Philosophy Books.
Here is a list of books that I personally use in my own life to find deeper meaning and purpose in life. Everyone has a desire to find fulfilment in life as we navigate daily life. These books are places I’ve received knowledge and insight that has helped me in my life and my clients’ lives towards fulfilment and meaning.

The Essential Writings
by Ralph Waldo Emerson
As one of the architects of the transcendentalist movement, Emerson embraced a philosophy that championed the individual, emphasized independent thought, and prized the splendid labyrinth of ones own perceptions. Includes essays on Self-Reliance, Circles, Compensation and Nature.

Chop Wood, Carry Water
by Rick Fields
This book is a guide – a handbook filled with information, advice, hints, stories, inspiration, encouragement, connections, warning, and cautions, for the inner journey as we live throughout our lives.

The Alchemist
by Paulo Coelho
Paulo Coelho’s masterpiece tells the mystical story of Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who yearns to travel in search of a worldly treasure. Santiago’s journey teaches us about the essential wisdom of listening to our hearts, of recognising opportunity and learning to read the omens strewn along life’s path, and, most importantly, to follow our dreams.

The Mastery of Love
by Don Miguel Ruiz
In a refreshingly honest investigation of the true nature of love, don Miguel Ruiz brings to light the commonly held fallacies and misplaced expectations about love that permeate most relationships. Including the relationship you have with yourself.

The Power of Now
by Eckhart Tolle
Within a chapter of reading this book, readers are already holding the world in a different container–more conscious of how thoughts and emotions get in the way of their ability to live in genuine peace and happiness.

The Wisdom of the Oracle
by Dr. John Demartini
This poetic and magnificent book is written from the heart and soul levels of life’s operation. Its concepts and insights offer the reader jewels of inspiration and its soul message is clear, concise and timely in this highly technological and super pressured era. This book combines human and spiritual insights with scientific methods, while spiritually connecting the reader to the soul.

The Republic
by Plato
Presented in the form of a dialogue between Socrates and three different interlocutors, this book is an enquiry into the notion of a perfect community and the ideal individual within it. It addresses the purpose of education and the role of both women and men as ‘guardians’ of the people. It also describes the Myth of Er with vivid detail.

Meditations
by Marcus Aurelias
One of the most profound reflections written by a roman emperor. A series of reflections, strongly influenced by Epictetus, which represent a Stoic outlook on life. It offers a range of fascinating spiritual reflections and exercises developed as the leader struggled to understand himself and make sense of the universe.

The Hero with A Thousand Faces
by Joseph Campbell
A look into the variety of hero myths and the similarities that run through different cultures by making use of psychology and folklore. The amazing, best-selling exploration of world myth and the individual soul’s development that has changed millions of lives.

The Prophet
by Kahlil Gibran
This is a collection of poetic essays that are philosophical, spiritual, and, above all, inspirational. Each of the essays reveal deep insights into the impulses of the human heart and mind.

The Greatest Minds and Ideas of All Time
by Will Durant
Will Durant answers the questions that most people would have wanted to ask him – what eras, individuals, and achievements stand out as being the most significant? Who, for example, could be legitimately classified as the greatest thinkers in human history? Who were the truly great poets, the ones that plucked notes upon heartstrings that continue to resonate hundreds and thousands of years after their passing? And what are the absolute best books one should read in order to receive a meaningful – and useful – education?

The Lessons of History
by Will & Ariel Durant
With their accessible compendium of philosophy and social progress, the Durants take us on a journey through history, exploring the possibilities and limitations of humanity over time. Juxtaposing the great lives, ideas, and accomplishments with cycles of war and conquest, the Durants reveal the towering themes of history and give meaning to our own.

The Story of Philosophy
by Will Durant
The Story of Philosophy is a key book for any reader who wishes to survey the history and development of philosophical ideas in the Western world. A brilliant and concise account of the lives and ideas of the great philosophers–--Plato, Aristotle, Bacon, Spinoza, Voltaire, Kant, Schopenhauer, Spencer, Nietzsche, Bergson, Croce, Russell, Santayana, James, and Dewey.

Cosmic Consciousness
by Richard M. Bucke
A Study in the Evolution of the Human Mind is Richard Bucke’s theory that our mental states are evolving and that to date we have experienced three stages in the development of consciousness: the ‘simple consciousness’ of animals, the ‘self-consciousness’ of the vast majority of humans (reason, self awareness, imagination, etc.), and in some cases ‘cosmic consciousness’.

The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success
by Deepak Chopra
The creation of wealth has always been regarded as a process that requires hard work and luck–often at the expense of others. In this remarkable book, the author of Quantum Healing and other bestsellers reveals how to align with the subtle yet powerful, unseen forces that affect the flow of money in our lives.

Letting Go
by Dr David Hawkins
Letting Go describes a simple and effective means by which to let go of the obstacles to enlightenment. During the many decades of the author's clinical psychiatric practice, the primary aim was to seek the most effective ways to relieve human suffering in all of its many forms. The inner mechanism of surrender was found to be of great practical benefit and is described in this book.

The Eye of the I: From Which Nothing Is Hidden
by Dr David Hawkins
The Eye of the I is a brilliant work that dissolves the barriers between the known and the unknown, between science and spirituality, and between the Newtonian linear paradigm of the ego and the nonlinear reality of Enlightenment.

The Syntopicon: An Index To The Great Ideas Vol 1 and 2
by Mortimer Adler
The Syntopicon is a two-volume index, published as volumes 1 and 2 of Encyclopædia Britannica’s collection Great Books of the Western World. Compiled by Mortimer Adler, The Syntopicon consists of 102 chapters on the 102 Great Ideas. Brilliantly explored topics and beautifully articulated, these essays do a wonderful job of opening the mind in ways that only a conversation with the philosophers of history would.

The Bhagavad Gita
Translated By Gavin Flood & Charles Martin
The Bhagavad Gita, the Song of the Lord, is an ancient Hindu scripture about virtue, presented as a dialogue between Krishna, an incarnation of God, and the warrior Arjuna on the eve of a great battle over succession to the throne. Its universal themes―life and death, war and peace, sacrifice―resonate in a West increasingly interested in Eastern religious experiences.

The Wisdom of Insecurity
By Alan Watts
Alan Watts draws on the wisdom of Eastern philosophy and religion in this timeless and classic guide to living a more fulfilling life. His central insight is more relevant now than ever: when we spend all of our time worrying about the future and lamenting the past, we are unable to enjoy the present moment--the only one we are actually able to inhabit.

Life Before Life
By Jim B. Tucker
Life Before Life presents the cases in a straightforward way and explores the possibility that consciousness may continue after the brain dies. It is a provocative and fascinating book that can challenge and ultimately change readers' understandings about life and death.
Ready to overcome your mindset blocks?
It's time for you to learn the techniques and principles of mastering your mind. Enter your email to get my FREE guide on the first mindset block, Anxiety:
Copyright ©2025 Genius Institute
PRIVACY | TERMS | DISCLAIMER