More Favorite Books

Writing about books that influenced me was so much fun that I have more to say about the topic. Here is Part II of my favorite books. These are books that influenced my spirituality, my philosophy and my basic worldview.

Okakuro, Kakuzo: The Book of Tea
This is a pocket-sized book about tea and its importance in Japanese culture. I do like tea, but the important thing I gained from this books is the concept of shibumi. Shibumi is hard to translate into English, but basically it's a pure simplicity...the essence that is left when you pare away all that is superfluous and unnecessary. It's a guiding star of my mental processes and design ethos.

Melody: Love Is In the Earth 
This is the encyclopedia of crystals, gemstones and minerals. It contains practical information about them like physical characteristics and where they are found in addition to the metaphysical information. I like how she includes numerology and astrology as well. My go-to guide for working with the stone beings.

Chopra, Deepak: The Path to Love: Spiritual Strategies for Healing
I like Deepak Chopra's work because the spiritual teachings of Yoga are sometimes difficult to transmit in writing. The books written by many of the old masters from India tend to be a bit scrambled and hard to follow. Deepak does a great job with conveying Vedic philosophy to an international audience. This book is a great resource for healing one's own heart and participating in healthy relationships of all kinds, not just romantic ones.

Kerouac, Jack: Dharma Bums
Mountain climbing, freedom, non-conformism and the importance of self-discovery in nature...this book was right up my alley. It's hard for me to say that his books are teaching tools per se, but still...they mean something to me, especially this one.

Farb, Peter: The Face of North America
This is a classic of natural history. It gave me a much richer and more complex understanding of how North America was formed and why the land looks the way it does. This is a must-read for anyone who wants to deeply connect with nature in this part of the world. Farb does a pretty good job of being easy to understand while not sacrificing the integrity of the information.

Plato: The Republic
So, I ought to mention in one of these book posts that I majored in philosophy in college. Whether or not one is interested in the finer points of logic, understanding philosophy helps us to understand the evolution of thought. It was a big help to me in understanding the world of today and my place in it. The Republic is a must-read in the philosophy genre; it is a classic work that endures through the centuries.

Diamond, Jared: Guns, Germs and Steel AND The World Until Yesterday
In my humble opinion, Mr. Diamond is the Darwin of our time. Both of these books were epiphanies for me. Want to get past the mindless brainwashing of pop culture? Read these books and understand how societies evolved, how geography has influenced technology and the spread of culture and how modern culture is so very, very alienated from nature. Just go read them.