Judith Cannon, PhD, LMFT

Healing, Growth, Creativity Enriching

Our Lives, Our Relationships, Our World

Recommended Reading on

Spiritual Issues

 

Touching Peace: Practicing the Art of Mindful Living. Thich Nhat Hanh. This book is a long time favorite of mine. I return to it often. I give it away and buy it again. Reading one of its short passages starts my day off right. Thich Nhat Hanh provides a gentle, loving guide to practicing peace in everyday life. He invites us into living meditation even if we have never practiced formal meditation. Coming back to our breath provides a way to stay mindful and peaceful. A few conscious breaths can have a positive impact on emotions, health, relationships, and the community. I consider this book a must-have primer for spiritual growth.

 

Work as a Spiritual Practice: A Practical Buddhist Approach to Inner Growth and Satisfaction on the Job by Lewis Richmond. Lewis defines spiritual practice as an activity that expresses and develops our inner life. In his book, he provides us tools and principles which allow us to transform the stresses of our workday into moments of awakening. He says, “The principle of continuous change is a central feature of Buddhist teachings and its spiritual practices are in large part designed to help us grapple with it.” Tools and practices he describes in this book do indeed help us deal with the continuous change is our lives.

 

The Zen Commandments: Ten Suggestions for a Life of Inner Freedom by Dean Sluyter. This playful book presents simple but profound guidance to living more consciously and more joyfully. Sluyter provides everyday suggestions for walking the path to enlightenment. He brings us back to the basics of openness and kindness. He teaches the power of devotion as a path to awakening to our interconnectedness. He encourages us to bless others when we feel unable to love them. He advises us to work hard and enjoy the joke.

 

Recommended Reading on Spiritual Issues