3 Books for an Introspective Fall

I don’t know about you, but as the days grow darker and the temperatures grow cooler, I want to start spending more time by the fire reading. But what to read? Here’s my thought: When the seasons are in transition, there is a sense of change in the air. Therefore this is a great time of the year for cleaning out the old and starting new, both physically and metaphorically. So what are some books that help us to release what we no longer need thereby propelling us into a new life? Below are 3 books filled with exercises to aid you in decluttering your mind and healing your spirit.

Inner Compass

Margaret Silf puts the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises into laymen’s terms. And don’t worry, you don’t need any precursors to start this journey. Through imaginative exercises, you can take to time to reflect on your deepest desires and your attachments. Then you can delve into how to practice detachment and discernment as you move forward in life with the tools and models that she shares. For example, one particular strategy involved narrowing in on your favorite fairy tale to help you identify your deepest desire. I was amazed by what came out of this reflective exercise! This book is a unique mix of traditional reflection that uses scripture and guiding questions and various practical techniques for understanding our deepest selves.

The Lotus and the Lily

This book is a 4 week journey to creating the conditions in your life to receive all that you have been desiring. The first week focuses on preparing yourself by setting intentions, creating rituals for prayer, and building a practice of journaling. The second week concentrates on looking back through your life. The third week centers on forgiveness and releasing. And finally, the fourth week zooms in on looking forward to your purpose and creating a mandala to name what you want in the new year. If you start it the first week of December, you’ll have completed it just in time to ring in New Year’s Eve!

Existential Kink

Existential Kink provides practical advice and meditations on how to integrate your conscious and unconscious selves so that you are no longer being ruled by your subconscious programming. She encourages you to truly see our shadow side (hidden and shamed parts) and to love and accept them. If you are no longer rejecting and fighting yourself internally, then you can enter a state of wholeness. By doing so, you dissolve the negative patterns in your lives and your external world changes. She offers a range of clearly laid out journaling exercises such as ” The Deepest Fear Inventory” which helps you to identify your resistances to claiming the things that you say that you really want. Many of these exercises have helped me to not only identify but to release embarrassment and frustration around various situations in my life.

About the Author: Julie Glaser is a healer who creates sacred spaces for others to share, release, and grow. She’s in the habit of being in awe and wonder and writes to share her own experiences with other inquisitive souls in the process of transforming.