3 reasons to keep reading spiritual books after lockdown

1: Freedom

True freedom starts within and isn't dissolved by external circumstances. This isn't to say that the fight for freedom isn't worthwhile, it certainly is, but it has to be matched by the work to make yourself free from the inside as well. Spiritual awakening books can help you untangle the traumas and difficulties of your life. Even when you're free to roam, you're not truly free until you're happy at home. 

“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” ― Viktor E. Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning

2: New perspectives, ideas and practices

It's so easy to get stuck in a rut, particularly when your opportunities for travel and meeting people outside of your usual circle have been limited. That's why books to help you through and after lockdown are so important - they can take you to places you may never visit and give you an insider's look at the lives of people with who you will never cross paths. Unlike movies, which can be formulaic, there are always books that retain their originality and freedom of thought. 

Spiritual books take this one step further, by introducing you to new ideas and practices that can improve your life in so many ways. Despite the craziness of our lives these days, we have unprecedented access to a deep river of spiritual wisdom, so why not continue to read after lockdown?

“Books are like rivers, meandering this way and that, but taking us on a steady, flowing course to somewhere different.” ― Carla H. Krueger

3: Slowing down and mindfulness

It's so good for your soul to slow down, but these days, taking a book to the beach and spending an hour lying in the sand, not responding to your phone, feels like an act of rebellion.  

You realise just how wound up you are when you try to read and find yourself impatiently scanning the page. Without even realising it was happening, we have become used to a life of constant visual stimulation. That's not the best for our minds nor our bodies, so it's worth taking a deep breath and diving into a book. 

Let yourself slow down and savour the words on the page. Feel where they land in your body. Notice any resistance, and let yourself explore where that's coming from. Feel when your heart lights up and let yourself revel in that feeling. Pick out a sentence and do some free journal writing to see what comes up for you. Maybe even explore the practice of Lectio Divina. 

In days gone by, spiritual books were a pathway out of mundane life, yet now spiritual books are a perfect way to ground yourself back into real life while also expanding your heart and mind. 

“A book, too, can be a star, a living fire to lighten the darkness, leading out into the expanding universe.”—Madeleine L’Engle