7 Books to Read Right Now for the Mind, Body and Soul
Books are one of the greatest tools to learn, grow and become our best selves. If your life has become consumed by screen time in recent years and reading has fallen by the wayside, this might just be the perfect time to pick up a new book and spend some time learning something new! Whether you’re looking for a little healthy inspiration, or a gift for a friend, we’ve got something for everyone…
1. Daring Greatly
By Dr. Brené Brown
Dr. Brené Brown has spent the last 12 years of her life studying vulnerability; what it looks like, and how it serves humans in every day life. She makes the argument that vulnerability is the most accurate and direct measure of courage. It’s described as the center of negative emotions like grief, disappoint and fear, but it’s also the source of positive emotions like love, joy and creativity. If vulnerability is numbed and not expressed, then both the positive and negative sides of the human experience cannot be felt. This book urges us all to redefine courage, lean into vulnerability and embrace the full human experience.
2. Abundance Now
by Lisa Nichols
Lisa Nichols is one of the world’s leading motivational speakers. With that said, this is a great audiobook to listen to because her storytelling skills are unparalleled and are sure to make you feel her words even more then if you were to just read them. She’s a transformational life coach with an inspiring story of how she went from being a single mother living on government assistance, to owning and operating a multimillion dollar business. The personal stories of her life and her clients’ life are interspersed between the blueprint she outlines for the reader. Nichols has developed a system of going deep within and creating a life that is rich in every way. It focuses on the four E’s: enrichment, enchantment, engagement and endowment. As entertaining as it is educational, with action steps where she encourages the reader to pause and do the inner work, Abundance Now will have you outlining your dreams, the steps to get there and the inner work that aligns with it.
3. The New Health Rules
by Frank Lipman, M.D. and Danielle Claro
A simple and elegant design with stunning photographs on every page, this book is straightforward with a list of rules to help enhance your life. From nutritional advice to Feng Shui tips, it aims to make the rules of living a healthy and vibrant life bite size and easy for anyone to incorporate. With pages titled ‘Drop Gluten, Feel Better’ and ‘Sugar Is Poison’, Dr. Lipton gives his advice straight and to the point. This book is the perfect gift for a friends’ kitchen or coffee table.
Curious to flip through the pages? Find this book in the BECYCLE boutique!
4. The Seat of the Soul
by Gary Zukav
Oprah noted ‘The Seat of The Soul’ as one of her favorite books and hosted the writer on her show numerous times. The central focus of the book is the “principle of intention.” It is best described directly in the book; "Every action, thought, and feeling is motivated by an intention, and that intention is a cause that exists as one with an effect. If we participate in the cause, it is not possible for us not to participate in the effect. In this most profound way we are held responsible for our every action, thought, and feeling, which is to say, for our every intention."
If you want to get clearer on your intentions in life, this book is for you.
5. Whole Beauty
by Shiva Rose
‘Whole Beauty’ is the most aesthetically pleasing and tactile book on this list. When you hold it in your hand and open up the pages, you can almost smell the sweet scent of blossoming flowers in the garden. There’s a sensuality and ancient wisdom that comes through Roses words. She emphasizes the importance of ritual, particularly kundalini yoga, space clearing and Ayurvedic principles. Each practice in this book is meant to be woven into daily life to create depth and enhance the overall quality.
6. The Art of Communicating
by Thich Nhat Hahn
Whether in work, family, romantic relationships and with ourselves, we must all strengthen communication to have a fruitful life. The famous Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hahn (Tick-Nat-Han) offers up advice about how once we connect with ourselves, we can fully communicate with others. He outlines four trainings of Right Speech: nondiscrimination, forgiveness, support, and love, as well as six mantras which can be used in any kind of relationship to improve intimacy and mutuality. This book is great for anyone looking to truly connect with their own hearts and to have the skills to express their truth with those around them.
7. A Return to Love
by Marianne Williamson
Williamson intertwines the story of her nervous breakdown with the famous spiritual text by Helen Shucman, A Course in Miracles. It provides insight into the controlling nature of the ego and the freedom that appears when she finally gave into her true nature and accepted herself. It covers the categories of relationships, work & achievement and miracles. Most refreshingly, it gives us permission to ask for miracles in our everyday lives. Marianne Williamson’s book is particularly relevant in this moment; she’s running for president of the Unites States of America.
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
Article written by Natalya Gimson, a health & wellness writer based in Berlin, you can find out more about her at www.wellwordsstudio.com.