At the request of another, post some of the books that most influenced you with a brief synopsis of the book and what really spoke to you.

-TC

Thank You T.C. for starting this tread : )

I have read about 5 books by Joel Goldsmith and can recommand all of them. I can not say I enjoyed reading them in the beginning, they were hard fro me to understand (maybe language barrier) or I was not on his level of consciousness. After the first book I read (The art of spiritual Healing) I feel into depression. I hated his book. Today I see that his books have helped me to shead the layers of ego (only the ego can get hurt), like no other books out there and set the foundation for experiencing oneness with the All that IS.

Realization of Oneness $8.95 by Joel Goldsmith

Oneness has been a favorite theme with every teacher of spiritual wisdom. It is the key that unlocks the door to a satisfactory life in a world of "manyness". This book sets forth the way to attain that oneness and bring it into play in daily experience. It clearly presents specific principles through which every barrier to the realization of eternal oneness can be removed and wholeness for which every man longs can be attained. To most persons, that wholeness is a never-to-be-attained dream, but those who read this book will discover that the dream can become a fact.

Here a few sentences from Chapter 11, Lifting up the I:

I and my father are one. All that is true of the Father is true of me becasue of oneness. God is spirit, and I am spiritual. God is immortal and eternal, and I am immortal and eternal.

This is not only the truth about us: it is the truth about the patient, the student, or anyone who has called upon us for help. We are dealing with an appearance, an appearance produced by a universal malpractice, a universal ignorance, a universal hypnotism, BUT ONLY AN APPEARANCE. We are not to attempt to get rid of the appearance. We can no more get rid of an appearance than we can get rid of the mirage on the desert. We can only see through it and understand it to be a mirage, and then go about our buisness. Usually in the moment of our recognizing it as mirage, the picture dissolves.

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May your awareness be perfection

Joel Goldsmith was also my first encounter with oneness and the idea of consciousness creating reality. I remember being very excited and inspired reading his books.

The books that have meant the most to me:

1. A Course in Miracles - (Jesus' gift to this age) Not for everyone, but clearly the most profound thing I've ever read. Some have called it "New Age Gibberish" but to me, it's crystal clear. Describes the world of the ego vs. spirit - and how our entire physical existence is based on the projection of our mind. (This is the book I've wanted to flush down the toilet at times, relating to Vivamis' experiences of depression/anger)

2. Autobiography of a Yogi - Until I read this, I didn't think such miracles were possible in our age. It gave me enormous respect and appreciation for Eastern Religions.

3. Emmanuel's Books (I, II and III) Channeled wisdom. Beautiful and comforting, answering lots of spiritual questions.

4. Conversations with God (Series) - Down to earth, with lots of surprises (God says there is no "right" and "wrong" and that Hitler went to "heaven") Traditional religion goes out the window here.

5. Cosmic Consciousness - written in the early 1900's, a book about the consciousness of oneness and those who have attained it. Looks at the striking similarity among transcendent experiences.

I've read alot of other books, but those are my top five. Books on quantum physics also had a great influence on me.

Another book that has influenced me and that I recommand is The Concentric Perspective by Eric Butterworth $7.95 Unity Books. This book helped me to see/work/live/change from the inside out.

"You are a spiritual being, and life can only flow from within-outward." - Eric Butterworth

Truth is within - not something to search fro but something to awaken to and release. Truth is at the center of you, the mystical point where God becomes you, a point of changeless oneness. To experience a balanced life and an attitude of confidence and courage. It is important to continually return to the center, to deal with life concentrically.
In this powerful new book, Eric Butterworth stresses the necessity of seeking the answers to life's mysteries and challenges from this all important vantage point, reminding readers to be aware that "wherever you are or whatever you may be involed in, you can never get outside the circle of which you are the center. The key to effectiveness.....is to return to the center...this center within you in God at the point of you."

When viewed from the concentric perspective, or from within-outward, all the various aspects of living-loving, giving, receiving, forgiving, meeting challenges-take on new meaning, bringing greater satisfaction, deeper undertanding, and a zestful sence of living life to the fullest.

