LonerWolf

menu icon
go to homepage
  • Start Here
  • Shop
  • Subscribe
  • Free Tests
  • Contact
  • Membership
  • Course
  • Freebies
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Start Here
  • Shop
  • Subscribe
  • Free Tests
  • Contact
  • Membership
  • Course
  • Freebies
×
» Home » Starting The Journey

Reading as Ritual: 5 Ways to Get Started if You’re Out of the Habit

by Aletheia Luna · Updated: May 3, 2025 · 25 Comments

Image of a person reading a book in a circle of light in a dark forest
Reading bibliotherapy autodidact how to start reading image

A library is a good place to go when you feel unhappy, for there, in a book, you may find encouragement and comfort. A library is a good place to go when you feel bewildered or undecided, for there, in a book, you may have your question answered. Books are good company, in sad times and happy times, for books are people—people who have managed to stay alive by hiding between the covers of a book. – EB White

I’ve recently had the quiet epiphany that each and every book we come across in life carries a piece of someone’s soul.

If the soul is the deeper essence of a person, then a book is a unique expression of that individual; a doorway into their psyche at a very specific point in time. 

Within the pages of a book is the crystallised wisdom, insight, and perception that has taken years, perhaps even lifetimes, to develop.


Spiritual Wanderer Course image

Spiritual Wanderer Course:

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐ "I started the Spiritual Wanderers Course a short while ago and for the first time in twelve years I have started to experience love, acceptance and compassion for myself and within myself. Thank you so much." – Vivienne S.


Yet, the fact is that we live in a world of ever-increasing access to knowledge. The question is, does this reduce the value of sitting down with a book and committing to reading?

What about the rise of artificial intelligence that can answer any of our random late-night questions on a whim? Do books still have a role to play? Or are they a quaint relic from the past?

I’d argue that while some books (namely, technical ones) may be less valuable than they once were, finding and reading the right book is more important than ever.

I’m also going to show you how to get started reading again if you’re out of the habit or feeling demotivated.

Table of contents

  • Why Reading is More Important Than Ever
  • Reading as Ritual: 5 Ways to Get Started if You’re Out of the Habit, Stuck, or Feeling Demotivated
    • 1. Use the power of habit stacking
    • 2. Shift your identity: see yourself as a reader or autodidact 
    • 3. Choose one book as your “bible” and supplement it with a diverse range of reads
    • 4. Choose books that speak to your soul, throw away duty 
    • 5. Candles, note-taking, and my #1 reading app: make what you read count
  • What You Feed Your Mind Sustains Your Soul

Why Reading is More Important Than Ever

Image of a person reading a book with candles

In a world of information overload, soul starvation, and nervous system overwhelm, reading helps to center the body, heart, and mind.

Like a single-pointed meditation, reading focuses our mind and attention in one place. It trains us to slow down, chew over ideas, and integrate deeper levels of self-knowledge.

Sure, we may have access to vast amounts of info. Social media posts, reels, shorts, videos, and even AI searches may give us a burst of dopamine and temporarily feed our craving for infotainment novelty.


Image of an eclipse

Shadow & Light Membership:

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐ "Shadow and Light’s weekly guidance always rings true to my heart. Thanks for acknowledging my shadows and inviting my inner light. I always get excited to open the Shadow and Light emails on Sunday!" – Angela M.


But how many of those neatly packaged info-bites do you remember? How deep have they actually penetrated your psyche?

Have you put any of them into practice? If so, how many have you stuck with?

Reading is still more important than ever because it helps us to integrate words into wisdom, encouraging us to internalize and reflect on the hard-earned insight of others deeply. 

Reading helps us to dive beneath the surface and go to the root of a topic. When we read, we’re using two of our most precious and scarce commodities, time and energy, in devotion and service to higher learning.

I’m sure you’ve heard before that reading has been proven to increase intelligence, empathy, and relaxation.

But reading also has another powerful function that is more important than ever in our world’s climate: it’s a doorway to authentic soul work.

Reading helps us to come back home to our Deeper Self. 

Reading as Ritual: 5 Ways to Get Started if You’re Out of the Habit, Stuck, or Feeling Demotivated

Image of a person holding a book with fairy lights

To read intentionally and consistently is to engage in soulful ritual.

If rituals are fixed actions done often in a religious or spiritual context, reading easily fits this definition – it’s one of the easiest, most accessible, affordable, and enjoyable practices to add to your daily routine.

