Vibrant Nation

I do a lot of spiritual reading, in different traditions. What interests me most is how people can learn to bring themselves fully into their everyday life, and how to see what we are being taught constantly, right here. Being spiritual doesn't require me to transcend my work as an architect. We all have the ability to become more right here in whatever we're doing.

I love these three books. They are from different spiritual traditions (Vedanti, Sufi, and Zen) but each one addresses the core of what allows us to experience anything.

	1. I Am That by Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj We mistakenly perceive ourselves as separate individuals in control of our own lives--but in truth we're part of a massive movement beyond our wildest imaginings. The awareness that "I am," without qualification, is the first seed of true consciousness. Everything else--our entire imagined world--is a construct, and we can make it hell or we can make it heaven, depending on our outlook. We have an incredible conversation about this book going on on my website, Not So Big Life..
	2. A Year With Rumi: Daily Readings by Coleman Barks I've found this Rumi volume to be incredibly valuable, and it's the one I most recommend to people. Read a poem before you meditate each day, or just incorporate it into some sort of regular, everyday practice. Rumi's words will open you up like nothing else that I know of.
	3. The Butterfly's Dream by Albert Low Low walks you through perceiving "inside" and "outside"--being the center and being the periphery of any particular experience, just by moving what you identify with and relate to. In a more profound way than anything else I can think of, he opens you up to seeing the relativity of things.

Learn more about Sarah Susanka's work on her websites, Not So Big House and Not So Big Life