10 personal / spiritual development book recommendations
You’ve probably found your way to this article if you’re curious about yoga philosophy, spirituality (when I refer to spirit, this concept is not linked to any particular religion — you could also use the term consciousness, soul, or capital ’S’ Self to refer to your spirit), questions of human existence or the purpose of life, or you simply want to commit to your personal development. It’s not always easy to know where to begin when you step into this world as there is such a wealth of information available out there. So this list is designed only to point you in a direction and maybe spark some curiosity, not to tell you that you *must* read ‘x’ or ‘y’ otherwise you’ll never get enlightened (spoiler alert: that’s not how that works).
So sticking to the same format as in my Instagram post, only this time with a little more detail, here's some books you might like to read if...
If you want to learn about Daoism / zen Buddhism: 'The Way of Zen' by Alan Watts & 'The Dao De Jing' by Lao Tzu (many translations available) & 'The Tao of Pooh' by A. A. Milne & E. H. Shephard.
The Dao De Jing (sometimes written as Tao Te Ching) is the classic Chinese text that lays out the philosophy of Daoism through the medium of poetry. Translations will vary a little, and some versions will contain a commentary, but the essence should remain the same. The Daoists are notoriously elusive and tend to evoke imagery to illustrate complex, yet very simple ideas, in a way that is provocative and often humorous, but also a little hard to grasp.
This is where the other two recommendations come into play - Alan Watts does a great job of explaining and simplifying Daoist concepts, and ‘The Tao of Pooh’, uses the characters of Winnie the Pooh to explain these ideas in an accessible way. This philosophy is possibly my favourite way of understanding life; it doesn’t ask much of you, other than to let go of effort and find a sense of harmony, or flow with the world around you, as is the way of nature.
If you want an introduction to the philosophy underpinning yoga and start thinking about how to incorporate those principles into your life: 'Patanjali's Yoga Sutras' (also many translations available) & 'Yamas and Niyamas: Exploring Yoga's Ethical Practice' by Deborah Adele.
There are so many traditional yogic texts out there, just as there are many yogic paths; others not listed here include the Bhagavad Gita, the Upanishads, the Rig Veda, and the Hatha Yoga Pradipika. These ancient texts (in their various translations) will give you an in depth understanding of yoga philosophy, in it’s original context, and are definitely worth a read.
In the last 50-100 years, Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras has become more commonly recognised, as the eight-limbed path toward enlightenment that he lays out through the sutras has formed the basis for Astanga yoga (asta = eight), which is the style of yoga that has been most widely adopted in the west. The eight limbed path begins with the Yamas and Niyamas; together comprising the ethics of yoga.
Deborah Adele’s book is a much shorter, faster read (I read this on one flight on route to my first 200hr teacher training!), covering these first two limbs, and is quite helpful in laying out these principles in an accessible way, with suggestions of how you can begin to think about incorporating these principles into your life.
If you want to understand the chakra system as a tool for self inquiry/personal growth: 'Eastern Body, Western Mind' by Anodea Judith .
I have only dipped in and out of this book as it’s pretty thick, so this may be one to pick up when you are looking for something in particular. Anodea Judith skilfully weaves together the philosophy relating to the chakra system (our main energy centres that are aligned at 7 points along the spine) with western concepts of psychology and psychoanalysis.
She makes reference to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, a western roadmap towards self-actualisation (much like other paths to enlightenment), linking this to the chakra system; the basic idea being that in order for our spirit to become enlightened, or in order to self-actualise, our needs must first be met at a more foundational level; this means working through the issues related to lower chakras in order to allow your energy to move freely up towards the higher centres (third eye and crown chakra) that are related to spiritual development. She provides insights on potential issues that can come up in relation to each of the chakras, with a view to helping you work through these struggles.
If you want to get a better understanding of yourself and your purpose in relation to the world around you: 'The Book on The Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are' by Alan Watts, & 'A New Earth' by Eckhart Tolle
It’s hard to explain these two books, I just highly recommend reading them. You may need to take notes or return to these books after some time as there’s a lot to unpack. Both books shake up the notion of ego, guiding you to a more malleable understanding of who you are; not something fixed and predictable, but something a bit more formless and ever-changing. Eckhart Tolle begins to introduce some confronting truths for you to contemplate in relation to your position within the world.
If you are often concerned with what other people think of you (and want to stop caring!): 'The Courage to be Disliked' by Fumitake Koga & Ichiro Kishimi.
For some even more tough truths, (but some things I think most people could usefully hear) this is the one for you. This is the book I most often find myself recommending to people as I think we all have a problem when it comes to people-pleasing, adapting our behaviour to meet the expectations and desires of others and/or thinking we’re not good enough.
This book completely dismantled some hardwired habitual thinking patterns for me, and I can tell you there is nothing more liberating than making the conscious choice not to care what others think of you. Iv’e also seen the change in others I know who have read it. The book is laid out in the form of a conversation between a student and a philosopher, so undoubtedly any concerns you have will be raised and subsequently quashed by the philosopher figure. The ideas here draw on Adlerian psychology; a direct opposition to Freudian psychology which suggests that everything happening to you is the direct cause of something that has happened to you in the past, instead turning things around and putting the onus on you; your mind creates and recreates your reality, handing the power back to you to decide how you want to feel, think and react.
If you want to step into your life's potential / understand the power of a meditation practice on an experiential and scientific level: 'Becoming Supernatural' by Dr. Joe Dispenza.
This has been my latest discovery; recommended to me three times in one week by three different people, so I figured I should buy it, regardless of what it was actually about. And I’m so glad I did. Another author, this time a doctor, who is incredibly skilful at weaving together the spiritual with the psychological; Joe Dispenza articulates concepts like manifestation and law of attraction through a scientific lens (drawing from quantum physics, biology and neurology),
using real data and studies alongside anecdotal evidence from his students to show how you can literally rewire your brain, alter your neuro-chemistry, change your gene expression, and open yourself up to not only a new way of thinking, but a new way of living and being. The techniques you will learn involve a particular style of meditation, including kundalini inspired breath practices designed to shift your energy and move your consciousness into a different state. The key to this one is to actually try practicing what you’re reading; the book is really just here to introduce you to his techniques and explain how they work. If you want to really understand how this works, you just have to give it a try yourself.
This is not an exhaustive list, nor the only list by any means; I hope you can use this as a point of departure; start with one book that sounds like it might contain something you need, and read that before you get anything else. Then I highly recommend you take the time to reflect as you are reading and afterwards; think about how what you’ve read can apply to your life and how you could incorporate some of what you’ve learnt into how you live/ who you are.
As a final note: I know a lot of these books are new; written in the last 50 years, some of them in the last 10. These newer books are just finding new ways to articulate what we’ve known for thousands of years; the source of this knowledge comes from the vedic tradition, and the daoist tradition, from parts of South and East Asia, including India and China and some other neighbouring regions. So if you’re wondering why you should read the old stuff, here’s your answer: there’s beauty in the fact that the challenges to the human experience haven’t changed in thousands of years, the difficulties and suffering we face are not dependent on time or context, but span across space and time, throughout the human experience, and it’s fascinating to see that you can relate to ideas written down thousands or hundreds of years ago by someone who likely grew up in a completely different context and culture to you. It’s also important to honour the lineage of these ideas, and get a little closer to their original source; although ideas evolve over time in line with changes to the societal environment and technological developments, something else is also lost each time an ancient work is interpreted or translated, so returning back to these original works as well as reading their contemporary counterparts is really important.