(by 7 people)
What a concept!
The concept is totally foreign to a non-reader. "How can a book change my life?" non-readers ponder. "Movies are perfect for me, and a few have changed the way I think about life."
Yes, there are life-changing movies. But I'd guess there are a hundred times more life-changing books. And it's all subjective: the book that one reader tosses aside in boredom will be another reader's fodder for an emotional breakthrough.
So I invite you to journey through my past and discover the books that jumped across my path at just the right moment for me to learn a new
concept and change the way I see life. And "jumped across my path" is not a figure of speech! Sometimes I'd be in the library looking for a completely different subject and an interesting looking book would be slightly pulled out on the shelf. And that would be the book that contained the message I needed to hear at that moment.
The Books that Changed my Life
The early years
- The Prophet
, Kahlil Gibran. I was a teenager, and at a babysitting job. This family had shelves upon shelves of books, much like my own parents. One book stood out and the father of the children saw me looking at it. He explained that he and his wife met and married because of this book. He loaned it to me, and I especially loved the chapter on Children. That was a new concept for me and it helped me soften my relationship with my own mother.
- Franny and Zooey
- The Way of a Pilgrim
- Illusions
- Initiation
The Books that Changed my Life
Recently
- The Bible. I spent my teens and twenties eschewing the bible and church life in favor of a new-age mentality. Before I got into studying the bible, I had read parts of the Bhagavad-Gita, the Mahabarata, and really wanted to learn sanskrit. Then I came to a point in my life where I had children and wanted them to learn about Christianity, so I went church-shopping. I found Calvary Chapel and was really impressed! They play drums and guitar with the worship music, they don't pass around the basket, and they have sunday school for the children that's age-appropriate. Each adult service is like bible study, and I was blown away by what I learned about the Bible there. So I can say that my in-depth study of the Bible changed the way I viewed Christianity as a religion.
- Thresholds of the Mind
I am so convinced that Mr. Harris has a scientifically valid method of bolstering the brain's ability to handle stress, also called "raising the threshold", that I built my own affiliate web site about it. This book explains the science behind Holosync, a brain entrainment CD Rom set that anyone can use to improve their mental health. Since the book is an accompanist to a CD program, it reads like an advertisement for the program--well, the intended audience is people who use Holosync and want to understand the science behind it. I use the CD program regularly to help me handle the stressors of my life smoothly, and to keep from falling into depression. You get the book free when you order Holosync, and if you do decide to order it, use my web site Live On Purpose or say Jessica Alvarez recommended it! (Please?) It's changing my life for the better. - The Shepherds' Prayer There is a book that is about to change my life, not because I read it, but because I helped with the publication of it. It went to press late October 2006! Now I have seen, from beginning to end, what goes into writing, designing, printing, and marketing a book. And it's a lot of effort.
This book offers an original viewpoint on the early Christmas seasons in Bethlehem. Most people haven't considered how the birth of Christ affected the people in Bethlehem and the shepherds who came to worship the newborn messiah.
Nov 26, 2006. The web site is ready and the books are available. The Shepherds' Prayer.
New Word of the Day
Reading books can be painstaking if you lack a good vocabulary. Learn a new word every day right here.
Posters of my favorite authors!
Check out Allposters- they can frame it for you or send it to you unframed.
Books that might change your life
- Favorite Books at Zaadz
- Zaadz is a social networking web site with a mission statement bent on changing the world (for the better, that is). This page features Zaadsters' best liked books.
A popular slogan at Zaadz.com is "be the change you want to see". - Learn Out Loud
- Learn Out Loud is great if you don't have time to read. They offer (for sale) spiritual and life changing books on audio, available for download. It's best if you have a high speed internet connection and some type of mp3 player or cd-burner so you can listen to your titles while you're doing other things, like driving or riding the bus. By the way, they have a great free section, too.
- Life Changing Fiction
- Karen Kingsbury is a fiction writer, and normally I don't read novels, but I picked up "Gideon's Gift" from the red gloves series this summer and couldn't put it down until I finished it. I learned that Ms. Kingbury specializes in what she calls, "life-changing fiction". The books in the series are short enough to keep from being daunting, and they are exceptionally well written.
Karen Kingsbury on Amazon
Gideon's Gift (The Red Gloves Collection #1)
Amazon Price: $11.16 (as of 10/15/2008)
The Red Gloves Collection
Amazon Price: $14.95 (as of 10/15/2008)
A Treasury of Christmas Miracles: True Stories of Gods Presence Today
Amazon Price: $12.95 (as of 10/15/2008)
A Treasury of Miracles for Women: True Stories of God's Presence Today
Amazon Price: $10.36 (as of 10/15/2008)
A Treasury of Adoption Miracles: True Stories of God's Presence Today (Miracle Books Collection)
Amazon Price: $21.60 (as of 10/15/2008)
Okay, I'll throw in a movie that could change your life.
- What the Bleep do We Know?
- Here is a movie made specifically to introduce the layperson to scientific topics like quantum physics, and to introduce new ways of thinking about one's life as a whole. Anyone who is a seeker will be thrilled with this production. It mixes light drama with heavy documentary-style interviews.
There is a 3D animation sequence to help illustrate the concept of emotional addiction. That is, all of us have an addiction to a certain state of being, whether it's anger, vulnerability, lust, or happiness.
Just being exposed to this concept alone will foster a new understanding for why we act the way we do. And that's enough to change your life.
Netflix Movies on faith and spirituality
The below movies are part of an RSS feed of the top 5 rented movies in the "faith and spirituality" category. Netflix does rent "What the Bleep" even though it may not be on this list.
- 001- Conversations with God
Based on the best-selling autobiographical series by Neale Donald Walsch, this film traces the autho...- 002- Jeremiah: The Bible
Jeremiah tells the story of the prophet who abandons his family, and also the woman he loves, in ord...- 003- Solomon: The Bible
King Solomon's ascent -- from mama's boy to a sovereign famous for his wisdom and international coal...- 004- In the Arms of Angels
When 8-year-old Belle Richards disobeys her father, she puts herself and her younger brother in peri...- 005- God and Buddha: A Dialogue
In this fascinating and unusual conversation, writer and physician Deepak Chopra talks to religion p...- Try Netflix free for 14 days
Reader Poll
Reader Feedback
If this lens was helpful to you, please vote for it by clicking on the stars at the top of this page.
Let me know if this lens led you to seek out a book you would not have come across otherwise. Or just share some good vibes...
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solarwind
Nice Lens, books and movies are not the only things that can cause one to take on a new perspective on ones life and also the meaning of life and where we each fit in the Grand Scheme. Life changing wonders are all around us - all we need do is open our eyes in a manner of speaking to behold them. Posted March 04, 2008 |
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thepixellator
Thanks for all the great feedback, folks! You've inspired me to keep adding to and maintaining this lens. Posted August 08, 2007 |
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Teacher-of-ACIM
Nice Lense, thanks. Posted April 25, 2007 |
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bjpavn
I enjoyed looking through this site - excellent! I'm glad you're sharing this with everyone. Spirit is the source of all things in this world - it's what we do with IT that defines our lives as Soul Itself. Posted April 03, 2007 |
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evnucci
This is so amamzing! I love this lense! Reading this lense is why I joined this group. I wrote a lense called The Art of Strategic Thinking. I probably should have called it the books that changed my life, cecause that's what all of those books did. They made me a strategic thinker. BRILLIANT! Posted April 03, 2007 |
