Listed below, in
alphabetical order by author, are books which present slants on our
inner lives that I (Copthorne Macdonald) have found particularly helpful.
Each of these books is a partial map of the human psychological/spiritual
territory, and together they present an excellent overview. Still, while
good maps can lead us to the territory and help us find our way around
it, if we hope to develop self-knowledge, we need to explore the territory
first hand — directly, experientially. Reading cannot substitute for
that. Some of the books I refer to are no longer available from their
original publishers. If a title is not available at your library or
through your local bookstore or an online seller such as Amazon.com,
you may be able to find a copy through an online used book dealer. Try,
for instance, Advanced Book Exchange: http://www.abebooks.com/
or Bibliofind
(now associated with Amazon.com).>
Allan L. Combs
— Teacher, lucid writer, consciousness historian and theorist, and much
more
The Radiance
of Being: Complexity, Chaos, and the Evolution of Consciousness.
St. Paul, MN: Paragon House. 1996.
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
— the recognized expert in that state of ideal functioning where capability
matches challenge
Flow: The Psychology
of Optimal Experience. New York: HarperCollins. 1990.
Trevor Curnow
— philosopher, and author of a most comprehensive book on wisdom's history,
nature, and relationship to ethics
Wisdom, Intuition
and Ethics. Brookfield, VT: Ashgate Publishing Co. 1999.
Joanna Field [Marion
Milner] — a psychologist who wrote about the inner transformation
produced in her life by simply widening her focus of attention
A Life of One's
Own. Los Angeles: J. P. Tarcher. 1981 [1936].
Howard Gardner
— a psychologist with wide-ranging interests who opened our eyes to the
multifaceted nature of intelligence
Frames of Mind:
The Theory of Multiple Intelligences. New York: Basic Books. 1985.
Joseph Goldstein
and Jack Kornfield — two of the best know, best respected teachers
of vipassana (insight) meditation
Seeking the
Heart of Wisdom: The Path of Insight Meditation. Boston: Shambhala.
1987.
Daniel Goleman
— author of the most up-to-date book on human emotions, and one of the
best books on meditation
Emotional Intelligence.
New York: Bantam Books. 1995.
The Meditative
Mind. New York: Putnam Publishing Group. 1996.
Bede Griffith
— an Anglican priest who explored Eastern spirituality and shared his
selections from the wisdom literature
Universal Wisdom:
A Journey Through the Sacred Wisdom of the World. London: Harper
Collins. 1994.
Doug Hall
— master of the creative process, adventurer, and motivator of young people;
someone who helps us get beyond our fear of acting boldly in the world
Making the Courage
Connection: Finding the Courage to Journey from Fear to Freedom.
New York: Fireside Books. 1998.
Jon Kabat-Zinn
— pioneer in the use of mindfulness meditation for healing, stress reduction,
and pain management
Wherever You
Go There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life. New York:
Hyperion. 1994.
Michael Lerner
— Editor of Tikkun magazine, and rabbi of Beyt Tikkun Synagogue
in San Francisco
Spirit Matters:
Global Healing and the Wisdom of the Soul. Charlottesville, VA:
Hampton Roads Publishing Company. 2000.
Copthorne Macdonald
— student of reality, and the guy who tends this Web page
Toward Wisdom:
Finding Our Way to Inner Peace, Love & Happiness. Lincoln,
NE: iUniverse.com. 2001. [Chapter 9, which deals with the broadening of awareness and identity, is available
online at http://www.wisdompage.com/twch9.html. Info about the book and other excerpts at: http://www.wisdompage.com/twinfo.html]
Getting a
Life: Strategies for Joyful and Effective Living. Lincoln, NE:
iUniverse.com. 2001. [Info and excerpts at: http://www.wisdompage.com/glinfo.html]
Matters of Consequence:
Creating a Meaningful Life and a World That Works. Charlottetown,
PEI: Big Ideas Press. 2004. [Info and excerpts at http://mattersofconsequence.com/]
Contribution to
the forthcoming book Living the Values of the Wise: An essay
entitled "Playing the Wisdom Game:
Some thoughts about the nature and development of wisdom." [The
essay is available on line at http://www.copmacdonald.com/wisdomgame.html]
Abraham H.
Maslow — visionary psychologist, and a founder of the human potential
movement
The Farther
Reaches of Human Nature. New York: The Viking Press. 1971 .
Toward a Psychology
of Being 2nd Edition. New York: D. Van Nostrand. 1968.
Motivation and
Personality. New York: Harper and Row. 1954.