Mr. Butterworth is minister of Unity Center of Practicle Christianity in New York City, and the author of many other Unity books.

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May your awareness be perfection

The God Delusion - Richard Dawkins
The 48 Laws of Power - Robert Greene
A Brief History of Time - Stephen Hawking
The Demon Haunted World - Carl Sagan
The Sacred and the Profane - Mircea Eliade
NLP at Work - Sue Knight
Beyond Good and Evil - Nietzsche
The Virtue of Selfishness - Ayn Rand
The Vegetarian Times Cookbook
The Gospel Without Compromise - Katherine De Heuk Dougherty
The Art of War - Sun Tzu
The Power of Myth - Joseph Campell
The Gnostic Texts
The Bible (NRV, KJV)
The Koran
The Bagivad Gita
The Dammapadah
Tao Te Ching - Lao Tsu

You all have all listed non-fiction books, but the books that influenced me most are fiction. This is the series by Piers Anthony called the Incarnations of Immortality. Anthony took various God/desses from the Greek/Roman pantheons and created stories for each of them: how they came to power and what they did while in power. It really changed how I viewed God, creation, and life in general.

While, this may not have been what you meant, I recommend this series. While it is fiction, Anthony hits on some very important theological issues.

Wow Rev. Kelly, thanks for bringing that to my attention. I never thought of fiction that way.

__________________
May your awareness be perfection

No problem. Most fiction is based in fact, it is just looking at it in a different light. Is it art imitating life or the other way around?

Non-fiction:

• The Demon-Haunted World by Carl Sagan. A painless and entertaining introduction to critical thinking.
• Flow by Mihaly Czikszentmihalyi. Fascinating psychological theory about happiness and where we tend to find it.
• The Dhammapada. Uncluttered and humane aphorisms.
• Starting Forth by Leo Brodie. The first programming book that I actually *understood*.
• Ishmael by Daniel Quinn. * "TEACHER seeks pupil. Must have an earnest desire to save the world. Apply in person." What is the legacy of the agricultural revolution, and how does it relate to the future of our world?

Fiction:

• The Soulforge by Margaret Weis. The early-life biography of Raistlin Majere, an ambitious, talented and complex practitioner of magic.
• Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. This book had a dramatic effect on my life when I read it in the mid-1990's, inspiring me to stand up for myself. A slow, sometimes difficult, often enraging read.
• The Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov. How does one plan for an approaching dark age and shorten its impact on humanity? And what happens when unexpected human elements collide with the plan?
• Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. Has the answer to Life, the Universe and Everything.
• Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut. Chilling (in more ways than one) union of religion and science.

Currently being read: The Blind Watchmaker and The Selfish Gene (Richard Dawkins); A New Kind of Science (Stephen Wolfram); Magician's Gambit (David Eddings); Cautio Criminalis, or A Book on Witch Trials (Friedrich Spee von Langenfeld); Why Christianity Must Change or Die (John Shelby Spong); and about to start Water by H.E. Taylor.

* Edited to add: Technically, Ishmael is fiction. The message, however, is not.

I think the first book that really struck me was the book MetaMorality by Eric Butterworth. It is a metaphysical approach to the ten commandments. It really opened my eyes and got me thinking! The Tao Te Ching, The Bhagavad Gita, The Gnostic Gospels and The Kabbalah are all very good..I use them all in my services as well as many other books. Another one I really love is a small book called As A Man Thinketh by James Allen. Another one I really enjoy is Love Is Letting Go of Fear by Gerald G Jampolsky. It is based on quotations from A Course in Miracles. I have a workshop set up that I will be holding on Love Is Letting Go of Fear. One I just bought recently which I really enjoy is Misquoting Jesus by Bart D. Ehrman. It is the story of how and when then Bible was written and the story behind who changed it and why. It is very interesting!! I mostly love reading any writing of the many great spiritual paths, but particularly enjoy watching or reading anything to do with metaphysics!!