Religion & Spirituality · Similar reads
Books like New Seeds of Contemplation
The best books like New Seeds of Contemplation are The Power of Now, The Untethered Soul, and Man's Search for Meaning. New Seeds of Contemplation by Thomas Merton is about contemplation, silence, true self. If that's what drew you in, here are 12 books that share its DNA — each summarized on Superbook, and ready to chat with in the app.
- The Power of Now
01
Eckhart Tolle · Religion & Spirituality
The Power of Now is Eckhart Tolle's argument that the root of human suffering is identification with the stream of thought — the restless inner commentary that most people mistake for who they are.
A kindred religion & spirituality read.
Read the summary → - The Untethered Soul
02
Michael A. Singer · Religion & Spirituality
The Untethered Soul is Michael Singer's guide to liberation through the direct investigation of consciousness — specifically, the question of who or what is aware of the constant stream of thoughts, emotions, and sensations that constitute ordinary experience.
A kindred religion & spirituality read.
Read the summary → - Man's Search for Meaning
03
Viktor E. Frankl · Psychology
Man's Search for Meaning is Viktor Frankl's account of his years as a prisoner in Nazi concentration camps, including Auschwitz, and the psychological theory he developed from that experience.
A kindred religion & spirituality read.
Read the summary →
- The Perennial Philosophy
04
Aldous Huxley · Religion & Spirituality
The Perennial Philosophy is Aldous Huxley's anthology and commentary on the mystical traditions of the world, arguing that behind the diversity of religious forms lies a single metaphysical core: the divine ground or ultimate reality is one; the human soul contains a spark of this reality; the purpose of human existence is to realize this identity; and the path to that realization requires ego-transcendence through contemplation, virtue, and love.
Shares contemplation and mysticism with New Seeds of Contemplation.
Read the summary → - Meditations
05
Marcus Aurelius · Philosophy
Meditations is not a book Marcus Aurelius wrote for anyone to read.
A kindred religion & spirituality read.
Read the summary → - A History of God
06
Karen Armstrong · Religion & Spirituality
A History of God is Karen Armstrong's account of how the idea of God has changed over four thousand years across Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, with excursions into Hinduism and Buddhism.
Both dig into mysticism.
Read the summary → - Autobiography of a Yogi
07
Paramahansa Yogananda · Religion & Spirituality
Autobiography of a Yogi, published in 1946, is Paramahansa Yogananda's account of his spiritual development in India and his subsequent mission to bring yogic teachings to the West.
Both dig into mysticism.
Read the summary → - Dark Night of the Soul
08
John of the Cross · Religion & Spirituality
Dark Night of the Soul is a systematic commentary on a short poem John of the Cross wrote while imprisoned in Toledo in 1577.
Both dig into contemplation.
Read the summary → - The Case for God
09
Karen Armstrong · Religion & Spirituality
The Case for God is Karen Armstrong's argument that the new atheism misunderstands what sophisticated religious believers in most traditions have actually claimed about God.
Both dig into mysticism.
Read the summary → - The Chosen
10
Chaim Potok · Religion & Spirituality
The Chosen is set in Brooklyn in the 1940s and follows two Jewish boys — Reuven Malter, modern Orthodox and the son of a Talmud scholar, and Danny Saunders, the brilliant son of a Hasidic rebbe — who meet during a baseball game that turns violent and becomes an unlikely friendship.
Both dig into silence.
Read the summary → - The Cloud of Unknowing
11
Anonymous · Religion & Spirituality
The Cloud of Unknowing is an anonymous English mystical treatise written in the latter half of the fourteenth century.
Both dig into contemplation.
Read the summary → - The Idea of the Holy
12
Rudolf Otto · Religion & Spirituality
The Idea of the Holy is Rudolf Otto's analysis of the non-rational dimension of religious experience — the distinctive quality of encounter with what he calls the "numinous," an experience that cannot be reduced to any moral, rational, or aesthetic category but is the core of what religion is actually about.
Both dig into mysticism.
Read the summary →
Books like New Seeds of Contemplation: quick answers
What are the best books like New Seeds of Contemplation?
The best books like New Seeds of Contemplation by Thomas Merton are The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle, The Untethered Soul by Michael A. Singer, Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl, The Perennial Philosophy by Aldous Huxley, Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, plus 7 more below. Each was chosen for themes it shares with New Seeds of Contemplation, such as contemplation, silence, true self.
What should I read after New Seeds of Contemplation?
A natural next read after New Seeds of Contemplation is The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle. A kindred religion & spirituality read. Other strong choices are The Untethered Soul by Michael A. Singer, Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl, The Perennial Philosophy by Aldous Huxley.
What books are similar to New Seeds of Contemplation by Thomas Merton?
New Seeds of Contemplation centers on contemplation, silence, true self. Books with a similar feel include The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle, The Untethered Soul by Michael A. Singer, Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl, The Perennial Philosophy by Aldous Huxley, Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, A History of God by Karen Armstrong — all free to read and chat with on Superbook.
