Top books about spirituality and religion
These are some of the most popular spiritual books EVER, combined with my own personal favorites. You’ll also find my book review pages that do well with my own audience. All in all a comprehensive look at what’s best this year in spiritual and religious books.
Whether you’re looking for Yoga, Wicca, Buddhist, Muslim, Sufi or Christian inspiration – I’ve likely found you a great place to start your search. However, you’ll also find Theosophy and individual teachers that defy categorization like Jiddu Krishnamurti.
Buddhism
The Art of Happiness: A Handbook for Living – All Time Buddhist Bestseller
Also available on kindle
I think the current Dalai Lama will be best known for this book alone for decades after he passes – if not longer.
The Buddhist vision of how to be happy is so different from how we tend to think about happiness. It’s not about the husband (or wife), the car, the salary, the lack of debt – but about how living authentically and peacefully brings real lasting happiness.
Christianity
General spiritual books
Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet – Uplifting Spiritual Bestseller
Also available on kindle
This all time favorite is available in so many versions it’s mind boggling.
Definitely inspiring – quotes from The Prophet are often used in weddings or when baby’s are born.
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values
Also available on kindle
I read this for the first time when I was just 13. The whole family was reading it. Many of our hikes (we were on a walking holiday) were made more interesting by discussing it.
This story of father and son is insightful and inspiring on many levels. You come away thinking about life from a fresh perspective.
Islam
Science
A History of God: The 4,000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam
Karen Armstrong not only summarizes the history of the three Abrahamitic religions – she also shares her knowledge on how these traditions influenced each other.
Eye opening stuff – and meant to open our hearts as well.
Also available on Kindle
Spiritual teachers
As One Is: To Free the Mind from All Conditioning
The essence of Krishnamurti’s teachings: confront your conditionings and overcome them. Not through a method, but by observing.
Jiddu Krishnamurti is world famous for his ability to go to the root of personal problems and clarify them. His life was spent teaching, lecturing and talking to people.
A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose (Oprah’s Book Club, Selection 61)
2008 was THE year that Oprah Winfrey showed her true spiritual color by choosing this book as one of her book club selection.
Also available on kindle
Eckhart Tolle tries to go beyond words to the wordless wisdom already present in each one of us – if we only listened. He teaches us the limitations of labels and words – how training to ‘be good’ can actually be a hindrance in letting good flower. How to observe the Ego – and how just the observation alone can loosen some of the tangled energy inside.
Central in all these thoughts is perhaps the one that can transform society: wanting isn’t something that comes to an end by giving it what it wants – it will just want more. Wanting is structural and has to be dealt with at the root. [I wonder if Oprah heard that one].
Is it possible to submit a spiritual book for review? The book is The Six Principles of Enlightenment and Meaning of Life.
This is an intellectual and spiritual work that explains the six significant universal truths woven throughout science, religion and philosophy. These principles draw upon thousands of years of wisdom and are presented in a concise, accessible format. Each principle is defined and has an explanation on its application to life; they are further supported by quotes of wisdom from enlightened beings, philosophers, artists and scientists like Buddha, Albert Einstein, Rumi, Stephen Hawking and Jesus.
I can send you a epub file for review.
No, I don’t have the time to read anything that doesn’t help me on my own path & your book – while it looks good – is too general for me personally.
I am Solan McClean and I came across your site on the web. I have a newly released meditation book and I was wondering if you would be interested in taking a look at it.
“Learning to Drive into the Now: PRND” outlines the development of a mindfulness meditation practice for driving. Many of us do not have adequate time to sit and meditate, which is why learning to focus on what IS while driving is such a good practice tool. You can learn to meditate on your commute to work, dropping off the kids, or simply running errands everyday.
Hi Katinka, thank you for your website. I resonate with what I have seen here of mystical, spiritual traditions, theosophy, the connection underlying the world’s religions, Eckhart Tolle, karma and reincarnation and I could go on! Thank you for making this resource available to the world.
I desire to share something I have written with you. It’s called Spirituality for Kids and has a lot of what I believe, written for kids ages 7-13! If you desire, I would be most happy to send you a free e-copy for your own interest or review. Let me know.
If you desire more info there is a description about it here on the Amazon site https://www.amazon.com/Spirituality-4-Kids-Serena-Gaefke/dp/0997220635
Thank you kindly,
Serena Gaefke
Beste Katinka,
Met genoegen bekijk ik je site.
Dank voor zoveel dat je uitzocht en met ons deelt !
Wat ik me afvroeg, als ik me niet vergis, wordt de soefi-boodschap (van deze tijd) van Hazrat Inayat Khan, nergens genoemd, heeft dat een reden ?