowledge (to impress a date, maybe?); to learn more about various super practical, scientifically researched spiritual practices; or simply to become a smarter, more well-rounded person, flip through one or more of these awesome works. There’s so much nerdy fun in their pages. And remember: the more heavy stuff you read, the lighter the next heavy stuff gets. Kinda funny how that works, but it does.
I chose the books in the first section because they inspired me deeply, changed me for the better and helped me find greater inner peace. The second section features many of the other scientific spiritual books that come with a halfway decent recommendation of some kind, either from a friend or online.
If you come across another book that deserves to be here, do let me know.
Best Scientific Spiritual Books
Biocentrism: How Life and Consciousness are the Keys to Understanding the True Nature of the Universe, Robert Lanza and Bob Berman The User Illusion: Cutting Consciousness Down to Size, Tor Nørretranders Lucid Dreaming: Gateway to the Inner Self, Robert Waggoner A Field Guide to Lucid Dreaming,Dylan Tuccillo, Jared Zeizel and Thomas Peisel Lucid Dreaming: A Concise Guide to Awakening in Your Dreams and in Your Life, Stephen LaBerge Fringe-ology: How I Tried to Explain Away the Unexplainable–and Couldn’t, Steve Volk How God Changes Your Brain: Breakthrough Findings From a Leading Neuroscientist, Andrew B. Newberg and Mark Robert Waldman Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself, Joe Dispenza Everything You Need to Know to Feel Go(o)d, Candace Pert Molecules of Emotion: Why You Feel the Way You Feel, Candace Pert
Other Recommended Scientific Spiritual Books
You Are the Placebo: Making Your Mind Matter, Joe Dispenza Evolve Your Brain: The Science of Changing Your Mind, Joe Dispenza The Honeymoon Effect: The Science of Creating Heaven on Earth, Bruce Lipton The Biology of Belief: Unleashing the Power of Consciousness, Matter, & Miracles, Bruce Lipton The Wisdom of Your Cells: How Your Beliefs Control Your Biology, Bruce Lipton Spontaneous Evolution: Our Positive Future and a Way to Get There from Here, Bruce Lipton and Steve Bhaerman The Spiritual Brain: Science and Religious Experience, Andrew Newberg Why God Won’t Go Away: Brain Science and the Biology of Belief, Andrew B. Newberg Why We Believe What We Believe: Our Biological Need for Meaning, Spirituality, and Truth, Andrew B. Newberg and Mark Robert Waldman Words Can Change Your Brain: 12 Conversation Strategies to Build Trust, Resolve Conflict, and Increase Intimacy, Andrew B. Newberg and Mark Robert Waldman The Mystical Mind: Probing the Biology of Religious Experience, Andrew B. Newberg and Eugene G.d’Aquili The Immortal Mind: Science and the Continuity of Consciousness Beyond the Brain, Ervin Laszlo and Anthony Peake Return to the Brain of Eden: Restoring the Connection between Neurochemistry and Consciousness, Tony Wright and Graham Gynn The Quantum Doctor: A Quantum Physicist Explains the Healing Power of Integrative Medicine, Amit Goswami Secrets of Your Cells: Discovering Your Body’s Inner Intelligence, Sondra Barret The Physics of Angels: Exploring the Realm Where Science and Spirit Meet, Rupert Sheldrake and Matthew Fox Mind Over Medicine: Scientific Proof That You Can Heal Yourself, Lissa Rankin M.D. One Mind: How Our Individual Mind Is Part of a Greater Consciousness and Why It Matters, Larry Dossey The Turning Point: Creating Resilience in a Time of Extremes, Gregg Braden The God Code: The Secret of our Past, the Promise of our Future, Gregg Braden The Spontaneous Healing of Belief: Shattering the Paradigm of False Limits, Gregg Braden The Divine Matrix: Bridging Time, Space, Miracles, and Belief, Gregg Braden How Your Mind Can Heal Your Body, David R. Hamilton
Generally speaking, reading about meditation is much less helpful than just practicing meditation. Maybe that’s why I haven’t read as many books on this spirituality subcategory as I would like to have done.
