What Book(s) Changed Your Life?

I just posted an article here by a prisoner about how books changed his life.

Nearly everyone has had the experience of reading a book that gave them a new perspective, that radically changed their experience of themselves or the world. Many of us have experienced this more than once! Unlike watching television or even reading the news, there is nothing like a great book to change the course of your thinking or even your life.

What one book has changed your life? Perhaps there was a spiritual book that inspired you to begin meditation practice, or a novel that changed your ideas about human nature, or perhaps a book really woke you up to the seriousness of the prison industrial complex.

Please share your book (or books) and how it changed your life in the comments.

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Permalink Reply by Wendy on August 19, 2008 at 8:55pm
The book that shook me inside and out was "When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times" by Pema Chodron. This book rocked my world when life handed me a the first of a series of major difficulties.
Permalink Reply by Gloria Olson on August 21, 2008 at 12:34am
Interesting! Pema Chodrin's "When Things Fall Apart" was also the first book that came tom omy mind when I thought about the question. However, there was another book that more or less introduced me to Buddhist thinking. It is "The Zen Path Through Depression," which is a very concise little book which is helpful in understanding the importance of accepting things as they are. "Breath by Breath" is also very good.
Permalink Reply by Clay Daniel on August 21, 2008 at 4:11pm
There were 2 that really got me going into a positive direction... being as i was in the "clink" at the time. Both of them Bo Lozoff had written. Lineage was the 1st . I read that book in like 4 hours.
And then since the spiritual literature on the prison unit i was in was soooo very limited I wrote to Bo & Sita ( they are dear souls) and they sent me a couple more.. The one that impacted me the most is "we're all doing time" .. I was basically what one could call spiritually bankrupt and for some reason that is beyond my understanding ,after reading that book I understood what it was that kept me in my self inflicted prison. It seemed that all of these wonderful doors started to open.Yet, I was more free than i had ever been in my life, in prison. There have been so many people that have given things to me in their words ,it's really difficult to put into words the Impact that these beautiful souls have had on my being.
Permalink Reply by Wendy on August 21, 2008 at 4:31pm
Clay,

I love Bo's books too and when I travel I always take at least one or two of them with me. I also have some of Bo's talks which I added to my ipod and that's been great because I can listen or read whenever I need to--my boys hear it in the car with me. Bo doesn't give a "popular" message but he speaks the truth and it's so refreshing to hear or read...truly spiritual sustenance.

I started thinking about all of the books that have helped me and there are so many jewels! I've also been into some Jungian stuff with Murray Stein, James Hollis, and Joseph Campbell. In addition to Bo and Pema, I also love Thich Nhat Hanh.
Permalink Reply by Marilyn on October 9, 2008 at 6:48pm
Well, it's hard to name only one, but many years ago I picked up a book called How Can I Help? by Ram Dass and Paul Gorman. It was one of the first that put ideas about compassion and generosity in concrete terms, and helped me think about the responses of people who are being "helped." It didn't directly change my life, but it got me to read more on those subjects and ultimately led me to Buddhist practice.
Permalink Reply by Brandi Trevisan on October 30, 2008 at 11:36am
I think I have to say Deepak Chopra's Book of Secrets. I was almost completely immune to the requests from my spiritual self. I ignored the miraculous in everyday life and focused instead on my "to-do list." How impoverished my daily life was. I picked up the Book of Secrets, not knowing what it was about or even who Deepak was. I just thought the cover was pretty, and it seemed interesting. Thus began my interest in Dharma. I have since chosen my path and become part of a local Sangha. How fortunate I am to have come across the dharma in this way.
Permalink Reply by tom wekenman on November 13, 2008 at 2:08pm
As a therapist and counselor, I lean toward Mark Epstein's several books such as Going on Being. Tara Bracht also writes well of the close relationship between therapy and Buddhist thought. On the contemplative side, the works of Thich Nhat Hanh are excellent.
Permalink Reply by Cindy Taren on January 8, 2009 at 8:37pm
One book that really helped my perspective on life is Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson. This book is about 2 sisters who tragically lose their mother to suicide and don't know who or where their father is. The mother's estranged sister comes to stay with the girls after the mother dies. The eldest girl, Ruth, shares a deep connection with the aunt and the 2 of them end up leaving behind the society that doesn't accept them. They go on to follow their own path of truth. What I liked most about this book is that it is written as a very internal dialogue between the narrator (Ruth) and the reader. It is ripe with comforting spiritual symbolism throughout and it helped open my eyes to the fact that we must all take a different path in life to attain truth and that we should live in a way as to not look back on the past in any way that might hinder us from what lies ahead.

I also just want to mention a book by C.S. Lewis called Till We Have Faces, about 2 daughters of a king back in a fictitious ancient time of Pagan worship. When the king and his new "queen" are unable to produce a male heir, the youngest of his daughters is sent to be sacrificed. She is tied to a tree in the forest and left for the "gods." Some time passes and the other daughter goes in search of her only to find that she has been saved by a mysterious force, which is in actuality her faith. It is an inspiring work of spiritual redemption and discovery
Permalink Reply by Ike Lichtenstein on March 6, 2009 at 12:48pm
A few years ago I was lost spiritualy even though materially one would have thought I had "made" it. I began re-reading a book called " The Four Agreements" by Don Miguel Ruiz. This book opened my eyes to the concept that the life we are living is like a dream. The people in our life are like dream figures that try to affect our life with their sense of the world. We can create any dream we want my letting go of the " black magic' others have been feeding us since we were born. We need to go deeper into our own mind thru spirtiual practice and meditation.

I then was introduced to " How to Solve Our Human Problems" by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso and that book truly saved me from being a habitually angry person. "..anger is our most destructive delusion. Anger is a mind that exagerates others faults and causes us to want to harm them." We can fight back against this delusion of the mind by developing patience. Understanding the importance of a mind of patience has changed my life and those around me. My spiritual goal is to develop a completely calm, peaceful, patient mind that can survive in an impatient world. Geshe Kelsang Gyatso says in this small but powerful book, " World peace is impossible without inner peace."
Permalink Reply by Joanne Alexander on February 2, 2010 at 6:31pm
No question that 'The Four Agreements' is on my Top 10 list too. It's one of those books that I read every so often to reinforce its profound effect on me. I also bought the CD to travel with. The tenet 'don't take anything personally' has made such a difference in my life.

I'm adding your second book onto my gigantic reading list.
Permalink Reply by Carol Shinouskis on January 27, 2009 at 11:02am
Inner Revolution by Robert Thurman completely changed the way I viewed life, "God", and human society. I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone. Without it, I would be lost in the pits of despair instead of on the path to enlightenment!
Permalink Reply by Kate Mazetier on February 2, 2009 at 10:42am
One of the most transformative experiences that I have had with a book, (and I have had many over the years), was B. Alan Wallace's "The Attention Revolution". This book is a clear and concise journey through the stages of developing shamatha or tranquility, calm abiding meditation. I had been a meditator off and on for many years but there was something in Wallace's presentation that woke me up to the need for a serious practice and the realization that I didn't want to waste the rest of my life thinking that I didn't need a practice to have a life of presence and awareness. Also love Wake Up to Your Life by Ken Mcleod. It is a complete journey through practice from first starting to sit all the way to actively working to dismantle reactive behavior patterns through presence.
Entering into formal practice at this time in my life has been the most rewarding thing I have ever done and it is not over yet. As long as I have breath in me, I want to be present to my own experience. I also do a body meditation from the work of Reginald Ray (Touching Enlightenment with the Body) that has been a great boon in my daily practice.

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