LightChild Booklist
Book One
Primary Required Reading
Book One
Primary Required Reading
Secondary Required Reading
Recommended Reading
Reading is a way to attune to the minds of others and lift ourselves into a higher cultural paradigm. It is also a way to promote more effective communication within a community who can reference concepts and stories collectively. At LightChild, we seek to be truly loving people, and the themes of the books help us to do so. They also cover topics related to spirituality, mysticism and prosperity.
There are two categories of books on the booklist. The first is required reading, and the second recommended reading. The required reading is a part of the LightChild curriculum and for students in the God-Realization Program. The recommended reading list are suggestions and each student can determine for themselves if those books are in alignment with their own personal predilection.
Reviews and why these books are essential to LightChild.
On Love and Loneliness, by Jiddu Krishnamurti.
This is our number-one book, and the highest priority on the reading list. Jiddu Krishnamurti was an Enlightened Being. He spent is life travelling the world to give talks where he shared insight from his lucid state of consciousness. What is particularly unique about his style is that it is without the traditional words, completely distilled and adapted for today’s futuristic society. It is short and sweet and conveys the heart of what it is to love at the level of enlightenment. For this reason, it is paramount that every member of The LightChild Community read this book.
Be As Your Are, by Ramana Marharshi.
Ramana Maharshi was a beautiful enlightened being. His primary teaching was silence and the transmission of knowledge from guru to student within that silence. For this reason, he doesn’t have as many books, but students insisted that his teaching be documented. This book is profound and describes enlightenment in succinct and clear beauty.
The Art of Loving, by Erich Fromm
Erich Fromm’s explanation of love and the state of love in modern society is clear and empowering. This book is essential to anyone interested in becoming more loving.
Autobiography of a Yogi, by Paramahansa Yogananda.
If there’s a book that can inspire one to get on the path to enlightenment, it’s this book. Paramahansa Yogananda was a God-Realized being with an epic life of spiritual adventure and profundity. This book helps you attune to the excitement and joy of the spiritual path.
As a Man Thinkith, by James Allen.
You are what you think, and as you can change your thoughts, so can you change your very experience of life. James Allen was a deeply spiritual individual with powerful insight that he conveyed with beautiful eloquence. As a prolific writer, there is so much to read by him, but this little book is the place to start.
Jonathan Livingston Seagull, by Richard Bach.
A book about following your heart with allusions to the spiritual path and spiritual community. An essential book for helping describe the nature and importance of spiritual community. It’s a fun read, almost a children’s book, but with so much wisdom.
On Relationship, by Jiddu Krishnamurti.
One of the greatest books on relationship, Jiddu Krishnamurti provides the insight of an enlightened being to understand the mechanisms at play in relationship, and how to be profoundly related to everything and everyone in your life.
The Science of Getting Rich, by Wallace D. Wattles.
Sometimes spiritual seekers erroneously resist worldly prosperity. Wallace D. Wattles masterfully puts this misconception in its place and empowers any spiritual seeker, and anyone in general, to realize their fullest in life through the conscious generation of wealth and prosperity. It is a key value for LightChild that we “Thrive in the World,” and this book empowers that value for us.
Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind, by Shunryu Suzuki.
Zen is the practice of energy cultivation, personal power. To embody divine love takes an immense amount of power and certain principles of living, of which zen provides us. In this exoteric exposition of zen, Shunryu Suzuki shares some of the most fundamental zen principles.
Stillness Speaks, by Eckhart Tolle.
Eckhart Tolle is a contemporary enlightened being with a simple and beautiful enlightened style. This book is so clear and succinct with powerful guidelines on how to become more enlightened.
The Power of Now, by Eckhart Tolle.
The classic text from Eckhart Tolle, providing a more in-depth description of enlightenment and how to become more enlightened.
The Yoga of the Bhagavad Gita, by Paramahansa Yogananda.
Paramahansa Yogananda masterfully elucidates the Bhagavad Gita, the Hindu Holy Book and ancient classic, to makes its profound teaching clear and accessible. His insight is unique and powerful and provides a potent and usual understanding of the text that makes it a powerful aid to our spiritual evolution.
Think on These Things, by Jiddu Krishnamurti.
What makes this text so unique is that it is of talks he gave primarily to kids and schools. This has the effect of bringing the child-like innocence and insight into the discussion in a way that is powerful and deeply accessible.
The Richest Man of Babylon, by Georges S. Clason.
Wealth is not something by chance, or at least it doesn’t need to be. In this text are outlined the key principles to wealth generation in a fun read.
Flow, by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Autotelic is a word that means to do something for it’s own sake, for the joy of doing it. In this text on the psychology of optimal experience, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi provides insight into a very spiritual principle to empower spiritual seekers. To become enlightened requires more than just meditation, it requires an integrated life where every moment is used as an opportunity to become more enlightened. It also provides the link between spirituality and thriving in the world, helping spiritual seekers to learn to make their productivity an expression of their heart.
How to Win Friends and Influence People, by Dale Carnegie.
Dale Carnegie was a master with people. Ultimately, he knew the secret of dealing with people, which is to be genuinely loving of them. In this text, Carnegie outlines many of the ways we can be more loving by making others the center. A truly Bhakti book distilled and adapted to our lives in modern western society.
Losing my Virginity, by Richard Branson.
The perfect example of the child-like spirit applied in our capitalistic world. Richard Branson is a big kid, with a focus on fun. But at the heart of his story is insight into positivity, love, and adventure, all aspect of the spiritual path of Bhakti Mysticism. It’s also a book to inspire the entrepreneurial spirit, empowering you to manifest the inspiration of your heart in a world that has yet to experience your soul’s unique offering.
Education and the Significance of Life, by Jiddu Krishnamurti.
In this exposition on education, Jiddu Krishnamurti clarifies the purpose of education as not simply the development of technical proficiency, but rather the development of character as it applies to knowing the self. After a lifetime of conditioning, this book has the powerful effect of putting into context all that society has encouraged us to believe from our school days.
Journey to Ixtlan, by Carlos Castaneda.
In this book, Castaneda describes his experiences with his enlightened teacher Don Juan, a Shaman mystic.
Takes of Power, by Carlos Castaneda.
This books is a sequel to Journey to Ixtlan, and follows the exciting experiences of Carlos Castaneda working with his enlightened teachers.
