“Before you tell your life what you intend to do with it, listen for what it intends to do with you. Before you tell your life what truths and values you have decided to live up to, let your life tell you what truths you embody, what values you represent.” - Parker J. Palmer
Personal Growth
Perusing the self-help section at the bookstore usually causes me to break out in hives - there is so much to wade through. Not all of these authors would be catalogued under self-help, but they each challenge me to become the person I know I can be:
Perusing the self-help section at the bookstore usually causes me to break out in hives - there is so much to wade through. Not all of these authors would be catalogued under self-help, but they each challenge me to become the person I know I can be:
- Brené Brown – A research professor who has done extensive research on shame and vulnerability, Brené Brown has a gift for writing and story-telling. Her work explores how embracing our vulnerability allows us to live "wholeheartedly" - her term for an authentic, meaningful engaged life. She writes with courage, humor and warmth. I recently saw her speak while on her Rising Strong book tour. She is as down-to-earth, engaging and inspiring as she comes across in her writing. If nothing else, take the twenty minutes to watch her 2010 TED talk at TEDxHouston: The power of vulenerability.
- Paulo Coelho – A Brazilian novelist, Paulo Coelho is best known for his magical story, The Alchemist. A beautiful parable that explores the theme of pursuing one's destiny, it has been my experience that The Alchemist shows up in people's lives just when they need to read it. You can listen to an exceptional interview with Paulo Coelho done by Krista Tippett for her program On Being.
- Pema Chödrön – – An American and a Tibetan Buddhist nun, Pema Chödrön is a voice for compassion and loving kindness. Her work seems aimed at creating a more peaceful world, one person at a time. She is a teacher and practitioner of mindfulness and compassionate living, helping us connect to our own hearts. It is in learning compassion for ourselves that we can begin to truly show compassion to the world around us.
- Anne Lamott – I pick up and re-read Anne Lamott's books on a regular basis; she might be my all-time favorite writer. She shares personal stories and reflections on difficult topics such as shame, loss, and addiction while suffusing her writing with humor and a sense of hope. Grounded in her own spirituality, she connects her reader to the wellsprings of love, faith and laughter. I have met Anne Lamott on three occasions and she talks and connects with people just like she writes – with wit, humility and grace. While she doesn’t have a personal website, you can follow her vibrant Facebook page.
- Parker Palmer – I was introduced to Parker Palmer through his weekly column on the On Being blog. I felt like we were kindred spirits, and I quickly sought out his books. He speaks about living with purpose and finding meaning, aligning our values and inner wisdom with what we seek and how we express ourselves in the world. As a Quaker, he is well practiced at deep listening and compassionate presence, and this comes through in his writing. Watch his outstanding commencement address given at Naropa University in May 2015.
- don Miguel Ruiz – He is best known for his book The Four Agreements. In it, he lays out quite simply his template for right living. Based on four aspirational tenets of behavior, the book describes how we can live in right relationship with ourselves and each other in order to honor our soul and achieve personal freedom.
- David Whyte – I came to know David Whyte’s work in personal development after falling in love with his poetry. With poetic grace, his prose brings the reader into closer relationship with self, exploring the relationship between inner and outer life, between the desires of our soul and how we make our way through the world. He speaks to the importance of integrating our whole selves into our whole lives - who we are at work, who we are in relationship, who we are with ourselves. He weaves poetry into the discourse, helping us tap into intuitive knowing and awareness. In addition to his writing, he is an eloquent and stirring speaker and has an impressive audio library of teachings that I highly recommend.
Poetry
For me, poetry resides in the land of spiritual seeking. It helps me to go beyond the limitations of mere language and connect on a deeper level with the questions, the counsels, the challenges of what it means to be human. Some of my favorite poets:
For me, poetry resides in the land of spiritual seeking. It helps me to go beyond the limitations of mere language and connect on a deeper level with the questions, the counsels, the challenges of what it means to be human. Some of my favorite poets:
- Maya Angelou – a literary icon, Maya Angelou’s work hits me right above the navel and inspires me to say “YES”. Her poetry is empowering, provoking and cuts to the core of human experience.
- Joy Harjo – I first came across Joy Harjo’s work in college where I choreographed a movement piece to her poem "Fire", published in What Moon Drove Me to This? . Her writing feels deeply connected to soul and the story of overcoming, delivered with powerful imagery and rooted in her Native American heritage.
- Marie Howe – Capturing moments in time, her writing feels like a visual art. In depicting the everyday, we gain access to the extraordinary.
- Naomi Shihab Nye – Naomi Shihab Nye is another poet who portrays everyday moments. Somehow, beneath her words describing the ordinary, you can hear the heartbeat of the Universe.
- John O'Donohue – A beautiful man who passed from this life too early at the age of 52, John O’Donohue was a philosopher and poet and former Catholic priest. His poetry is full of soul-wisdom, articulating verities that resonate at the core and amplify the power of our connection with each other and with the eternal.
- Mary Oliver – When I read her poetry, I feel like she is plucking my strings, so strong is the resonance. Mary Oliver’s poetry lives in the beauty of the natural world – birds, ponds, shorelines. There is so much to glean, just by simply noticing what is around us. Throughout her poetry, I hear her calling to me: “LOOK.”
- David Whyte – David Whyte’s poetry explores the inner and outer landscapes of living. He artfully captures the human experiences of belonging, loss, hope, faith and love and urges us to dive into the conversation with our own life – of who we are and who we are becoming.