I found Robert Monroe's Ultimate Journey to be extremely interesting:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0385472080/qid=1090896891/sr=8-1/ref=pd_ka_1/104-2104024-6427928?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
Bruce Moen's books are the best follow-up for what Monroe wrote:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/index=books&field-author=Moen%2C%20Bruce/104-2104024-6427928
There have been a few books that have really stopped and made me think about my own spirituality, but I don't think any had as strong of an effect on me yet as the first book I read did..
and The Truth Shall Set You Free by David Icke, it opened my eyes to a world that I never even knew existed.
Books that have had an effect on me spiritually have varied over time. That is, as I've gotten older, I look back and can pinpoint certain books which, at that time in my life, were profound. Some of these books have been:
The Nature of Personal Reality by Jane Roberts/Seth
Journeys Out of the Body by Robert Monroe
The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche
Many Lives, Many Masters by Brian L. Weiss, MD
Life After Life by Raymond Moody, PhD, MD
and last but not least, Astral Dynamics by Robert Bruce.
Nick
The Witches Bible by Gavin Frost. Been out of print for a long time. Most works by Frost and Frost are excellant, with detailed annotations, and written for the metaphysical person, not "Witches".
Physchic Protection by Willaim Bloom. It's metaphysics for Dummies, simple and to the point, deals with healing and protection. You could read it in an evening.
There are some others, but I read soooooo much they are all a mish-mash. Heck, I have about 2000 pages of website printouts. I do admit a bias for Wiccan texts, if you can get around the religous references they are usually very good, but I deal mostly with Healing issues.
The very first was Hermann Hesse's "Demian." A fictional book, but it spoke to my teenage heart about the power of our minds and the nature of the divine.
Miguel Ruiz's "The Four Agreements." It's such an absurdly simple little book that my brain had a hard time making excuses as to why I continued to allow myself to live in my own self-created hell.
Robert Bruce's "Astral Dynamics" for obvious reasons :)
Two main books come to mind:
The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge by Carlos Castaneda - Opened me up to spirituality in general. Before reading this book i was living in completely blindness.
The 12th Planet by Zecharia Sitchin - Provided me with much more logical information about human creation than anything i've ever read. It makes much more sense to me than any other theory.
The Conversations with God books by Neale Donald Walsch. They answered every single question I've ever had about life and spirituality, and there wasn't one word in any of the books I even questioned to be truthful. I consider them a bit like my bible for living.
I thought of a few others:
Non-fiction: "Living Buddha, Living Christ" by Thich Nhat Hanh. It introduced me to the concept of mindfulness.
Fiction: The Dune Chronicles by Frank Herbert because it focuses on the evolution of humanity, which changed my perspective quite a bit from "me and my lifetime" to "the lifetime of my species."
A bit controversial, I suppose, but "The Dice Man" by Luke Rheinhart affected me in a positive way.
It taught me that it is up to us how we react to something. It made me think that when we react badly or negatively to something, that is our choice. We don't have to react that way. [^]
Even now, probably 15 years since reading it, I still smile when I think of it.
Sarah
Here are several more that I want to mention:
Understanding the Grand Design - Spiritual Reality's Inner Logic by Joachim Wolf;
and
The Projection of the Astral Body by Sylvan Muldoon & Hereward Carrington.
I would recommend Quantum Psychology by Robert Anton Wilson
VERY strongly. One of the best books I've ever read [:D]
It's informative and he has got a good sense of humour also.
Look it up and check the reviews!
As for discovering my spiritual side I would say Robert Monroe's 'Journey out of the body' has been the catalyst for me....must read his other books sometime as they concentrate more on phasing I believe, which is what I'd like to become adept at
Cheers
Dave
I have to say I also like Edgar Cayce books.They are very intresting.[:)]
Ditto to Lateralus897.
I avoided Conversations With God at first because I thought it was just going to be another whacked-out ego-chaneller trying to cash in on a religion.
I was soooo wrong! It's without a doubt one of the most eye (and mind and heart) opening series of books I've read in a long time.
I've also recieved a lot of info personally from spirits that confirm what "God" has spoken of.
James.
