Memories, Dreams, Reflections

Carl Jung

The book that introduced me to Jung and (consequently) to a whole new way of understanding and experiencing life. Read the man himself reflect on his extraordinary life and even more extraordinary ideas. Ideas which will go on to influence humanity for centuries to come. Order here.

The Essential Jung Selected Writings

Carl Jung, Anthony Storr

Jung wrote a lot. A lot. This neat little volume collects his most representative and important passages and orders them by topic. It is the best and most comprehensive introduction to Jung’s work I know of – and you get to read the man himself, not his interpreters. Order here.

Modern Man in Search of a Soul

Carl Jung

A collection of essays and lectures by Jung. Yet another excellent entry point into his world. I recommend listening to the audiobook during travels, staring out the windows of trains or buses as the landscapes without echo the new landscapes opening up within you. Order here.

The Red Book

Carl Jung

This will be one of the strangest, most powerful, and deepest books you ever read. It is Jung’s journal from the time he made his psychedelic descent into the unconscious. I suggest reading it slowly, a chapter per day, and filling the margins with notes. Order here.

Aion: Researches into the Phenomenology of the Self

Carl Jung

A bizarre and difficult book that goes through millennia of human history to trace the unfolding patterns of our collective unconscious. Thoroughly esoteric, Aion aims to decode the greatest mystery of all – the nature of that all-encompassing Self whose different manifestations we all are. Order here.

Siddhartha

Hermann Hesse

A classic on the spiritual journey and the book that pointed me the way to Buddhism. A must-read for any seeker of inner riches. To be read at a quiet time of the day. Order here.

Narcissus and Goldmund

Hermann Hesse

A beautifully written novel that explores the conflict – and harmony – between the impulses of the flesh and the impulses of the spirit. If faith, creativity, spirituality, and lust wage war within you – read this book.  Order here.

What the Buddha Taught

Walpola Rahula

A classic in the field of Buddhist studies and one of the best introductions and explanations of Buddhist philosophy I have ever come across. A number of my videos are rooted in this jewel of a book. Order here.

The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching

Thich Nhat Hanh

A deep dive into Buddhist teaching by one of the greatest teachers and practitioners of recent times. As accessible as it is profound, it combines humility and compassion with an unmatched understanding of the Buddhist tradition. Order here.

The Miracle of Mindfulness

Thich Nhat Hanh

A tiny classic with the power to unlock entirely new dimensions of experience. This is the one book most responsible for leading me to the practice of mindfulness and meditation. To be read on quiet afternoons, preferably outside. Order here.

Thus Spoke Zarathustra

Friedrich Nietzsche

This is more of an experience than a book – one that will shake you to the core if you dare to meet its gaze. Nietzsche called this the greatest gift humanity has ever received. Not all too modest, I know. But read this book and you will taste of the ecstasy behind the statement. Part of me forever travels the lands with Zarathustra – and it hopes to meet you there. To be experienced slowly, a chapter per day, listening to Bach. Welcome to the divine madness. Order here.

Ecce Homo

Friedrich Nietzsche

Nietzsche’s autobiography is one of the most deranged, outrageous, beautiful, moving, and profound books I’ve read. One of the last great prophets reflects on his life and the writing of his masterpieces – days before his collapse into madness. Here I have linked an edition that features also Nietzsche’s Genealogy of Morals so you may get your hands on the translation by Walter Kaufmann. Order here.

Beyond Good and Evil

Friedrich Nietzsche

Ever wondered how rich a single book can be? Try this one. The sheer range and depth of Nietzsche’s scattered contemplations is enough food for thought for a lifetime. In fact, we’re collectively still trying to catch up with his insights. But beware of the chasms this book may open within you – some may remain open for the rest of your life. If you need help with this, seek out Dostoevsky. Order here.

Crime and Punishment

Fyodor Dostoevsky

This book saved my life. If you are in a crisis of meaning, crisis of faith, crisis of purpose – if the good, the true, and the beautiful have lost all value to you – if cynicism and nihilism have ambushed you from all sides – if you’re wondering whether to keep going is even worth it anymore: read this novel. Crime and Punishment helped me make the single most difficult and important decision in my life. And I am here because of it. Order here.

