12 Books for Spiritual Explorers

Below are my all time favorite books for adventurous spiritual seekers. These are the ones that truly changed my life and stayed with me long after I'd finished them. Many I've read more than once. I tried to cover the main areas of spiritual interest and divided the books into four categories. If you've read one of these books or you have a book you think I should read, drop a line in the comments!

Enlightenment
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The Nature of Personal Reality
by Jane Roberts

If you only read one book on this list, let it be this one. This is the book that cracked open my mind and turned me into a sponge for spiritual knowledge. It's mystical, beautifully written, and will leave you feeling like you are a vital part of the masterpiece that is the Universe. I recommend this book to everyone and have read it multiple times myself.

Siddhartha
by Hermen Hesse

As you read this book, you will feel as if you are walking side by side with Siddhartha. You will go on an incredible journey of courage, loneliness, awakening, connection, love, loss, and enlightenment. This book captures the wild roller coaster of emotions and experiences as one awakens spiritually. When you get to the end, you will have a new perspective on your own life and this mysterious journey between birth and death.

The Razor's Edge
​by Somerset Maughm

In this novel, Maughm captures one man's moment of enlightenment in such a profound and beautiful way that it made me question everything I knew. It's not a traditional non-fiction, spiritual book. However, if you're looking for something a bit different, with wild stories of turn of the century people exploring life, love, and spiritual awakening, then this is for you. I wrote a more in-depth blog post about it here.

​Emotional Healing

​Dying to Be Me
Anita Moorjani

This book gives the most profound and undeniable account of why loving yourself is the most important thing you can do in this life. While dying from cancer, Anita had a near death experience. She went to the other side, had an experience you'll have to read in her own words, and then chose to come back. And that's not even the strange part! Afterwards, she began to miraculously heal from her cancer. While on the other side, she'd been shown how her self-loathing had been killing her, and so she fully embraced self-love afterwards. Her spontaneous healing was verified by her doctors, and I promise you, this story will stick with you long after you read it.

There's a Spiritual Solution to Every Problem
Wayne Dyer

This is the kind of book I wish I'd read when I was young. It would have helped me through so many of my troubles. It offers wisdom and guidance on solving problems of anger, forgiveness, fear, and doubt through spiritual means. Reading it felt like I was getting a warm, reassuring hug from Wayne himself. If you've been looking for a way to apply spiritual solutions to real life problems, this book is for you. Wayne struggled with alcohol addiction and decades of anger at his own alcoholic father before learning the power of love and forgiveness.

Daring Greatly
Brene Brown

Brene Brown is the Queen of vulnerability and authentic living. She is most well known for a Ted Talk she gave on vulnerability that blew up and got millions of views - along with an intense wave of haters and critical comments. She went into what she calls a shame spiral, which threatened to tear her down to the ground. Without any way around it, she went forward the only way she could - straight through. She gave a second talk on shame, and then later wrote about the power of showing up as our authentic selves, no matter how scary it is. Daring Greatly isn't just inspiring - it will improve your relationships and genuinely help you to have a happier life. If you're not in the mood to read this, she also has a brilliant Netflix special that covers a lot of the same ground.

Manifesting
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E-Squared
Pam Grout

If you've been curious what all this energy talk is about, this book is your experimental guidebook. It's full of exercises that will get you thinking about how powerful your thoughts and energy really are. If you were the kind of kid who loved Mr. Wizard, you're going to love this book. It basically treats the Law of Attraction like a giant science experiment. You'll be given tasks and exercises to do and then you'll document your results, helping you to understand exactly how your energy is shaping the world around you.

Ask & It Is Given
by Esther Hicks

After reading something like E-Squared you might find yourself hitting a wall. You understand that your thoughts create your reality and all this energy stuff is real. However, you cannot seem to get around your own limiting beliefs and worthiness issues. Enter this book, which also has some fun exercises to do! But first, Esther will give you a massive pep talk on why the Universe loves you eternally and how you are so, so worthy. Then you'll get into the exercises, which will teach you some powerful ways to reshape your beliefs and shift yourself from helpless to empowered.

Leveraging the Universe
Mike Dooley

Most people discover Mike Dooley through his "Notes from the Universe" series. If you haven't yet signed up for these, do it! They are so fun and will energize your day. This book goes over everything Mike has learned that took him from broke and destitute to multi-million dollar entrepreneur. He's a down to earth guy and keeps his message clear and concise. There are no gimmicks or hoops to jump through - just a straight forward talk on how the Universe works and how anyone, anywhere, can leverage it to their advantage.

Female Empowerment

Year of Yes
Shonda Rhimes

This book truly made me want to stop living in fear and start saying YES to life. Knowing how fearful a successful and creative person like Shonda was really helped me to know my fear is not abnormal or impossible to overcome. This book is especially powerful for introverts who constantly retreat to the safety of their shell. I am an introvert myself, and Shonda's book helped me to see that although it's safe in my shell, it can be lonely and even smothering. Bonus points if you like hearing stories in the author's voice - this was one of my favorite audiobooks.

Rise Sister Rise
Rebecca Campbell

Reading Rebecca's book is like getting a pep talk from that spiritual friend who always makes you feel better. In this book, she dives deep into the history of feminine power, why women were pitted against each other, and how we can heal the divine sisterhood. She will help you to understand that being empowered does not mean you work and think like a man. Rather, she writes about embracing the power of the divine feminine, and why tapping into that will open up hidden forces within you. This is the kind of book you'll want to give to your best friend after so you can talk about it together.

The Fire Starter Sessions
by Danielle LaPorte

If you feel you've spent a large part of your life putting others first, Danielle is here to get you fired up to find what you yourself are passionate about. She's a straight shooter and talks to you as if you already are an empowered and bad ass person. She knows there's a powerful force inside of every woman, waiting for a chance to rise up and burst forth. If nobody has ever asked you what you want in life, Danielle is here to give you a chance to know that what you want is important and worth investing in. This book will most definitely light a fire beneath you.