The best books on spirituality and self-discovery

Why am I passionate about this?

I was 5 when I saw my grandfather die. He drank morphene from a bottle, to stop his cancer pains, and soon after he stopped breathing. In the silent peace that followed, I realized that I too shall die one day, and life on earth will continue. The questions, Who am I? Where do I come from? What am I doing here? and Where will I go when I die? felt like the most important questions to find answers to before I die. The book, In Search of the Miraculous: Healing into Consciousness, was written fifty years later, and is the fruit of my search and discovery of answers to these questions.


I wrote...

In Search of the Miraculous: Healing into Consciousness

By Eliza Mada Dalian,

Book cover of In Search of the Miraculous: Healing into Consciousness

What is my book about?

In Search of the Miraculous: Healing into Consciousness is a comprehensive guidebook for seekers of truth, and desire to find their way out of fear, pain, and suffering. Recipient of seven book awards, this book is filled with ageless wisdom that brings a new level of understanding to our journey on this planet. It is both a thought-provoking mind feast and a step-by-step road map to transforming the limitations of the ego-mind and becoming more conscious and free. Many exercises and Q&As on how to heal the wounded ego and transform it into consciousness are also offered to make your reading practical and experiential.

This book has also been translated and published in Spanish, Estonian, and Russian.

Shepherd is reader supported. When you buy books, we may earn an affiliate commission.

The books I picked & why

Book cover of Crime and Punishment

Mada Eliza Dalian Why did I love this book?

I might not have come across this book if it was not on the list of required reading in school.

It was the first time that I felt excited about reading a book. This book, as all the other writings of Dostoevsky, have a soul and penetrate into the deepest depth of the human psyche.

Crime and Punishment was written in 1886, but it is a timeless classic. If you are interested in exploring and understanding the paradox of life’s challenges, this book cannot be missed!

(Other must-read classics written by Fyodor Dostoevsky between 1869 and 1880: Brothers Karamazov and The Idiot.) 

By Fyodor Dostoevsky, Richard Pevear (translator), Larissa Volokhonsky (translator)

Why should I read it?

13 authors picked Crime and Punishment as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Hailed by Washington Post Book World as “the best [translation] currently available" when it was first published, this second edition has been updated in honor of the 200th anniversary of Dostoevsky’s birth.

With the same suppleness, energy, and range of voices that won their translation of The Brothers Karamazov the PEN/Book-of-the-Month Club Prize, Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky offer a brilliant translation of Dostoevsky's astounding pyschological thriller, newly revised for his bicentenniel. 

When Raskolnikov, an impoverished student living in the St. Petersburg of the tsars, commits an act of murder and theft, he sets into motion a story that is…


Book cover of In Search of the Miraculous

Mada Eliza Dalian Why did I love this book?

I was 25 when I came across a well-known book by P.D. Ouspensky, In Search of the Miraculous: Fragments of an Unknown Teaching.

This book is based on the teachings of a spiritual teacher Georges Gurdjieff. Reading this book was a turning point in my life. It gave me hope and direction, and revived my quest in self-discovery.

This book is a delightful must-read for anyone who is searching to find life’s meaning and familiarize themselves with an esoteric understanding of life.  

By P.D. Ouspensky,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked In Search of the Miraculous as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

New


Book cover of In Search of the Miraculous: Chakras, Kundalini and the Seven Bodies

Mada Eliza Dalian Why did I love this book?

Osho is one of the greatest mystics of the 20th century. He has over 650 books in print, translated into 68 languages.

This particular book is for those who are interested in deepening their understanding of the Eastern esoteric teachings about chakras and energy bodies.

Explained from an experience and perspective of a mystic, it can help to increase your understanding and widen your perspective of how the energy centers inside and outside of the body work.

By Osho,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked In Search of the Miraculous as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Osho writes in a style which is clear, simple and often humorous.


Book cover of Black Elk

Mada Eliza Dalian Why did I love this book?

What do the Native American elders know that is not easily accessible to others?

Through the eyes of, and experiences of Black Elk, a Lakota Sioux elder, you will enter into the mysterious world of Native American wisdom.

You will begin to understand the vital importance of the wisdom that the elders have carried from generation to generation, while silently balancing the positive and negative forces on this planet.      

By Wallace Black Elk, William S. Lyon,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Black Elk as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"An unprecedented account of the shaman's world and the way it is entered."
STANLEY KRIPPNER, PH.D., coauthor of 'Personal Mythology: The Psychology of Your Evolving Self' and 'Healing States'

"Black Elk opens the Lakota sacred hoop to a comic


Book cover of The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying

Mada Eliza Dalian Why did I love this book?

If we want to live life fully we must embrace death fully.

Death is an integral part of life, which cannot be ignored.

This book helps the reader understand the wisdom of the Tibetan Book of the Dead and its purpose to help the dying soul to dis-identify from the worldly attachments and find liberation from within.

By Sogyal Rinpoche,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Explains the Tibetan understanding of what happens when a person dies, and how this can help in a person's daily life, in caring for the terminally ill and the bereaved, and to deepen one's understanding of life.


You might also like...

Today Was A Good Day: A Collection of Essays From The Heart Of A Neurosurgeon

By Edward Benzel,

Book cover of Today Was A Good Day: A Collection of Essays From The Heart Of A Neurosurgeon

Edward Benzel Author Of Today Was A Good Day: A Collection of Essays From The Heart Of A Neurosurgeon

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

Coming from the perspective of a neurosurgeon, I have witnessed many successes and failures over more than four decades. I recognized decades ago that communication with patients at a level that involves emotions is a necessary part of being a complete physician. This involves being empathetic and, henceforth, digging deep to find the strength to be transparent, vulnerable, compassionate, understanding, and, when needed, forceful (some would call this paternalism). Although the five books I have chosen to highlight vary widely in content, they have one common theme – finding within us the will and wherewithal to succeed.

Edward's book list on awakening of the strengths that are hidden deep inside each of us

What is my book about?

My book is a collection of monthly Editor-in-Chief letters to the readership of World Neurosurgery, a journal that I edit. Each essay is short and sweet. The letters were written for neurosurgeons but have been re-edited so that they apply to all human beings. They cover topics such as leadership, empathy, vulnerability, stress, burnout, and on and on…. These essays are relevant for all who strive to craft a better version of themselves.

Life lessons learned by the author during his 40+ year neurosurgery career are shared and translated into real-life scenarios. Between the covers are many lessons that are derived from the experiences of the author and then applied to all humans. The mastering of these lessons should translate into a sense of pride and satisfaction. In keeping with the theme of the book, this process should culminate in the feeling at the end of the day that ‘Today was, indeed, a good day.’

Today Was A Good Day: A Collection of Essays From The Heart Of A Neurosurgeon

By Edward Benzel,

What is this book about?

About the Book
Today Was A Good Day: A Collection of Essays From The Heart Of A Neurosurgeon features many topics that pertain to how neurosurgeons interact with others and how each of us can use introspection to modify how we are using tools and strategies such as empathy, respect, stress management, and much more.
This book provides some insights into leadership, effective communication, and fulfillment from the perspective of a neurosurgeon, and it causes the reader to think about and consider many, many attributes of a leader.
We all want to have a good day. This book provides strategies…


5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in spirituality, Colorado, and China?

10,000+ authors have recommended their favorite books and what they love about them. Browse their picks for the best books about spirituality, Colorado, and China.

Spirituality Explore 288 books about spirituality
Colorado Explore 76 books about Colorado
China Explore 581 books about China