The Book Report by Rebecca Traver - Our Online Bookshop Curator
In the same way that we can never step into the same river twice, we can never read the same book in quite the same way we have before. While the words themselves remain the same on the page, it’s we who have changed, experienced new things, shifted our perspectives, and evolved our processes. Perhaps you’ll be reunited with some of your old friends or feel prompted to make some new ones.
“To be strong does not mean to sprout muscles and flex.
It means meeting one’s own numinosity without fleeing, actively living with the wild nature in one’s own way.
It means to be able to learn, to be able to stand what we know. It means to stand and live.”
~Clarissa Pinkola Estes
Since our last Book Report featured new & newly discovered titles, I thought that this time I would head in the opposite direction and feature some of what I like to think of as part of a well-stocked ‘spiritual pantry’ - those tried and true books that have stood the test of time with much yet to offer. You can view the entire list here; from it, I have chosen a few to share with you. Most of these were first published more than 10 years ago (a lifetime in the modern publishing world), but a few are slightly more contemporary.
In the same way that we can never step into the same river twice, we can never read the same book in quite the same way we have before. While the words themselves remain the same on the page, it’s we who have changed, experienced new things, shifted our perspectives, and evolved our processes. Perhaps you’ll be reunited with some of your old friends or feel prompted to make some new ones.
Women Who Run with the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype by Clarissa Pinkola Estés first appeared in 1992 and spent 145 weeks on The New York Times Best Seller list over a three-year span; a record at the time. She has since published many other works, but, for me this one shines as brightly now as it did back then.
The Dancing Wu Li Masters: An Overview of the New Physics by Gary Zukav came out in 1979 to wide acclaim and was awarded a 1980 U.S. National Book Award in the category of science, bringing a high degree of accessibility to the extraordinary world of quantum physics.
Pema Chödrön’s beautiful works When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times and Start Where You Are: A Guide to Compassionate Living have remained trusted touchstones for me over the years. They’re the kind of books to have at one’s bedside - blessed counterweights of wisdom and realignment for when we’re visited by 3:00 a.m. existential freak-outs.
Jonathan Livingston Seagull (an expanded edition of the original) and Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah by Richard Bach will always have forever homes on my bookshelf.
As will Care of the Soul: A Guide for Cultivating Depth and Sacredness in Everyday Life by psychotherapist Thomas Moore, A Woman's Worth by Marianne Williamson, Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom by poet and scholar John O’Donohue, The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, The Fifth Sacred Thing the visionary novel by Starhawk, The Power of Now and A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose by Eckhart Tolle, Chop Wood, Carry Water: A Guide to Finding Spiritual Fulfillment in Everyday Life by Rick Fields, and Tao Te Ching: A New English Version by Stephen Mitchell.
Of course, I could go on and on, but I had to place a bookmark somewhere! May these works bring you an abundance of inspiration, a sense of connection, and enduring support as you make your way along the path.
“All streams flow to the sea because it is lower than they are. Humility gives it its power. If you want to govern the people, you must place yourself below them. If you want to lead the people, you must learn how to follow them.”
~Stephen Mitchell, Tao Te Ching
