Here are some of my recommendations for spiritual literature. I’ll be adding more soon.

Women of Wisdom by Tsultrim Allione I first read this book in the 1980′s and it had a profound impact on me. Tsultrim’s own story along with those of the Tibetan mystics and saints whose forgotten biographies she uncovered from primary sources in Nepal and Tibet are inspiring to any woman practitioner, and especially those of an independent inclination.

Feeding Your Demons by Tsultrim Allione This book distils the wisdom and teachings of the 11th/12th century Tibetan woman master Machig Lapdron, and brings them into the 21st century. With echoes of Gestalt, Process Work and Psychosynthesis, the book details a technique for loving and nurturing the parts of yourself that you hate and demonize, and that you more usually turn away from and project onto others. This method has deeply transformative effects.

Ix Chel Wisdom by Shonagh Home I spent a couple of months in the Yucatan in 1987, working with a shaman and with Joan Halifax, doing ritual in ancient sacred Mayan sites — underground lakes called cenotes, and vast caves. It was a deeply transformative and enriching time, and filled me with inspiration for a lifetime, a direct feed into the Goddess. Shonagh worked with a shaman when she was in the Yucatan more recently, and in this book she beautifully describes the teachings she received subsequently from Ix-Chel, the Mayan Goddess. Simple and clear, this book comes straight from the Source.

Women’s Wisdom, Women’s Wisdom by Christiane Northrup, M.D. The most full and complete reference guide for soulful women who are dedicated to caring for their bodies, who understand the body is indeed the temple of the soul, and know that a healthy body, well-nourished and protected, makes us much more effective in the world and in our spiritual work.  There’s a brand new, revised edition of this wonderful resource, just now out (May 2010). Buy it!

Light Comes Through by Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche, edited by his wife, Elizabeth Mattis-Namgyel, a Buddhist teacher in her own right. The subtitle of this book is Buddhist Teachings on Awakening to Our Natural Intelligence, which is one of the things Buddhism is particularly designed to do. Dzigar Kongtrul discusses with great clarity how we can use the mind to work on the mind, and to liberate ourselves from the mental states that bring us unnecessary suffering. “In essence, Dharma cultivates our intelligence. It allows an intelligent person to come out from behind the habits, impulses, and reactions that normally dominate the mind.” There’s very useful material here on relationships and on how to be close and intimate without being unhealthily attached, on relating to a teacher, and much more. I was profoundly impressed by this book. I expect I will read it again and again.