The 10 Spiritual Books That Changed My Life
I’ve gone and done it! I’ve laid it out! I’m giving away the gold! These are the books that have fundamentally changed my entire being. I’ve benefited immensely from them and with gratitude to the authors, I offer them to you here:
- STARSEED TRANSMISSIONS by Ken Carey– Shortly after Christmas in 1978, for 11 days Missouri farmer Ken Carey’s little cabin in the woods was filled with light. He heard a voice that began:
“I come from the Presence where there is no time but the eternal now. I am a focus of collective human consciousness.”
What followed was a series of beautifully prophetic guidelines for a planetary consciousness transformation:
“Life will be simple and easy. Problems will fall away like dust from your eyes… Already the rivers run with Life and the cities sparkle like diamonds for those with eyes to see.”
The book has special relevance for filmmakers because it provides precise guidance for the way media is to assist the current planetary transformation.
“One of the first orders of business in the process of planetary awakening is the distribution of information. Your communication systems have been waiting for this day. Though it has been abused in the past, in loving hands it is capable of transforming the consciousness of your planet more quickly and efficiently than would otherwise be possible.”
There is also interesting information for writers:
“In this literate culture, you will be working with words, but do not confuse words with the reality that they represent, realized that it will not be the words so much that spread the message as the spirit that you yourselves are able to put behind the words.”
Over the years, one chapter or another will become my guidance manual for action, as if it is speaking directly to me. In fact the book sought me out! About twenty years ago, I was in my local bookstore, Bodhi Tree, just hanging out, checking this and that, when the book came flying out of the shelves and hit me in the face! No joke! This happened to Shirley MacLaine and yes, this really happened to me too! Hahaha!
- THE MAGICAL APPROACH by Seth via Jane Roberts and Robert Butts– Seth’s Magical Approach is my operation manual for life.
The principles are very simple. Once I got it, I got it! And immediately, everything in my life became magical. Synchronicity abounds. I learned from this book how to allow the universe to do the heavy lifting for me. I just play, coast and enjoy life while things I need and people I want just pop up right in front of me automatically, as if by, what else, magic!
Jane Roberts is this very strange looking woman who channeled a being who called himself Seth back in the seventies. Together with her husband, Robert Butts, they have published many books which are transcriptions of Seth’s channeling sessions. All the books are amazing. In order to get the full benefit from The Magical Approach I recommend first reading two other seminal Seth books: THE NATURE OF PERSONAL REALITY and THE INDIVIDUAL AND THE NATURE OF MASS EVENTS. These books lay a good basic foundational understanding of how reality works before you can begin to play advanced magical tricks.
- BLUEPRINT FOR CHANGE by Bashar via Darryl Anka– This book is my bible.
It offers the most concise, clear, unsentimental, scientific explanation to how it all works and how to work it all. Bashar is one of our children from about 300 years in the future coming back to guide us through this current transition from deeply dysfunctional sleeping giants to spiritually awakened gods.
Here are some of the book’s headings:
- Life Works! Life really works. You just need to see how well it is working.
- Believing is Seeing! Not seeing is believing!
- Neutral Situations! Every situation is neutral until you give it a meaning and push it in the direction you want.
- Coincidence? Everything in life is by coincidence, better labeled synchronicity. Nothing is random.
Your life is like a filmmaker making a movie, what the filmmaker didn’t put into the movie you won’t see. So everything you see us put there by purpose.
I’ve saved the most important message for last: Your Present Is Not The Result Of Your Past.
Which leads to the line you will recognize as the Funkmeyer slogan: Follow Your Excitement.
Yes, Bashar is my personal teacher. Ironically I knew Darryl Anka, who channels Bashar, before I was familiar with Bashar. Darryl and I belonged to this “spiritual filmmaking” group and we used to party together. Darryl makes miniatures for movies! What a funny and appropriate thing for a channel to do. Otis didn’t know Darryl but he already loved Bashar when we met. The first thing Otis gave me was this book and I fell, not only for Bashar, but I also fell hard for Otis. The rest is history! Hehe…
- AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A YOGI by Paramahansa Yoganada– Yoganada is the founder of the Self Realization Fellowship. Often I find myself meditating in their beautiful grounds here in Los Angeles.
And what can I say! It’s a blow out good book! Captivating like a sci-fi detective novel from the beginning and then the second half of the book is absolutely jaw-dropping! This is a book about real-life magical beings written by a real-life magical being. The book is filled with stories about mortals like you and me who have broken through what you and I think of as “reality.”
People who have neither eaten nor drank anything for fifty years; people who choose the moment they die; people who sit for hours without breathing!
After reading the accounts, I now believe unequivocally that Christ consciousness is real and alive as well. I believe Jesus really did walk on water, fed 7000 folks with 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread, raised the dead and then came back to life after death. These stories are not “fiction” but true facts!
The funny part is that you can do it too! It’s science, not religion that allows you to live forever. The universe is actually very scientific, governed by concrete laws. The spiritual path and scientific path come from different angles but end up in the same place. Because it’s all just one thing anyway! Hah!
- I CHIN as translated by Richard Wilhelm rendered into English by Cary Baynes– I can say that my character has been thoroughly educated by the morals expounded in this book. Its guidance was invaluable while I was growing up.
