Here are 100 books that The Power of Mess fans have personally recommended if you like
The Power of Mess.
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For most of my life, stillness eluded me. I struggled to be present in any moment, to experience joy or comfort, let alone peace. It took me a virtual lifetime to understand that this exterior version of me, with its incessant mental chatter and negative bias, could no longer control me. I reached a breaking point. Divorced after a lifetime partnership, played out of my most recent company, kids all grown up—utterly alone and without meaningful purpose, the hard inner journey began. I spent years focused on my own journey of self and spiritual development. The payoff is I am now not only more present to life but able to help others on their journeys.
I guess when you’re ready to listen, the message comes through and doesn’t sound like just another guru’s gobbledygook. Tolle, similar to Ram Dass, underscores the necessity of becoming fully aware of the present moment, seeing beyond the incessant chatter of the mind, and experiencing the profound peace and stillness that lie within.
Both suggest that this awakening leads to a life of greater clarity, inner peace, and genuine connection. It was so meaningful to me at a crucial time in my life.
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'A wake-up call for the entire planet. A New Earth helps us to stop creating our own suffering and obsessing over the past and what the future might be and to put ourselves in the now' OPRAH WINFREY
'My No. 1 guru will always be Eckhart Tolle' CHRIS EVANS
THE BOOK THAT INSPIRED THE CHART-TOPPING PODCAST OPRAH & ECKHART TOLLE: A NEW EARTH _________
Are you ready to change your life?
In Eckhart Tolle's ground-breaking book, he gives you the spiritual framework to: - Understand yourself…
The dragons of Yuro have been hunted to extinction.
On a small, isolated island, in a reclusive forest, lives bandit leader Marani and her brother Jacks. With their outlaw band they rob from the rich to feed themselves, raiding carriages and dodging the occasional vindictive…
I wasn’t always a joyful person. But today I’m freaking sunshine, and full-out committed to being an effective member of the team that’s elevating the level of love and joy in the world! My positions on that team have included writing dozens of mega-selling books (my own, and as a ghostwriter), founding my online Joy School at LisaMcCourt.com, hosting my Do Joy! podcast, and collaborating on projects with many other popular teachers of consciousness and joyful living. My books have sold over 9 million copies, earned 7 publishing industry awards, and garnered over 9,000 glowing Amazon reviews. Joy is my jam. I know a joyful book when I read one!
One of the secrets of my wildly successful joy trainings is an elevation of self-love. I say “secret” because self-love is a tired, cliched topic.
For some, it implies a self-indulgent pursuit for weaker-willed people than we like to admit ourselves to be. Others, who know they don’t have it, deep down believe they aren’t worthy of it anyway. It’s heartbreaking because self-love is the key to everything we believe we want. And it’s not about bubble baths or buying the shoes.
It’s about how we talk to ourselves all day long, day after day, with that voice in our heads. Spending time with Scott Stabile via the insightful musings in this precious book will create a shift in your relationship with that voice. And that shift will upturn everything.
From the author of the acclaimed Big Love, a funny, profound, and inspired collection of short prose on the transformational power of self-acceptance
Overwhelmed by a heartbreaking series of personal tragedies that defined his early life, Scott Stabile seemed destined for hardship and misfortune. Instead, he found the transformative power of love and the courage to walk away, which he detailed in his beloved collection of essays Big Love: The Power of Living with a Wide-Open Heart.
In Enough as You Are, Stabile delivers more of these liberating truths with a heart-expanding collection of poetry and short prose rooted in…
I wasn’t always a joyful person. But today I’m freaking sunshine, and full-out committed to being an effective member of the team that’s elevating the level of love and joy in the world! My positions on that team have included writing dozens of mega-selling books (my own, and as a ghostwriter), founding my online Joy School at LisaMcCourt.com, hosting my Do Joy! podcast, and collaborating on projects with many other popular teachers of consciousness and joyful living. My books have sold over 9 million copies, earned 7 publishing industry awards, and garnered over 9,000 glowing Amazon reviews. Joy is my jam. I know a joyful book when I read one!
Two of my favorite things in the world combine to make this one of my favorite books of all time.
The first is reading something that inspires that sacred moment of recognition; a glimpse into the vulnerable heart of an author sharing a slice of humanness that makes me nod my head in recognition of that bit of humanness within me as well. The second is wildly skillful word-weaving mastery for conveying such insights.
This collection of tender, poignant essays zings right into my heart and fills me with compassion and admiration for us beleaguered, hopeful inhabitants of Earth. A brilliant, honest, and ultimately optimistic observation of the human condition.
In this collection of observations, contemplations, and insights, award-winning author Thomas Lloyd Qualls offers a down-to-earth oracle to help decipher the riddles of modern life.
Part field notes from a seeker's journey and part teachings of a would-be monk who doesn't get to live on the side of a mountain, Happiness Is an Imaginary Line in the Sand is convincing in its stubborn insistence that a better world is not only possible, but within our grasp.
