Part I: Learning to be with Myself

Joan Barfoot Gaining Ground 1980 – A Canadian woman spends time alone in a cabin in the woods, and is honest about the challenges.

Ellen Bass & Laura Davis The Courage to Heal 1988 – A validating guide for anyone recovering from sexual abuse.

Melanie Beattie Codependent No More: How to Stop Controlling Others and Start Caring for Yourself 1989 – A very helpful guide to the psychology and practice of self-care.

Eric Berne Games People Play 1964 – A psychological explanation of every-day behaviour. Definitely an “ah ha” moment in early self-discovery. An easy and amusing read, but with very deep implications.

Charlotte Davis Kasl Women, Sex and Addiction 1989 – Kasl is a sensitive skilled therapist, and I recommend this book to everyone living in the 21st century western world.

Annie Dillard Pilgrim at Tinker Creek 1974 – an American woman experiences living close to nature.

Colette Dowling The Cinderella Complex 1981 – A little paperback which explained to me that it is those small inconsistencies in our behaviour that can lead us to our core issues still waiting to be resolved.

R. D. Laing The Politics of the Family 1969 – Laing was a pioneer who had a revolutionary humanistic approach to psychiatric hospital care. His explanation of family dynamics is also liberating.

Part II: The Self that is the Body

Mary Austin Acupuncture Therapy 1974 – An excellent acupuncture reference, to help understand a variety of aches and pains via the meridian pathways.

Dr. Edward Bach Heal Thyself 1931 – Spiritual beliefs concerning healing by the discoverer of the Bach Flower Remedies.

Theos Bernard Hatha Yoga 1950 – A well-illustrated excellent book on hatha yoga.

Ruth Bircher Eating Your Way to Health 1961 – A ‘healthy eating’ book from a clinic in Switzerland, with valuable advice and recipes.

Boston Women’s Health Book Collective Our Bodies, Ourselves 1970 – A good beginning self-help guide.

W.H.M. Carrington Balance as a Function of Intelligence 1970 – Trained in the Alexander Technique by F. Matthais Alexander, Walter Carrington explains that posture is fundamental to our health and well-being and can only be maintained by using our intelligence.

Nicholas Culpeper Culpeper’s Complete Herbal 1653/1854/2019 – The basic herbal reference for every library.

Scott Cunningham Magical Aromatherapy 1989 – Scott Cunningham was a magical adept and a scholar. His work combines health and magic in the best possible way.

William T. Fernie The Occult and Curative Powers of Precious Stones 1907/1973 – Fernie’s language is rather old-fashioned, but the history and knowledge presented are sound. The wholistic capacities of nature to support our healing are worth noting. Consider using precious stones in conjunction with aromatherapy.

Jonathan Goldman and Andi Goldman The Humming Effect: Sound Healing for Health and Happiness 2017 – A more recent publication, sent to me by a friend in Paris when I was looking for exercises to calm my vagus nerve, this book is an excellent validation of the importance of humming for calming the mind and body and lifting the spirit.

Kathy Henderson, Frankie Armstrong and Sandra Kerr My Song is My Own 1979 – Voice work is a very important part of being in your body, and work with Frankie Armstrong is inspiring. This collection of 100 traditional and women’s songs from the British Isles is an excellent resource to encourage you to lift your voice in song.

W.J Kilner The Aura 1911 – A physician and surgeon and one of the early researchers on the aura, Kilner’s work is a classic in the field. Understandable with helpful illustrations, we can understand the energy bodies that surround our physical selves.

Michio Kushi Oriental Diagnosis 1977 – Kushi, a student of George Ohsawa the founder of macrobiotics, tells us how to read a person’s life in their face and what dietary changes they need to make in order heal. Helpful when considering food as medicine.

Gay Gaer Luce Body Time 1971 – Bio-rhythms and what they mean to your way of life. With a very extensive bibliography.

Yogi Ramacharaka The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath 1960 – Breath is life but how often we forget. This book is a valuable reminder of how to breathe to stay sane, grounded, and healthy.

Robert B. Tisserand The Art of Aromatherapy 1977 – Aromatherapy is a powerful healing tool. Tisserand is one of the world-recognised experts. A good reference book to have in your library.

Aubrey T. Westlake Pattern of Health 1961 – A discussion of some fundamental approaches to energy medicine including Bach Flower Remedies, homeopathy, the work of Reich, Hawaiian Huna, and the healing miracles of Christ.

Part III: The Self that is the Mind

Annie Besant Thought Power 1912 – One of the outstanding books by a member of the Theosophical Society explaining the importance of developing mental self-control and ways to approach this discipline.

Louise Hay Heal Your Body 1976 – A once-popular little handbook, Hay associates body parts with emotional blockages and gives affirmations to clear them.

Eugen Herrigel Zen in the Art of Archery 1953 – An explanation for western minds about how to put meditation into practice in everyday life.

