Here are 100 books that Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness fans have personally recommended if you like
Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness.
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For 43 years, I have been a practitioner and educator, focusing on trauma recovery. Far too often, I’ve seen the treatment culture itself limit opportunities for clients to be in charge of their own healing. That ignited in me a commitment to empowering clients to have ownership of their healing journey. I am constantly looking for resources to help clients develop the skills they need to be an effective participant in and guide for their own healing. These books do that amazingly well, and I’ve seen the positive difference each of them can make in clients’ skillfulness and capacity for self-healing.
This is the best book I’ve ever found for guiding clients with step-by-step instructions and practices for developing a somatic capacity for resilience in the face of stress. This is the book I would want to write if I were writing the perfect book to give to clients to support their healing. It’s like handing clients the keys to their own healing process. I love it so much I agreed to write the foreword!
And…it’s perfectly structured. I know that’s not the usual reason for loving a book, but as an educator I can say that the learning structure is so perfect that it makes the content accessible and understandable for clients who struggle with learning from written material.
Somatic or "body-based" skills are at the cutting edge of wellness and stress reduction. This book offers do-it-yourself techniques designed to help you "reset" your nervous system, beat stress, and cultivate calm. Stress-it's not just in your head. Whether you've experienced a racing heart, shortness of breath, a tense neck or shoulders, or a knot in your stomach, you know that stress is something that you can feel in your body. And that's why you need help relieving stress in the body before you can achieve a sense of calm and well-being in your mind. But where do you begin?…
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…
For 43 years, I have been a practitioner and educator, focusing on trauma recovery. Far too often, I’ve seen the treatment culture itself limit opportunities for clients to be in charge of their own healing. That ignited in me a commitment to empowering clients to have ownership of their healing journey. I am constantly looking for resources to help clients develop the skills they need to be an effective participant in and guide for their own healing. These books do that amazingly well, and I’ve seen the positive difference each of them can make in clients’ skillfulness and capacity for self-healing.
This is the most compassionate and humorous book about anxiety that I’ve ever read. Who would have thought that it could be this much fun to learn about anxiety? I mean, really, really learn about anxiety from someone who has felt its challenges and who has wrestled those challenges into an incredibly helpful and practical set of tools.
I love recommending this book to clients because I know they will feel seen and understood when they read it. I also know they will come away with more compassion for themselves, less shame, and a more expanded context in which to understand their anxiety symptoms. Most vitally, they will have been encouraged to take ownership of their relationship to the anxiety they feel.
** Winner of the 2020 Nautilus Award in Psychology **
Anxiety Is Unavoidable: Suffering Is Optional
“Anxiety Rx is unlike any book on anxiety and a must-read for anyone who suffers with chronic worry.” – Nicole LePera, PhD, The Holistic Psychologist
On February 8, 2013, I was a highly anxious and burned-out fifty-two-year-old physician. That night, as I left my clinic in my usual chronic state of anxiety, I wondered if life was worth living. But I had to be on stage as a stand-up comedian an hour later, so killing myself would have to wait. However, I never got…
For 43 years, I have been a practitioner and educator, focusing on trauma recovery. Far too often, I’ve seen the treatment culture itself limit opportunities for clients to be in charge of their own healing. That ignited in me a commitment to empowering clients to have ownership of their healing journey. I am constantly looking for resources to help clients develop the skills they need to be an effective participant in and guide for their own healing. These books do that amazingly well, and I’ve seen the positive difference each of them can make in clients’ skillfulness and capacity for self-healing.
This is the book that transformed my understanding of the somatics of addiction and compulsion. For almost 30 years, this has been the book I’ve recommended to clients most frequently. It is astonishing in its simplicity and elegance. The process of befriending and listening to our bodies as a way to engage with patterns that have previously felt out of control has become the underlying architecture of my work and teaching.
This is the book that I come back to again and again for inspiration. It is also the book that clients tell me they come back to again and again. It places the client firmly at the center of their own healing journey, with tools that every one of us carries around with us every day.
A habitual movement as common as nail-biting or toe-tapping can be the key to pulling out addictive behavior by its roots. These unconscious movement "tags" indicate the places where our bodies have become split off from our psyches. When brought to consciousness and confronted they will often tell us very plainly where our psychological suffering originated, showing us where to begin reconnecting body and soul. Christine Caldwell, a pioneer in the field of somatic psychology, has created an original model for working with body wisdom called the Moving Cycle. She describes how this form of therapy has worked effectively in…
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…
For 43 years, I have been a practitioner and educator, focusing on trauma recovery. Far too often, I’ve seen the treatment culture itself limit opportunities for clients to be in charge of their own healing. That ignited in me a commitment to empowering clients to have ownership of their healing journey. I am constantly looking for resources to help clients develop the skills they need to be an effective participant in and guide for their own healing. These books do that amazingly well, and I’ve seen the positive difference each of them can make in clients’ skillfulness and capacity for self-healing.