So, how do you craft an inner work practice that helps you come back home to your Self, work through core wounds, and deepen your self-knowledge using books as your anchor?

Would you like to save this?

We'll email this article to you, so you can come back to it later!

Your information will never be shared.

How do you get started when you’re feeling demotivated or stuck?

Here are some ideas, with pictures from my own life:

1. Use the power of habit stacking

Image of the book The Prophet
Above: a picture of my dining table with a book placed there to “habit stack” on top of an activity I already do: eat breakfast. I have a few different stations around the house like this, reminding me to read.

If you’re out of the habit of reading or want to read more, but struggle with the temptation of scrolling through social media, going to find that half-eaten bagel with cream cheese, or any other poorly disguised avoidance strategy, use habit stacking.

Habit stacking is the technique of picking something you already do, like making a cup of coffee or fluffing up your pillows right before bed, and attaching a new habit to that action.

In this case, you might choose to read after making your tea or coffee in the morning, or right after you’ve watched your favorite TV show before bed. 

Be clear about how much time you want to dedicate to reading each day. It’s okay to read for even just a few minutes if that’s all you have time or inner space for right now.  

In his book Atomic Habits, James Clear talks about the four laws of behavior change, the first being to make it obvious. 

Creating a clear cue, like spreading books all over the house, is a great way to get back into the habit of reading more consistently, even if just for small snippets of time.

2. Shift your identity: see yourself as a reader or autodidact 

Image of an open book
(Above: I randomly flipped to this part in The Prophet and read the words: Work is love made visible. Wow.)

If reading as a form of self-healing is something you want to “try and do,” chances are you won’t stick with it because it’s not yet part of your identity.

However, if you begin to see yourself AS a reader or autodidact (self-taught learner), you’re much more likely to stick with this lifestyle shift in the long term, because it’s who you are, not merely something you do every now and then.

3. Choose one book as your “bible” and supplement it with a diverse range of reads

Image of the tao te ching book
(As you can see, I’m a little obsessed with Taoist wisdom!)

Above is a picture of my “bible” book – that is, the book I go back to again and again, usually every night before bed – and the supporting books around it that complement its wisdom.

The Tao te Ching, translated by Jonathan Star, has been with me for so many years that I’ve had to duct tape its spine to prevent it from falling apart. 

Reading this book every night before bed is a form of ritual and meditation that has helped me in so many complex, painful, and confusing situations. I treat this book as both a spiritual teacher and an intuitive guide that I flip to at random when the mood strikes.

Your choice of “bible” could be the literal Bible, the Upanishads, the Dhammapada, or other religious texts – or more spiritual or esoteric-leaning texts like A Course in Miracles, The Kybalion, etc.

The point here is to choose a book with which you will go deep and form a relationship over time, at least one year – something rare in this day and age of quick-consumption media, yet nonetheless crucial for the development and integration of wisdom.


Spiritual Awakening Bundle cover

Spiritual Awakening Bundle:

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐ "Luna & Sol, your words have been like salve to my soul. I have been searching for a way to heal and reconnect to my true self for so long (20 years) but have never found anything that truly made a difference… Until I read your books." – Stac


4. Choose books that speak to your soul, throw away duty 

There is only one way to read, which is to browse in libraries and bookshops, picking up books that attract you, reading only those, dropping them when they bore you, skipping the parts that drag – and never, never reading anything because you feel you ought, or because it is part of a trend or a movement. – Doris Lessing

Nothing kills the joy and sacred art of reading more than a “should” or “have to” – as in, “I should read this” or “I have to read that.”

No, you don’t.

In fact, it’s better if you toss these words from your vocabulary when it comes to reading.

The point here is to choose books that speak to your soul, that invite you to explore new worlds or deepen your understanding in new, exhilarating ways.

Image of the Spiritual Awakening Process book on an ereader
(You can get The Spiritual Awakening Process ebook in our Illumination Book Bundle.)

Give yourself permission to start any book you wish and stop any book at any time.

The power is in your hands to make this a joyful experience.

I love reading books that I can refer to regularly and keep in my personal library for the long term. Here’s an article I wrote about that entitled Bibliotherapy: 5 Steps to Creating Your Soul Medicine Library.

5. Candles, note-taking, and my #1 reading app: make what you read count

Okay, why candles? They immediately add an air of mystery and magic to the process of reading. I had to add them in somewhere. ;)

But let’s get to the meat and bones here: it’s fine and good to read and reflect. But what about making what you read and spend hours learning count?