The author lives not in a cloistered world of saffron robes, but is knee deep in the muddiness of life. A lawyer who represents…
When Annie Thornton, midwife and apprentice witch, falls through time to a 15th-century Yorkshire village with her telepathic cat, Rosamund, she befriends Will and Jack, two soldiers returning from the French Wars. Mistress Meg, Annie’s ancestral aunt living in the 15th century, is…
I wasn’t always a joyful person. But today I’m freaking sunshine, and full-out committed to being an effective member of the team that’s elevating the level of love and joy in the world! My positions on that team have included writing dozens of mega-selling books (my own, and as a ghostwriter), founding my online Joy School at LisaMcCourt.com, hosting my Do Joy! podcast, and collaborating on projects with many other popular teachers of consciousness and joyful living. My books have sold over 9 million copies, earned 7 publishing industry awards, and garnered over 9,000 glowing Amazon reviews. Joy is my jam. I know a joyful book when I read one!
My books and trainings are all about joy, but that doesn’t mean I don’t geek out on the science behind it all.
I’ve long admired Eldon Taylor’s approach to bridging the gap between spirituality and what is considered hardcore scientific understanding at this current stage of human evolution, and this book addresses a question that underlies all of the work I do.
If more people could release the widespread, ridiculous idea that spiritual concepts (understood and practiced by our far wiser ancestors thousands of years ago) are somehow not as “real” as the other arbitrary, culturally-accepted paradigms they subscribe to, we’d have a far more joyous, compassionate, successful society.
Eldon provides a fact-based bridge for readers to cross in this well-researched book!
A pragmatic case for the rational viability of a spiritual belief in a higher power. [Taylor] makes a compelling case that the scientific worldview--one that sees humans as "meat machines"--is inconsistent with people's experiences of themselves and is not nearly as rationally superior as it is so often presented. This alone makes the author's compact consideration a worthwhile read. A philosophically astute challenge to the rational supremacy of science over its spiritual rivals. Kirkus Reviews
I'm the founder of Life Organized Inc, a firm specializing in the organization of people, their lives, and physical spaces. Known for creating solutions that are as aesthetically appealing as they are practical, I transform spaces from the inside out. My areas of expertise include home and office organization, time management, digital decluttering, organizing for academic success, maximizing productivity while working from home, and management of everyday chaos. I'm a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and the NYU Stern School of Business.
Swiss artist Ursus Wehrli reorganizes what he sees through humorous photos that categorize everyday objects by color, size, and shape. The letters in alphabet soup are arranged alphabetically, the cars in a parking lot are organized by color, and a fruit salad is separated into its individual fruits. The colorful before and after photos are fun for all ages.
Swiss comedian and cabaret artist Ursus Wehrli loves organisation in the extreme. In The Art of Clean Up, Wehrli arranges a bowl of alphabet soup, a group of pool-goers, a spruce branch and other elements of our chaotic world into neat rows sorted by colour, size, shape or type.
I didn’t choose clutter as a topic—it chose me. Around the time Marie Kondo became a tidying-up sensation, my mother suffered a breakdown and could no longer live in her dangerously cluttered house. I’m an only child, so it fell to me to figure what to do with it all. So much stuff! It got me wondering: How did clutter get to be such a huge problem for so many people? The books on this list helped answer that question and made me feel less alone in the struggle with stuff. I hope you find them useful too.
Dealing with a lifetime’s worth of possessions feels like a heavy task—heavy in every sense. In this breezy book, Margareta Magnuson reminds readers that it doesn’t have to be a drag. Figuring out what to do with all your things can be cathartic, liberating, even fun, a chance to relive some of the highlights of your life and celebrate where you’ve landed. It’s also a kindness to your nearest and dearest. As she wisely observes, “A loved one wishes to inherit nice things from you. Not all things from you.” I wish I could go back in time and give a copy of this book to my mother with that passage highlighted.
Dostadning, or the art of death cleaning, is a Swedish phenomenon by which the elderly and their families set their affairs in order. Whether it's sorting the family heirlooms from the junk, downsizing to a smaller place, or using a failsafe system to stop you losing essentials, death cleaning gives us the chance to make the later years of our lives as comfortable and stress-free as possible. Whatever your age, Swedish death cleaning can be used to help you de-clutter your life, and take stock of what's important.
Chasing Light is a lyrical meditation on grief, memory, and the fragile beauty of everyday life. At its core, it is a story of resilience, forgiveness, and the transformational power of human connection. It sheds light on the overlooked realities of homelessness and addiction, while emphasizing the importance of compassion…
In 2012 I started a minimalist journey, inspired by my 1,500 square foot house that could no longer comfortably contain the possessions belonging to me, my partner, and our then 2-year-old triplets. I was a full-time working mom with little time to declutter, yet I knew that if I didn’t change our home, the stress of our stuff would rob us of valuable space and time to enjoy our young family. Over a period of eight months, I let go of about 70% of our possessions, and I’ve never looked back. I’ve since taught hundreds of thousands of busy parents how to do the same through my blog, book, TEDx, keynotes, classes, and coaching.
