Meditations of a Commuter

Recommended Books

Care of the Soul by Thomas Moore
This widely read book introduces the idea of soul with reference to C. G. Jung, James Hillman and Greek mythology. It shows the need for soul in a secular world and the role of spirituality in caring for the soul. http://careofthesoul.net/books/

Practicing The Power of Now Eckhart Tolle
Practicing the Power of Now extracts the essence from Eckhart Tolle's teachings. Using simple techniques, Tolle shows readers how to live in the present moment and find the truest path to happiness.
http://www.betterworldbooks.com/practicing-the-power-of-now-id-1577311957.aspx

The Law of Success by Paramahansa Yogananda
Filled with sensible down-to-earth wisdom, The Law of Success explores the spiritual sources of creativity, positive thinking, and dynamic will, as well as the success-producing power of self-analysis and meditation. It shows how each one of us can naturally attract happiness and harmony.
http://bookstore.yogananda-srf.org/The-Law-of-Success-p56.html

Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda
Named one of the 100 Best Spiritual Books of the Twentieth Century, Paramahansa Yogananda?s remarkable life story takes you on an unforgettable exploration of the world of saints and yogis, science and miracles, death and resurrection. With soul-satisfying wisdom and endearing wit, he illuminates the deepest secrets of life and the universe opening our hearts and minds to the joy, beauty, and unlimited spiritual potentials that exist in the lives of every human being.
http://bookstore.yogananda-srf.org/Autobiography-of-a-Yogi-p40.html

Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
Man's Search for Meaning tells the chilling and inspirational story of eminent psychiatrist Viktor Frankl, who was imprisoned at Auschwitz and other concentration camps for three years during the Second World War. Immersed in great suffering and loss, Frankl began to wonder why some of his fellow prisoners were able not only to survive the horrifying conditions, but to grow in the process. Frankl's conclusion - that the most basic human motivation is the will to meaning - became the basis of his groundbreaking psychological theory, logotherapy. As Nietzsche put it, "He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how." In Man's Search for Meaning, Frankl outlines the principles of logotherapy, and offers ways to help each one of us focus on finding the purpose in our lives.
http://www.amazon.com/Mans-Search-Meaning-Viktor-Frankl/dp/0671023373

Seeing Voices by Oliver Sacks
With Seeing Voices, Dr. Sacks launches on a journey into the world of the deaf, which he explores with the same passion and insight that have illuminated other human conditions for his readers everywhere. Seeing Voices begins with the history of deaf people in the United States, the often outrageous ways in which they have been seen and treated in the past, and their continuing struggle for acceptance in a hearing world. And it examines the amazing and beautiful visual language of the deaf ‘Sign’ which has only in the past decade been recognized fully as a language?linguistically complete, rich, and as expressive as any spoken language.
http://www.oliversacks.com/books/seeing-voices/

Zen in the Art of Archery by Eugen Herrigel
Herrigel was a philosophy professor who lived and taught in Tokyo for a half dozen years in the 1930's. Drawn to mysticism, he sought to understand Zen Buddhism through the medium of archery and apprenticed himself for six years to a Zen Master. This book describes what he felt and learned about this art and through it about Zen itself. For example, a central idea in the book is that through years of practice, a physical activity or skill becomes effortless both mentally and physically, as if the body executes complex and difficult movements without conscious control from the mind. "For access to the art - and the master archers of all times are agreed in this - is only granted to those who are 'pure' in heart, untroubled by subsidiary aims." Thus, the pursuit of archery is not one of sport, but one of gradual mastery of one's self.
http://www.amazon.com/Zen-Art-Archery-Eugen-Herrigel/dp/0375705090

Mythology by Edith Hamilton
Since its original publication Hamilton's Mythology succeeds like no other book in bringing to life for the modern reader the Greek, Roman and Norse myths and legends that are the keystone of Western culture?the stories of gods and heroes that have inspired human artistic creativity from antiquity to the present.
http://www.amazon.com/Mythology-Edith-Hamilton/dp/0316341517

The Last lecture by Randy Pausch (1960-2008)
When Randy Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon, was asked to give such a lecture, he didn?t have to imagine it as his last, since he had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer. But the lecture he gave ”Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams „wasn't about dying. It was about the importance of overcoming obstacles, of enabling the dreams of others, of seizing every moment (because time is all you have... and you may find one day that you have less than you think). It was a summation of everything Randy had come to believe. It was about living. In this book, Randy Pausch combined the humor, inspiration and intelligence that made his lecture such a phenomenon and given it an indelible form. We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand. Randy Pausch
http://www.amazon.com/Last-Lecture-Randy-Pausch/dp/1401323251

Ancient Wisdom, The Modern World by The Dalai Lama
At a time and in a culture where science and technology have taken over from religious belief, when ethics are understood primarily in terms of aesthetic choice or legality, how are we to formulate moral principles to guide us in our daily lives? Though religion can certainly help in this, the Dalai Lama demonstrates that there are universal principles we can draw on which transcend the dilemma of belief or unbelief. And whilst many have been content to speak of spiritual matters as something mysterious or evanescent, the Dalai Lama explains his approach in terms that are as clear and concise as they are compelling. With wit, gentle good sense and with penetrating insight, the Dalai Lama shows how the truths that have stood the test of generations of practice can provide us with the tools to live happy, fulfilled and meaningful lives.
http://www.amazon.com/Ancient-Wisdom-Modern-Dalai-Lama/dp/0349112541

The Secret : Steve Evans