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Beauty, The Invisible Embrace: Rediscovering the True Sources of Compassion, Serenity and Hope by John O'Donohue Irish author John O'Donohue (Anam Cara) discusses the subject of beauty -- the divine beauty that calls the imagination and awakens all that is noble in the human heart. He reveals how beauty's invisible embrace invites us toward new heights of passion and creativity.

Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth
by Richard J. Foster, 25th Anniversary edition
Hailed by many as the best modern book on Christian spirituality, Celebration of Discipline, explores the "classic Disciplines," or central spiritual practices, of the Christian faith. Along the way, Foster shows that it is only by and through these practices that the true path to spiritual growth can be found. They include the inward Disciplines of meditation, prayer, fasting, and study; the outward Disciplines of simplicity, solitude, submission, and service; and the corporate Disciplines of confession, worship, guidance, and celebration.

The Consolations of Imperfection: Learning to Appreciate Life's Limitations
by Donald W. McCullough
A personal and often humorous look at how losses in life can yield rich lessons.

Essential Spirituality: The 7 Central Practices to Awaken Heart and Mind
by Roger Walsh, MD, PhD.
Each of the great spiritual traditions has a common goal: recognizing the sacred and divine that exist both within and around us. Using stories, exercises, meditations, myths, prayers and practical advice, this book shows how to integrate seven spiritual principles into a rewarding way of life.

Ethics For The New Millennium
by his Holiness the Dalai Lama
"…those individuals whose conduct is ethically positive are happier and more satisfied than those who neglect ethics." The Dalai Lama shows how basic goodness and a universal moral system will ensure our survival through the difficult times in which we live.

A Faith Worth Believing: Finding New Life Beyond The Rules Of Religion
by Tom Stella
This book takes religious "truths" we may have learned in childhood and gives them new meaning in light of a lived understanding of the Divine Mystery.

Final Gifts: Understanding the Special Awareness, Needs and Communications of the Dying
by Maggie Callanan and Patricia Kelley, Bantam Books
Hospice nurses share their intimate experiences with patients at the edge of life in this moving and compassionate book.

The God Instinct: Heeding Your Heart's Unrest
by Tom Stella
The author opens our minds to a new way of experiencing and understanding God's presence in our lives using insights about the realities of daily living and the wisdom gleaned from his own journey.

The Healing Earth: Nature's Medicine For The Troubled Soul
by Philip Sutton Chard
Learn how time spent in forest, field, or backyard interacting with the living forces of nature can quiet minds, open hearts and heal souls. You will delight in this EcoPsychology author's wisdom, his stories and the ceremonies he suggests.

Heart: A Natural History of the Heart-Filled Life
by Gail Godwin
This book is a journey that spans the history of human civilization, combining myth, art and religion to understand how humans have conceived of the heart through time. The author weaves her own stories of heartbreak and hope throughout and leads us to an understanding that we cannot let the head alone rule our lives.

A Hidden Wholeness: The Journey Toward An Undivided Life
by Parker J. Palmer
Another lovely book by this gentle, insightful author. He explains "circles of trust" as vehicles for inviting our souls out of hiding

Kitchen Table Wisdom
by Rachel Naomi Remen, M.D.
The author who is a physician, therapist, professor of medicine, and long-term survivor of chronic illness, is also a down-home storyteller. Her collection of real-life parables guide us like a life compass, showing us what's good and lasting about ourselves as well as humanity. They demonstrate over and over our own capacity to improve our lives and the lives of those around us.

Learning to Fall: The Blessings of an Imperfect Life
by Philip Simmons
The author finds meaning all around him and bravely illustrates the art of "rescuing joy from heartbreak" as he deals with the effects of Lou Gehrig's disease. Whereas our culture views falling as failure and defeat, Simmons reframes it as a spiritual art, a deepening into life that opens us to the grace that is always nearby.

Leaving Church: A Memoir of Faith
by Barbara Brown Taylor
A spiritual memoir of a female Episcopal priest who had to leave her church ministry of 15 years in order to save her relationship with God.

Let Your Life Speak - Listening for the Voice of Vocation
by Parker Palmer
The author uses his own journey to describe "living the life that wants to live in me." This small, beautifully written book is a compassionate guide to seeking your true calling in life by listening to the voice within.

A Monk in the World: Cultivating a Spiritual Life
by Wayne Teasdale
The author is committed to building a global "interspiritual" movement--where we all become monks in the world, collectively doing the right thing while honoring the many and diverse paths to God. As a lay monk, he discusses how each of us can pursue spiritual values in the modern world while holding a job, having a family and living in contemporary society

A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose
by Eckhart Tolle
The author of The Power of Now describes how our ego-based consciousness interferes with our personal happiness and how transcending it is key to relieving conflict and suffering in the world. He shows us how to find truly fulfilling existence.