Stephanie Seferian is a good friend of mine and her Sustainable Minimalists podcast is one of my favorites! When I found out she was putting all her eco-minimalist knowledge into a book, I knew I had to get a copy. This book shares practical, well-researched advice on how you can reduce your number of possessions while also reducing your carbon footprint. Stephanie is a mother of two young girls, so her advice is applicable to busy moms who don’t have a lot of time. You’ll want to dog-ear and sticky note many of these pages!
The Aspiring Minimalist's Guide to Living Consciously and Contributing to a "Greener" Tomorrow
"This is the perfect book for people that want to find a realistic roadmap to sustainable living." The Holistic Millennial
Eco-minimalism is a hot-button issue right now, and for good reason. Living a life with less can be the key to saving our precious planet.
Break the consumption cycle. There's so much to do, and way too much to buy. Whether it's through late night TV ads, social media, or other sources of influence, we are addicted to buying and then storing things. Sometimes we consume with…
I am a clinical psychologist who was surprised to realize that I am both Autistic and an ADHDer in my late 40s. I have always been fascinated by psychology, and now Autism and ADHD have become my areas of “special interest” (“spin”). I have been reading widely to learn more about myself, find practical ways to alleviate the chronic sense of overwhelm I experience and recover from burnout. Most of my clients are also late-diagnosed neurodivergent adults who have complex mental and physical health problems, so the reading I’ve been doing has given me fresh insights to share and helpful strategies we can test out together.
This tiny book taught me how to be more self-compassionate in some very practical ways. On the surface, this book is about housekeeping and chores, but it’s much more than that. When I read this book, I was in burnout, and “doom piles” of unfinished tasks were building up in my home.
KC reminded me that I could unhook from the unrealistic expectations I had of myself, see this mess as “morally neutral,” and understand that my home being messy did not mean I was a failure. She gave me practical strategies to show “kindness to future me,” and I still love how the book has a shortcut way of reading it, with all the key points highlighted, so I can jump back in at any time and find something useful.
This is a book for anyone who is looking for an accessible and gentle way to care for their home - and themselves.
KC Davis, therapist and busy mother of two, will introduce you to six life-changing principles to revolutionise the way you approach domestic work, all without a single to-do list. Inside, you'll learn how to stagger tasks to avoid procrastination, soothe stress by setting priorities, set up your space to work for you... and tackle that ever-mounting laundry pile. With KC's help, your home will feel like a sanctuary again.
I opened my first history book in school at 6 and have been fascinated by how people lived since then. I found the evolution of furniture, interiors, decorations, exteriors, and everything that relates to how we live of the utmost importance if we want to know who we are and why. I am the son of antique dealers, growing up in France, so furniture is my principal domain of expertise, but I always put it in relation to the epoch they are from and the people who used them. I became the go-to of Martha Stewart for antiques and furniture restoration and have been featured in TV shows and magazines regularly.
I find myself consulting this book at least once a week. I know I will find the answer or the advice for every question that may arise in decorating, organizing, cleaning, and simplifying your interior.
I am always in awe of the simplest solutions being the best ones and that Julie and her team always have their pulse on it. Kuddos!
Buy fewer (and better) things. Store like with like. Get rid of the plastic. Display-don't stash-your belongings. Let go of your inner perfectionist and remember that rooms are for living. These are a few of the central principles behind Remodelista: The Organized Home, the new book from the team behind the inspirational design site Remodelista.com. Whether you're a minimalist or someone who takes pleasure in her collections, we all yearn for an unencumbered life in a home that makes us happy. This compact tome shows us how, with more than 100 simple and stylish tips, each clearly presented and accompanied…
Portrait of an Artist as a Young Woman
by
Alexis Krasilovsky,
Kate from Jules et Jim meets I Love Dick.
A young woman filmmaker’s journey of self-discovery, set against a backdrop of the sexual liberation movement of the 1970s and 1980s. In Portrait of an Artist as a Young Woman, we follow Ana Fried as she faces the ultimate…
You know how most young kids go through a phrase where they ask “why” about everything, and then they ask it again, and again, and again? Well, I never really outgrew that. I studied journalism because it gave me permission to be curious about new things every day, and to ask experts “why.” Marketing gave me a new way to chase my curiosity: Why are people clicking this ad, opening this email, following that social account or searching for that phrase? I’ve helped 30% of the Fortune 100 answer the questions about why their content is working, or isn’t, and my first book, The Content Fuel Framework: How to Generate Unlimited Story Ideas, was born from my introspective curiosity about how my own idea generation process worked.
This book is a hefty one—I recommend the audiobook if you’ve got a bad back—but it will help you understand how your brain works in a way that almost no other book can. And the better you understand your mind, the better you’ll be able to make it do what you want, and how to protect yourself from the things that might otherwise sabotage your creative thinking.
In The Organized Mind, New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling author and neuroscientist Daniel Levitin offers practical solutions to the problems of information overload. ___________________________________________________
Overwhelmed by demands on your time? Caught in an unproductive spiral of emails and multitasking?
You're not alone. When we're deluged with information our creativity plummets, our decision making suffers and we grow absent-minded. Nowadays, we drown in our inboxes, forever juggle several tasks at once and try to make complex decisions ever more quickly. This is information overload.
Combining the latest neuroscience with everyday examples, Daniel Levitin explains how to take back control…