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Every moment
is an invitation
to let go
of the image of how life “should” be,
to let go of the hope
that this moment
is going to be any different,
And to embrace
this moment
exactly as it is.
– Jeff Foster
Come, come, whoever you are.
Wanderer, worshiper, lover of leaving.
It doesn’t matter. Ours is not a caravan
Of despair. Come, even if you have
broken your vows a thousand times.
Come, yet again, come, come.
– Jelaluddin Rumi
It doesn’t have to be
the blue iris, it could be
weeds in a vacant lot, or a few
small stones; just
pay attention, then patch
a few words together and don’t try
to make them elaborate, this isn’t
a contest but the doorway
into thanks, and a silence in which
another voice may speak.
– Mary Oliver
Play of Consciousness
Baba Muktananda
Journey through the transformative path to self-realization with Swami Muktananda’s enlightening spiritual autobiography.
Essential Rumi
Rumi
Fall in love with the mystical teachings and poetry of this intoxicating poet and Sufi mystic.
I Heard God Laughing
Hafiz
Steep yourself in the cherished wisdom of the divinely inspired poetry of this 14th century Persian poet.
Tao Te Ching
Lao Tzu
Essential wisdom for the art of living.
Care of the Soul
Thomas Moore
The title says it all, “A guide for cultivating depth and sacredness in everyday life.”
Radical Acceptance
Tara Brach
If there’s one golden key that I could magically impart to all of my clients it would be to learn the art of radical acceptance. Let Tara Brach show you how.
Letters to a Young Poet
Rilke
Rilke Definitely one of my ‘desert island’ picks. Correspondence between the Austrian poet Rilke and an aspiring young poet in which Rilke declines to comment on the young poet’s work by admonishing “Nobody can advise you and help you, nobody. There is only one way. Go into yourself.”
Big Magic
Elizabeth Gilbert
Let Liz Gilbert inspire you and ignite your curiosity in this insightful book about the art and magic of creativity.
Writing Down the Bones
Natalie Goldberg
A meditative and creative guide to finding and freeing one’s authentic voice through writing. For the creatively fearful; she gives you permission to write heaps of trash until you stumble upon something beautiful.
Inner Work
Robert A. Johnson
Using Dreams and Active Imagination for Personal Growth: A veritable bible of Jungian depth psychological practices. Another desert island pick. If you’re interested in working with dreams and the imagination, there is no better road map than what Dr. Johnson provides here. If this is an interest of yours and you’re not familiar with this book: You’re welcome!
Living and Examined Life
James hollis, PhD
The title says it all. Hollis is truly a gem. Enjoy.
Trauma and the Soul
Donald Kalsched
A psycho-spiritual approach to human development and its interruption-Donald Kalsched: An exploration of trauma through a depth psychological lens.
No Bad Parts
Richard C. Schwartz, PhD
An exploration of internal family systems, a therapeutic modality that helps one heal and integrate their internal conflicts through reintegrating parts of the psyche. As Walt Whitman so beautiful elaborated, “Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contradict myself, (I am large, I contain multitudes.)”
it Didn't Start With You
Mark Wolynn
An exploration of the transgenerational inheritance of symptoms that we think are ours but maybe they didn’t start with us. Check out his Youtube talk on the topic. You can also search epigenetics and Emory University cherry blossom study. Interesting stuff.
Complex PTSD
Pete Walker
A guide for exploring recovery from childhood trauma.
The Anatomy of Anxiety
Ellen Vora, M.D.
A helpful exploration of anxiety in which holistic psychiatrist, Dr. Vora makes the distinction that not all anxiety is created equal. In particular, she emphasizes that the origins of anxiety are rooted in the body and that anxiety is a whole-body condition rather than simply a mental health disorder.
The Body Keeps the Score
Bessel Van Der Kolk, M.D.
An exploration of the psychobiological effects of trauma including possible treatment modalities.
Darkness Visible
William Styron
A memoir of this author’s decent into darkness and the triumph of his recovery.
How to Change Your Mind
Michael Pollan
Explore frontiers of healing and consciousness with author and journalist, Michael Pollan.
Attached.
Amir levine, M.D., & Rachel Heller, M.A.
Exploration of attachment theory and attachment styles.
Let Your Life Speak
Parker J. Palmer
An autobiographical exploration of vocation and calling. “Before you tell your life what you intend to do with it, listen for what it intends to do with you.”
The Way of the Shaman
Michael Harner
Step into the world of core shamanism with Michael Harner’s groundbreaking introduction to the foundational practices of core shamanism.
Cave and Cosmos
Michael Harner
Delve deeper into the practices and mysteries of shamanism as Michael Harner shares compilations of his own and various other people’s life changing experiences with shamanic journeying.
Quit Like A Woman
Holly Whitaker
A memoir about recovery and sobriety. Not just for women!
“Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books that are now written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given to you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.”
Rainer Maria Rilke
