I have a passion for reading books about spirituality and personal growth. In 2010 I responded to a Facebook post from Wayne Dyer asking for book reviewers in Hay House’s Book Nook program (a community of bloggers). Since I read lots of books, anyway, I thought “why not start writing reviews?” Little did I know that four years later I would be that site’s most prolific contributor, with 57 reviews written to date! As I wrote reviews for Hay House I started getting requests from other authors and publicists to read and review their books. Even with my work as a full time travel agency owner, I always manage to make time for reading. In 2014 I reviewed 21 books on this blog. Here are my top five (two from Hay House and three from other sources). Click on the title for my full review of each book.
Number Five:
Your Hidden Riches: Unleashing the Power of Ritual to Create a Life of Meaning and Purpose by Janet Bray Atwood and Chris Atwood
I never thought about the importance of rituals until I read this book. The Atwoods give a thorough treatment of the topic. I was encouraged to keep the rituals I currently had and to add new ones. I’ve been much more consistent with my meditation practice, for example, since reading Your Hidden Riches.
Number Four:
The Turning Point: Creating Resilience in a Time of Extremes by Gregg Braden
I had heard Gregg Braden speak a couple of times and honestly much of his material went over my head. Not with the Turning Point. Braden gives an excellent overview of the global problems we are facing as a human race. He contends that our ancestors have faced equally challenging issues, and through resilience and innovation came out better on the other side. We can do that too, he feels. The Turning Point is also a very practical book, as he encourages us to apply the same transformational principles he endorses to everyday life.
Number Three:
There have been a number of books written in the past year about what may lie on the other side of death for us all. The Wisdom of Near-Death Experiences is the best book I’ve read on the topic so far. Drawing from her experience as a registered nurse caring for dying patients and from her own research, Dr Sartori shares a number of captivating accounts of NDEs. Reading the book caused me to reconsider my views on death, and I’m guessing it will do the same for you, too.
Number Two:
Miracles Now: Tools for Less Stress, More Flow, and Finding Your True Purpose by Gabrielle Bernstein
Spiritual books can be difficult to understand for someone new to this type of material. Not so with Gabby Bernstein’s Miracles Now. The book is loaded with practical spiritual exercises from the author’s insights into A Course In Miracles and from her Kundalini yoga practice. I found most of the 108 short one to two page chapters easy to comprehend. Miracles Now is an excellent book to give to that friend who has just started to show an interest in spirituality. It’s good for us “spirit junkies” (a term Bernstein coined), too.
Number One:
The Ecstasy of Surrender: 12 Surprising Ways Letting Go Can Empower Your Life by Judith Orloff, M.D.
If you are a control freak, even just a little bit, this book is the one for you. Ecstasy of Surrender is an easy read packed full of advice on how we can let go and live in the flow. I was impressed with how much content the book contained. The 12 chapters are divided into four main sections:
- Power and Money
- Reading People and Communication
- Relationships, Love, and Sensuality
- Mortality and Immortality
Each of these topics could be a book in itself. Rather than save some material for future publication, Orloff doesn’t hold back in delivering her “letting go” message in each of these areas. At over 350 pages, Ecstasy of Surrender is longer than most books I have read and reviewed in the self help genre. “I want my life to be on fire,” Orloff writes. “I want to inhabit the moment as much as I can and have a great time just being Judith. I want to trust intuition, instant by instant, so that I can sense perfect timing – when to move ahead and when to wait. This is so appealing because it places me in the center of passion, attuning to what feels most true.” Sounds good to me – I want to be like that, too.
Honorable Mention:
Here are three books that didn’t make my top five but that I feel are worth a mention in my yearly review:
If you never put much stock into reincarnation, this book is a is a fascinating study for anyone interested in past lives, even for a skeptic like me.
A behind the scenes look at the Dyer family from daughter Serena. The Dyers are not all that different from the rest of us, with their own issues to work through, as Serena Dyer tells story after story of her family’s life. Wayne Dyer adds his wisdom at the end of each chapter, too.
I Can See Clearly Now by Wayne Dyer
Wayne Dyer fans will like this autobiography with Dyer giving a detailed account of his life story. At the conclusion of each chapter, Dyer gives a “I Can See Clearly Now” summary describing how each life story contributed to the person he is today. Dyer’s history led me to come up with my own “I Can See Clearly Now” insights from my life.
If you missed last year, here’s my top five books for 2013.
Thanks for reading. More book reviews to come in 2015!
