Library

The Body Electric

Electromagnetism and the Foundation of Life

Robert O. Becker, M.D.
with Gary Selden

Orthopedic surgeon and researcher Robert O. Becker spent decades studying the electrical currents that run through living tissue. In this book he describes what he found about how the body heals and regenerates, and what the natural electrical life of the body can teach us about health.

He also looks at how the electromagnetic fields of modern life may affect living things, which makes it a useful companion to the ideas explored on the Energy Medicine page of this site.

Sound Medicine

How to Use the Ancient Science of Sound to Heal the Body and Mind

Kulreet Chaudhary, MD

Neurologist and Ayurvedic researcher Dr. Kulreet Chaudhary explores how sound and vibration affect the body and mind, drawing on both modern science and the ancient traditions that used chanting, mantra and tone for healing.

The book also offers practical ways to bring sound into daily life, which makes it a natural companion to the energy and frequency themes explored on the Energy Medicine page of this site.

Light: Medicine of the Future

How We Can Use It to Heal Ourselves NOW

Jacob Liberman, O.D., Ph.D.

Optometrist and researcher Dr. Jacob Liberman, a pioneer in the therapeutic use of light, explains how light affects the eyes, the brain and the whole body, and how it has been used to support healing.

The book also offers ways to bring light into daily life, which makes it a natural companion to the energy and frequency themes explored on the Energy Medicine page of this site.

The Emotion Code

How to Release Your Trapped Emotions for Abundant Health, Love, and Happiness

Dr. Bradley Nelson
Foreword by Tony Robbins

Holistic physician Dr. Bradley Nelson presents the Emotion Code, a method he teaches for identifying and releasing what he calls trapped emotions, the emotional energies he believes can be held in the body and affect our wellbeing.

The book explains the approach step by step and shares stories from his work, which makes it a natural companion to the energy and emotional healing themes explored on the Energy Medicine page of this site.

Edition shown: updated and expanded, with a foreword by Tony Robbins.

Siddhartha

Hermann Hesse

First published in 1922, this short novel follows a young man in ancient India who leaves a life of comfort to look for peace and meaning. He lives as a seeker, a wanderer and a merchant, and finds that wisdom cannot be handed from one person to another but has to be lived.

It is a gentle, poetic story about love, loss, time and the river that runs through them all, and many readers return to it at different stages of life.

Edition shown: Modern Library, a new translation by Susan Bernofsky, with an introduction by Tom Robbins.

Autobiography of a Yogi

Paramhansa Yogananda

First published in 1946, this is the life story of Paramhansa Yogananda, from his childhood in India to his search for a teacher and his years of training under his guru. Along the way he meets saints and masters and describes the inner science of yoga and meditation.

It was one of the first books to introduce yoga and meditation to many readers in the West, and it remains a much loved companion for people on a spiritual path.

Edition shown: the original reprint of the 1946 first edition.

Advaita Vedanta

Being the Self

Prabhuji

An introduction to Advaita Vedanta, the nondual philosophy of India, which teaches that the true Self and the ultimate reality are one. The book presents it as a path of self inquiry, built around the question “Who am I?”

Its aim is liberation through direct realization of who we are, rather than through collecting more information, which makes it a quiet companion for anyone drawn to the inner journey.

The Alchemist

A Graphic Novel

Paulo Coelho

Paulo Coelho’s much loved fable follows Santiago, a young shepherd who leaves home to travel to the Egyptian pyramids after a recurring dream. Along the way he learns to listen to his heart, to read the signs around him and to follow what the story calls his Personal Legend.

It is a simple, gentle story about courage, trust and the idea that when we move toward our true purpose, the whole world helps.

Edition shown: the graphic novel adaptation of the story.

The Fourth Way

A Record of Talks and Answers to Questions Based on the Teaching of G. I. Gurdjieff

P. D. Ouspensky

The Fourth Way gathers talks and answers to questions given by P. D. Ouspensky on the teaching of G. I. Gurdjieff. It describes a holistic approach to spiritual growth that brings the body, the mind and the emotions into one path, to be worked on together in the middle of ordinary life.

