Looking for a good book? We asked people at Unity what they are reading to enrich their souls.

Unity is a vibrant community of spiritual seekers—and book lovers. It seemed only fitting that in this, our year-end and holiday edition, we asked some of our most voracious readers for recommendations of their favorite spiritual books. So we’re delighted to present this top-10 list to you. In some cases the choices were obvious favorites (A New Earth, anyone?); in other cases, the choices were a little more obscure. Read on …

Mindy Audlin, Host of The Leading Edge, Unity.FM
The Intention Experiment: Using Your Thoughts to Change Your Life and the World by Lynne McTaggart (Free Press, 2008)

Every now and then I run across a book that stretches my imagination and leaves me awestruck at the quantum dance between the spiritual realm and physical reality. Lynne McTaggart’s book The Intention Experiment swept me off my feet. In Unity, we have long espoused the power of affirmative prayer to effect physical changes in our world. McTaggart not only provides a solid scientific foundation for such a belief, she takes it to the next level by inviting our ongoing participation in consciously creating a new heaven on earth. Readers can become part of ongoing, scientifically measured “intention experiments” aimed at directing mass consciousness toward philanthropic targets. If you want quantifiable proof that our thoughts and prayers impact the world around us, you’ll find what you’re looking for in The Intention Experiment.

Jim Blake, Vice President of Operations
Zero Limits, by Joe Vitale and Ihaleakala Hew (Wiley, 2007)

This is a compelling read about a master teacher, a student, and a very ancient and powerful practice that can transform your life. The authors provided me with some very specific and simple steps I can use to take responsibility for every feeling, reaction, or event in my life and then change it to a more desired state. Even more rewarding is that it works! I no longer feel powerless over the actions of others towards me, negative situations that affect me directly or indirectly, physical and/or emotional reactions I once had. Upon recognition of one of these scenarios, I feel that I am immediately empowered to change using the simple teachings in this book. The technique provides me with a wonderful sense of release and movement past any difficult experience. And the teachings are not something that takes weeks or months or years to master. This book has done wonders for me in dealing with all types of life experiences and gives me a present-moment action I can take to immediately dissipate any negative thought, emotion, feeling, or reaction I might be experiencing.

Karyn Bradley, Senior Minister, Unity Palo Alto Community Church
The Last Lecture, by Randy Pausch and Jeffrey Zaslow (Hyperion, 2008)

What wisdom would you impart to the world if you knew it would be your last chance? Randy Pausch, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University who had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer, summarized his parting thoughts in a lecture titled “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams,“ which became an instant hit on YouTube. His moving book, The Last Lecture, uses that lecture as a springboard to a more personal discussion of his childhood dreams and the lessons he learned. Said Pausch, who passed away at 47, “We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand.” We admire Pausch for a well-played hand. He showed that life is about the quality of one’s years, not quantity.

Alicha Dwyer, Manager, Unity Bookstore
Notes From the Universe: New Perspectives From an Old Friend and More Notes From the Universe: Life, Dreams, and Happiness, by Mike Dooley (Beyond Words Publishing, 2007 and 2008)

On a daily basis, I find sustenance from Notes From the Universe and its sequel, More Notes from the Universe. Mike Dooley, an international tax accountant turned writer (and contributor to The Secret)—offers a unique perspective on Divine wisdom. He talks about relationships, prosperity, and how thoughts become reality. These books really tie together the physical and metaphysical. I can pick them up at any time and find a thought to ponder, one that makes sense at that right moment in the day. Here’s a sample: “Today you are a magnet ... for infinite abundance, divine intelligence, and unlimited love. Actually, that has always been true.”

Laura Harvey, Assistant Editor of Daily Word
Common Sense Spirituality: The Essential Wisdom of David Steindl-Rast (Crossroad Publishing, 2008)

In Common Sense Spirituality, Brother David Steindl-Rast, a Benedictine monk who has touched countless lives through his writings, lectures, and gentle spirit, asks us to take another look at our understanding of common sense. He transforms the typical meaning of the phrase into one that captures the essence of what it means to be fully alive, fully at one with and attuned to “what we have in common with the whole of creation.” Brother David writes that “our most exhilarating knowing comes not from thinking but from the awareness of a shared aliveness.”

Put aside the distractions of your day and dive deeply into Brother David’s poetic words. This book of essays is best read slowly. Let yourself be enlivened by the beauty of his words and the thoughts and images that are awakened within you. Allow time for inner reflection, and as you do, you will undoubtedly feel the stirrings of your soul calling you into a greater awareness of all that God is, all that you are. Brother David calls us to wake up and experience our oneness with all, to be “brave, calm, and open toward each other,” and to know a greater sense of belonging to God and one another.