I started throwing the I Chin coins when I was a teenager. For twenty-five years every decision big or small – be it lover, career, where to live, what car to buy, whether to have children or not – had to go through a process of asking I Chin. Since I am Chinese, I feel my ancestors looking over me, protecting me and guiding me. I feel I have a direct line into ancient wisdom. Twice when writing this, I got the first hexagram Ch’ien, The Creative, the Dragon: The Creative works sublime success. Furthering through perseverance. The image: The movement of heaven is full of power. Thus the superior man makes himself strong and untiring.
Such powerful encouragement! Ah, such sweet memories!
- SILVA MIND CONTROL by Jose Silva– I was in my early twenties when I first really splurged! I spent a hard earned $250 on a three-day course. The author was Jose Silva, author of Silva Mind Control, and it turned out to be the best investment I had ever made.
I was a fast lane New Yorker keeping up with the Joans and suffering from migraine headaches. From this book, I learned meditative headache control that took the headaches away. I learned how to wake up at any given time without an alarm. Silva Mind Control is a totally practical technique to get more use out of your mind. It doesn’t claim anything “spiritual” and that’s what really good about it. This book was the first to open the pandora’s door for me to travel to other high places in my spiritual search. I have Jose Silva to thank forever for being such a down-to-earth honest workman spiritual teacher.
- MYSTIQUE OF ENLIGHTENMENT by U. G. Krishnamurti– One has to give up seeking in order to have a chance for enlightenment!
“Seeking enlightenment is unnecessary because seeking automatically implies that you are not enlightened.”
With this thought U. G. completely shattered my search for god. There is no longer a hunger for a better state. My current state is an enlightened state. There is always room for improvement but I am not some lowly thing who is seeking to be enlightened; I am already enlightened.
Ok, ready for this one?
“Buddha’s enlightenment is not your enlightenment.”
That means I have to find my own way. Meditating like Buddha could be good–but maybe not. I should take Buddha’s ways as an example of one method of spiritual development but eventually I have to find my own way there. There goes my plan to sit for 40 days under a Bodhi tree! Buddha becomes a friend, a brother, a fellow traveler on the path, but not the god he used to be for me.
U. G.’s other ideas are equally earth shaking to me:
“Mind is a myth.”
When you die, your body lives on in another form, like a worm or a bit of mud… but your soul is finished. You, as you now consider you to be you, as a soul or a spirit, no longer exist. Well, shit, then life as I presently have it is it! I better love life and live it to the fullest because when I die there is no light at the end of the tunnel. I must say, this was very depressing at first. I eventually came around to see this idea as liberating.
Another idea that really helped me was:
“Being mediocre is really hard but being yourself is very easy.”
After reading this, I gave up striving to live up to other people’s standards. I am fine the way I am. There is no need for improvement. Yes, I know you may not be so sure this is a good thing but let me tell you, life has become a lot more fun and free and easy since I learned this idea from U. G.
As you can probably tell, this book is very difficult. The ideas are shocking and his delivery is uncompromising. I saw videos of him near death. He was negative and not pretty. His words though…. I am still chewing on this book. I love U.G. for speaking up. My life is more full and exciting living with his ideas.
- THE POWER OF NOW by Eckhart Tolle– Easy to understand. Good stuff, lovely to read. What’s not to like?
Very profound yet simple. I live this book everyday. I know the past and I know the future but now, this moment, is ever changing; so I don’t know. “I don’t know” is the best answer!
I live moment to moment. When I eat, I chew my food, I don’t think of swallowing. When I brush my teeth I don’t think of rinsing my mouth. I just do whatever I am doing at the moment. Very simple.
After reading this book I started throwing my things away. Very simple. One of each thing I have. Not two of the same thing. Very simple is good. It’s powerful, the now.
- ASK AND IT IS GIVEN by Abraham via Esther and Jerry Hicks– Abraham, a group of beings channelled by Esther Hicks, are the ones who teach the Law of Attraction.
The law of attraction is simple: what you put your focus on becomes your reality. This book is a great practical tool to manifest my desires. Part One explains the Law of Attraction. Part Two gives you twenty-two ways to actually use the Law.
The book explains the emotional scale–from fear and despair to joy and bliss. There were days when I was an angry sad person and I was able to use the emotional scale to my good advantage. I learned slowly how to move up the scale. Say, one day I was extremely depressed–I could move up a notch to unworthiness. Then after a few hours or days of unworthiness, I can feel hatred. Then after a while I can feel blame and worry; then I am able to feel bored; then contented, then hopeful, then enthusiastic, then passionate. Finally I feel Joy, Happiness, Love and Freedom! The gradual progression is magical. The emotional scale works magic for me. I still use it often.
- BE HERE NOW by Baba Ram Dass– The transformational journey of Dr. Richard Alpert, Ph.D, Harvard psychology professor, to Baba Ram Dass, spiritual seeker par excellance.
The quintessential hippie manual of the enlightenment joy ride complete with drawings. Ram Dass really figured it all out here: the truth, the spiritual path, god and all that jazz.
I love this book! It makes seeking the truth hip, fun, crazy, magical, fascinating, stupid and ultimately (of course) enlightening. It’s the operation manual for spiritual hitch-hiking.
Ram Dass wrote this book in the sixties after he met his guru in the Himalayas. He is currently dying of some horrible disease in a hospital in Kona, Hawaii. You can see him on the net in this video. I wonder how the person who wrote this book became the person in that video? The mystery continues. Forever, forever…
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