17 Spiritual Books for Beginners That Will Change Your Life
These spiritual books for beginners will supercharge your life
When I look back on my journey up until this point, I realize that some of my most profound life lessons could have only been learned the hard way - through painful missteps, thoughtful introspection, and a forward-looking commitment to change. I guess sometimes you just have to move through tough moments to get to the good stuff.
Thankfully, there is also a gentler path to progress one’s spiritual growth: books! I have curated a list of the best spiritual books for beginners to supercharge your life.
I recall reading Eat, Pray, Love in the midst of a painful breakup and feeling hopeful knowing that someone had been through it all before me and found their happy ending. And reading Holy Cow while backpacking solo around India, and feeling like someone had taken the whirlwind of emotions I was experiencing and put them down onto the page so I could make sense of it all.
Learning from the wisdom of those that have come before us can be a shortcut to enlightenment, and can help us feel less alone as we face life’s trials. All of these books were recommended to me by teachers and friends, and they have truly been game changers for my life. I am sharing this list in hopes that they will also be of service to you!
BEST SPIRITUAL BOOKS FOR BEGINNERS
By Eckhart Tolle
This is hands down one of the best spirituality books of all time. This book has served as an introduction to spirituality and living in the present moment for so many beginners.
I was transfixed as I listened to it on audiobook, narrated by Eckhart Tolle himself. My mind was blown!
I finally realized how my patterns of behavior (he calls them “pain bodies”) were subconsciously manipulating the way I related to others. I also learned how my depression was linked to the past, and my anxiety was linked to the future, but happiness was only in the present moment. I started seeing life in a whole new light after reading this book, and it is one I have returned to time after time.
The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success
By Deepak Chopra
My friend gave me this book a few days before I embarked on my first solo backpacking adventure through Southeast Asia. Though I had dreamt of backpacking the world for over a decade, it remained a pipe dream for me because I didn’t have enough money, I couldn’t get the time off work, and I had relationships I was scared I would lose if I went. How appropriate it was for me to read this book about effortlessly manifesting your desires when I had finally managed to do just that!
This book is short and can be read quickly even though the 7 laws he outlines are complex. The central premise is around aligning yourself with the consciousness of the Universe, planting the seeds for your desires in that space, and then letting go of any attachments or expectations so that the Universe can make it happen for you in divine timing. A really powerful read for spiritual beginners.
By Paulo Coelho
This was one of the first spiritual books I ever read. It is disguised in the form of a simple allegory about a shepherd who travels in search of treasure.
I have read this book a couple times, and each time it fills me with a sense of magic. It’s packed with deep insights about life.
It states that everyone is born with their own personal legend, something that they are meant to do in their lifetime. And it emphasizes the importance of following your heart.
A couple of my favorite quotes from The Alchemist include:
“It's the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.”
“When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”
“Before a dream is realized, the Soul of the World tests everything that was learned along the way. It does this not because it is evil, but so that we can, in addition to realizing our dreams, master the lessons we’ve learned as we’ve moved toward that dream. That’s the point at which most people give up. It’s the point at which, as we say in the language of the desert, one dies of thirst just when the palm trees have appeared on the horizon.”
By Brian Weiss
I literally got goosebumps while reading this book. It answers questions about past lives, reincarnation, what happens to us after we die, and the overall meaning of life. It is a powerful book that can help people who are suffering after the loss of a loved one.
What is particularly special about this book is that it is written by a medical doctor who was skeptical until he had seen enough to change his mind. For that reason, it’s a great spiritual book for beginners that may be unsure about what to believe.
By Osho
Osho has become a bit of a controversial figure after the release of the Netflix documentary “Wild Wild Country”. But love him or hate him, the man had a lot of wisdom to offer.
I absolutely loved this book, and even though I am a big fan of decluttering and passing books on after reading them, this one will forever remain on my bookshelf. In this book, he talks about why people are afraid of intimacy, how to overcome those fears, and how to build more trust in relationships.
There are a couple quotes that impacted me so much that I often silently repeat them to myself:
“Everybody wants to become extraordinary. That is the search of the ego: to be someone who is special, to be someone who is unique, incomparable. And this is the paradox: The more you try to be exceptional, the more ordinary you look because everybody is after extraordinariness. It is such an ordinary desire. If you become ordinary, the very search to be ordinary is extraordinary because rarely does somebody want to be just nobody, rarely does somebody want to be just a hollow, empty space. This is really extraordinary in a way because nobody wants it. And when you become ordinary, you become extraordinary, and, of course, suddenly you discover that without searching you have become unique.”
“Become aware of all that is unconscious in you. Once something unconscious is brought to the conscious mind, it evaporates. You become cleaner, lighter. As more and more of the unconscious is unburdened, your consciousness goes on becoming bigger. And as the area of the unconscious shrinks, the territory of the consciousness expands.”
By Don Miguel Ruiz
This book is a must-read based on the ancient wisdom of the Toltec people. The Toltecs roamed Mexico hundreds of years ago, and the author was born into a family of healers.
He in turn became a shamanic healer and is now passing this knowledge on to others. Tom Brady even cited this book as a major influence on his life!
The book outlines 4 key principles that can help save us from needless suffering:
Be impeccable with your word
Don’t take anything personally
Don’t make assumptions
Always do your best
The book is short and simple, but the teachings are deeply profound:
“Whatever life takes away from you, let it go.”
By Tara Brach
Tara Brach is a clinical psychologist and well-known meditation teacher. In this book, she offers straightforward instructions on a meditation technique that can help us cultivate more self-compassion, including multiple examples to make it easy to apply in our everyday lives.
