My Reading Journey
Books are a form of sharing - one I have always enjoyed. They've also served as a mechanism of communication from Spirit as I have been frequently directed to specific books, and certain passages become highlighted for me. It has been rare that I search for a book to read - they have more often found me.
Below are a few of the books I found helpful and very influential along my journey towards discovering what a "True experience" is. I do want to note, that while I have read the full book for most of these - for one or two of them - it has been more about the passages I was directed to read. These two are the Bhagavad Gita and The Second Coming of Christ.
I encourage you to find those books that call to you - or find you. The messages you need to receive may not be the same messages I needed.
What I am currently reading:
A Note on "A Course in Miracles" (ACIM): It is highly recommended that you start with Gary Renard's books. They prepare you to receive the messages pertained in the Text (Part 1) of the ACIM by laying them out in a more linear fashion.
If you choose to embark on this self-study program - know this is a course that will take time. Do not skip the Text and jump straight to the Workbook. Without reading the text, you will not gain the full understanding of what the workbook lessons are teaching. I found it helpful to read the clarification of terms first but follow what calls to you. Know this: the ego will try to lay its thought system over what ACIM presents, making you believe you understand it, when you do not. Be curious, have an open mind, be ready to be challenged, and be willing to completely lay aside your beliefs, attachments, and ego.
Understanding Spirituality & Awakening
A Note: There is so much that these books had to offer me. This is when I started feeling as though I was on that journey towards Truth. During the past couple of years, that has been my sole desire - Truth. A beautiful woman I work with, one who can hear the voice of the Holy Spirit, once was asked to tell me this:
"Jesus is going to show up at your doorstep. You don't know when, but it will be soon. He is going to offer you whatever you want, so you need to have your list ready for when you answer the door."
I should note, that just before telling me this she knew some of the material things I had my mind focused on (without me telling her) - so the first place my mind went, as most would, was to the material. I sat with this assignment for a week, but there was one word that kept returning, a word I just could not get rid of. That word was Truth. By the end of that week, I knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that if I could be granted nothing else but this, I would be satisfied.
That is when my Real journey began - as if it were a test for my readiness to receive what He had to offer. The books below are some of the many that found their way to me. It wasn't just books - there were many Podcasts and personal experiences as well - some of which I will be sharing in the blog.
Understanding Life and Death
A Note: It is now my understanding that reincarnation is still part of the "dream" as are Near Death Experiences (NDEs). They are still part of the world of form and duality. This does not take away the importance of understanding how things work in the dream while on your journey to awakening. Understanding that life is about learning the lessons presented to us so we can overcome them; that when we listen to the guidance from the Holy Spirit, He makes our lives easier and hastens the process towards awakening. Understanding that death is not real is vital to releasing the fear that surrounds it.
Inner Work, Releasing and Letting Go
A Note: Inner work is where we address the shadow, stories we hold on to, attachments, and ego-identity. Through this work we begin to peel the layers of the onion - releasing what is blocking us from hearing Spirit. As you do this deeper work, you develop more self-awareness and begin to awaken to a state of being where you see that your reality is being created by you - not being done to or for you. For me, meditation played a very large role in this phase, as did the soul retrieval process. You can see I favored the Shamanic way of doing this work and this was simply because many of my past lives were spent in Native and Indigenous cultures - and in one, I was a Shaman. Following that path came very natural to me, and for the most part, I already knew what to do. You'll notice that there are no books on Soul Retrieval - yet this process played a dominant role in my journey. I didn't need the books, because I already knew how to do it. Not everyone will gravitate towards this way - so I would say find what calls to you, and what feels familiar or natural. That will likely be what works best for you to do this work.
Breath and the Present Moment:
A Note: Breath-work and the able to stay in the present moment is very closely correlated with understanding the mind. The section below this focuses on understanding the mind. This section is more focused on gaining control over it. Breath-work, meditation, mindfulness practice, and understanding of what it means to be "In the Now" and why you would want to - these are all the focus here. You'll notice I didn't include anything regarding positive affirmations. While I believe in visualization, I've never felt that affirmations work. They are just empty words if you can't associate a visualized experience and feeling with them. The important thing to mention here is that you will likely struggle in this process. That is where the Inner Work comes in. Struggles usually mean you need to release what you cling to. Combine inner work with this process of gaining control over the mind. Meditation is key to this process (and no, not the guided meditation placing you on a beach designed to relax you). I'm talking about real meditation where you go deep within and anchor in stillness or connect to Spirit - I will share a little about this in the blog.
Understanding the Mind
A Note: Our minds are extremely powerful. You should also know that there are two minds - yes, our minds are split. The mind of the ego, part of the Universal Consciousness (which is not God), and the mind of the Holy Spirit, which is our direct connection to God. Our mission, should we accept it, is to learn to rely only on the right mind - the mind of the Holy Spirit. That said, many operate from the ego-mind (as I have for most of my life). Understanding even a little how this mind works is an essential component to navigating this world with less suffering. Mindfulness is a practice that would naturally be adopted at this phase. If you only read one book, read the first one mentioned below. You will see how it connects to a book in the Inner Work section, the Four Agreements.
Where my journey started - with the body:
A Note: As the title of this section indicates - health and the body is where my journey began. I am not going to include the plethora of health-oriented books in this section that I read - not because they didn't help me at that time, but because the whole point of this journey is to take care of the body, but not to become obsessed with it. Our focus should be staying healthy to make it easier for you to participate more fully in your journey without being distracted by the cares of the body. Staying healthy gives you more time in this lifetime to focus on your awakening.
That said, we are not all fortunate to remain free of health issues - I've had my own share - to include with cancer. These experiences do present their own lessons, and so can in that way be used for propelling you forward.
What I present here are "other" ways of understanding and addressing the body. We are all aware of healthy nutrition, exercise, supplements, and alternative healing modalities. What most are not aware of are the other things involved in your health. I do still call on these understandings in my journey so I can keep my body functioning. However, I have also now arrived at a place where I know that it is my mind (mostly unconscious) that determines my health. So, while I share a little here on the body, the real focus should be on the mind, inner work, and spirituality - that is where true healing resides.
