2017-07-12
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."


 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."


 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."


 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..."


 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..."


 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."


 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."


 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!"


 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


more from beliefnet and our partners