You could argue that the simple act of reading by itself is what counts. I agree.

However, there’s something undeniably powerful about (1) writing down your reflections and (2) regularly revisiting and relearning from what you’ve taken time to highlight.

Step 1: Notetaking ✍️

Take notes in any way you like: via a paper journal, on the notes app on your phone, or in a Word or Google Drive document. I have an app called Bear that I use to pass and tag all my notes, keeping them organized.

Personally, I like to write out my notes digitally so that I can make them searchable and prevent them from getting lost in a pile of notebooks. 

I know of others who first write out their reflections and epiphanies by hand and then transfer them to a digital format, but I’m too impatient for that.

The point here is to record your reflections as you read. This helps you synthesize and integrate the insights better in your mind.

Inner Work Test image

Step 2: Reviewing & Remembering What You’ve Read ✨

But what about revisiting what you’ve read to integrate it more deeply?

Mateo, being the innovator he is, was kind enough to introduce me to a brilliant reading app called Readwise. This is a platform where you can send all your favorite articles and posts from the internet and rediscover the wisdom of your eBook highlights. Brilliant!

So far, I’ve found that Readwise is like a gentle companion on my self-discovery and healing journey. 

Now, whenever I read books, articles, or discover inspiring quotes that speak to something deep in me, I send them to Readwise, which helps me to capture them, then brings them back when I need them most. 

As an autodidact and reader, Readwise turns my highlights and favorite bits of knowledge into a daily reminder so that I can grow in deeper insight and understanding.

From what I’m aware of, this is the first app of its kind. I’m grateful it exists because otherwise, I’d have no way of either (1) easily revisiting what I’ve read each day to integrate it better, or (2) having one simple place to collect all my favorite online reads.

Highly recommend. This is my #1 reading tool. I even went so far as to reach out to Readwise to see if they want to do an extended free trial for you if you’re interested in using this powerful tool. They said yes!

So here’s the link to remember what you read each day and save all your favorite reads in one place (60-day free trial).

What You Feed Your Mind Sustains Your Soul

Image of a woman reading a book in a circle of light in a dark forest

In this age of information, what you feed your mind sustains your soul. The opposite is also true.

In the words of Evan Williams, the co-founder of one of the greatest social media giants, Twitter (now “X”),

The information we consume matters just as much as the food we put in our body. It affects our thinking, our behavior, how we understand our place in the world. And how we understand others.

I hope this article has helped you to see why reading is more important than ever and how to get back into it if you’ve felt stuck or demotivated.

Tell me, what is your reading ritual? What book can you recommend right now? I’d love to hear below in the comments. You never know who you may inspire. ;) 

Three paths to inner transformation – here’s how I can help you go deeper:

1. The Spiritual Wanderer Course: Are you feeling lost, adrift, and unsure of your life's purpose? Gain clarity, focus, and direction on your inner path by uncovering the five archetypes of awakening within you. Learn how to navigate the highs and lows of your inner journey and chart your unique path with 3+ hours of audio-visual content, workbooks, meditations, and a premium test.

2. Shadow & Light Membership: Do you crave consistent support on your spiritual quest? Receive weekly intuitive guidance and learn to embrace your whole self, including your shadow side. Cultivate deeper self-love with our affordable, personalized support.

3. Spiritual Awakening Bundle: Ready to embark on a profound soul-searching adventure? Dive into our collection of essential transformative resources! Explore five illuminating eBooks and seven in-depth journals, plus unlock two special bonuses to empower your spiritual growth.

More Starting The Journey

  • Image of an enchanted book symbolic of being an autodidact self-learner
    7 Signs You’re an Autodidact (the Self-Taught Master)
  • Ai generated image of a woman and a wolf standing underneath a tree with the woman not knowing what to do with her life
    “I Don’t Know What to Do With My Life” (Ask This One Question)
  • Ai generated image of a mystical wolf in a mysterious forest
    Which Archetype Are You: The Seeker, Apprentice, Shaman, Mystic or Sage?
  • Image of a serene deep feeler sitting in a forest with a wolf by their side
    The Deep Feeler, Media Overwhelm, and Finding Self-Sovereignty
  • Facebook
  • Email
  • WhatsApp
  • Print

About Aletheia Luna

Aletheia Luna is a prolific psychospiritual writer, author, educator, and intuitive guide whose work has touched the lives of millions worldwide. As a survivor of fundamentalist religious abuse, her mission is to help others find love, strength, and inner light in even the darkest places. She is the author of hundreds of popular articles, as well as numerous books and journals on the topics of Self-Love, Spiritual Awakening, and more. [Read More]

(25) Comments

    Want to share your thoughts? Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Your email address will remain 100% private.

