Several books have been instrumental in my spiritual growth, though not all are strictly spiritual. I recommend these for anyone following a personal growth urge.
Conversations with God by Neale Donald Walsch. This book started me on my spiritual growth path. This was one of those books that simply embraced me with the beauty and wonder of the God I had been longing for. Written in a conversational question and answer format, it is easy to understand, although some concepts may be shocking to those raised in conventional or fundamental religions.
Friendship with God by Neale Donald Walsch is my favorite book of Walsch’s series. This book positions God as a partner and friend, rather than the traditional view of God as father. This book stimulated the title of my weekly ezine, Partnering with God.
The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle is my next favorite book after the Conversations with God books. Tolle focuses on one concept (also covered by Walsch); that life is now. Focusing on now allows one to avoid much of the complication and difficulty brought on by worry for the future or guilt about the past. If you were to read only two books this year, The Power of Now is one of the two I recommend. The second book I would recommend is the following:
A New Beginning II by Abraham-Hicks. Like Tolle’s book, this book has a single point and makes it effectively: we create our lives by our thoughts, actions, and emotions. Thinking positive (high frequency) thoughts attracts more positive (high frequency) events; this is the law of attraction, and it applies to everything about your life. Wanting a life improvement while feeling negative (low frequency vibrations) simply brings more negative events. Every spiritual book makes this point, though none as effectively, in my opinion.
Another Abraham-Hicks book, Sara and the Foreverness of Friends of a Feather is a great gift for children aged six or up. This book presents the positive thinking concept in a child’s story, very effectively guiding children toward postive approaches to life. This book, though, is not just for children. Many adults enjoy it as well. There are two additional books in this series.
Let Your Life Speak by Parker J. Palmer is a small book with a powerful point; that is, the successes in your life speak to who you are and the failures–equally valuable–speak to who you aren’t. Knowing ourselves is the first step toward life success. Several books by Marcia Sinetar present this same theme effectively.
Finally, though I’ve probably left out several books which have influenced me, Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom is a small book about the life of a man dying of Lou Gehrig’s disease. But it’s not a morbid book. It’s a book of inspiration and hope, and a celebration of the cycles of life.
I’d like to know your favorite books, and your opinons of these books. Either comment to this article, or write to me at jerry@yourcoachtosuccess.com.
Jerry