Yeah. That must be the reason.
In any case. We all need at least a few on our spirituality bookshelf; after all, meditation is a requirement for life these days. Or at least a requirement for “being spiritual.”
And hey–there is good reason for that. First, meditation actually is as awesome as they say it is. Second, and more important: mediation isn’t just one thing. For me and many other alternative spirituality types, meditation is, well, pretty much whatever we say it is. You could walk a dog and call it a dog walking meditation; I do.
Best Meditation Books
The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment, Eckhart Tolle A New Earth, Eckhart Tolle Stillness Speaks, Eckhart Tolle Practicing the Power of Now, Eckhart Tolle Meditation Without Gurus, Clark Strand When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times, Pema Chodron The Wisdom of No Escape And the Path of Loving-Kindness, Pema Chodron Ten Percent Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works–A True Story, Dan Harris The Miracle of Mindfulness: An Introduction to the Practice of Meditation, Thich Nhat Hanh Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life, Thich Nhat Hanh Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness, Jon Kabat-Zinn Meditation: How to Reduce Stress, Get Healthy, and Find Your Happiness in Just 15 Minutes a Day, Rachel Rofe
Other Recommended Meditation Books
Pema Chodron
Always Maintain a Joyful Mind And Other Lojong Teachings on Awakening Compassion and Fearlessness, Pema Chodron Awakening Loving-Kindness, Pema Chodron Comfortable With Uncertainty: 108 Teachings, Pema Chodron Don’t Bite the Hook: Finding Freedom From Anger and Other Destructive Emotions, Pema Chodron Hooked! Buddhist Writings on Greed, Desire, and the Urge to Consume, Pema Chodron Living Beautifully With Uncertainty and Change, Pema Chodron No Time to Lose: A Timely Guide to the Way of the Bodhisattva, Pema Chodron Start Where You Are: A Guide to Compassionate Living, Pema Chodron Taking the Leap: Freeing Ourselves From Old Habits and Fears, Pema Chodron The Places That Scare You: A Guide To Fearlessness, Pema Chodron The Pocket Pema Chodron, Pema Chodron This Moment is the Perfect Teacher: 10 Buddhist Teachings on Cultivating Inner Strength and Compassion, Pema Chodron Tonglen: The Path of Transformation, Pema Chodron Awakening Compassion: Meditation Practice for Difficult Times, Pema Chodron Awakening Love: Teachings and Practices to Cultivate a Limitless Heart, Pema Chodron Bodhisattva Mind: Teachings to Cultivate Courage and Awareness in the Midst of Suffering, Pema Chodron Coming Closer to Ourselves: Making Everything the Path of Awakening, Pema Chodron Fully Alive: A Retreat with Pema Chödrön on Living Beautifully With Uncertainty and Change, Pema Chodron From Fear to Fearlessness: Teachings on the Four Great Catalysts of Awakening, Pema Chodron Getting Unstuck: Breaking Your Habitual Patterns and Encountering Naked Reality, Pema Chodron Giving Our Best: A Retreat With Pema Chödrön on Practicing the Way of the Bodhisattva, Pema Chodron Good Medicine: How to Turn Pain Into Compassion With Tonglen Meditation, Pema Chodron How to Meditate: A Practical Guide to Making Friends With Your Mind, Pema Chodron In Conversation: On the Meaning of Suffering and the Mystery of Joy, Pema Chodron Karma: Finding Freedom in This Moment, Pema Chodron Natural Awareness: Guided Meditations and Teachings for Welcoming All