It’s summer holiday time for many which means the opportunity for many of us to read a book or two! Hurrah!
I love reading, I have always loved reading and I read a wide variety of genres from contemporary fiction to crime. The books I read, vary in genre depending on the seasons and my mood. Whilst historically I have read many works of fiction, over the past two years I have got more into non-fiction, including spiritual texts, self-help books and autobiographies.
In 2017, I read over 100 books and I am heading towards 115 completed books this year. Woohoo! I have found that some spiritual and self- development texts have really transformed my life and I would like to share my top four with you. I hope you get as much from these books as I did if you choose to read them and if you have some other recommendations please do share yours.
Okay, so, in no particular order, here are my absolute favourite spiritual and self-development books:
1. The Five Second Rule by Mel Robbins
I listened to this on audible and to say it was powerful is an understatement. Anyone who procrastinates and struggles to make decisions (like me!) needs to listen to this it is an absolute game changer.
It is based around the belief that it just takes a ‘push moment’ to get something done and by using this ‘5-4-3-2-1 and take off’ strategy, it helps you to achieve your goals.
There are tips on how to become more confident in yourself, to stop worrying and to calm anxiety and how you can share your ideas with courage to name a few, as well as helping to combat procrastination.
This book has helped me to become much more productive and has helped me to make decisions with confidence. I’m still working on some of the areas, such as improving my self-belief and dealing with anxiety, but this book has been a gamechanger for me for sure.
2. The Power of Now by Eckart Toille
This is another book that I listened to through my Audible subscription and this one is more spiritual. I’ve long been a fan of Eckhart Toille and his teachings but this book is particularly enlightening.
The truth of the matter is that now is the only time that exists, tomorrow never comes as we are always living in the now. I know! What a revelation! The language of this book is not scary like I’d thought it would be (some spiritual texts I find so hard to read), but I found it easy to listen to and I found the message was very simple and clear.
If you are struggling with anxiety about the future or always reliving the past, I thoroughly recommend this book. Time to live in the present and to enjoy it!
3. Rise Sister Rise by Rebecca Campbell
Rebecca Campbell is a wise woman! This book resonated with me on so many different levels and I have even gifted a copy to a few women who I believe would benefit from this book as it touched me so deeply and knew it would benefit them too.
Rise Sister Rise is a book is written predominantly for the ladies (sorry gents reading this) and it is ‘a guide to releasing the wild, wise woman within’
What I like about this book is that there are a lot of self-development exercises, some rituals for you to take part in, as well as lots of information about how we can unleash our inner goddess and allow us to heal from the past and look towards the future with courage and strength.
4. Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
Another Book I listened to on Audible, I found this to be thought provoking and enlightening (especially the ‘pray’ part). Elizabeth Gilbert is telling her true story about how after her divorce, she embarks on a journey to find self-acceptance and spiritual enlightenment.
Her travels start in Italy, where Elizabeth is attempting to learn Italian and, at the same time, learns to fall in love with the pleasure of good food and company. I loved this part because Italy is one of my favourite countries and I loved the authors descriptions of it, as well as the rawness of her emotions. The second part is in India and this is the part I loved, where Elizabeth learned meditation and lived in an ashram. The third part is based in Bali and it’s where Elizabeth is learning to love again. It makes me want to go to Bali one day.
The book is very raw in places and it shows how much the divorce has affected the author, but ultimately, I found it to be a journey of self-acceptance as well as personal growth. I was inspired by this book in so many ways and found it to be pretty life affirming. I learnt a lot about meditation and the power of the mind in this book as well.
These four texts have all helped me enormously and I resonated with all of them in some way or another. I am very interested to know what other people’s favourite self-development or spiritual texts are. What book has impacted your life in a big way?
Feel free to respond to me and any feedback is greatly appreciated.
Enjoy the rest of the summer and keep reading ?