  1. Katie Jo says

    May 21, 2025 at 3:28 am

    Reading just a few pages per day is agonizing torture to me. I prefer to read for at least an hour or two at a time (or the whole day for a really riveting book!). I definitely like to be cozy: book, cat, blanket, candle, a warm beverage. There are a few books that I occasionally reread (Gone with the Wind, Dracula, Jane Eyre), but I don’t really have any one book of wisdom that I would consider to be my daily Bible, although Anam Chara by John O’Donoghue would have to come close. I have been meaning to read the Tao Te Ching at some point and will have to seek out Jonathan Star’s translation upon your recommendation. Last year, I made the mistake of committing to a six-month-long book club slowly reading a series (Dune) in a genre (science fiction) that isn’t my cup of tea. As a result, I temporarily lost my love of reading for a few months, but thankfully, I have rekindled it after reading a whirlwind paranormal romance series while visiting my mom (who is a part-time librarian).

    Reply
  2. Sally Jane Vosloo says

    May 10, 2025 at 11:36 pm

    Thank you for sharing your post on reading books. I was raised on reading books at home and at school and not on social media of which there was nothing like that then. Therefore reading a book is tremendously and incredibly educational of which is much prefered.

    Reply
  3. Anita Ethan says

    May 06, 2025 at 6:37 am

    Hi Luna, thank you for such an amazing read. I have always loved reading but suddenly found that I was out of the habit and of late been having the calling to get back to it. Also especially glad for recommending Readwise, I’ve been enjoying it since I read your newsletter. Thank you so much

    Reply
    • Aletheia Luna says

      May 07, 2025 at 4:38 pm

      It’s so easy to get out of the habit in this day and age full of a million distractions, isn’t it? I’m glad you’re getting back into it, Anita, and are enjoying Readwise 💜

      Reply
  4. Renee K says

    May 05, 2025 at 3:46 am

    Excellent pointers, thank you!

    Reply
    • Aletheia Luna says

      May 07, 2025 at 4:38 pm

      Thanks Renee!

      Reply
« Older Comments

Popular Guides

  • Spiritual Awakening
  • Inner Child Work
  • Shadow Work
  • Dark Night of the Soul

Popular Tests

  • What Type of Spiritual Wanderer Are You?
  • What Is Your Subconscious Mind Hiding?
  • How Dominant is Your Shadow Self?
  • What Type of Inner Work Suits You?

Popular Offerings

  • Spiritual Wanderer Course
  • Shadow & Light Membership
  • The Spiritual Awakening Bundle
  • Inner Work Bundle

Stages of the Journey

  • Spiritual Calling
  • Resisting The Path
  • Finding Guidance
  • Starting The Journey
  • Turning Inwards
  • Facing The Darkness
  • Illumination
  • Traps & Pitfalls
  • Rebirth
  • Integration

Footer

↑ back to top

This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases, this means whenever you buy a book on Amazon from a link on this website, we receive a small percentage of its price at no extra cost to you.

 

Walk the path less traveled

Image of aletheia luna and mateo sol

Welcome! Our names are Aletheia Luna & Mateo Sol and we’re spiritual educators currently living in Perth, Western Australia. What's this website about? For spiritual rebels and outsiders, our mission is to help you dissolve the shadows that obscure your inner Light and find peace, love, and happiness. Unlike other spiritual spaces, lonerwolf focuses on approaching the spiritual awakening journey in a discerning and down-to-earth-way. Start here »

 

Let The Universe Choose My Message!

About

  • About us
  • Our Principles
  • Reposting Our Work?
  • Moon Phase Spiritual Meaning Calculator

Newsletter

  • Are you a spiritual wanderer or outsider? Feeling lost, confused, or alone? Sign Up for our weekly LonerWolf Howl newsletter for Soul-centered guidance – it’s free!

Whadjuk Noongar

  • We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land, the Whadjuk people of Noongar Boodjar. We recognize their continued connection to the land and waters of this beautiful place and acknowledge that they never ceded sovereignty. We respect all Whadjuk Elders both past and present, and any First Nations people.

 

Luna & Sol Pty Ltd © 2012 - 2025 LonerWolf.com. All Rights Reserved.

Privacy & Terms