This is my go-to book now for clients who are looking for more trauma-informed and inclusive versions of Twelve Step programs. I have never read another book on the Twelve Steps that so thoroughly and gracefully weaves so many different knowledge areas and traditions together in such a seamless whole and that so thoroughly models inclusion and cross-cultural curiosity.
And, oh my, the number of fabulous practices that are given as examples is like a treasure-trove of gems for both practitioners and clients alike. I love the kindness and generosity that is present in this book’s expansive invitation to embodied healing in the recovery journey.
A trauma-sensitive companion to the Twelve Steps: body-based exercises for deepening your recovery, expanding your spiritual practice, preventing relapse, and understanding the root of your addiction.
For readers of In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts and Trauma and the 12 Steps
Considering addiction through a trauma-informed lens, The Mind-Body Guide to the Twelve Steps offers an accessible, lyrical, and practical guide to Twelve Step recovery that emphasizes self-compassion, relationship, embodied awareness, and ecological connection.
Whether you're suffering from an active addiction, seeking freedom from self-limiting behaviors, or hoping to establish or grow your spiritual practice, this innovative guide offers a…
I’m a writer, researcher, and lifelong learner. As the daughter of an Air Force pilot, I followed my father on his assignments around the world and went to 10 schools before graduating from high school. But my greatest education was learning how people from different cultures find joy, meaning, and peace of mind. I have a Ph.D. in English literature and a master’s degree in counseling. I’m now Professor Emeritus and Associate Director of the Applied Spirituality Institute at Santa Clara University, a professional certified coach, and lecturer in the Positive Psychology Guild in the UK. I love books that bring us greater peace of mind, inspiration, and hope.
Why? Because it reassures me that I’m not alone in searching for greater peace of mind. Jon Kabat-Zinn combines stories from Buddhism and his own practice with humor and words of encouragement to remind me that it is up to me to wake up from the mindless rush of compulsive planning, worry, regret, and resentment that too often cycles through my mind like the voices on a talk radio station.
He also reminds me to be kind to myself, not to fall into shame or self-accusations, because mindfulness is an ongoing practice to become more centered, aware, and balanced.
I smile when I catch myself drifting away from being mindfully present, take a deep breath, and return to the here and now. And this process continues in my formal meditation practice each morning and my ongoing attempts to be more mindfully aware…
I sometimes describe myself as a stealth Zen teacher working in the business world. I've founded and been CEO of three companies, including the Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute, a company I helped create and launch inside of Google's headquarters. I'm an executive coach and consultant to CEOs and leaders in the corporate and non-profit worlds. Prior to my business career I was a resident of the San Francisco Zen Center for 10 years. I'm the author of 5 books.
"In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities; in the experts there are few" is one of hundreds of gems from this collection of talks by Shunryu Suzuki, founding teacher of the San Francisco Zen Center.
Living a meaningful and successful life requires cultivating a full-functioning mind and body. Here are simple and profound instructions for seeing through the world of greed, aversion, and delusion. Suzuki provides guidelines for redefining meaning and success, going way beyond the usual self-help realm and toward a way of transforming how you see and live in the world.
Named one of the 100 Best Spiritual Books of the Twentieth Century (Spirituality & Practice)
A 50th Anniversary edition of the bestselling Zen classic on meditation, maintaining a curious and open mind, and living with simplicity.
"In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's there are few."
So begins this most beloved of all American Zen books. Seldom has such a small handful of words provided a teaching as rich as has this famous opening line. In a single stroke, the simple sentence cuts through the pervasive tendency students have of getting so close to Zen…
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…
Sensei Koshin Paley Ellison is an author, Soto Zen teacher, and Jungian psychotherapist. Koshin co-founded the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care, which offers contemplative approaches to care through education, personal caregiving, and Zen practice. He is the author of Wholehearted: Slow Down, Help Out, Wake Up. And the co-editor of Awake at the Bedside: Contemplative Teachings on Palliative and End of Life Care. He is a recognized Zen teacher by the Soto Zen Buddhist Association, White Plum Asanga, and American Zen Teachers Association.
I love this book and find myself rereading it each year. It is the first book I recommend for my students and for anyone who is curious about the practice of Zen. Daishin has a depth of practice with a tenderness and love for the practice that is palpable.