Christine Jenkins, Unity Development Officer
A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose, by Eckhart Tolle (Dutton Books, 2005)

I was settling into my seat for a four-hour flight, and couldn’t help but notice most of the passengers reading the same orange and yellow books. I leaned forward to read the title in a seatmate’s hands: Eckhart Tolle’s A New Earth. Within minutes we were immersed in conversation about this groundbreaking book, a follow up to Tolle’s best seller The Power of Now. On arrival I went straight to a bookstore to purchase my own copy. There were several aha moments during the first read and more lessons that surfaced on rereads. A New Earth has taught me to focus my fullest attention on whoever comes into my life, and to enjoy a heartfelt feeling of gratitude for them. Tolle writes: “The arising of that unifying field of awareness between human beings is the most essential factor in relationships on the new earth.” This focus on being in the now is bringing me great joy and fulfillment, and I know that I’m not alone. His book—lessons from which were Webcasted by Oprah Winfrey on her Web site—is simply changing millions of lives. Unity had the honor of hosting Tolle for an exclusive interview that aired on Unity.FM, and I had the opportunity to attend. I found that Tolle truly walks his talk, and I am thrilled to be an active part of creating a New Earth.

Toni Lapp, Editor, Unity Magazine
Eat, Pray, Love, by Elizabeth Gilbert (Viking Books, 2006)

In her travel memoir, Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert takes readers on a yearlong odyssey that begins with one of those dark nights of the soul. She describes herself praying in despair on her bathroom floor, but her prayer has an irreverent quality: “Hello, God. How are you? I’m Liz. It’s nice to meet you.” She goes on to explain: That’s right—I was speaking to the creator of the Universe as though we’d just been introduced at a cocktail party. But we work with what we know in this life, and these are the words I always use at the beginning of a relationship. In fact, it was all I could do to stop myself from saying, “I’ve always been a big fan of your work …” With these words, I became a big fan of Gilbert’s work. Her winsome personality makes this an approachable read for anyone who has found spiritual writing to be impenetrable. Gilbert’s spiritual journey takes her from Italy to India to Indonesia, a quest in which she learns Italian, awakens to a higher level of consciousness, and finds love. Buon viaggio!

Phillip Pierson, Vice President/Acting Dean of Unity Institute
The God Theory: Universes, Zero-Point Fields and What’s Behind It All, by Bernard Haisch (Red Wheel/Weiser, 2006)

The author, a well-respected astrophysicist, has put himself out on a limb with his startling theory about God. Says Haisch: “The physical universe and the beings that inhabit it are the conscious creation of a God whose purpose is to experience his own magnificence in the living consciousness of his creation. God actualizes his infinite potential through our experience; God lives in the physical universe through us.”

The author comes to this exciting conclusion after taking his readers through discussions of such subjects as multiple universes, zero-point fields, the superstrings theory, scientific reductionism, Teilhard’s omega theory, kabbalah, and yes, the Bible.

Employing an easy-to-read approach, Dr. Haisch makes some cutting-edge assertions. One is the suggestion that the brain is not the seat of consciousness, but rather is an instrument that filters out the potential of our God capabilities, which at this point in evolution we are not ready to deal with. Perhaps what would please most metaphysical students most is his assertion that “It is not matter that creates an illusion of consciousness, but consciousness that creates an illusion of matter.” With this statement he joins a growing list of great scientists who are reaching that same conclusion. I strongly encourage anyone who is serious about weaving science and spirituality together to read this book.

Rev. Thomas Shepherd, columnist and professor of historical and theological studies, Unity Institute
The Source, by James Michener (Random House, 2002)

In this sweeping epic, Michener tells the history of Israel, starting with the prehistoric people who populated the Holy Land before it was considered holy by anybody. Michener then weaves a series of vignettes and short tales as civilization after civilization rises and falls. The narration shifts from a twentieth-century dig at Tell Makor, a fictitious archaeological site in modern Israel, to the various epochs of the past as the investigators scoop back the layers of time. The dig holds the storyline together and adds fascinating information about life in the ancient past to supplement the engaging stories Michener weaves about characters he creates to illustrate each age of the past. You come away from The Source with a renewed sense of the history of the Jewish, Christian, and Islamic faiths and a better understanding of how progressive movements like Unity have emerged as the most recent step in this evolution in consciousness. And it’s a heck of a good story too!