Portland counselor, Portland therapist recommended resources

Recommended resources for your personal growth

To promote the personal growth of my clients, I offer a lending library. Often I find myself recommending books, websites, and other resources which speaks to an issue or search that has engaged them. Following is a list of some of the books that most frequently travel home with a client where they cozy up with clients, and reveal deeper possibilities. The list includes some useful websites and resources. First I would like to list a book that I have published:

Getting Grounded: A Manual of Grounding Exercises is written for persons seeking to become more grounded in order to become more present and alive, less anxious, panicked, and stressed. 64 photos illustrate more than 50 exercises. Click on the picture above to link to a full description.

With regard to the items listed below, if you wish, you can click on the picture of a book to be linked Amazon Books where you will find a more comprehensive description and reviews by fellow readers. While these books may be purchased through Amazon, these books are available to my clients from my lending library.

	Self-Help

	The Anxiety & Phobia Workbook by Edmund J. Bourne. When working with clients who suffer from anxiety or phobias, I have my clients read this book as part of their homework. It is a superb resource for learning the nature and causes of these conditions and the strategies whereby we can manage and overcome them.
	At a Journal Workshop by Ira Progoff. Keeping a psychological journal is an important method of engaging our inner life. Journaling is not keeping a diary. Progoff offers many interesting ideas for how you might organize and use your journal for personal growth.
	The Courage to Heal: A Guide for Women Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse by Ellen Bass and Laura Davis. This is a standard for understanding and working with childhood sexual abuse. See also their workbook by the same title.
	Grace and Grit by Ken Wilber. This is a very moving account of a couple's journey with cancer. It models the grace and grit asked of us as we journey with lovers and friends suffering profound illness.
	The Relaxation & Stress Reduction Workbook by Elizabeth Robbins. This workbook is a superb resource for learning numerous techniques whereby we can de-stress.
	Self-Hypnosis by Brian Alman Ph.D. and Peter Lambrou Ph.D. Of the many books on self-hypnosis on the market, in my estimation this is the best. Not only does it teach the "how-to" of auto-hypnosis, but also it discusses applications to common ailments.
	When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times by Pema Chodron. Many clients have found great comfort in this book's revelation of how why we suffer and how we may suffer compassionately.
	Recommended by Clients
	Don't Panic: Taking Control of Anxiety Attacks by Reid Wilson PhD. A leading expert offers an accessible and practica 5-stepl self-help program for reducing and eliminating panic attacks.
	Biographies of the Inner Life
	Balancing Heaven and Earth by Robert A. Johnson. Johnson, a well-known and popular Jungian analyst, models a life of balance which engages the profundity of our inner nature.
	Memories, Dreams, Reflections by C. G. Jung. A "classic," this is the autobiography of one of the last century's greatest psychologists. As the title indicates, the focus of the book is on Jung's inner life showing his discovery of and commitment to the "depth" psychology he inaugurated.
	Report to Greco by Nikos Kazantzakis. Kazantzakis was the nobel-prize winner author who we remember with works such as Zorba the Greek and The Last Temptation of Christ. His autobiography demonstrates a life of passionate engagement with the world of ideas.
	Health Practices
	Awaken Healing Light of the Tao by Maneewan Chia. This is a manual of qigong practices written by an Eastern qigong master. "Qi" (energy) "Gong" (work or cultivation) is an Eastern energy practice which benefits health and spiritual realization.
	Opening the Energy Gates by Bruce K. Frantzis. Frantzis is one of the West's genuine masters practitioners of qigong. Here he introduces a 'water method' form of qigong practice.
	Life Extension Foundation Do you need information about how nutrition and supplementation may benefit a health problem? For decades the LEF has pioneered research into the effects of nutrition on health and ailments. Its webpage search function provides online access to its database of nutritional protocols and research papers.
	Light Therapy Products Sufferers of seasonal affective disorder (SAD) benefit from daily stimumlation of the optic nerves. Recent studies show that soft awakening to a simulated dawn may be more effective than exposure to a high-intensity light box. The "SunUp" product was the device used in research.
	OM3emotion Omega-3 Fatty Acid Supplements Omega-3 fatty acid supplementation has been found to be effective for treatment of depression and anxiety as well as systemic inflammation and its attendant physical problems. For emotional issues, research suggests a high EPA to DHA ratio as provided by this and similar products. Persons on blood-thinning protocols should first consult their doctors..