No Future Without Forgiveness
by Desmond M. Tutu
In 1995 Nobel Peace Prize Winner Desmond Tutu was appointed chair of the South Africa Truth and Reconciliation Commission. This book is his personal memoir of the work of that commission which sought to heal the wounds of the apartheid era.

The Places that Scare You: A Guide to Fearlessness in Difficult Times
by Pema Chodron
The author, a widely recognized Tibetan Buddhist nun, introduces a host of the "compassionate warriors'" tools and concepts for transforming anxieties and negative emotions into positive living.

The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment
by Eckhart Tolle, 2000
Miriam Ross recommends this book with the message: living in the now is the truest path to happiness and enlightenment. The author explains what "living in the now" means in language and style that is easy to understand. Readers learn to be more conscious of how thoughts and emotions get in the way of their ability to live in genuine peace and happiness.

Sabbath: Finding Rest, Renewal, And Delight In Our Busy Lives
by Wayne Muller
Sabbath was created as an oasis of sacred time within a life of unceasing labor. Learn about using this time of sacred rest to refresh body and mind, restore creativity and regain inner happiness.

Scarred by Struggle, Transformed by Hope
by Joan Chittister, OSB
Using the story of Job and her own personal disappointments in life, the author explores the struggle that she says is part of every life, pointing out how such encounters can lead to growth and new direction. But even as she writes of the "gifts" of struggle, she is candid about its dark side and lasting impact.

Seeds of Hope: A Henri Nouwen Reader
by Robert Durback, ed., Bantam Books
Although it does not contain his most recent writings, this anthology offers a choice selection of passages from Nouwen's work prior to the 1990's. The format lends itself to savoring small pieces of his vast spiritual wisdom in a slow and reflective way.

Seven Spiritual Gifts of Waiting
by Holly Whitcomb
This Milwaukee area author and minister shows us and how to welcome waiting as a spiritual discipline and to receive its spiritual gifts through stories, exercises and reflection questions.

Seven Whispers: Listening to the Voice of Spirit
by Christina Baldwin
Author Christina Baldwin (Life's Companion; Calling the Circle) is a self-exploration pioneer. She urges readers to connect with the spiritual world by explaining her own personal daily meditation which consists of seven phrases. Each chapter explores one of these "whispers": maintain peace of mind, move at the pace of guidance, practice certainty of purpose, surrender to surprises, ask for what you need and offer what you can, love the folks in front of you, and return to the world.

SQ : Connecting With Our Spiritual Intelligence
by Dana Zohar and Ian Marshall
The authors explain that Spiritual Intelligence is the necessary foundation for both IQ and EQ. It is our ultimate intelligence. Only humans have SQ--the ability to be creative, change the rules, alter situations, and question why we are here.

Taming the Tiger Within, Meditations on Transforming Difficult Emotions
by Thich Nhat Hanh
Has small sayings for daily reading going from Anger to Compassion.

A Tree Full of Angels
by Macrina Wiederkehr
A wonderful example of how to see God and the holy in the ordinary all around us.

The Wisdom of the Enneagram: The Complete Guide to Psychological and Spiritual Growth for the Nine Personality Types
by Don Richard Riso and Russ Hudson
Two of the world’s foremost Enneagram authorities introduce a powerful way to use the Enneagram as a tool for personal and spiritual transformation.

When The Heart Waits: Spiritual Direction For Life's Sacred Questions
by Sue Monk Kidd
This popular author grapples with the sacred questions of life, with the journey and mystery of the human soul as it grows spiritually. She explores waiting as the passionate and contemplative crucible in which new life and spiritual wholeness can be birthed.

Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia
by Elizabeth Gilbert
This is a funny yet insightful account of one year in which the author finds her spiritual self through gelato, meditation and island living.

Gift From the Sea
by Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Although from 1955, it could be written today. It really speaks to the changes in a woman’s life and her corresponding feelings.

I Thought It Was Just Me: Women Reclaiming Power and Courage in a Culture of Shame
by Brené Brown
Based on the author’s extensive interviews with women, she finds, for example, that only 1% think they are beautiful and that shame is widely prevalent in their lives.

I Will Not Die an Unlived Life - Reclaiming Purpose and Passion
by Dawna Markova
This book asks essential questions and looks for the answers not from analytical minds but from our heart minds where the soul resides and we connect with our inner wisdom. Join us on a journey of "what it would mean to live fully, sensually alive and passionately, on purpose.