Milton Mayeroff
— philosopher, and author of a wonderful book on the role of caring in
the fulfilled life.
On Caring.
New York: HarperCollins. 1990 [1971].
Stephen Mitchell
— translator of spiritual works who translates brilliantly because he
has spent time in the mental spaces the ancients were writing about
Tao Te Ching:
A New English Version with Foreword and Notes, by Stephen Mitchell.
New York: Harper & Row. 1988.
The Enlightened
Mind: An Anthology of Sacred Prose Edited by Stephen Mitchell. New
York: Harper Collins. 1991.
The Enlightened
Heart: An Anthology of Sacred Poetry Edited by Stephen Mitchell.
New York: Harper Collins. 1989.
Nisargadatta Maharaj
— a practitioner of Advaita Vedanta who lived in full identification with
Spirit/Being/the Absolute
I AM THAT: Conversations
with Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, 3rd Edition. Durham, NC:
Acorn Press. 1986.
Larry Rosenberg
— founder of the Cambridge (MA) Insight Meditation Center and superlative
vipassana teacher
Breath by Breath:
The Liberating Practice of Insight Meditation. Boston: Shambhala.
1998.
John Stewart
— evolutionist, and insightful commentator on the relationship of physical
and psychological evolution to humanity’s future
Evolution’s
Arrow: The direction of evolution and the future of humanity.
Canberra: The Chapman Press. 2000. [Check http://users.tpg.com.au/users/jes999/]
“Future Psychological
Evolution.” Dynamical Psychology: An International, Interdisciplinary
Journal of Complex Mental Processes. [Check
http://www.goertzel.org/dynapsyc/dynacon.html]
“The Evolutionary
Significance of Spiritual Development.” [Check: http://users.tpg.com.au/users/jes999/EvSpirit.htm]
Ken Wilber
— generalist, synthesizer, and practitioner of deep understanding par
excellence
Integral Psychology:
Consciousness, Spirit, Psychology, Therapy. Boston: Shambhala Publications.
2000.
The Eye of Spirit:
An Integral Vision for a World Gone Slightly Mad. Boston: Shambhala.
1997.
No Boundary:
Eastern and Western Approaches to Personal Growth. Boston: Shambhala
Publications. 1981.
Books about the
Tibetan Buddhist practice of Dzogchen — Taking slightly different
approaches and slants, the following books present the essentials of Dzogchen
philosophy and practice:
Keith Dowman, Translator.
The Flight of the Garuda. Boston: Wisdom Publications. 1994.
Namkhai Norbu.
John Shan, Translator. DZOGCHEN: The self-perfected state. London:
Arkana. 1989.
John Myrdhin Reynolds,
Translator and Commentary. Self-Liberation Through Seeing With Naked
Awareness. Barrytown, NY: Station Hill Press. 1989.
Sogyal Rinpoche.
The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying. San Francisco: Harper San
Francisco. 1993.
Tulka Urgyen Rinpoche.
Rainbow Painting. Hong Kong: Rangjun Yeshe Publications. 1995.
The Wisdom Page
is "a compilation of wisdom-related resources: various on-line texts concerning
wisdom, references to books about wisdom, information about organizations
that promote wisdom, wise activities, and listserv groups concerned with
aspects of wisdom."
http://www.wisdompage.com/l
New Dimensions
World Broadcasting Network "strive[s] to provide listeners with
practical knowledge and perennial wisdom. We foster living a more healthy
life of mind, body and spirit while deepening our connections to self,
family, community, the natural world and the planet."
http://www.newdimensions.org/
Stephen
Palmquist brings a wisdom focus to his online book THE TREE OF
PHILOSOPHY: A Course of Introductory Lectures for Beginning Students
of Philosophy.
http://www.hkbu.edu.hk/~ppp/top/toc.html
Nonduality Salon is a Yahoo group dedicated
to the discussion of nonduality. The list owner and moderator is Jerry
Katz, and the topics discussed relate to self-realization and nondual
perspectives.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NondualitySalon/
Nurturing the Now, A Path to Nonduality is Vicki Woodyard's wideranging
site, full of interesting essays, stories, pithy statements, and helpful
links.
http://www.bobwoodyard.com/
Realization.org
"is a web site devoted to techniques for finding enlightenment. We
provide information about yoga, meditation, enquiry, discrimination, and
anything else that works. To us, enlightenment means becoming free
of the ego. We do not identify with any particular guru, sect, or
religion. We are interested in all traditional and modern approaches."
Worthwhile online text from many traditions.
http://www.realization.org/
(Also, see Online
Meditation Course and Open Focus below.)