	The Tao of Health, Sex, & Longevity by Daniel Reid. Reid integrates Eastern health practices with Western science. This book is dense with Eastern health practices.
	Spiritual Practices
	Insight Meditation: A Step-by-Step Course on How to Meditate by Sharon Salzberg and Joseph Goldstein. Salzberg and Goldstein has been instrumental in bringing Buddhism to the States. Here these teachers introduce Buddhist vipassana meditation practice.
	Living Presence by Kabir Edmund Helminski. Practicing presence is instrumental to realization. Presence teaches us that "mindfulness" is not just an experience of the head. The book presents a Sufi view of the practice. Sufism is a mystical branch of Islam.
	Meditation for Beginners by Jack Kornfield. Kornfield is a leading Western teacher of Buddhist meditation practices. This CD set introduces the listener to these practices.
	Non-Dualistic Spirituality
	As it is Vol. 1 by Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche. A Tibetan Dzogchen master expounds on the nature of non-dualistic practice. Dzochen ("The Natural Great Pefrfection") is considered the highest practice of Tibetan Budhism.
	Ease of Being by Jean Klein. Klein was a realized French non-dual mater. Not many persons have hear of him. This book offers transcriptions of several of his lectures on living non-dualistic realization.
	Essence with The Elixir of Enlightenment by A. H. Almmas. Almaas is a contemporary Western non-dual teacher who synthesizes non-dualistic realization with Western psychological theory. Here he offers an introduction to his Diamond Approach.
	The First and Last Freedom by J. Krishnamurti. Jiddhu Krishnamurti is one of the foremost teachers of non-dualistic realization. Here he addresses the need to transcend the known and enter into the mystery.
	The Mirror: Advice on the Presence of Awareness by Namkhai Norbu. Another work by a contemporary Dzochen non-dual master,. This book is a concise introduction to the Dzogchen approach to non-dual practice.
	Natural Great Perfection by Nyoshul Khenpo. Still another fine work by a Dzogchen master.
	*The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle.* A classic by a contemporary non-dualistic teacher. So many of my clients have foun understanding this work which reminds us that lthe fulfillment of living can be found in the present moment.
	Radiant Mind by Peter Fenner. A former Buddhist monk illumines the path, practice, and obstacles to realizing non-dual awareness.
	Presence: The Heart of Peace and Happiness, Vol 1 by Rupert Spira. Taught by Francis Lucille, Rupert Spira offers a remarkably clear teaching of non-dual awareness by pointing the reader to her own personal experience. A superb book..
	Spiritual Paths
	Beyond Belief: The Gospel of Thomas by Elaine Pagels. A few centuries after Christ, church elders met in Constantinople to consolidate the political power of the church. To do so, it was necessary to throw away parts of the faith which were "inconvenient". The discarded books of the then Christian faith became the Apocrypha of which is the Gospel of Thomas which shows a very different Christ than what commonly is taught today.
	Old Path White Clouds by Thich Nhat Hanh. I doubt one could find a more beautiful introduction to the life of the Buddha and his teachings.
	The Phenomenon of Man by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. I have met clients and friends who are dispirited by their inability to reconcile their Christian faith with science. In this work, de Chardin, a Catholic priest, envisions a hopeful and inspiring synthesis which eventually warranted his being silenced by the Church.
	The Sufis by Idries Shah. Sufism is the mystical sect of Islam. It is a path of beauty and tranformative power. Shah pioneered the introduction of Sufism to the West.
	The World's Religions: Our Great Wisdom Traditions by Huston Smith. Smith is a renowned scholar of comparative religions. In this classic, he sympathetically introduces the reader the world's primary paths of approach to life's mystery.
	Transpersonal Psychology
	The Farther Reaches of Human Nature by Abraham H. Maslow. Not content that psychology should base its understanding of human nature on its research of rats and persons who were ill, Maslow asked, 'why not study the very best among us and develop a psychology of what's possible?'. Consequently in the 60s an 70s his research launched humanistic pshchology and transpersonal psychology, both of which continue to flourish.
	Man and His Symbols by Carl Gustav Jung. This is a primer of Jungian depth psychology
	The Pearl Beyond Price by A. H. Almaas. Almaas is a contemprary teacher of non-dualistic realization who has crafted a pre-eminent synthesis of Eastern and Western psychology.. The Pearl and The Point (below) are dense with theoretical discussion - and brilliant.
	The Point of Existence by A. H. Almaas. Another work by Almaas. See discussion immediately above.