Self observation sits at the heart of it: seeing the mechanics of our own behaviour and thought as they happen, so that higher awareness becomes possible. Through effort and discipline, the book points toward conscious evolution, the unlocking of our potential for real spiritual transformation.

Edition shown: the hardcover edition with the star cover.

In Search of the Miraculous

The Teachings of G. I. Gurdjieff

P. D. Ouspensky
Foreword by Marianne Williamson

In Search of the Miraculous is P. D. Ouspensky’s first hand account of his years as a student of G. I. Gurdjieff. It sets out the teaching as he received it: the idea that we live mostly asleep, run by habit, and that waking up is a matter of work on oneself.

It is the book most readers begin with, and it pairs well with The Fourth Way, which follows the same teaching in the form of talks and answers to questions. Key themes include self observation, the unity of body, mind and emotions, and conscious evolution through effort and discipline.

Edition shown: the new edition with a foreword by Marianne Williamson.

The Voice of Babaji

A Trilogy on Kriya Yoga

V. T. Neelakantan
S.A.A. Ramaiah, Babaji Nagaraj

The Voice of Babaji brings together three works on Kriya Yoga that present the teachings of Babaji, the deathless master of the Kriya lineage. It is written for the sincere practitioner and speaks of the inner path, the practice of Kriya and the transformation it makes possible.

It is published by Babaji’s Kriya Yoga Order of Acharyas, and offers a direct door into this living tradition for anyone drawn to yoga as a path of self realization.

Edition shown: the trilogy with the orange cover.

Life and Teaching of the Masters of the Far East

Six Volume Box Set

Baird T. Spalding

Baird T. Spalding presents this work as a first hand account of an expedition to India and Tibet, where he and his companions met a group of Masters and witnessed the way they lived and taught. The volumes speak of the unity of all life, the power of thought and love, and the divine nature present in every person.

It has been read for generations as a book of inspiration and spiritual possibility. Read it as a story that opens the heart and the mind, and let your own inner knowing decide what it means to you.

Edition shown: the complete six volume box set.

The Music of Life

The Inner Nature and Effects of Sound

Hazrat Inayat Khan

Hazrat Inayat Khan was a master of Indian classical music and a Sufi teacher who brought the Sufi message to the West. In The Music of Life he writes about sound, rhythm and vibration as living forces, and about the effect music has on the body, the mind and the soul.

It is a book for anyone who senses that sound is more than entertainment, and who wants to listen more deeply to the music in life itself.

Edition shown: the edition with a portrait of the author playing the vina.

The Living Gita

The Complete Bhagavad Gita, A Commentary for Modern Readers

Sri Swami Satchidananda

The Bhagavad Gita is the conversation between the warrior Arjuna and Krishna on the eve of battle, and one of the great spiritual texts of India. Sri Swami Satchidananda, founder of Integral Yoga, offers the complete text with a commentary that brings its teaching into everyday life.

Duty, devotion, selfless action and the knowledge of the true Self are explained in clear, warm language, so the Gita can be read as a living guide and not only as a scripture.

Edition shown: the complete Bhagavad Gita with commentary for modern readers.

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

Commentary on the Raja Yoga Sutras

Sri Swami Satchidananda

Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras are a short collection of verses on the nature of the mind and the path of yoga, including the eight limbs of yoga and the stilling of the thought waves that hide the Self. Sri Swami Satchidananda gives the translation of each sutra with a commentary that makes the teaching practical.

It is a book to read slowly and return to, for anyone who wants to understand yoga as a complete path of self realization.

Edition shown: the translation and commentary by Sri Swami Satchidananda.

Kriya Yoga Sutras of Patanjali and the Siddhas

Translation, Commentary and Practice

Marshall Govindan

Marshall Govindan offers a translation of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras with a commentary rooted in the Kriya Yoga tradition of Babaji and the Siddhas, the lineage of South Indian yoga masters. The book also presents the practices that bring the sutras to life.

