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Favorite Books about
the Self and Spirit
A couple of decades ago, I received a message via a well-known psychic that I didn’t need to read one more metaphysical book or how-to guide to know what I need to know and to do what I came here to do. But I was already hooked on Louise Hay’s Heal Your Body and Shakti Gawain’s Creative Visualization, classics like Richard Maurice Bucke’s 1901 Cosmic Consciousness: A Study on the Evolution of the Human Mind and true confessions like Bob Monroe’s Journeys Out of the Body. So I ignored the celestial memo, gleaning in each subsequent find, answers about the mystery and majesty of our existence. Each book brought me closer, I sensed, to a peek behind the veil. And that’s what’s happened!
Following are a list of favorites. Should you want to read books about a specific area of interest, with the intent to absorb either the earliest or the most recent writing I favor, I’ve taken care to list titles by topic and in order of date of publication. I’ve bought and read them all, certain pages and portions drawing me back for rereading through the years. The ones that made the cut also had the most notes and exclamation marks in the margins; they have the most highlighted passages, underlined sentences, and folded corners, too. What may be old-hat to me now was, at one or another point in my life, “Wow!”-worthy. I love all these books, but I’ve placed an asterisk (*) in front of a baker’s dozen that have had the greatest impact. It was fun to compile! |
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| SELF-ACTUALIZATION |
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Awakening Loving-Kindness (1996) and others by Buddhist nun Pema Chodron; it’s a portable, pocket-sized primer about the essence of life. |
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Loving What Is: Four Questions That Can Change Your Life (2002); by Byron Katie, written with Stephen Mitchell and known as “the work” which Eckhart Tolle called “a great blessing for our planet.” |
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A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose (2009) and, earlier, The Power of Now (1997) by Eckhart Tolle; an “Oprah’s favorite” about transcending ego (the pain body) by living in the present moment and, doing so, changing the world. |
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Infinite Possibilities: the Art of Living Your Dreams (2002) by Mike Dooley, also the creator of Notes from the Universe (at www.tut.com), emailed messages that bring light, insights, and laughter to subscribers across the globe. |
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The Untethered Soul: the Journey Beyond Yourself (2007) by Michael A. Singer, about moving beyond perceived limitation. |
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The Essential Wayne Dyer (2013), The Power Of Intention (2004) and others by Wayne Dyer, the “father of self-motivation” and late popular, prolific author/speaker. |
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| METAPHYSICAL REALITIES / PHILOSOPHY |
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The Varieties of Religious Experience (1902) by William James; still in print, over a century later, it’s a call for the scientific study of religion. |
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Autobiography of a Yogi (1946) by Paramahansa Yogananda, the life story of “the Father of yoga in the West” and founder of the Self-Realization Fellowship; critics cite it as one of the best autobiographies of all time. |
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The Universe Is a Green Dragon (1984) by Brian Swimme; a physicist explains the “stuff of being” via a dialogue between a youth and “Thomas,” (cosmologist Thomas Berry). |
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The Seat of the Soul by Gary Zukav (1989), the National Book Award winner for The Dancing Wu Li Masters (1979), explores the present stage in the evolution of humankind. |
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Starseed: the Third Millennium: Living in the Post-Historic Age (1991) by Ken Carey, experiential educator and mystic. |
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The Children of Now (2007), Parenting the Children of Now (2009), Children of Now: Evolution (2014) by Meg Blackburn Losey, MD; works which identify a large number of children with inherent gifts, like psychic abilities, telepathy. |
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| OUT-OF-BODY EXPERIENCES (OBEs) |
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Journeys Out of the Body (1971), Far Journeys (1985), Ultimate Journey (1985) by Robert Monroe (programs and hemi-sync sound CDs via the Monroe Institute (TMI) ) |
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Adventures Beyond the Body: How To Experience Out-Of-Body Travel (1996), The Secret of the Soul (2001), and Adventures in the Afterlife (2013) by William Buhlman, who teaches the method at TMI and independently. |
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Pyramids of Light (2004) by Meg Blackburn Losey, addressing multi-dimensional realities and travel via another set of steps/stages. |
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Explorations In Consciousness: A New Approach To Out-Of-Body Experiences (2012) by Frederick Aardema, a clinical researcher who brings a scientific perspective to the phenomenon. |
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| NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCES (NDEs) |
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Life After Life by Raymond Moody (1975), a primer and a classic in the field. |
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Saved By the Light by Dannion Brinkley, Paul Perry, and Raymond Moody (1994). |
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Dying to Be Me by Anita Moorjani (2012) about an NDE and miraculous healing. |
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Proof of Heaven by Eben Alexander (2013), a formerly brain-dead neurosurgeon’s near-death experience. |
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Application of Impossible Things by Natalie Sudman (2012/2014). |
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Near Death Experience Research Foundation (NDERF) |
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| COMMUNICATION WITH OTHER SIDE / MEDIUMSHIP |
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The After-Life Experiments (2003) by Gary Schwartz, Ph.D. |
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Life After Death: the Burden of Proof (2006) by Deepak Chopra, who asserts that a single reality embraces all worlds/dimensions |
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Messages: Signs, Visits, and Premonitions from Loved Ones Lost On 9/11 (2010) by Bonnie McEneaney |
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*Your Soul’s Gift: the Healing Power of the Life You Planned Before You Were Born (2012) and The Soul’s Plan ( 2007/2009) by Robert Schwartz. |
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| CHANNELING |
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Seth Speaks; the Eternal Validity of the Soul (1972), The Nature of Personal Reality (1974), and others channeled by Jane Roberts |
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A Course In Miracles aka ACIM (1976), (an inner voice channeled and identified as the Voice [of God]) by Helen Schucman, with portions transcribed and edited by William Thetford; called a course of self-study, it has spawned many groups around the world dedicated to spiritual transformation. |
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Opening to Channel (1987) by Sanaya Roman and Duane Packer (a step-by-step guide) |
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Writing the Mind Alive: the Proprioceptive Method Of Finding Your Authentic Voice (2002) by Linda Metcalf and Tobin Simon; a guide for connecting more deeply with one’s spiritual self |
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Ask and It Is Given (2004), The Vortex (2009), and others by Esther Hicks and Jerry Hicks who prefer the word “inspiration” to “channeling” re: the teachings of a nonphysical entity Abraham, with guidance about how to manifest abundance and find purpose via a joyful life. |
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The Book of Knowing and Worth (2013) and The Book of Mastery (2016), the two most recent titles in an ongoing series of books channeled by Paul Selig. |
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Infinite Purpose: Care Instructions for Your True Calling (2015) including a workbook format to use with eight channeled messages from a collective of guides called Spirit, by Liv Lane and Lori Portka. (In the spirit of full disclosure, I’m Liv’s proud mama.) |
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