In Sweet Company: Conversations with Extraordinary Women about Living a Spiritual Life
by Margaret Wolff
Enjoy conversations with 14 women, including Olympia Dukakis, Sister Helen Prejean, Riane Eisler and Reverend Dr. Lauren Artriss. Each woman shares her thoughts on the spiritual life and relates her own personal journey.

The Friendship of Women: The Hidden Tradition of the Bible
by Joan Chittister
This popular author explores the sacred dimension of women's friendship using the wisdom of the women of the Bible and showing how it reflects the friendship between God and creation.

The Hope for Wholeness: A Spirituality for Feminists
by Katherine Zappone. Mystic, CT: Twenty-third 1991
A Woman's Journey To God by Joan Borysenko, PhD, The author offers moving, intimate stories of women who are struggling to find God; shares ideas for new rituals, ceremonies and prayers; and shows us how spiritual discontent can pave the way to a deeper, more meaningful faith.

The Future of Peace: On the Front Lines with the World's Great Peacemakers
by Scott A. Hunt
The author spent three years traveling across the globe -- often under arduous conditions -- to seek out the wisdom of the world's leading peacemakers. He talks with them about the causes of human suffering and the antidote to violence. These great leaders show us a different path, proving not only that the cessation of war is possible, but that the removal of hatred and violence from our hearts is possible as well . . . they show us that the promise of peace remains intact.

Gandhi's Hope: Learning from Other Religions as a Path to Peace
by Jay McDaniel
Five challenges faced by the world's wisdom traditions are explored: to live compassionately, to live self-critically, to live simply, to live ecologically, and to welcome religious diversity.

Peace is Every Step
by Thich Nhat Hanh
The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life with a forward by Dalai Lama. A good easy read.

The Hidden Messages in Water
by Dr. Masaru Emoto
By examining the structure of water at the moment of freezing we can learn much about living a life of love and gratitude and the impact that has on all created things.

Sacred Eyes
by L. Robert Keck, Ph.D.
You are invited to view the human journey and your own life with Sacred Eyes. This book explores the meaning and purpose of human evolution and looks deeply at this unique time in history. We live in an era of profound human transformation the purpose of which is spiritual maturation.

A Theory of Everything : An Integral Vision for Business, Politics, Science and Spirituality
by Ken Wilber
The "M Theory," or the "The Theory of Everything" is explained as "a model that would unite all the known laws of the universe into one all-embracing theory that would literally explain everything in existence."

Finding Our Way: Leadership for an Uncertain Time
by Margaret J. Wheatley, 2005
The best-selling author of Leadership ad the New Science has collected and updated essays which describe in very spiritual terms her thoughts on organizational change in a chaotic world.

Synchronicity: The Inner Path of Leadership
by Joseph Jaworski
The author is founder of the American Leadership Forum and espouses the value of servant leadership, which calls for leadership that is relationship-oriented, creative, and constructive. Synchronicity is an inspirational guide to developing the most essential leadership capacity for our time: how we can collectively shape our future

Turning to One Another: Simple Conversations to Restore Hope to the Future
by Margaret J. Wheatley
The author shows how conversation is central to healing everything from personal relationships to organizational dysfunction to world discord. The intent is to encourage and support you to begin conversations about things that are important to you and those near you. "Finding Rest, Renewal, and Delight in our Busy Lives" by Wayne Muller.

Paths to Prayer: Finding Your Own Way to the Presence of God
By Patricia Brown
Discover your prayer type and explore 40 ways to pray from 2000 years of Christian tradition.

Simple Ways to Pray
By Emilie Griffin
Explores the types, devotional styles and techniques of prayer and helps readers start and sustain an interior prayer life.

Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening
by Cynthia Bourgeault
The author is an Episcopal priest writing in an accessible way about finding God "within" through the practice of Centering Prayer.

God Hunger
by John Kirvan
A small but powerful book of meditations and prayers. At the root of all our longing is a profound hunger for God, the same hunger that has for centuries motivated the world's great spiritual teachers, a hunger only God can fill. This book provides 50 challenging experiences for the soul built around the core spiritual insights of ten great Western mystics (Christian, Jewish, and Islamic).

Into the Silent Land: A Guide to the Christian Practice of Contemplation
by Martin Laird An introduction to contemplation for those who are new to it as well as those who have been praying for a long time. The history and traditions of Christian contemplation are described and applied to today.