It is written for the sincere student who wants to move from reading about yoga to practising it.

Edition shown: the paperback with the blue collage cover.

Mushroom Wisdom

How Shamans Cultivate Spiritual Consciousness

Martin W. Ball, Ph.D.

In Mushroom Wisdom, Martin W. Ball, Ph.D., writes about the spiritual and shamanic dimension of the mushroom, and how shamans have worked with it as a way to cultivate spiritual consciousness.

It invites the reader to think about the expansion of consciousness, the traditions that have held this knowledge and what it means to meet the sacred with respect.

Shared for education and reflection, not as medical advice or encouragement to use any substance.

Edition shown: the paperback with the yellow cover.

Astavakra Samhita

Swami Nityaswarupananda

The Astavakra Samhita, also known as the Astavakra Gita, is a dialogue between the sage Astavakra and King Janaka on the nature of the Self, freedom and the end of bondage. It is one of the clearest and most direct expressions of Advaita Vedanta, the teaching of nonduality.

Swami Nityaswarupananda’s translation is a quiet companion for anyone drawn to self inquiry and to the idea that the Self is already free.

Edition shown: the translation by Swami Nityaswarupananda.

The Breakthrough Experience

A Revolutionary New Approach to Personal Transformation

Dr. John F. Demartini

Dr. John F. Demartini, a teacher and researcher of human behaviour, shares an approach to personal transformation built on a simple idea: every experience holds both support and challenge. When we see both sides, we can meet life with more clarity, gratitude and love.

The book offers questions and practices for working with our perceptions, our relationships and our sense of purpose, and it suits anyone ready to change how they see their own story.

Edition shown: the paperback with the soft violet and aqua cover.

Eyes Wide Open

Cultivating Discernment on the Spiritual Path

Mariana Caplan, PhD
Foreword by John Welwood

Mariana Caplan, PhD, writes about discernment, the ability to tell what is true from what only looks spiritual. She looks at how to choose teachers and teachings wisely, how to read our own experiences honestly and how to avoid the common traps of the path, such as pride and attachment to special states.

It is a grounded and honest book for anyone who wants to keep an open heart and a clear mind at the same time.

Edition shown: the paperback with the green eyes cover.

Stalking the Wild Pendulum

On the Mechanics of Consciousness

Itzhak Bentov

Itzhak Bentov, an inventor and biomedical engineer, proposes that consciousness can be understood through vibration, rhythm and resonance. He describes how the body, the brain and the practice of meditation may be tuned to the larger rhythms of the universe.

First published in 1977, it has remained a favourite of readers who want to explore spirit and physics together in one imaginative picture.

Presents the author’s own ideas, which scientists continue to debate.

Edition shown: the paperback with the mountain and comet cover.

The Field

The Quest for the Secret Force of the Universe

Lynne McTaggart

Journalist Lynne McTaggart follows a group of scientists who explore the idea that a field of energy underlies all of space and connects everything in the universe. She looks at what this could mean for healing, intention and the way living things communicate.

It is an inviting introduction to the frontier where physics, biology and consciousness meet.

Presents the author’s own ideas, which scientists continue to debate.

Edition shown: the updated edition with a new preface.

The Holographic Universe

The Revolutionary Theory of Reality

Michael Talbot
Foreword by Lynne McTaggart

Michael Talbot brings together the physicist David Bohm and the neuroscientist Karl Pribram, who each arrived at the idea that the universe, and perhaps the brain, works like a hologram in which every part holds the whole.

He explores what this could mean for the mind, for healing and for experiences that science has struggled to explain, and invites the reader to reconsider the nature of reality.

Presents the author’s own ideas, which scientists continue to debate.

Edition shown: the edition with a new foreword by Lynne McTaggart.

Science and the Akashic Field

An Integral Theory of Everything

Ervin Laszlo

Ervin Laszlo, a systems philosopher, proposes that space is not empty but holds a deep field of information, which the ancient traditions of India called the Akashic Field. He suggests it connects mind and matter and helps explain the order we see in the universe.

