Top 5 Books that have Impacted you the most

[gripreaper]

That is a tough question, which is easier for me to answer in the context of this decade and the authors, as opposed to my 50 years of reading. I would answer the question as, which 5 books were the most influential in each of those 5 decades, illustrating my evolution and awakening, so without further adieu, here are some of the authors off the top of my head, in no particular order. (last 5 years)

Jordan Maxwell, Michael Tsarion, Graham Hancock, David Icke, Sean David Morton, Claire Heartsong, Gregg Braden, Joseph Farrel, Michael Cremo, Michael Newton, Eckhart Tolle, Drunvalo Melchizedek, Tom Kenyon, Michael Tellinger, Andrew Collins,

okay, okay, that's way more than five! I'm an avid reader, and looking at the posts in this thread, many of those books make my list of top reads. Very good thread.

[DeDukshyn]

Dang, I spent a good 10 minutes looking for that (must be an art to the advanced search) .... thanks!

Posted by Paul (here)

Posted by DeDukshyn (here)
Hmmm .. there's another thread exactly like this in here somewhere ... I must have posted my top 5 on the other one because it is not here =(

Here ya go What books have expanded your consciousness, changed how you experience the world (Post #59)

My List:
"The Third Millennium" by Ken Carey (Brilliant!)
"The Four Agreements" by don Miguel Ruiz
"Journey of Souls" by Michael <something>
"A Course in Miracles" by <some old lady who wouldn't take credit>


And I have to add the video "What The <Bleep> Do We Know?" also is in this list - even though its more of a documentary.

No one can be searching, read these four books above and the video, and not be a completely changed person afterwards. There's a ton more that I can add to the list: "The Door of Everything" by Ruby Nelson should be on there as well for a good spiritual / new agey title. oh and Alan M Alfords "Gods of the new millennium" for alternative theories on earth's past was also great.

EDIT: "Big Pharma" is another good one ... lays out the hidden realities of the business of drug dealing ("legal" drugs that is ;-)

[gdiggs]

I also have to chime in and say the Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance was an extremely formative part of my worldview. I was in my first year of art school when I first read it and my sketchbook from that time is liberally peppered with quotes and personal extrapolations from Zen.

It is however hard to narrow down to five. Everything I've read has shaped me, and continues to shape me in one way or another, for better or worse. Still a quick rattle off the top of my head in addition to Zen (just 'coz I like lists):

The Divine Invasion - Philip K Dick
Compete Fictions - Jorge Luis Borges
The Society of the Spectacle - Guy deBord
The Crying of Lot 49 - Thomas Pynchon

[Franny]

"Journey of Souls" by Michael <something>

His last name is Newton! Yes, an interesting book indeed.


A few are:

The Secret Life of Plants - Peter Tompkins and Christopher Bird
and
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance - Robert Pirsig These 2 blew me away in my 20s and revved up my inquiring mind. Met PT and he demonstrated the reaction of plants to stimuli right in front of me.

The Seat of the Soul - Gary Zukav -

Shikasta - Dorris Lessing - Was handed this one while sick in Amsterdam...thought it a great read and a fairly realistic view of how the universe might actually work.

The Holographic Universe - Michael Talbot - a fun and informative read.

Forbidden Archaeology - Michael Cremo - ditto

Behold a Pale Horse - William Cooper - not ditto, but eye opening

The Space Trilogy - CS Lewis - read these in high school. Space is ALIVE, not dead.

The King Must Die & The Bull From the Sea - Mary Renault - Read these 2 while able to look out the window at the Acropolis - she made ancient Greece and Theseus come alive. Parts of the story take place RIGHT THERE! The Persian Boy is recommended too.

A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving - One of those books that I recall several times a month.

Couldnʻt resist...The Sparrow & The Children of God by Mary Doria Russell. Both were spellbinding...The latter left me with tears running down my face at an outdoor cafe as I finished it. Astonishing. Maybe it was the summer time.

[etm567]

Sorry, I'm in the more-than-five club:

Convergence, by David Wilcock, Books One, Two and Three
The Ra Material
The Earth Chronicles, by Zecharia Sitchin
The Flower of Life, by Drunvalo Melchizedek, Books One and Two
The Astrology of Fate, by Liz Greene
The Dancing Wu Li Masters, by Gary Zukav
Life after Life, and Many Lives, Many Masters (see above for authors)

[ndroock1]

Posted by Bill Ryan (here)
----------------

1. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance - Robert Pirsig
2. The Bridge Across Forever - Richard Bach
3. The Holographic Universe - Michael Talbot
4. When Corporations Rule the World - David Korten
5. The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight - Thom Hartmann
6. Magic and Mystery in Tibet - Alexandra David-Neel

Nothing from Hubbard ??!

[lysander]

Just one comes to mind quite quite significantly for me,

I am that 'Talks with Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj'

http://www.nisargadatta.net/IamThat.html

[BestLion]

3. Fingerprints of the Gods by Graham Hancock

Yeah thats a good book, I also liked his Supernatural book! Both A+ IMHO.

[minkton]

Magic and Mystery in Tibet - Alexandra David-Neel

Anything by Jung and Thomas Moore

Clear Light of Bliss

Autobiography of a Yogi

Mantak Chia and Eric Yudeloves work

Gerard Manley Hopkins

Advanced Magick for beginnners, Alan Chapman

[Arrowwind]

All read before graduation of high school. I had escaped before I was ever captured. Although these perhaps were not the absolute best books I ever read the timing in my life for their presence was paramount.


Siddhartha

Autobiography of a Yogi

The Teachings of Don Juan

The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross

Stranger in a Strange Land

[Turcurulin]

Great thread, Gestalt. Thanks!

1. Chariots of the Gods?
2. Lies my Teacher Told Me
3. Way of the Shaman
4. Carlos Castenada's material
5. The Last of the Pharoahs
6. Native American Myths and Legends
7. The Martial Arts (by Michael Random)
8. The Art of War

More than 5, I know (sorry.) I could go on, but will avoid turning this into a top 20... or 50. =)

**EDIT**
Thanks to everyone who posts here. These are great recommendations!

[S-L]

1. Greater Community Spirituality by Marshall Vian Summers
2. Steps to Knowledge by Marshall Vian Summers
3. Assorted works by Osho
4. Assorted works by Edgar Cayce
5. Allies of Humanity by Marshall Vian Summers

Other great resources have been the transcripts on Project Camelot and the Seth Material.

[Pete]

1. Dune the entire set
2. Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance
3. Red mars the entire set
4. The tao of physics
5. Atlas shrugged

[lightwalker]

Initiation by Elisabeth Haich

Bringers of the Dawn & Family of Light by Barbara Marciniak

Ramtha White Book

Blueprint for Change (Bashar) by Daryl Anka

The Field by Lynn McTaggart

Conversations With God by Neale Walsch