Prana Power, Recommended Reading

Recommended Reading

The books and articles listed here can be thought as basic reading for those seeking greater fulfillment in their lives. Some of the books are considered classics and widely read, whereas some are a bit more esoteric, contemporary or even obscure.

Books
The Active Life by Parker Palmer (HarperCollins, 1991)
Six stories to relate spirituality in our daily lives. Several from Christian sources and a Taoist one.

After the Ecstasy the Laundry by Jack Kornfield (Bantam Books, 2000)
An excellent discussion on how we do not find a permanent state of enlightenment, but instead achieve moments of enlightenment. He also gives an analysis of reasons why it is so common to fall from a pinnacle of peak experiences to the depths of depression.

Anatomy of Love by Caroline Helen Fisher, Ph.D. (Random House, 1992)
A delightful book with explanations for the reasons we divorce and remarry (hint - it's a very, very old phenomena), the primitive reasons for adultery, and more. All her ideas are well documented by research.

Anatomy of the Spirit by Caroline Myss, Ph.D. (Crown Publishers, 1996)
A basic text that compares the 7 chakras with the 7 Christian sacraments and the 10 sefirot. The discussion of the charkas relates our energetic and emotional selves to the levels of the charkas open to us. This is a classic text.

Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda (Self-Realization Fellowship, 1946)
An exciting life story of Paramahansa Yogananda in which he discusses the concepts of enlightenment, spiritual paths, teachers and other important concepts.

Cosmic Consciousness by Richard Maurice Bucke, M.D. (Innes & Sons, 1901)
A modern classic text on enlightenment that discusses levels of consciousness from insects to humans. He cites similar experiences that lead him to believe that Buddha, Jesus Christ, Paul of Tarsus, Mohammed, Francis Bacon, William Blake and Walt Whitman, among others, were enlightened.

Demonic Males: Apes and the Origins of Human Violence by R. W. Wrangham & D. Peterson (Houghtom Mifflin, 1996)
A well researched and documented book on the reasons for warfare, rape, infanticide, spouse abuse, male violence, and deindividuation ("the mindless sinking of personal identity into the group of Us"). When you get done with this book you will realize that most of the bad stuff going on in our world today comes from one of two fundamental reasons - food and sex!

Don't Sweat the Small Stuff... and it's all small stuff by Dr. Richard Carlson (Hyperion, 1997)
100 wonderful tips to help you move forward beyond the myriad of daily difficulties.

The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz (Amber-Allen Publishing, 1997)
A short, simple yet powerful way to detach from trauma and focus on your daily life.

The Gospel According to Jesus by Stephen Mitchell (HarperCollins, 1991)
A refreshing look and new translation by this famous author. Only for those with an open mind on diverse views of Christianity.

The Gospel of Thomas
This book lies in contrast to the New Testament book of John. There are significant parallels with John with the exception that Thomas portrays Jesus as focusing on God being within ourselves and all around us. Elaine Pagels relates in her recent book, Beyond Belief, why the Gospel of John was chosen to be included in the Bible over the Gospel of Thomas. This Gospel is short and is available at no charge on the Internet at www.earlychristianwritings.com.

If the Buddha Married by Charlotte Kasl (Penguin Compass, 2001)
A wonderful book on long term relationships—whether as husband and wife or “significant others.” She has a good discussion of the 5 levels of relationships as taught by Stuart Johnson.

Initiation by Elisabeth Haich (George Allen & Unwin Ltd., 1965)
A long, but fundamental, somewhat autobiographical, book relating Ms. Haich’s experiences with visions, energy and the role of reincarnation in our lives. A classic text.

The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle (New World Library, 1999)
An important book on the necessity of living in the present moment.

Power vs. Force by David Hawkins (Hay House, 2002)
The standard text on levels of consciousness. This is a good companion book to Cosmic Consiousness.

The Radiance Sutras, translated by Lorin Roche, Ph.D. (Syzygy Creations, Inc. 2008)
A rich ancient, sensual tantric yoga text. Also known as the Bhairava Tantra, vijnanabhairavatantra, or Vijnana-Bhairava. Available here.

The Return to Oneness by Zivorad Mihajlovic Slavinsko (AuthorHouse, 2009)
A superb compendium of the many spiritual and religious symbols, a compilation of systems, methods and techniques to achieve higher consciousness, and most importantly, an overview of the very important, basic principles of spiritual technology.

Tao Teh Ching, translated by Stephen Mitchell (Harper Perennial, 1988)
A warm, light hearted translation of this classic text.

There's a Spiritual Solution to Every Problem by Wayne Dyer (HarperCollins, 2001)
A pragmatic approach toward spirituality with good exercises to help you draw spirituality into your daily life.

Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom (Doubleday, 1997)
A touching story about Mitch's relationship with Morrie during his last months. The material in this book helps to bring a perspective of what is truly important in our lives.

Yoga and Health by Selvarajan Yesudian and Elisabeth Haich (Harper & Brothers, 1953)
One of the world’s classic yoga texts. A succinct, comprehensive coverage of the exercises and their effects on our bodies. Long out of print but copies can be found through AbeBooks.com.

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali: Commentary on the Raja Yoga Sutras by Sri Swami Satchidananda (Integral Yoga Publications, 1990)
An ancient text with insights into the early yogic system.

Articles

Babyak, M. A., Blumenthal, J. A., Herman, S., Khatri, P., Doraiswamy, P. M., Moore, K. A. et al. (2000). Exercise treatment for major depression: Maintenance of therapeutic benefit at 10 months. Psychosomatic Medicine, 62(5), 633-638.

Barbour, K. A., & Blumenthal, J. A. (2005). Exercise training and depression in older adults. Neurobiology of Aging, 26(1), 119-123.

Blumenthal, J. A., Babyak, M. A., Moore, K. A., Craighead, W. E., Herman, S., Khatri, P. et al. (1999). Effects of exercise training on older patients with major depression. Archives of Internal Medicine, 159(19), 2349-2356.

Brosse, A. L., Sheets, E. S., Lett, H. S., & Blumenthal, J. A. (2002). Exercise and the treatment of clinical depression in adults: Recent findings and future directions. Sports Medicine, 32(12), 741-760.

Dunn, A. L., Trivedi, M. H., Kampert, J. B., Clark, C. G., & Chambliss, H. O. (2005). Exercise treatment for depression Efficacy and dose response. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 28(1), 1-8.

Helliker, K. (May 10, 2005). Yet Another Reason to Go to the Gym: How Exercise Can Help Fight Depression. Wall Street Journal, p. D1.

Pedersen, B. K., & Saltin, B. (2006). Evidence for prescribing exercise as therapy in chronic disease. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 16(Suppl 1), 3-63.

Shannahoff-Khalsa, D. S. (2004). An introduction to Kundalini yoga meditation techniques that are specific for the treatment of psychiatric disorders. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 10(1), 91-101.

Shannahoff-Khalsa, D. S., Ray, L. E., Levine, S., Gallen, C. C., Schwartz, B. J., & Sidorowich, J. J. (1999). Randomized controlled trial of yogic meditation techniques for patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder. CNS spectrums, 4(12), 34-47.

Stathopoulou, G., Powers, M. B., Berry, A. C., Smits, J. A. J., & Otto, M. W. (2006). Exercise interventions for mental health: A quantitative and qualitative review. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 13(2), 179-193.