Bibliotherapy: 5 Steps to Creating Your Soul Medicine Library

Books are a uniquely portable magic. – Stephen King

Our relationship with books spans millennia. 

Through this compact and humble sacred tool, we can live through the eyes of others, remember forgotten truths, and teleport to different times and distant places.

Books are all at once sacred, profane, and mundane. Think of the Upanishads or the Bible, then compare that with a once banned book like Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, or a relatively harmless novel like The Secret Garden.

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Not only are books mirrors of our deepest desires, needs, terrors, ecstasies, and mystical revelations, but they’re also our beloved companions.

In the words of Charles William Eliot,

Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers.

The fact is that books are naturally therapeutic – hence why I love the term “bibliotherapy.” 

Books have been there for me in my darkest hour, held my hand through mental illness and trauma, and awakened me to new possibilities. And I’m not the only one. Bibliotherapy has even been proven to decrease signs of depression and anxiety.

Why not elevate reading to its rightful place as a spiritual practice and healing modality? That’s what I’m going to do in this post.

7 Signs Bibliotherapy is Part of Your Soul’s Path of Healing

Books are mirrors: you only see in them what you already have inside you. – Carlos Ruiz Zafón

Bibliotherapy isn’t just about reading a book every now and then for the heck of it – it’s a path of devotional study. It’s a spiritual practice and way of life.

While I’m aware this section might be quite self-explanatory and obvious to some, I share it here for those who are still finding out who they are and what makes them tick.

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Here are some signs that bibliotherapy is part of your Soul’s path of healing:

1. You’re an autodidact or self-learner by nature who likes to learn, explore, and research for fun
2. You feel hollow or intellectually/emotionally depleted when you haven’t read a good book in a while
3. You’re naturally curious and open to new perspectives, possibilities, and ways of life
4. You feel a sense of deadness and stagnation within you whenever you’re on social media platforms for too long
5. You crave substance over style and depth over breadth
6. As a child, you were a bookworm
7. You have a contemplative and introspective nature

How many of these signs can you relate to? Have I missed any?

The Literary Apothecary: 12 Books For the Wounded Spirit 

Recently, I’ve been slowly reading through the 1000+ deep, thoughtful, and fascinating responses to a survey we sent out to the lonerwolf newsletter subscribers earlier this year.

Here, I’ll share some key findings (while respecting privacy, of course).

If you’re looking to build your own literary apothecary, below are some of the most common recommendations our beloved community has shared in response to the question, “What is the one book that has changed your life?”

Presented in no particular order (excluding overtly religious ones like the Bible or Quran), here are the suggestions:

1. Conversations With God by Neale Donald Walsch.
2. The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle.
3. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.
4. Journey of Souls by Michael Newton.
5. The Road Less Traveled by M. Scott Peck.
6. Women Who Run With the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estés.
7. The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk.
8. The Kybalion by “The Three Initiates.”
9. You Can Heal Your Life by Louise Hay.
10. Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda.
11. Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield.
12. The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz.

Some readers also commented that our book The Spiritual Awakening Process helped them through times of confusion and darkness, which I cherish hearing.

Bibliotherapy: 5 Steps to Creating Your Soul Medicine Library

We read to know we are not alone. – C. S. Lewis

I’m aware that the above books might not be everyone’s cup of tea. 

Perhaps you’ve read most of them or want to create a more personally relevant curated collection.

Whatever the case, I want to share with you some tips for creating your own empowering bibliotherapeutic soul medicine library. Here they are:

1. Listen to the voice of Eros and follow the sparks of passion

In Greek philosophy, Eros refers to a form of passionate love that we all possess, and in Freudian psychoanalysis, Eros represents the life instinct.

To build your own curated soul medicine library, you need to find and read books that make you feel alive – that you’re passionate about committing hours and days of your life to reading.

So, here’s your official permission slip to go and follow the sparks of your passion. The more excited you are about a book, the better! On that note:

2. Throw away the ‘shoulds’ 

There’s nothing that kills the joy of reading more quickly than harboring a secret ‘should,’ as in:

• I “should” read this book
• I “should” like this book
• I “should” stay committed to this boring ass book

Nope. Throw away the shoulds.

The more quickly you discard the shoulds, musts, and have tos, the more value you will reap from reading.

3. Let synchronicity or “happy coincidence” happen organically

If synchronicity is a divinely orchestrated happy coincidence, what better way to let that happen than by visiting thrift shops or used bookstores?

Seriously, stop letting the algorithm dictate your next read. You will stumble across the most brilliant finds in second-hand stores. 

Take this example.

Here’s a pic of me with a life-changing book (Homecoming by John Bradshaw) that I snagged for a mere 50 cents at a thrift shop. Happenstance or meaningful synchronicity? You tell me. 

This book is a prized part of my curated collection, and it has deeply impacted my life. I plan on re-reading it at some point in the near future. This one book has influenced so many articles on this website.

Perhaps most extraordinary about this find is that I had never actually planned on reading this book until it called to me one day on the shelf of a humble op shop!

4. Read the bibliography section (“the hidden treasure chest”) of the books you adore

To create a high-quality, curated collection of bibliotherapeutic reads, pay attention to the authors you love the most. Who has inspired them? What authors, thinkers, teachers, and healers do they quote the most?

The bibliography section sounds like something Hermoine Granger would only have an interest in, but don’t let this hidden treasure chest slip from your hands. 

Give yourself permission to go down rabbit holes of reading, researching, and collecting the books that are most likely to spark a real change in your psyche.

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5. Get organized (two magical tools I recommend)

The final point is pragmatic – but we need to organize this literary apothecary somehow, don’t we?

The first tool is Goodreads. I’m sure you’re aware of this brilliant platform if you’ve read any number of books, but it’s also a great place to organize your physical and digital book library. (Here’s my profile and Mateo’s profile on Goodreads by the way.)

On Goodreads, you can create shelves and theme them according to your interests, as well as save books that you’d like to read one day. Some ideas for tags/shelves you can use could be creating “to buy,” “stopped reading,” “life-changing,” and “top priority” sections within your account.

The second is another free tool called Calibre, which is a brilliant eBook management software that has been around since dinosaurs roamed the earth (okay, not really). You can upload, organize, edit, convert, and send eBooks to your eReader via this brilliant platform.

Plus, if you desire to change to another e-reader (which is my dilemma, because I’m going to switch from Kindle to Kobo eventually), you can reupload all your books via Calibre.

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Books are the plane, and the train, and the road. They are the destination, and the journey. They are home. – Anna Quindlen

Reading is one of the most simple, pleasurable, accessible, and meaningful forms of healing available. I hope this guide has inspired you to craft (or hone) your own healing library. 

Tell me, what is your relationship with reading? Do you have any other helpful recommendations for fellow self-learners and soul-led readers here?

Share below! You never know who you may inspire through your words. :)