I think that the books which have changed my life the most (in the order of reading - spread over about 30 years) are:

The I Ching - translated by Richard Wilhelm

The Tao Te Ching - Lao Tsu. I forget the translator.

The Tao of Physics - Fritjof Capra. Explores the parallells between the under-lying concepts of modern physics and the basic ideas of Eastern Mystics.

Man and his Symbols - C. G. Jung. The final work by Jung, who was most resistant to writing something for the general public. Ironically, the book owes its' existence to one of his dreams.

The Feminisation of Nature - Deborah Cadbury. Shows how we are polluting the waterways and the oceans with chemicals which cause many species of fish, reptiles, and animals (humans included) to produce offspring with genital disorders and hormonal imbalances, leading to an increasing amount of cases of hermaphroditism.
I read this when it was first released - about ten years ago, and i couldn't finish the book the first time i tried to read it, i found it so distressing.
Any male who reads this will probably find himself doing so with his knees pressed firmly together.

20 Cases Suggestive of Reincarnation and Where Reincarnation and Biology Intersect - Ian Stevenson. Two books whose titles describe them well. They are not the easiest of reads, but the research has been carried out in a scientific manner, and is presented and described in very much the same way.
If it was any other 'mainstream' subject, this evidence would be taken as proof - in my carefully considered opinion.

Physics of the Soul and The Self-Aware Universe - Amit Goswami. Two more books whose titles speak for themselves. They are books on quantum physics, showing - among other things - how Consciousness creates what we imagine we see. Written by a man who knows what he's writing about, but the surprising thing is that they're written in English - rather than the customary Gibberish.


Fictional Favourites:
The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings (naturally). I've almost read the print off the pages.

Anything by Sheri S. Tepper, but especially Companions and Six Moon Dance. Her fictional worlds tend to have a Consciousness, so there's no surprise that i enjoy her works so much.

The Way of Wyrd - Brian Bates. A book about a monk sent to England to find out about the indigenous religions and beliefs, Wyrd being one of them, and underpinning them all.

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The Peaceful Place: http://www.agedhippy.plus.com/

"An object is perceived, or not perceived, according as the mind is, or is not, tinged with the colour of the object. "
Patanjali - Sutra 4:17

The Future of Money by Bernard Lietaer.

It's about how we could create new currencies to solve problems at local and non-local level. It starts by identifying four 'mega-trends'. These are the age-wave, monetary instability, loss of biodiversity/climate change, and the information revolution. It then sets about analysing them and showing how we can hope to create a sustainably abundant future by using the wealth locked in our communities.

It is a truly unique book. It starts with economics and towards the end even dabbles in Taoist metaphysics. Not one page of it is dull. It influenced my thinking hugely - gave me new ideas and hope for the future.

I'd recommend it to anyone. Before I read it I'd never even thought to ask what money is, and afterwards I was horrified that I'd went through life not knowing.

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-Scott

It is undesirable to believe a proposition when there is no ground whatever for supposing it true. -- Bertrand Russell

Books that have influenced me... oh my Buddha...where to even start?

Zen Flesh-Zen Bones, Bible, Qu'ran, Bhagavad-... yadda yadda yadda - blah blah blah the usual suspects.

Other books - fiction/non-fiction

Dune - Frank Herbert. ALL of them. The dangers of the Christ image taken to the extreme.

Ishmael - Daniel Quinn. Plus the followups were very good.

A History of God - Karen Armstrong. Bar none - one of the best books about the evolution of the Abrahamic God. Christian, Muslim, Jew - READ IT.

Sex, Ecology and Spirituality - Ken Wilber < - nuff said.
The Marriage of Sense and Soul - More Wilber

aww man, this thread will have me writing forever....

I read this book a few times over the last few years. I love it! It is worth the pay, but if anyone is interested reading it you may also read this book free online: http://amminadab.com/temple/newage/i...impersonal.htm


Table of Contents

I. I Am

II. Be Still and Know

III. I, Life, God

IV. Consciousness, Intelligence, Will

V. The Key

VI. Thinking and Creating

VII. The Word

VIII. My Idea

IX. The Garden of Eden

X. Good and Evil

XI. Use

XII. Soul Mates

XIII. Authority

XIV. Mediums and Mediators

XV. Masters

XVI. The Christ and Love

XVII. Finding Me

XVIII. Union

XIX. Author's Prayer

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May your awareness be perfection

-The Essential Gandhi: An Anthology of His Writings on His Life, Work, and Ideas

-Books by Bart Ehrman

-Books by Elaine Pagel

-Books by Joan Roughgarden

-Every Philosophy, Biology, Biochemistry, Genetics, Physics text books i ever had.

-Books by Stephen Jay Gould

-X-Men [seriously... it's what inspired me to start drawing]

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[belief is NOT the same as TRUTH]