The book that has had the most profound effect on me has been "A Course in Miracles". It's so amazing. To truly explain it would be liek truly explaining the Bible. Each section of each chapter is so enlightening and does not read like a common novel, but like a teaching tool of pure spiritual essence. It can change lives!
I was hoping that whoever reads this post could put down some titles of books, or urls to articles/e-books of things that had a very profound effect on their spirituality.
I have a few I would like to share, all these books had a profound effect on me.
The Freedom of Choice:It was the first book that really got me thinking, I especially like the first half of the book, it gave me a very thought provoking view of God's origin.
Astral Dynamics:The book that got me the most interested in the metaphysical.
An Open Heart: Practicing Compassion in Everyday Life By The Dalai Lama:This book had an effect on me in that I knew I wanted to be a compassionate person, but I had trouble feeling compassion for people. It also sparked my interest in Buddhism.
The Power of Now By Eckhart Tolle:This book is probably the most profound book I have ever read, as the friend who recommended it to me said "it isn't anything you haven't heard before, but it supercedes everything." I read this book slowly, it took me about a month to complete it. I would read it, then meditate, and some days I would get an insight from what I had read that day, or the day before. I realized many things I may not have had it not been for this book.
Revolution in Common Sense or Quantum Metaphysic
http://www.quantum-metaphysics.com/essay.htm
This book was very enlightening for me. It worked off of what I learned from The Power of Now, and it gave things structure.
Fundamentals of the Faith
Essays in Christian Apologetics By Peter Kreeft
I don't identify myself as a Christian, but I still found this book very enlightening on Christianity. The part on the Our Father is great. For those of you who have know it you may want to read up on the prayer, I suggest going to your local bookstore or library and reading the section on the Our Father in this book. You will learn that every single word in this prayer has significance. Before I prayed it, it was just the same old words, now when I pray it I can't keep up with other people, because every word has significance. I think it is the best prayer there is, it's AWESOME!
Thresholds of the Mind By Bill Harris:It is like The Power Of Now, it is not as profound when you read it, but it does talk about the same thing (the watcher,) and is pretty insightful.
Again, these are the books that had the most profound affect on me, add some of your own.
I would highly reccommend all books by Barbara Marciniak, or her channelled books of the Pleiadians(all the same books).
They are, in sequential order:
"Bringer's of the Dawn", "Earth", and "Family of Light" and another one coming out or just came out... "Path of Empowerment"
These books will really make you think as well as explaining the whole universe, especially focusing on human history and personal developement and human potentials. I don't see how the knowledge in these books could ever have originated from Earth. They are fun and easy to read, as well as being so very interesting. These books seem to me to be about as far "out there" as books could be...in a good way, of course. :) They give many energy excercises and in depth decriptions of the human potentials...which they say are limitless.
All be well...
Covelo
One of the greatest books I have ever read: "The Curse of Ignorance, by Arthur Findlay." This book is broken into two volumes with about 1200 pages each. I also recommend all books by Arthur Findlay; He did extensive reseach on the Etheric World. The book, The Curse of Ignorance is very difficult to find if you live in the United States and you can only find it through at NSAC Bookstore (www.nsac.org.) It is mostly available in England.
Arthur Findlay OBE (1883-1964) took seven years to complete this two-volume history of the Christian era, which was first published in 1947. The Curse of Ignorance records past follies and achievements, and acts as a guide for present and future generations. This work is no less than a revolution in thought.
Arthur Findlay writes:
"There are two ways of life, one leading to righteousness, which brings happiness, and the other to unrighteousness, which produces misery. One leads to kindness, mercy and sympathy, the other to hatred and cruelty; one to tolerance and the other to intolerance; one to justice and the other to injustice; one to truth and the other to error; one to peace and concord and the other to quarrelling and war; one to mental development and the other to mental contraction.
One is the Secular way (non religious) and the other is the Theological (religious); one is the Democratic and the other the Despotic; one is the sane and the other the insane."
This passage sums up just how badly the British people have been deceived:
"Such, however, is still [the Church's] influence that this book, which tells the story of the past honestly and fearlessly, will be kept out of our schools and universities by the authorities, and consequently, only in later life will those with enquiring minds discover the truth."
Great Site!
http://www.cfpf.org.uk/ The Campaign for Philosophical Freedom. The Scientific Proof of Survival of Death by Michael Roll.