The 4-step method explained in this book can help any spiritual beginner work through difficult emotions and limiting beliefs:
Recognize what is happening
Allow life to be just as it is
Investigate with a gentle and curious attention
Nurture with loving presence
This book is a powerful resource that provides tangible ways to make positive changes in your life.
By Eckhart Tolle
Oprah was my brother’s graduation speaker at Stanford, and she gave this book out to everyone who was graduating that year. It was also one of her book club selections. If that isn’t endorsement enough, it is by the same incredible author as The Power of Now (see #1 above).
This book expands upon his previous novel by explaining to readers how they can transcend their egos to achieve true bliss. The ego is often the source of so much of our conflict and suffering.
He also shows us how our thoughts about any given situation in our lives is not the situation itself, but rather our thoughts about the situation. An inspiring book from one of the great spiritual minds of our time!
By Ram Dass
Ram Dass, originally named Richard Alpert, was an American Professor at Harvard in the 1970s. Though he seemingly had everything going for him, he was still dissatisfied. So he experimented with drugs and traveled to India in search of something more.
It was in India that he met his guru, and began learning yoga, breathing exercises, meditation, and how to find his true self. This book describes his journey and personal transformation.
It is written in a really unique way with lots of illustrations, personal anecdotes, and spiritual advice. Because he is able to translate Eastern philosophy for a Western audience, this book is a great place to start.
By Marianne Williamson
I was recommended this book by my self-love coach. Marianne Williamson is a bestselling author (and former presidential candidate) who writes about key lessons from A Course in Miracles.
In this book, she discusses how fear stifles us, how love is the solution to our problems, and how we can uncover our own inner light. She also uses personal stories to make it funny and relatable. This book is a wonderful read.
By Pema Chodron
A friend recommended this book to me when I was going through a difficult time in life. Reading these pages brought me rare moments of peace when I was surrounded by dark clouds.
Pema Chodron is an American Buddhist nun who reminds us that we are right where we need to be in this moment. She emphasizes the importance of remaining neutral when good or bad things happen to us because everything is transient.
With this mindset, we can take setbacks in stride and perhaps even embrace them. We don’t need to live in a monastery or to retire before finding joy in life - we can start exactly where we are.
By Hermann Hesse
This is an all-time classic tale about one man’s search for meaning. It is the story of a rich Indian man who gives up his life of privilege to seek real fulfillment, and all the people and lessons he encounters along the way. Despite the temptations of the outside world, he ultimately discovers that the peace and wisdom he is seeking lies within.
This book will resonate deeply with all seekers.
By Michael A. Singer
This book will change the way you see yourself and the world. It guides you to release yourself from limiting ways of thinking and being so that you can live in the present moment and achieve self-realization based on the principles of yoga. We are innately free - untethered - and this book shows how to find our way back to that freedom.
By Louise Hay
This book was given to me by a friend, and I didn’t understand what it was about so I let it sit on my bookshelf for years. When I finally picked it up, I realized that I had really been missing out! I felt very positive and optimistic after reading this book.
Louise Hay teaches us how our mental state and words shape our well-being:
"The thoughts we think and the words we speak create our experiences."
She offers affirmations as a powerful tool for shifting our mindset and for building self-love. She also has a whole section dedicated to physical ailments and the underlying beliefs that cause them, along with affirmations to help heal them. She was able to heal her own cancer in this way.
I keep this book as a reference and come back to it regularly. I highly recommend it, and also her other book You Can Heal Your Heart for anyone going through a breakup or divorce.
By Paramahansa Yogananda
This is one of the most famous books on spiritualism, and has been the entry point for many spiritual beginners. Paramahansa Yogananda is an Indian yogi who came to America in the 1920s to teach the ancient Indian science of yoga. He founded the Self-Realization Fellowship, and is regarded as one of the great spiritual figures of our time.
In this book, he tells his inspiring life story, including his encounters with many fascinating saints and sages around India on his way to finding his guru, his training to become a yogi, and his calling to come teach in the West. He also speaks about his meeting with Mahatma Gandhi and many other revered figures around the world.
In reading this book, I had the realization that everyday life can be filled with magic for those on a devoted spiritual path. Both Steve Jobs and George Harrison cited this book as a major influence on their lives.
By Eknath Easwaran
This is an excellent spiritual book for beginners. The Upanishads are ancient Sanskrit texts of Indian philosophy. They are considered to be some of the most important writings in the history of Indian culture and religion, and are also some of the earliest texts to cover yoga.
Sages and saints share their insights on consciousness and the reality of the Self - that what we truly are is Godlike, deathless, and not of the body that we identify with. This book is great because it makes complicated texts easy to understand, with chapter introductions, notes, a Sanskrit glossary, and helpful explanations.
By Eknath Easwaran
The Bhagavad Gita is the best known of all the Indian scriptures, and is the main text in the Advaita Vedanta tradition. Though it is told as a dialogue between two figures on a battlefield, the story is an allegory for the internal struggles we have for self-mastery within ourselves.
The Bhagavad Gita is timeless and universal in its teachings, and like the author’s other books, this version includes helpful chapter introductions, explanations of key concepts, notes, and a glossary to explain Sanskrit terms. It makes a complex text easy to understand, and is a a text that you will surely continue to reference for years to come.
Have you read any of these spiritual books? How did they impact you? I’d love to hear in the comments or feel free to contact me directly! This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through them, I may receive a small commission at no cost to you. I donate 10% of all proceeds made from this blog to charity. Find out more about the charity I am supporting here.
Hi, I’m Sumeeta
I’m a Texas native, avid traveler, and perpetual seeker. Here at Sumeeta Seeks, I share in-depth travel advice on spiritual destinations, insights on yoga and self-love, and uplifting interviews.
