I don’t give advice, sis, (because I’m out here too), but last month I shared a few thoughts on things like the Ego, True Self, and my belief that our childhoods shape everything we become as adults and thus having read books about it.  Because so many of you asked for the book titles, this is for y’all.  These books helped me learn so much about myself (& what I thought was myself) and the parent/child relationship-  how it shapes the way we see ourselves in adulthood and the things we tell ourselves in our heads.

FRIST, I am no spiritual teacher/healer/guru/therapist. Okay? Okay.

I was first introduced to Spirituality, the Self, the way we are wired, etc. a little over four years ago, around the same time I attended my first yoga class.  Before that, when I first began nursing school, I became deeply interested in our younger selves and how everything that happens to us in childhood impacts who we become in adulthood.  All of our characteristics-  confidence, insecurity, uncontrollable anger, work ethic, and even our desires in career choices, are developed as a result of those who raised us + our environments.  Whatever it may be, your childhood shaped who you became, good and bad, AND YOU MUST UNPACK IT.

The hardest work you’ll ever do is unpack the bullsh*t.

and most people never do…

Listen, I’ve learned that you must unpack every hurt, every dysfunction, every unhealthy coping mechanism that you learned/acquired/developed from your childhood if you’re ever going to truly grow, to live the life God meant you to live, freely.  That’s how you break generational curses.  I’m not preachin’, I’m just sayin’.  Just because you saw your parents do it, doesn’t mean it was healthy.

I get it, these are things that are not usually discussed in our homes (especially in Black homes), but (as we like to say) that’s a damn shame!

So, the book list:

• James Allen/ As A Man Thinketh (Not pictured, but this was the very first.  Introduced to me by my friend Delores)
• Eckhart Tolle/ The Power of Now (Read it twice! Profound!)
• Eckhart Tolle/ A New Earth (Yet to read, but recommended by the same woman who recommended I read The Power of Now so I trust that it’s also brilliant)
• Paulo Coelho/ The Alchemist (E loves this one too!)
• Jen Sincero/ You Are A Badass (read it too many times to count!)
• Marianne Williamson/ A Return To Love
• Gary Chapman/ The 5 Love Languages (Introduced to this one by my friend Imani)

As I said, I am no spiritual guru, so I’ll let the writers get into Id, Ego, Being, True Self, etc.

Bonus: follow @TheShelahMarie, she’s all about this!

Tell me, what else should I read?