The Brothers Karamazov

Fyodor Dostoevsky

The greatest book I have ever read. Perhaps the greatest book ever written. There are extremes of love, beauty, and meaning to which the only possible response is silent tears of gratitude. With his last novel, the greatest psychologist in literature leaves us with a tour de force of understanding and compassion for the human condition. I wish everyone would read this novel… But don’t rush it. Read some of Dostoevsky’s earlier masterpieces first. Approach The Brothers Karamazov slowly and gently.  Order here.

Notes from the Underground

Fyodor Dostoevsky

Dostoevsky takes you down the basement of your own soul and introduces you to the darkest, most shameful aspects of yourself. But descend deep enough and you’ll find what all that darkness is obscuring. You will find light. Order here.

The Idiot

Fyodor Dostoevsky

What would happen if a truly good, honest, and beautiful man were to appear in modern society? Would we consider him a savior… or an idiot? What effect would he have on us – and what effect would we have on him? Is the true, the good, and the beautiful even possible today? If it is, how long could it survive? Order here.

The Last Temptation of Christ

Nikos Kazantzakis

Not for the faint of heart. This heretical, beautiful, profound, and passionate telling of Christ’s story rises to the level of the most sublime passages from the New Testament – and it surpasses the rest. The novel takes you through the same ordeal – and triumph – that Christ went through and that we are all going through. Rarely have I felt closer to Christ than during my reading of this novel. Order here.

The Saviours of God

Nikos Kazantzakis

If the teachings of Christ, the Buddha, Marx, Freud, and Nietzsche had a child, this treatise would be it. The wonder of this book’s existence is surpassed only by the fact it is actually good. It is one of the few books, in fact, that recreate the ever-deepening stages of a mystical experience. Meet it halfway and it will give you the actual experience too. Order here.

A Brief History of Everything

Ken Wilber

Spirituality, psychology, philosophy, religion, science, anthropology, evolution… There are so many fields of human knowledge now that it’s hard to get any unified picture of reality and our place in it. Ken Wilber offers just such a picture with his Integral Theory, the best introduction to which is this book. A book that has opened a whole new chapter in my thinking about the world and myself. Order here.

I and Thou

Martin Buber

A meditation on how we enter and how we fail to enter into relationship – the primordial relationship of I and You. At times a difficult book to read, awkward in wording, irregular in structure, obscure in meaning… And yet powerful enough to rekindle true connection with the Divine.  Order here.

Fear and Trembling

Søren Kierkegaard

A short masterpiece that strikes at the root of faith, asking all the hard questions and destroying all the easy answers. Whenever you struggle with faith or fall under the modern delusion that faith is for the weak of heart and dull of mind – read this book.  Order here.

The Denial of Death

Ernest Becker

How much of what you call ‘living’ is really a denial of death in disguise? A terrifying book, but one so beautifully written and well-researched that you won’t mind it shaking you to the core. Though it won a Pulitzer Prize, it remains underappreciated. It is the book I most often think of whenever somebody asks me for a recommendation. Order here.

Escape from Evil

Ernest Becker

Where does evil come from and how may we escape from it? What are the hidden psychological patterns behind the way the world works today? How have we developed our structures and systems of mass-suffering? The style and range of this book are so overwhelming that it is sometimes difficult to appreciate its intimate message. Order here.

12 Rules for Life

Jordan Peterson

This book made me into the man I am. It came right when I was at the crossroads of deciding what kind of a person I wanted to be – and it steered me into a direction of ever-deepening meaning, purpose, and authenticity. May it take you on a similar journey. Order here.

The Bhagavad Gita

A timeless text that shows the discoveries of the ancient masters are as revolutionary today as they were back then – as they will forever be. Encountering your true nature is always ‘the news’. Order here.

In the Buddha’s Words

 Bhikkhu Bodhi

A compilation from the earliest Buddhist scriptures by one of the most renowned scholar-monks today. Somewhat more advanced than your typical introduction to Buddhism, but it gets you in touch with the original tradition and teachings. Order here.

