New Age Books

Mental Exploration

We are readers, and among the hundreds of new age, philosophical and self-help books we’ve read over the years, three are a few that have stuck with us. We’d like to recommend them.

Kundalini Tantra (Swami Satyananda Saraswati)

It’s all about the energy and movement of the energy through the body. Very little, if any, sexual references. No position pictures or descriptions of orgasm. It’s a combination of text book, self-help and how to. Just about everyone at NAT is drawn to the practices, and we highly recommend these for bringing energy through the nadis.

The Kybalion (The Three Initiates )

I don’t know exactly why this book has stuck with me or why I bought The Kybalion twice in Idyllwild and seem to want to buy another copy regularly. I feel like Jason Bourne with his programmed need for Catcher in the Rye, except I’m not as bad-ass. But there is something to The Kybalion that resonates with me. I miss it. I have to have it. Maybe the Three Initiates, whoever they are, have put a hex on me. I don’t know. I’m not a follower of the Hermetic practices. In fact, all I really know of them is what I’ve read in the Kybalion. But it’s worth a read. And it’s well out of copyright, so multiple versions exist.

Illusions (Richard Bach)

This is old and classic and most people have read it. Richard Bach was an early new age writer, even if he wasn’t portrayed as one. While we love Jonathon Livingston Seagull for its portrayal of individuality and community, we love Illusions more and have read it multiple times. It’s the opposite of Kundalini Tantra, in that Illusions is fiction, and light and short.

The Alchemist (Paulo Coehlo)

Most people with a new age bent have read The Alchemist, or at the very least heard discussions about it in a coffee shop somewhere. It’s another short, easy work of fiction with a nice message, and if we had a required reading list for spiritual explorers, this would be on in, right after Illusions.

Tao Te Ching (Lao Tzu)

Back to non-fiction, one of the greatest, and oldest new age books is the Tao Te Ching. As the name implies, it is about Taoist philosophy. Succinct and insightful, it is a quick read that will keep you thinking well after you’ve finished.