Note: this list was originally published in Follow Your Bliss magazine. For articles on how to do what you love and love what you do, look for The Best of Follow Your Bliss eBook, to be published in January 2013. What to be notified when the book comes out?
What Do You Give a Friend Who is Looking for More From Life?
This holiday, why not offer a friend or family member a book that could change their lives? The books I recommend below I've read countless times, each acting as a irreplaceable mentor in my self-development. I've even added some guidance for gift recommendations.
Finding Your Path
Excuses Begone!
by Wayne DyerThe “father of motivation,” delivers his trademark warmth and common sense approach to self-development. He illustrates how we can move beyond “mind viruses” – the unquestioned, socially transmitted beliefs that limit us. Who to give it to: A person struggling with weight loss, self-sabotage, poor self-image. Open-minded and spiritual but not too out there. (audiobook)
Steering by Starlight: Find Your Right Life, No Matter What! by Martha Beck
Once called “America’s best-known life coach,” Beck offers a funny, sincere and self-deprecating journey to finding your North Star. Includes specifically devised worksheet questions to fill out. "Trying to force the mind to do the soul's job is like trying to whittle your ear into a nose." Who to give it to: Beck regularly writes for O Magazine because she is widely accessible. Give it to someone who is looking for their authentic purpose but needs it delivered by a Harvard professor-turned-life-coach.
Follow Your North Star by Martha Beck
Published prior to Steering By Starlight, this book takes a more intimate approach, guiding readers through meditation exercises and visualizations. Beck gives instruction for attuning to the intuitive guidance our bodies send us through constriction and pain or ease and relief. Who to give it to: Someone already inclined to relaxation and meditation techniques who is looking for insight into their true calling.
Getting Unstuck by Pema Chodron
This audiobook is a dharma talk in which Pema shows how when we try to find zones of safety from life we actually suffer more. With wit and wisdom, she teaches that learning to accept the present moment as if you had invited it how to get unstuck.Who to give it to: Fine for non-Buddhists who are open to Buddhist teachings. Delivered in an accessible language for mainstream readers but the more subtle concepts might require a more advanced awareness.
Life Visioning by Michael Beckwith
An intricate, mesmerizing journey through the steps to visualizing the right future for you while developing a spiritual connection with the “all." The course offers guided meditations, creative visualization and affirmative prayer as tools to reach his outlined stages of consciousness. “There is greatness within you that awaits its release," teaches Michael Bernard Beckwith, "unlimited ideas awaiting expression through and as you." Who to give it to: People open to positive affirmations and concepts of spirit and source, interested in the spiritual journey, and looking to manifest not just things, but a better experience of life.
Healing Your Life
You Can Heal Your Life by Louise Hay
Often called the “Grandmother of Self-Help and the Queen of Affirmation,” Louise Hay also founded Hay House, the publishing house responsible for a number of books on this list. You Can Heal Your Life is an affirmation classic full of Louise’s warm, compassionate, and patient teachings on how to love ourselves. For an immediate pick-me-up, you can stream her movie online: You Can Heal Your Life –a powerful documentary on the process of letting go of negative beliefs. Who to give it to: People prone to negative thinking who will respond well to warm, easy, nurturing guidance. (audiobook)
Positivity by B.L. Frederickson
Frederickson is a social psychologist who conducts research in positive psychology, a relatively new branch of psychology that studies and measures positive emotions. She explains how pleasant moments alter our mind and body in ways in ways that increase our ability to live successful lives. Who to give it to: Left-brained types searching for reasons to cultivate positive thinking but need science and research to quantify and validate its value.
Radical Self-Acceptance by Tara Brach
A psychologist and internationally renowned expert on Buddhist meditation, Tara Brach offers kind guidance to completely accepting yourself as you are. Who to give it to: People open to gentle Buddhist teachings who need a good dose of self-acceptance and help letting go of perfectionist tendencies. (audiobook)
The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
Eckhart Tolle’s now-landmark book that catapulted him from obscurity to one of the best-loved living writers on mindfulness. Tells the story of his dramatic awakening but mostly focuses on showing how constant thoughts of past and future rob us the healing power of the present moment. Especially powerful over audiobook because of Tolle’s resonant and calming voice. Who to give it to: People who have suffered with a lot of mind clutter, stress, and emotional upheaval and are ready for a radical change. (audiobook)
A Return to Love by Marianne Williamson
A powerful guide applying wisdom from A Course in Miracles in an easy-to-understand and satisfying read. The core message is how to ask God for miracles and allow this process of letting go to change perceptions from fear to love. A popular line from the book was even used in the movie Coach Carter. “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.” Who to give it to: Readers don't have to be Christian, but should be open to a God concept. Especially powerful for women with histories of bad relationships and self-sabotage who are looking for radical change. (audiobook)
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