Experience, Pema Chodron No Time to Lose: A Timely Guide to the Way of the Bodhisattva, Pema Chodron Noble Heart: A Self-Guided Retreat on Befriending Your Obstacles, Pema Chodron Practicing Peace in Times of War, Pema Chodron Pure Meditation: The Tibetan Buddhist Practice Of Inner Peace, Pema Chodron Smile at Fear: A Retreat with Pema Chödrön on Discovering Your Radiant Self-Confidence, Pema Chodron The Pema Chödrön Collection, Pema Chodron The Three Commitments: Walking the Path of Liberation, Pema Chodron The Truth of Our Existence: Four Teachings from the Buddha to Illuminate Your Life, Pema Chodron True Happiness, Pema Chodron Unconditional Confidence For Meeting Any Experience With Trust and Courage, Pema Chodron Walking the Walk: Putting the Teachings Into Practice When it Matters Most, Pema Chodron When Pain is the Doorway: Awakening in the Most Difficult Circumstances, Pema Chodron
Jon Kabat-Zinn
The Power of Meditation and Prayer, Jon Kabat-Zinn, Sogyal Rinpoche, Larry Dossey, and Michael Toms Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life, Jon Kabat-Zinn Everyday Blessings: The Inner Work of Mindful Parenting, Jon Kabat-Zinn and Myla Kabat-Zinn Mindfulness Meditation for Everyday Life, Jon Kabat-Zinn Coming to Our Senses: Healing Ourselves and the World Through Mindfulness, Jon Kabat-Zinn The Mindful Way Through Depression: Freeing Yourself from Chronic Unhappiness, J. Mark G. Williams, John D. Teasdale, Zindel V. Segal and Jon Kabat-Zinn Arriving at Your Own Door, Jon Kabat-Zinn Living Buddha, Living Christ, Thich Nhat Hanh Letting Everything Become Your Teacher: 100 Lessons in Mindfulness, Jon Kabat-Zinn The Mind’s Own Physician: A Scientific Dialogue with the Dalai Lama on the Healing Power of Meditation, Jon Kabat-Zinn and Richard Davidson
Sharon Salzberg
Lovingkindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness, Sharon Salzberg Real Happiness: The Power of Meditation: A 28-Day Program, Sharon Salzberg Heart as Wide as the World, Sharon Salzberg Voices of Insight, Sharon Salzberg Faith: Trusting Your Own Deepest Experience, Sharon Salzberg The Force of Kindness: Change Your Life with Love and Compassion, Sharon Salzberg The Kindness Handbook: A Practical Companion, Sharon Salzberg Real Happiness at Work: Meditations for Accomplishment, Achievement, and Peace, Sharon Salzberg Love Your Enemies: How to Break the Anger Habit & Be a Whole Lot Happier, Sharon Salzberg and Robert Thurman
Joseph Goldstein
Seeking the Heart of Wisdom: The Path of Insight Meditation, Joseph Goldstein and Jack Kornfield The Experience of Insight: A Simple and Direct Guide to Buddhist Meditation, Joseph Goldstein Insight Meditation: The Practice of Freedom, Joseph Goldstein The Path of Insight Meditation, Joseph Goldstein and Jack Kornfield Insight Meditation: A Step-By-Step Course on How to Meditate, Joseph Goldstein, with Sharon Salzberg One Dharma: The Emerging Western Buddhism, Joseph Goldstein A Heart Full of Peace, Joseph Goldstein and Jack Kornfield Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Awakening, Joseph Goldstein and Jack Kornfield
Thich Nhat Hanh
