Top 5 Books to Jump-Start Your Spiritual Growth

Was one of your New Year resolutions working on your spiritual growth? It’s harder than you thought, isn’t it? Well, with a good book in hand, to guide you through it can be a lot smoother! Here is a list of the best books to jump-start your spiritual growth:

1. Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life by Thich Nhat Hanh, Arnold Kotler, Dalai Lama XIV

Any book by one of the Zen Masters of the world - Thich Nhat Hanh is a great book to add to your reading list, especially when it comes to spiritual growth. However, we have chosen one of our favorites – Peace Is Every Step, as one of the must-reads for any beginner on the path to spiritual growth. It’s easy to understand, and yet there is so much wisdom in this book, that even the smallest concepts seen from a different perspective can leave you wondering, and re-thinking your life.

The hardest part for a beginner on their path of spiritual growth is to incorporate the teachings into everyday life, which is where this book comes handy the most. Through each lesson you learn, you will not only change bit by bit by its significance, but you will also discover your path to spiritual growth into everyday life as well.

We are very good at preparing to live, but not very good at living. We know how to sacrifice ten years for a diploma, and we are willing to work very hard to get a job, a car, a house, and so on. But we have difficulty remembering that we are alive in the present moment, the only moment there is for us to be alive.

Thích Nhất Hạnh, Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life

2. Self-Knowledge for Spiritual Awakening by Belsebuub

One of the most important aspects of spiritual growth is to first, acquire self-knowledge. Unless you devote time to studying yourself and discovering who you truly are, where you stand in life, and where you would like to be heading versus where you are actually heading, there can be little progress in your life and spiritual growth. In this amazing book, Belsebuub focuses on teaching you how to explore yourself, and the importance of it. It’s an amazing, inspiring book that will help you to truly explore yourself beyond the limits you thought you could exist in.

Low states are a like a poison to the psyche. Millions of people throughout the world take tranquilizers each day to combat depression, but this does not tackle its root cause, which is found in the basic state of the internal energies of the psyche. Basically, the energy of the psyche needs to change, from low states to spiritual ones. It requires inner observation, the destruction of the egos, and alchemical transformation.

Belzebuub, Self-Knowledge for Spiritual Awakening

3. The Places That Scare You: A Guide to Fearlessness in Difficult Times by Pema Chödrön

Sometimes, changing and spiritual growth can seem like a scary predicament. And it’s true, it’s uncomfortable to move from a zone of security, with the same old, comfortable patterns of behavior. However if we never step forward and past the zone of security, we will never grow. If we get too stuck in our comfy zone, life will always find a way to push us forward – often through hardships. If you feel like you are afraid of change, and like you can’t find the strength to push through the hardships you are facing, then this is the book you need to pick up right now. In this amazing book, you will learn some harsh, yet life-changing lessons that will help you move past a state of fear, and onto the path of spiritual growth.

It is possible to move through the drama of our lives without believing so earnestly in the character that we play. That we take ourselves so seriously, that we are so absurdly important in our own minds, is a problem for us. We feel justified in being annoyed with everything. We feel justified in denigrating ourselves or in feeling that we are more clever than other people. Self-importance hurts us, limiting us to the narrow world of our likes and dislikes. We end up bored to death with ourselves and our world. We end up never satisfied.

Pema Chödrön, The Places That Scare You: A Guide to Fearlessness in Difficult Times

4. A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose by Eckhart Tolle

Today I have yet another awesome book for you! “A New Earth” is a great book that helps you understand the importance of the moment in which you live. This beautiful book catches the modern-day way of thinking or rather overthinking and reliving moments from the past or imagining impossible scenarios. You do that a lot too, right? Well, let me tell you, once you read this book you will understand how meaningless it is to do so, and how much pain it can cause you. Even though Tolle relies on some religions to make a point the beautiful part is that even without focusing on religion he wrote a deep, meaningful and spiritual book. While this might not be a book that you will read with the speed of light it is great because it allows you to see how your ego-driven view of the world is clouding your view of the bigger picture. And it’s a shame really to live in such a way.

Give up defining yourself - to yourself or to others. You won't die. You will come to life. And don't be concerned with how others define you. When they define you, they are limiting themselves, so it's their problem. Whenever you interact with people, don't be there primarily as a function or a role, but as the field of conscious Presence. You can only lose something that you have, but you cannot lose something that you are.

Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose

5. The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom by Miguel Ruiz

One of the biggest blockages on the path to spiritual growth is actually the way we limit ourselves. From our thoughts to expressing emotions and opinions to actions, our whole way of functioning is based upon limiting ourselves. In this amazing book, Miguel Ruiz explores and shows how self-limiting can actually block your path to personal freedom and spiritual growth. This book is our absolute favorite, and it’s a part of a trilogy that everyone should pick up and read! Here is one of our fave passages:

It is very interesting how the human mind works. We have the need to justify everything, to explain and understand everything, in order to feel safe. We have millions of questions that need answers because there are so many things that the reasoning mind cannot explain. It is not important if the answer is correct; just the answer itself makes us feel safe. This is why we make assumptions…We make all sorts of assumptions because we don’t have the courage to ask questions…We have agreed that it is not safe to ask questions; we have agreed that if people love us, they should know what we want or how we feel. When we believe something, we assume we are right about it to the point that we will destroy relationships in order to defend our position.

Don Miguel Ruiz, The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom

Love our book recommendations? Then tune in to our blog for more Spiritual Growth Books!