An excellent, practical introduction to Zen meditation. Written in a warm and easily accessible style, this book appeals to anyone with an interest in meditation, Zen, or, as is often the case today, a combination of the two. The book emphasizes the importance of receiving good instruction and of finding groups to practice with, yet it lays out the necessary steps to practice Zen meditation on your own. The book includes easily followed exercises to help the reader along. For anyone looking to uncover a clear and insightful path into the philosophy and practice of Zen meditation, this book represents…
When I’m not writing or reading, I work as a psychologist with kids and families. After twenty-five years of this work, it’s clear that many good people are suffering. It is too easy to respond with apathy or cynicism, which creates even more suffering. I am drawn to writing that gives us understanding and hope.
I’ll be honest: I have only scratched the surface of this book and the questions it asks and answers. How to deal with suffering and remain open to joy and beauty? I understand the book’s content at only the most superficial level. I suspect it’s going to take years for me to go deeper with it. As a writer, I am blown away by Trungpa’s style, which is clear, simple, and relatable. As a psychologist, I am humbled to see how clumsy and awkward our modern approaches are.
Featuring a new foreword by Pema Chödrön, this Tibetan Buddhist classic explores the meaning of freedom and how we can attain it through meditation
Freedom is generally thought of as the ability to achieve goals and satisfy desires. But what are the sources of these goals and desires? If they arise from ignorance, habitual patterns, and negative emotions, is the freedom to pursue these goals true freedom—or is it just a myth?
In The Myth of Freedom and the Way of Meditation, Chögyam Trungpa explores the true meaning of freedom, showing us how our attitudes, preconceptions, and even our spiritual…
From an early age, I had an insatiable curiosity. I questioned organized religion. I wondered why people can’t get along and why wars were fought over personal ideas and beliefs. Additionally, early in life, I had multiple physical and psychological spiritual experiences that kept my wonder and searching alive. My curiosity took me on a journey of self-discovery. I studied the ontology of language and became certified as a structural integration body/mind therapist and mediator. Each of the suggested books played a role in awakening me and providing tools to become a better human being. I hope the books inspire you.
I was very surprised by Sam Harris’s book. I follow Sam’s podcast, Making Sense, and his app, Waking Up. Sam has been a controversial atheist and has written books on the subject. In this book, Sam reveals his long and in-depth relationship with meditation and Buddhism.
What intrigued me most was the thoughtful distinction he made between organized religion and spirituality. I have been interested in that distinction as I struggled to make sense of my early childhood religious experiences and my out-of-body experiences.
Additionally, Sam lays out the fundamentals and benefits of meditation as a practice for understanding our minds. Meditation is a great tool for increasing our emotional intelligence and self-awareness. His work has informed my writing and teaching.
'An extraordinary book . . . It will shake up your most fundamental beliefs about everyday experience, and it just might change your life.' Paul Bloom ___
For the millions of people who want spirituality without religion, Sam Harris's new book is a guide to meditation as a rational spiritual practice informed by neuroscience and psychology.
Throughout the book, Harris argues that there are important truths to be found in the experience of contemplatives such as Jesus, Buddha and other saints and sages of history-and, therefore, that there is more to understanding reality than science and secular culture generally allow.…
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…
I found the tarot at the age of fourteen. Like many teenagers exploring the spirit world, I was curious about witchcraft, prophecies, numerology, astrology – it was a matter of time until I found the Tarot and fell in love with the cards. From studying Tarot, I branched out into Gnosticism, Kabbalah, and finally coming home to my culture’s Hellenic Tradition (Hellenism). I went on to college to receive a B.A. in Religion and later a M.A. in Ancient History. I give the Tarot large credit to all my later achievements in life. Those 78 cards opened my eyes to a whole world of mysteries to be unlocked.
What I love about this book is that it proves the old saying that there is nothing new under the sun to be wrong. Mark Horn’s Tarot and the Gates of Light blends together two traditions already closely linked; Tarot and Kabbalah. While it is Hermetic Qabalah that is mostly applied to Tarot, Mark Horn introduces a unique way to use the Tarot to practice Counting the Omer. This will be the most unique tarot book to have on the shelf as it offers you a rare transformative practice.
An innovative, spiritual workbook that integrates the Tarot and the Kabbalistic tradition of Counting the Omer
* Explores the origins and meaning of the 49-day Kabbalistic meditative practice of Counting the Omer and how it can lead to spiritual revelation, personal insight, and connection with the Divine
* Reveals the correspondence of the Tarot's minor arcana with the Sephirot of the Tree of Life and explains how both relate to the Omer meditation
* Provides a daily practice workbook that explores the related Sephirot and Tarot cards for each day, examines their Kabbalistic and spiritual meanings, and provides questions for…
