Journey of Awakening | A Meditator’s Guidebook by Ram Dass is technically a book about meditation. In truth, it’s about the ineffable Self. Ram Dass guided his students through the mystery of life, while fully admitting that he himself was mystified by it. He never claimed to have “The Answers”, as he knew that nobody can give you the sort of answers we all look for outside of ourselves. The true answers can only be found within. And even those “answers” only suffice to a point, until you finally reach the ultimate truth; there is nothing to know, there is nothing to find, there is nothing to fix.

Ram Dass never departed from his down-to-earth humanness, and openly shared his struggles with things like aging, sexuality, and loneliness. All the while, holding a presence and loving space that can be felt with any piece of his work. Journey of Awakening is a gift from Ram Dass that carries treasures you can use everyday, for the rest of your life. 

Ecknath Easwaran is a marvelous, dynamic teacher of spiritual principles. In this beautiful little book, he covers how to use mantra in meditation. There are thousands of ways to meditate, and mantra meditation is one that is known to be effective for the busy western mind. Transcendental Meditation (also known as TM), is  mantra meditation. But unlike TM, this book doesn’t charge you thousands of dollars to learn the sacred practice of mantra meditation. Ecknath does a fantastic job of simplifying mantra meditation in this book. If you have a “busy mind” and are intimidated by the thought of meditation, this book is a tool that will gently guide you to the simple practice of mantra. 

The Bhagavad Gita is one of my favorite sacred scriptures. It is a story taken out of the hindu text of The Mahābhārata. The Bhagavad Gita has 18 chapters, and each one is clear, concise, and cuts through the noise of the mind like a sharp sword. Each chapter covers an aspect of work, spirituality, and all things pertinent to living a fulfilled life.

Chapter 4, Wisdom in Action, had such a profound impact on my life. There was my life before reading the Bhagavad Gita, and my life after. The Gita is my constant companion, and speaks directly to my heart. It clears my mind in times of confusion. It gives me strength in times of turmoil. I cannot recommend it enough.

(I recommend the Easwaran translation)

The Power of Now should be required reading for all students, as far as I’m concerned. If it was, there would be far less suffering in the world. Growing up, we are never told “now is all there is”. In fact, we’re told the opposite! We’re told to focus on our futures, or we’re brought into dwelling on the past. 

In The Power of Now, Eckhart gives the sweetest gift one could be given; the gift of awakening to the present moment. The magic that the present moment holds is enough to dissolve mind-made suffering that’s all too common in our culture. The contents of The Power of Now are simple to understand. But make no mistake, your ego will argue with the sound logic of this book, tooth and nail.  So it’s simple, but not necessarily easy. 

Yet, when one is good and ready to be done with suffering, the now is always here to greet you. The Power of Now will give you the tools necessary to meet the eternally benevolent present. 

A Course In Miracles is a channeled text, written through an atheistic psychologist names Helen Schucman. After a series of unusual events, Helen began to hear an audible voice that requested she take dictation. She began doing so, and the results were startling to her. She consulted with a psychiatric colleague about the voice, and showed him the writings. He read them, and was amazed by the beauty the words contained. He began assisting her with transcription, and the process lasted seven years until eventually, the words “and so we say Amen” were written, to finalize the channeling process.

It’s clear from reading ACIM that the voice of the text is either Jesus Christ, or a being of Christ consciousness. The language used in ACIM is Christian, which took me years to get past. I actually owned this book for TWELVE YEARS before studying it in earnest. I simply couldn’t get rid of it, yet couldn’t get past the Christian language. Once I let go of my preconceptions, and looked beyond my ego’s veil, the contents of The Course transformed me at my core. 

The Course in Miracles Chooses you, and when the time is right, you’ll be called to study and practice its contents. Be ready for massive changes when you do. 

(I recommend the Foundations for Inner Peace Edition, hard cover)