The book brings together physics, biology and consciousness studies in one wide view of how everything belongs together.

Presents the author’s own ideas, which scientists continue to debate.

Edition shown: the updated second edition.

Entangled Minds

Extrasensory Experiences in a Quantum Reality

Dean Radin

Dean Radin, a scientist who studies consciousness, reviews experiments on telepathy, intuition and the sense of being stared at. He asks whether the quantum idea of entanglement could help explain why minds seem to connect across distance.

It is written for the curious and open minded reader who wants to look at the evidence and decide for themselves.

Presents the author’s own ideas, which scientists continue to debate.

Edition shown: the paperback with the blue wave cover.

Wholeness and the Implicate Order

David Bohm

David Bohm, one of the great physicists of the twentieth century, describes a universe in which everything is enfolded in an unbroken whole. What we see as separate objects, he suggests, are unfolded forms of a deeper implicate order.

It is a demanding and rewarding book, and the source of many of the ideas that other writers in this section build upon.

Presents the author’s own ideas, which scientists continue to debate.

Edition shown: the Routledge Classics edition.

The Self-Aware Universe

How Consciousness Creates the Material World

Amit Goswami, Ph.D.
with Richard E. Reed and Maggie Goswami

Quantum physicist Amit Goswami argues that consciousness, not matter, is the ground of all being. He uses the puzzles of quantum physics to suggest that the material world arises within consciousness.

The book also looks at what this idea could mean for creativity, healing and spiritual growth, and includes a foreword by Fred Alan Wolf.

Presents the author’s own ideas, which scientists continue to debate.

Edition shown: the paperback with the eye cover.

The Mind-Gut Connection

How the Hidden Conversation Within Our Bodies Impacts Our Mood, Our Choices, and Our Overall Health

Emeran Mayer, MD

Dr. Emeran Mayer, a gastroenterologist and neuroscientist, explains the constant conversation between the gut, its trillions of microbes and the brain. He shows how this link shapes our mood, our choices and our overall health.

It is a clear and well researched look at why we feel emotions in the gut, and what we can do to care for the connection between mind and body.

Shared for education, not as medical advice.

Cover shown: the original edition. The 10th Anniversary Edition is the latest.

Gut-Brain Secrets

Causes and Solutions to Gut, Brain and Body Dysfunction

R. D. Lee
Foreword by Stephanie Seneff, PhD

R. D. Lee, known as Randy the Mito Man, looks at how gut health, the microbiome and the way our cells make energy are connected to the health of the brain and the whole body. The book lays out what can go wrong and the practical steps he proposes for restoring balance.

It includes a foreword by Stephanie Seneff, PhD, and suits readers who want to understand the roots of a problem and not only its symptoms.

Shared for education, not as medical advice.

Edition shown: the third edition.

The Mitochondriac Manifesto 2

How Nature Nurtures the Body, and Technology Torments It

R. D. Lee

R. D. Lee, known as Randy the Mito Man, continues his exploration of the mitochondria, the parts of our cells that make energy, and how our surroundings shape them. The book looks at the difference between natural light and the modern, technology filled environment.

This second volume adds new content on topics such as melanin, UV biophotons, photobiomodulation and methylene blue, for readers who want to go deeper into the science of cellular energy.

Shared for education, not as medical advice.

Edition shown: the second volume with the burnt paper cover.

The Telomere Effect

A Revolutionary Approach to Living Younger, Healthier, Longer

Elizabeth Blackburn, PhD
Elissa Epel, PhD

Elizabeth Blackburn, who shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery of telomeres, joins health psychologist Elissa Epel to explain these protective caps at the ends of our chromosomes and what the research says about how they shorten with age.

The book looks at how stress, sleep, exercise, food and our relationships can influence the way our cells age, and offers practical ways to live with this knowledge.

Shared for education, not as medical advice.

Edition shown: the paperback with the colourful ribbon cover.