The Power of Now

Eckhart Tolle

The deepest dimensions of consciousness are not something you attain through practice. They are something you recognize has always been there without you noticing it – usually when a teacher points them out to you. This book is the single best pointing-out instruction I have encountered. Order here.

The Gospel of Thomas

If you had a seat in Christ’s inner circle, what would you hear him say when there’s no crowd listening in? I count myself an Orthodox Christian, but of all Christian scripture, this gnostic gospel is closest to my heart. Scholars will argue over it to no end, but the power and depth of the words remain timeless. To be read as slowly as possible. To be reread for a lifetime. Order here.

Tao Te Ching

Laozi

An infinite text whose serene beauty reveals panoramic vistas of meaning, peace, and wisdom. One can only say too much or too little about it. Best to encounter this text in the silence of early mornings, one chapter per day, rereading it over the years. Surrender to the stream of images and observe how it smooths out your edges – until you and the stream become one. Order here.

The Man in the High Castle

Philip K. Dick

This may be the tamest novel by the obscure master of science fiction, but Dick’s power to bend your reality with words creeps up on you when you least expect it. Chinese divination and Jungian psychology only deepen its psychoactive properties. Are you the one holding the book or is the book holding you? Who is really inhabiting the alternate timeline? Not to be read while you’re having an episode. Order here.

Invisible Cities

Italo Calvino

A poetic journey through city landscapes real and imagined that map the endless richness of human experience. A tiny masterpiece that takes you on a trip into the depths of your soul under the pretense of telling you about distant lands and peoples. You will get even more out of this book if you read it while traveling. Order here.

The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam

Omar Khayyam, Edward Fitzgerald

Ecstasy is the true author of this book. A marvelous marriage of the passions of the flesh and the hymns of Spirit. The manic dedication with which Fitzgerald kept translating and re-translating these verses throughout his life makes them all the more powerful in English. Discovering this book will forever remain one of my happiest memories. To be read under blossoming trees at springtime. Order here.

Selected Writings

Meister Eckhart

They called Eckhart ‘the man from whom God hides nothing’ for a reason. He died just before the church could find an excuse to brand him a heretic and his sermons remain the height of Christian mysticism. In fact, it is difficult to find writings in any wisdom tradition whatsoever that match his depth and style. Order here.

The Conference of the Birds

Farid ud-Din Attar

This Sufi masterpiece takes you through ever deepening stages of ecstatic mysticism. To be read both for its richness in meaning and for the sheer beauty of its verses. To be enjoyed in solitude on park benches during hot summer afternoons. Order here.

The World’s Religions

Huston Smith

An engaging, moving, erudite introduction to world religion. Smith’s first-hand experience makes this more than a mere intellectual exercise; the book is as close to an encounter with different religions as you can get without actually encountering them. I suggest it to everyone who wishes to embark on a journey that spans more than one single wisdom tradition. Order here.

The Perennial Philosophy

Aldous Huxley

This book is the wisest, most thorough, and most inspiring argument I know for the universal truths uniting the world’s wisdom traditions. Both academic and spiritual, written by one of the brightest minds of the modern era, this treasure of a text both informs and transforms its reader. Meister Eckhart says ‘theologians may argue, but the mystics of the world all agree’. Here Huxley discusses what the mystics of the world agree on. Order here.

The Lord of the Rings

J.R.R. Tolkien

If you could enter the collective unconscious and encounter its archetypes in an epic struggle between light and darkness – this would be it. Tolkien’s work, accessible as it is, feels to me like the lost texts of ancient civilizations – complete with foreign languages, myths, architecture, landscapes, and so much more. And yet in all this ‘fantasy’, the perennial patterns of human experience reveal themselves in wisdom and compassion. Order here.

Tales of Horror

H.P. Lovecraft

Lovecraft’s ‘horror’ is really a form of existential philosophy. It does not aim to frighten you with gore or cheap scares. Rather, it presents you with the possibility of your utter insignificance in the grand scheme of an arcane, incomprehensible cosmos inhabited by forms of life so alien to our understanding that the very sight of them would shatter the mind to pieces. To be read in warm light on rainy evenings. Order here.