Books like Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion

01

Why Buddhism Is True

Robert Wright · Religion & Spirituality

Why Buddhism Is True is Robert Wright's argument that modern evolutionary psychology and neuroscience provide independent confirmation for core Buddhist claims about the mind, suffering, and the nature of the self.

Both dig into consciousness.

02

The Untethered Soul

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.

Shares consciousness and the self with Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion.

03

What the Buddha Taught

Walpola Rahula · Religion & Spirituality

What the Buddha Taught is widely considered the best short introduction to early Buddhism in the English language.

A kindred religion & spirituality read.

04

The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason

Sam Harris · Religion & Spirituality

The End of Faith was written in the weeks following the September 11 attacks and published in 2004.

Both dig into atheism.

05

How to Change Your Mind

Michael Pollan · Science

Michael Pollan came to psychedelics late in life, as a skeptic.

Shares consciousness and spirituality with Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion.

06

A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose

Eckhart Tolle · Religion & Spirituality

A New Earth is Eckhart Tolle's follow-up to The Power of Now, applying the same framework of presence and ego-transcendence to a broader account of human dysfunction and its transformation.

Both dig into consciousness.

07

God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything

Christopher Hitchens · Religion & Spirituality

God Is Not Great is Christopher Hitchens' comprehensive polemic against religion, published in 2007 as part of the wave of "New Atheist" books that included Dawkins' The God Delusion, Harris' The End of Faith, and Dennett's Breaking the Spell.

Both dig into atheism.

08

Insight Meditation: The Practice of Freedom

Joseph Goldstein · Religion & Spirituality

Insight Meditation: The Practice of Freedom is Joseph Goldstein's distillation of vipassana — the Theravada Buddhist practice of direct investigation into the nature of mind and experience.

Both dig into meditation.

09

The Bhagavad Gita

Anonymous · Religion & Spirituality

The Bhagavad Gita — the Song of the Lord — is an episode embedded in the Sanskrit epic Mahabharata, composed between the 5th and 2nd centuries BCE.

Both dig into the self.

10

The God Delusion

Richard Dawkins · Religion & Spirituality

The God Delusion is Richard Dawkins' comprehensive case against religious belief, published in 2006 as the most high-profile work of the New Atheist movement.

Both dig into atheism.

11

The Miracle of Mindfulness

Thich Nhat Hanh · Religion & Spirituality

The Miracle of Mindfulness is Thich Nhat Hanh's introduction to mindfulness practice, originally written in Vietnamese as a letter to a fellow monk.

Both dig into meditation.

12

The Perennial Philosophy

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.

Both dig into the self.