Favorite Spiritual Books

Whether you are a spiritual seeker or you hope to deepen your experience in your own tradition, the following books may help guide you along your path. Throughout Beliefnet's discussion boards, members have talked about the books that have had the greatest spiritual impact on their lives. A multifaith mix of their favorites. (For basic religion books, click here.)

"I accept that [The 'Left Behind' series] is fiction. But if this series can bring others like me back to the Word and closer to God then this series has done a great service to humankind."

--Tman8224

The Left Behind Series by Tim Lahaye and Jerry B. Jenkins (Talk about it)
The Promise by Chaim Potok
The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley (Talk about it)
The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis (Talk about it)
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupery
Siddhartha by Herman Hesse
The Brothers Karamozov by Fyodor Dostoevsky
The Last Temptation of Christ by Nicholas Katzenzakis

"It is interesting how different are the books and writings which have the most meaning for us, and the paths which we follow."

--Inkywhip

Wherever You Go, There You Are by Jon Kabat-Zinn
Praying Like Jesus by James Mulholland
Jewish Meditation by Aryeh Kaplan
Meditation and Life by Swami Chinmayananda
The Knitting Sutra by Susan Gordon Lydon
Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind by Shunryu Suzuki
The Prayer of Jabez by Bruce H. Wilkinson
The Cloud of Unknowing translated by William Johnston
Seeking the Heart of Wisdom by Joseph Goldstein and Jack Kornfield

"['The Spiral Dance'] happened to be one of the first I read years ago when I was initially looking into neo-paganism, and, to this day, every time I pick it up to look up something I find new revelations."

--zenfoster

Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
God in Search of Man by Abraham Joshua Heschel
The Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda
The Book of Mormon by Joseph Smith
The Spiral Dance by Starhawk
The Marriage of Heaven and Hell by William Blake
Tao Te Ching translated by Stephen Mitchell
The Poetic Edda translated by Carolyne Larrington
The Essential Rumi translated by Coleman Barks
God Is Red by Vine Deloria, Jr.
The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran
Be Here Now by Ram Dass
I and Thou by Martin Buber
The Bhagavad Gita translated by Eknath Easwaran (Talk about it)
The Perennial Philosophy by Aldous Huxley
Mysticism by Evelyn Underhill

"What I got most from ['When Bad Things Happen to Good People'] was the idea of 'letting go' of pieces of my religion that were no longer working for me. I just needed someone to tell me that was okay..."

--MoonlightReid

If You Meet the Buddha on the Road, Kill Him by Sheldon Kopp
When Bad Things Happen to Good People by Harold S. Kushner
Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time by Marcus Borg
Alcoholics Anonymous a.k.a. "The Big Book"
When Things Fall Apart by Pema Chodron
The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron
The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield (Talk about it)
Awakening the Buddha Within by Lama Surya Das
Chicken Soup for the Soul by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen
Peace Is Every Step by Thich Naht Hanh
What's So Amazing About Grace? by Philip Yancey

"['The Power of a Praying Wife'] basically made me realize that as a wife and mother, I am expected to do a lot and there is just no way I can do it all without God's help..."

--LizMorton

Shakti Women by Vickie Noble
Women Who Run With the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes
Daughters of a Different Path by Carol L. Anway
The Power of a Praying Wife by Stormie & Martie Omartian (Talk about it)
A Woman's Journey to the Heart of God by Cynthia Heald
Adrian's Thread by Shekhinah Mountainwater
Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom by Christiane Northrup
At the Root of This Longing by Carol Lee Flinders

"I'm not Orthodox, but the deeply contemplative nature of ['The Mountain of Silence'] spoke very strongly to me. I think the spiritual truths discussed in the book are universal and can both comfort and challenge seekers of all faiths."

--mmihalakis

Open Mind, Open Heart by Thomas Keating
The Mountain of Silence by Kyriacos C. Markides
Contemplative Prayer by Thomas Merton
The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence
Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard
Walden by Henry David Thoreau

"'Finding Your Religion' by Rev. Scotty MacLennon was helpful to me in pointing out that you must choose a path and follow it. You will never get anywhere wandering from path to path."

--neelie502001

The Seat of the Soul by Gary Zukav
Care of the Soul by Thomas Moore
The Art of Happiness by His Holiness the Dalai Lama
The Invitation by Oriah Mountain Dreamer
Simple Abundance by Sara Ban Breathnach
How to Know God by Deepak Chopra
Amazing Grace by Kathleen Norris
The World's Religions by Huston Smith
The Sacred and the Profane by Mircea Eliade
Original Blessing by Matthew Fox
Finding Your Religion by Scotty McLennan

"The best spiritual book I have read and recommend to everyone is 'The Four Agreements' by Don Miguel Ruiz. It's a very small book, only 168 pages, but packs a whollop!"

--shaner

The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz
Sacred Contracts by Caroline Myss
The Creative Visualization Workbook by Shakti Gawain
Way of the Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman
Conversations With God by Neale Donald Walsch (Talk about it)
A Course in Miracles by Helen Shucman (Talk about it)
Adventures of a Psychic by Sylvia Brown