Over the last 12 months I have read many different books that could be loosely classified under ‘mind, body, spirit’. All of these have, in some way, inspired us to make the decision to go on this trip. In particular, Anthony De Mello’s Awareness has been constant source of inspiration, with both Isa and I rereading it on more than one occasion. In its profundity, simplicity and humorous delivery, Awareness definitely rates as one of the most important books that I’ve ever read. Essentially, it’s a book about spirituality without religious doctrine. Over a series of ‘chapters’ like ‘On Waking up’/ ‘On the proper kind of selfishness’/ ‘’Our illusion about others’/ ‘The illusion of rewards’/ ‘Cultural conditioning’,etc, he gives a first class course on what it means to live a truly ‘aware’ life.

Spirituality means waking up. Most people, even though they don’t know it, are asleep. They’re born asleep, they live asleep, they marry in their sleep, they breed children in their sleep, they die in their sleep without ever waking up. They never understand the loveliness and the beauty of this thing that we call human existence. You know, all the mystics- Catholic, Christian, Non-Christian, no matter what their theology, no matter what their religion- are unanimous on one thing: all is well, all is well. Though everything is a mess, all is well. Strange paradox, to be sure. But, tragically, most people never get to see that all is well because they are asleep. They are having a nightmare. (Page 1, chapter1)

Below, I’ve compiled a list of most of the books that have inspired us. For those who find themselves lost or unsure about their own journey through life, I recommend them all. May you find the Right path and be happy.

After the Laundry, the Ecstasy Jack Kornfield
The Writings of Florence Shovel Shinn Florence Shovel Shinn
The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success Deepak Chopra
How to Know God Deepak Chopra
The Miracle of Mindfulness Thich Nhat Han
Living in the Light Shakti Gawain
Anatomy of the Spirit Caroline Myss
The Tao of Physics Frijtof Capra
The Holographic Universe Michael Talbot
Zen in the Art of Archery Eugen Herrigel
Going Buddhist Peter J Conradi
The Four Agreements Miguel Ruiz
The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying Soygal Rinpoche
Awareness Anthony De Mello
The Artists Way Julia Cameron
Intuitive Awareness Ajahn Sumedho

Note: Most of these books should be available from a good bookstore!