Monday, July 21, 2014

Favorite Spiritual Books, Movies and Websites




Books

Spiritual Treasures – Final Edition By Hans Neukomm (this is a free ebook)
A comprehension collection of spiritual teachings, notable for having many practical recommendations for making lifestyle and other life changes. The teachings also include detailed techniques for learning various spiritual practices and are easy to understand, even for those without a formal education. These teachings provide the foundation for Roger's spiritual path. They are available for download for free. If you are not familiar with using torrent software, unarchiving large files and verifying a file's integrity using a md5sum check, you may find this tutorial helpful: A Guide to Managing the Spiritual Treasures. If you would like to read a sample of the Spiritual Treasures, a few chapters have been published online independently, some of my favorite ones are in the collection: God is Love.

A book with a 10 week program which teaches a simple form of meditation and provides a methodical way to apply spiritual principles throughout one's daily routine. The program's strength is that it shows one how to use their current life as a school for spiritual lessons. The goal of the author is to help other's learn to feel God's presence by developing their capacity to process emotions, while maintaining positive intentions. Near the end of the book, the author, Michael Brown shares a story of transformation that occurred while he was facilitating his program. It is available to read here: Clive and Nadine.

This book feels soooo good to read. Eckhart Tolle became a spiritual author after a powerful spontaneous experience in his life. He had been uninterested in spiritual life and heavily involved in academics, but was miserable. He struggled with severe depression and anxiety. Over time he became more aware of his mind chatter and how irrational it was. One day he finally saw that he was not the mind chatter he had identified with and he had a deep life changing spiritual experience. This book describes his experiences and provides a unique and easy to understand description of ego and some spiritual exercises to help let it go. This book is written in a dialogue format. An equally awesome book is “A New Earth”, also by Tolle, also covering similar topics but in a story format.

Another super feel good book. After Neale went through divorce, lost his job, got injured and ended up living on the street for more than a year... he started asking some big questions with an open mind. This book was the result of a divine dialogue that ensued. I love this book because it is a reminder that anyone can directly commune with God.

Autobiography of a Yogi; By Paramhansa Yogananda
A sincere personal account of the life of a yogi on his path to God Realization and beyond. This book was full of pointers for me. It also stretched my mind as he recounts experiences beyond comprehension. Yogananda speaks highly of kriya yoga in this book. He dispelled the belief in me that one needs to be a monk living in seclusion to seek God Union.

Osho has a unique view of humanity that is straight forward and feels so true. He reiterates many of the spiritual points touched on by other authors. Yet he finds his own way to touch on these topics and he inspired me to further meditation. I found it motivating to see a common thread of truth coming from totally different sources.

Peace is Every Step, By Thich Nhat Hanh
This book is written by a Buddhist monk who lived in Vietnam during the war. He has lived by example the belief that peace is achieved through inner work, not outer control of the world. This book is a short and simple tool that encourages the reader to become more present and mindful during their daily routines. He suggests using common daily distractors (such as a ringing phone or a stop light) as a reminder to come back to the moment of now. He makes breathing fun:)

This book is primarily a tool which uses affirmations to help improve self appreciation. Louise touches on some of her own life experiences which taught her firsthand the importance of not listening to her inner critic. She healed herself of a vaginal cancer without using any medical treatments. Her confidence and authentic positive attitude is contagious in this work.



Movies

A movie based on a school in the UK which uses alternative teaching methods. The kids are given freedom to come to class or not and to pick their own curriculum. But when they do come to class, they must be serious about learning. All the rules used to run the school are determined in a group meeting where every persons vote is equal. The children have equal authority as the adults, and when given real responsibility the children use it appropriately.

A true story of a mountain climber, who during WWI, escaped imprisonment in India by fleeing to Tibet. He ultimately became friends with the Dali Lama at the same time China took over Tibet. Major changes in his goals and personality ensued. Its a heroic story that starts off egocentric and ends spiritually oriented.

A true story. An unlikely friendship develops between a Los Angeles reporter and a musically talented homeless man. Both lives are changed, especially the reporter's. This movie really made things stir inside of me.

The true story of Michael Oher. A super inspiring account of how a wealthy Southern USA white family ends up adopting an abandoned black youth. The support and love they offer ends up inspiring him to do his best in school and sports. He is now a professional football player. The family develops a sense of gratitude as a result of the friendship that resulted.



Websites/Blogs

A website and blog written by a loving husband and wife who share their experiences on a joint spiritual path.

A blog written by Martin Ott sharing some of his spiritual experiences.

My website devoted to providing spiritually oriented resources for health and happiness. It is the platform for my holistic clinic and a place for anyone to find resources they can apply autonomously in their life.


A blog by Kasia Nowotniak.

My absolute favorite source of spiritual teachings. The most comprehensive and soul freeing collection of writings I have ever found :)


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