Vietnam: Lotus in a Sea of Fire, Thich Nhat Hanh Being Peace, Thich Nhat Hanh The Sun My Heart, Thich Nhat Hanh Our Appointment with Life: Sutra on Knowing the Better Way to Live Alone, Thich Nhat Hanh Old Path White Clouds: Walking in the Footsteps of the Buddha, Thich Nhat Hanh The Diamond That Cuts Through Illusion, Commentaries on the Prajnaparamita Diamond Sutra, Thich Nhat Hanh ‘Hermitage Among the Clouds’, Thich Nhat Hanh Zen Keys: A Guide to Zen Practice, Thich Nhat Hanh Cultivating The Mind Of Love, Thich Nhat Hanh The Heart Of Understanding, Thich Nhat Hanh Transformation and Healing: Sutra on the Four Establishments of Mindfulness, Thich Nhat Hanh True Love: A Practice for Awakening the Heart, Thich Nhat Hanh Fragrant Palm Leaves: Journals, 1962-1966, Thich Nhat Hanh Going Home: Jesus and Buddha as Brothers, Thich Nhat Hanh The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching, Thich Nhat Hanh The Raft Is Not the Shore: Conversations Toward a Buddhist/Christian Awareness, Thich Nhat Hanh and Daniel Berrigan The Path of Emancipation: Talks from a 21-Day Mindfulness Retreat, Thich Nhat Hanh A Pebble in Your Pocket, Thich Nhat Hanh Essential Writings, Thich Nhat Hanh Anger, Thich Nhat Hanh Be Free Where You Are, Thich Nhat Hanh No Death, No Fear, Thich Nhat Hanh Touching the Earth: Intimate Conversations with the Buddha, Thich Nhat Hanh Teachings on Love, Thich Nhat Hanh Understanding Our Mind, Thich Nhat Hanh Buddha Mind, Buddha Body: Walking Toward Enlightenment, Thich Nhat Hanh The Art of Power, Thich Nhat Hanh Under the Banyan Tree, Thich Nhat Hanh Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life, Thich Nhat Hanh Reconciliation: Healing the Inner Child, Thich Nhat Hanh You Are Here: Discovering the Magic of the Present Moment, Thich Nhat Hanh The Novice: A Story of True Love, Thich Nhat Hanh Your True Home: The Everyday Wisdom of Thich Nhat Hanh, Thich Nhat Hanh Fear: Essential Wisdom for Getting Through the Storm, Thich Nhat Hanh The Pocket, Thich Nhat Hanh The Art of Communicating, Thich Nhat Hanh Blooming of a Lotus, Thich Nhat Hanh No Mud, No Lotus: The Art of Transforming Suffering, Thich Nhat Hanh Is Nothing Something?, Thich Nhat Hanh Mindful Movements, Thich Nhat Hanh
Clark Strand
Waking up to the Dark: Ancient Wisdom for a Sleepless Age, Clark Strand Waking the Buddha: How the Most Dynamic and Empowering Buddhist Movement in History Is Changing Our Concept of Religion, Clark Strand How to Believe in God: Whether You Believe in Religion or Not, Clark Strand The Wooden Bowl: Simple Meditations for Everyday Life, Clark Strand Seeds from a Birch Tree: Writing Haiku and the Spiritual Journey, Clark Strand
Other Authors
Oneness With All Life, Eckhart Tolle Guardians of Being, Eckhart Tolle Catching the Big Fish: Meditation, Consciousness, and Creativity, David Lynch Zen Meditation in Plain English, John Daishin Buksbazen Buddhism Without Beliefs: A Contemporary Guide to Awakening, Stephen Batchelor The Zen Way, Myokyo-ni How to Be a Yogi, Swami Abhedananda The Way of Zen, Alan Watts Love, Freedom, Aloneness: The Koan of Relationships, Osho Awakening the Buddha Within: Tibetan Wisdom for the Western World, Surya Das
Reading the wonderful Matt Kahn’s book, Whatever Arises, Love That. (Great title, eh?) So, the main message is to send love to whatever comes up in your experience, which is what Eckhart Tolle, my friend Leta Hamilton, and many others agree is one of the most useful spiritual practices you can do.
And man, I super suck at it.
I don’t love a lot of things. A whole lot of things. My ego is just always–right–there. I can’t let go of my opinion long enough to love what is, even though I know that doing so is the core definition of humility.
I really don’t know how to be humble. But I’m working on it.
