Books As Teachers

The first self-help book I ever read when I was 15 years old was The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale.  Applying some of the principles really helped me feel better.  I was going through very hard times as a teen, with anxiety attacks and mild depression. 

Then I remember reading a best-seller at the time, Your Erroneous Zones by Wayne Dyer.  That was a great book.  I also remember reading I'm Ok You're Ok, by Thomas Anthony  Harris,a practical guide to transactional analysis as a method for solving problems in life, which was also very helpful at the time.

Books have always been teachers and healing tools for me.  More than therapists and counselors.  So many books have held my hand along the way, helping me understand and heal my inner pain and confusion. 

During the 80's and 90's I was very involved in Christianity as an active member in an evangelical church for more than 15 years.  I studied The Bible and practiced the principles within it for many years, and the spiritual wisdom in this holy book sustained me during a time of much turmoil in my marriage at that time. What I learned from it still remains within me as a guiding light. 

Moving along on my journey I opened up to other spiritual paths, such as the series of Conversations with God.  Oh how I loved the content of these books.  It was soothing and felt like Truth.

Think on These Things by Jiddu Krishnamurti was another teacher book along the way.  Here I got a clearer understanding about not having an ideal (which creates frustration because it's not ever reachable) and about releasing beliefs of any kind in order to meet each moment with a fresh and open mind. 

A New Earth (The Power of Now) by Ekhart Tolle was also a wonderful book that made me aware of the pain body and about being in the present moment where there is true peace and awareness.

And then A Course in Miracles came to me in 2007.  This book has been transformational for me.  I've been a student for ten years now and it's been key in helping me surrender to the Spirit within, as I learn to choose to see innocence where I saw judgment before....it reminds me repeatedly of my true identity.  I continue to practice the principles in the Course because it truly heals my mind in so many ways.  Still more practice, moment to moment.  As I do so, this life gets a bit happier.