My 5 fav books if you want to learn more about yourself.
My 5 favourite books if you want to learn more about yourself, your brain, or gain some new perspectives. I love these kinds of books and whilst there are so many amazing books fitting this brief, these are the 5 books that have impacted me the most and keep me coming back years later.
THINK LIKE A MONK, by Jay Shetty
This is such a great book if you are interested in spirituality but appreciate some psychology to complement the teachings offered. Jay has so many habits and hacks to help you really understand the shifts he is encouraging and this makes it very straightforward to implement little things he recommends. Jay goes into lots of beautiful stories from his time spent as a monk, full of many lessons; some of which are clear and some are an underlying component to his stories. A very digestible and comforting book to learn about anxiety, sleep hygiene, the ego, visualisation, effective routines, self-purpose and more.
“People talk about trying to suppress your fear…I try to look at it a different way - I try to expand my comfort zone by practicing the moves over and over again. I work through the fear until it’s just not scary anymore”.
“The only way to build a meaningful life is to filter out the noise and look within”.
2. BREAKING THE HABIT OF BEING YOURSELF, by Joe Dispenza
I love this book for the heavy neuroscience and psychological components to it (so if that isn’t really your thing, this one might not be your fav). Dr Joe Dispenza is a very well-known scientist and his teachings really paved the way for so many other educators to support. This book is phenomenal if you are open to new perspectives that might be a bit out of your comfort zone and kinda complicated at first read - but equally make so much sense when backed by quantum physics and neuroscience. Such an amazing mix of so many teachings and theories that will help you prime your brain to help you create positive changes in your life (if that’s what you want). If you like this kind of thing, Dr Joe Dispenza also has heaps of meditations that are amazing, and other books that I have heard equally great things about.
“We can experience joy or gratitude ahead of the environment to such an extent that the body begins to believe that it is already “in” the event. As a result, we can signal our genes to make new proteins to change our bodies to be ahead of the present environment”.
3. THE HAPPIEST MAN ON EARTH, by Eddie Jaku
This book is possibly my favourite of all 5, and to my surprise I have seen it recommended under this genre very little. It is amazing! I got this book from a free community library and I am so grateful I did. Eddie Jaku writes about his life surviving the holocaust and how he not only got himself through such a horrific experience, but was able to come out with joy and gratitude for so much. It is far less direct than any of the other books on this list in terms of “learning about yourself” - but the perspective I took from this book has stuck with me possibly more than any of the others.
“When you’re dead, you’re dead, but where there is life, there is hope. Why not give hope a chance? It costs you nothing”.
“Life can be beautiful if you make it beautiful. It is up to you”.
4. YOU CAN HEAL YOUR LIFE, by Louise Hay
A very very famous one, but I would not be doing this list justice if I didn’t include it. This book heavily focuses on self-love and acceptance, ways to tackle self-criticism and judgement. It is a written from a very spiritual perspective but the knowledge is very easy to understand in my opinion. The book has so many themes throughout, all complemented with unique meditations that are so sweet to read at the end of a chapter. The blurb mentions it is a book to read a few times to fully grasp everything she is talking about, and I definitely agree.
“Blame is one of the surest ways to stay in a problem. In blaming another, we give away our power. Understanding enables us to rise about the issue and take control of our future”.
5. THE ALCHEMIST, by Paulo Coelho
Another famous and beautiful beautiful beautiful book. The Alchemist is such a special book that I love so much. It is the story of a shepherd boy who dreams of travelling the world to follow his dreams and there is so many special lessons intertwined throughout his journey - from the people he meets to the obstacles he overcomes. Paulo Coelho is a Brazilian author who uses symbolism in his stories to convey life lessons and I just find his stories so unique. The Alchemist is a short little book and I would recommend it to anyone wanting to feel inspired and relaxed.
“And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you achieve it”
“It’s the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting, he thought…”