Sybil Leek Moon Signs 1977 – This book gives much-needed attention to an often neglected planet in our charts.

A.T. Mann The Round Art: The Astrology of Time and Space 1979 – A global look at astrology, an excellent overall reference.

Catherine Ponder Dynamic Laws of Healing 1966 – With body maps and affirmations, Ponder reminds us that you co-create our own health. I find her affirmation of “divine order” to be reliably effective.

Jane Roberts The Nature of Personal Reality: A Seth Book 1974 – A long book with one message: your thoughts shape your life. I finally realised the importance of paying attention to the expectations I was setting for myself and at last began to notice my thoughts.

 

Part IV: The Self in Context

Aeschelus The Oresteian Trilogy 458 BCE – A trilogy of plays illustrating the transition from matriarchal society to our present blood-thirsty patriarchy.

Samuel Beckett Waiting for Godot 1953 – A classic play about finding, or not, consciously or not, one’s spiritual path in life.

Mary Daly Beyond God the Father 1973 – The title says it all; a book that encourages radical thinking about spirituality and practice.

Mary Daly Gyn/Ecology: The Metaethics of Radical Feminism 1978 – An examination of the practices of patriarchy and how they operate to control women for the advantage of all men.

Simone de Beauvoir The Second Sex 1971 – A foundational text for feminism, absolutely groundbreaking when first published in French in 1949, this book provides a womanist standpoint from which to view history, present day practices, and future possibilities.

Bob Dylan Blowing in the Wind (song) 1963 – An early hippie classic, this song can tell us about the unity of politics and ecology, and the relationship between human culture and our true needs. If only more of us knew how to listen to the wind.

Lawrence Ferlinghetti The World is a Beautiful Place 1968 – A San Francisco poet, Ferlinghetti presents life as it really is, with all its beauty and absurdity.

Robert Frost The Road Not Taken 1916 – A brilliant poem about life’s fundamental choices by one of America’s foremost poets.

Robert Graves The Greek Myths Volumes I & II – The psychic heritage of our Western culture, the source of archetypes and more.

Vladimir Mayakovsky Vladimir Ilyich Lenin 1924 - A poet of the Bolshevik Revolution, this is for any of us who once hoped for the glorious future.

G. R. Levy The Gate of Horn: religious conceptions of the Stone Age and their influence upon European Thought 1946 - A beautifully illustrated archaeology book by a sensitive explorer.

Marge Piercy Woman on the Edge of Time 1976 – A feminist science fiction novel about surviving life in a mental hospital. I found it very inspiring and was encouraged to carry on.

Sylvia Plath The Bell Jar 1963 – Plath ultimately committed suicide, some say driven mad by the professional jealously of her husband Ted Hughes. This book beautifully describes her anguish, and some of her processes as a writer.

Stevie Smith not waving but drowning 1957 - Another poem about reality and appearances.

Merlin Stone Ancient Mirrors of Womanhood 1979 – Stories, myths, and prayers involving goddess figures from a wide variety of world religions, ancient and otherwise.

Part V: Unity of Body, Mind, and Universe

Helena Petrovna Blavatsky The Secret Doctrine 1888/1974 – The original source of most Western occult teachings including those of Alice Bailey and the Tibetan, HPB is an iconic figure in the Western tradition. A compilation of the most significant teachings.

Richard Cavendish A History of Magic 1977 - a scholarly explanation of the historical development of magic.

Fritjof Capra The Tao of Physics 1975 – As Einstein discovered, physics and spirituality both reveal the same truths. Capra explains this in terms that are understandable.

Marie-Louise von Franz Time: Rhythm and Repose 1978 – A Jungian analyst who worked directly with Jung, von Franz explains the function of time for the psyche.

Martin Johnson Time, Knowledge and the Nebulae 1945 – An early and very scholarly explanation of how time and space are different aspects of each other.

Arthur Koestler The Roots of Coincidence 1972 – A famous novelist explores the possible explanations for psychic connections between all events.

Sheila Ostrander & Lynn Schroeder Psychic Discoveries Behind the Iron Curtain 1970 – Two Canadians went behind the Iron Curtain to study Soviet experiments with the paranormal, at a time when the West would not admit to exploring it (though the US Navy was doing some similar things at the time).

P.D. Ouspensky In Search of the Miraculous 1949 – A follower of the mystic and spiritual teacher Gurdijeff, describing his time with Gurdjieff and the master’s teachings.

Louis Pauwels & Jacques Bergier The Morning of the Magicians 1960 – Two Nobel scientists consider magic, science and history.

Peter Tompkins & Christopher Bird The Secret Life of Plants 1973 – Explains why it makes a difference to talk to your plants.

Gary Zukov The Dancing Wu Li Masters 1980 – Zukov takes Capra’s work further and shows us the unity of all life from a scientific point of view. Popular writing, easy to read.