Only Necessary Thing: Living a Prayerful Life
by Henri J. M. Nouwen (Author), Wendy Wilson Greer (Editor)
A compilation of Henri Nouwen’s thoughts, feelings, and the struggle with prayer collected from throughout his writings.

Prayer Is Good Medicine
by Larry Dossey, M.D.
Prayer does not take the place of medicine, but can be a powerful means of healing. This book inspires a new appreciation for how prayer can bring about healthful change and discusses the many forms of prayer available to us.

The Promise of Winter: Quickening the Spirit on Ordinary Days and in Fallow Seasons
Reflections by Martin Marty; photographs by Micah Marty
Seeing how the journey through the "winter" times of our souls can lead us to the discovery of a God for all seasons.

Befriending the Earth: A Theology of Reconciliation Between Humans and the Earth
with Thomas Clarke, SJ. Mystic, CT: 1991

Belonging to the Universe
by Frijof Capra and David Steindl-Rast, NY: Harper Collins 1992

Care for Creation: A Franciscan Spirituality of the Earth
By Ilia Delio, Keith Douglass Warner, and Pamela WoodA blend of environmental science, Franciscan spirituality, and reflective action.

Ecology at the Heart of Faith: The Change of Heart That Leads to a New Way of Living on Earth
By Denis EdwardsA Christian perspective on ecology in which this Australian theologian argues that the loss of biodiversity is a theological issue. When humans destroy other parts of creation, they damage a means of God’s revelation in the world. He shows how religious faith has an important contribution to make to the ecological movement.

Living Beyond the End of the World: A Spirituality of Hope
By Margaret Swedish. A chilling forecast of ecological catastrophe, and an outline of the moral and spiritual resources we will need to survive 2008. Orbis Books.

Meditations with Meister Eckhart
by Meister Eckhart; Edited by Matthew Fox. Sante Fe: Bear & Co. 1983

My Name is Chellis & I’m in Recovery from Western Civilization
by Chellis Glendinning. Boston: Shambala. 1994

A New Climate for Theology: God, the World, and Global Warming
By Sallie McFagueThis noted Vancouver theologian explores an environmental theology which suggests that we have failed to see the real root of our behavioral troubles in an economic model that actually reflects distorted religious views of the person. At its heart global warming occurs because we lack an appropriate understanding of ourselves as inextricably bound to the planet and its systems.

Holy Ground: A Gathering of Voices on Caring for Creation
Edited by Lyndsay Moseley Leaders from many faith traditions, along with writers who hold nature sacred, articulate the moral and spiritual imperative of stewardship and share personal stories of coming to understand humans’ unique power and responsibility to care for creation through essays, sermons, and other short pieces.

The Rights of Nature: A History of Environmental Ethics
by Roderick Frazier Nash. Madison WI: University of Wisconsin 1989

A Moral Climate: The Ethics of Global Warming
By Michael S. Northcott, Ethicist and Episcopal priest in Edinburgh, Scotland, Offers a challenging, different look at global warming trends from a spiritual and ethical perspective, and comes from a leading international ethicist who has written other definitive works on the topic of Christian ethics and environmental thinking.

Quantum Theology: Spiritual Implications of the New Physics
by Diarmuid O’Murchu. NY: Crossroad. 1997

The Seat of the Soul
by Gary Zukav. NY: Fireside 1989

She Who Is: The Mystery of God in Feminist Theological Discourse
By Eliabeth A. Johnson 1992

Transforming Grace: Christian Tradition and Women’s Experience
by Anne E. Carr. San Francisco: Harper & Row. 1988

Blue Water
by M. Manette Ansay
It is a story of two families united by tragedy, the accidental death of one family's six year old son, Evan. Primarily, it is the story of how Meg, the mother of Evan, copes with his loss. As the book cover aptly states, "it is a "compelling affirmation ob the human potential for forgiveness, redemption and loss."

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
by Alexander McCall Smith
The first of a series of really fun, warm and empowering novels in which the heroine uses her wisdom, courage and acuity to actualize her dream of becoming the first lady private detective of Botswana.

The Secret Life of Bees
by Sue Monk Kidd
The search for a mother, and the need to mother oneself, are crucial elements in this warm coming-of-age story of a young girl set in the early 1960s against a background of racial violence and unrest. Incorporating the legend of the Black Madonna and a brave, kind, peculiar trio of sisters, this is the story of people who have compassion for each other and who dare to be the people that they should be.

Veronika Decides to Die: A Novel of Redemption
by Paulo Coelho
A provocative story of how a young woman (and others) moves from existential ennui, despair, and encounters with her sexuality to newness of life.