.........and helped to shape your life.

I got this idea from another website a few years ago and thought it would be interesting to post here as well.

Name 10 books that have most inspired and helped to shape your life and if possible in a few words say why.

For me they have been:
1. Autobiography Of A Yogi (In fact all books by Paramahansa Yogananda)
2. New Testament (Including The Psalms and Proverbs)
3. The Bhagavad Gita
4. The Holy Science by Sri Swami Yukteswar - the guru of Yogananda
5. The Science Of Breath by Yogi Ramacharaka
6. Discourses by Meher Baba
7. God Speaks by Meher Baba
8. Play Of Consciousness by Swami Muktananda (also Siddha Meditation by the same author)
9. The Tao Of Physics by Fridjof Capra
10. Cosmic Consciousness by Richard M. Bucke

Not only did the above books inspire me but they also helped to shape my life by offering an alternative world view about a lot of things that we hardly ever hear about and namely that there is a real mystical path towards realization of the purpose and goal of one's life and the way to achieve that end. In effect I can literally say that they blew my mind and have formed a solid inspirational basis for some of the poetry and prose writings that I've posted on the internet over the last several years. There are however many other books which I have also read and studied over the years (by quite a few classical and mystical poets/writers) that come very close, but the 10 books that impressed and stand out most in my mind are those listed above.

What are the 10 books in your life?
______

Social media's intent was to spread authentic information among people but a few motivated by their selfish motives used it to generate those flocks which easily form conjectures just on the basis of baseless accusations disseminated from unknown sources and keep on barking with profanities on others.

All I know has failed me
Caused me grief and pain
They say I should have learned by now
That the fault lies in my brain

I will try to correct my thinking
Disconnect some wires in my head
So that instead of being hopeful
I'll just suspect the worst instead

I hurt on a daily basis
So maybe it's time to accept
Redirect the patterns in my mind
So that agony I will expect

Lie Sense.
~~~~~~~
At what stage does exaggeration turn to lies
To say I will love you until the end of time
A lie by any other name is still a lie.
But adulation must have licence to survive
In future should my solid truth be tested
Lie or deceive ? Opinion is requested
The guilt edge way redemption can be blessed
That lie by no means is ever worth accepting.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Written by Philip
December 11th 2018.

And my thoughts tend to be enclosed to myself
     For only my head to place them upon a shelf
To think as I please
     And develop an idea that may or may not appease,
These people do understand how this process works
     Policies created and all that lurks
Before you and I, in a different place
     Subject to locking lips and showing face --
When it came to thinking what you believe
     You were forced to leave
'Welcome home' they would say
     'This could never feel like home' considering all the games
      they play--
Off the shelf my thoughts will roll
     My words spoken, content, without paying a toll