Also known as some of my favorite books, movies, podcasts, and tv shows.
Here is an incomprehensive list of media that has inspired me or taught me something at some point in my life. There is a lot of spiritual healing, science fiction, dystopia, plant medicine, and comedy in the mix. Everything is listed in no particular order.
Books
Stories/Fiction
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
Boudica: Dreaming the Eagle by Manda Scott
Middlesex by Jeffery Eugenides
The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood*
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
Animal Farm by George Orwell
1984 by George Orwell
Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut*
The Giver by Lois Lowry
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer*
Harry Potter and the Sourcerer’s Stone by JK Rowling
The Hunger Games Series by Suzanne Collins
Parable of the Sower by Octavia E Butler*
Parable of the Talents by Octavia E Butler
Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Insider tip: I love to travel with a good book! It makes flights and layovers so much more enjoyable when you have a book that you can’t put down. Any of the above books would make great travel companions and many I have read away from home.
Spiritual/Yoga/Experiences/Self Help
The Tree of Yoga by BKS Iyengar
The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche*
Witches and Pagans, Women in European Folk Religion 700-1000 by Max Dashu
You Are A Badass by Jenn Sincero
You Are A Badass at Making Money by Jenn Sincero
Anatomy of the Spirit by Carolyn Myss*
The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz*
Sacred Instructions by Sherri Mitchell
The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield
Many Lives, Many Masters by Brian L Weiss*
A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle
Seven Years in Tibet by Heinrich Harrer
Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
The Untethered Soul by Michael A Singer
The Alchemist by Paulo Cohelo
The Miricle of Mindfulness by Thich Nhat Hanh
Bhagavad Gita
Overcoming Trauma Through Yoga by David Emerson
Light On Yoga by BKS Iyengar
Insider tip: Expanding your awareness can be exhausting! When I’m reading spiritual or self help books I only read one chapter/section at a time so I can let the material sink in. It gives me the rest of the day to think about and integrate the wisdom that these books hold.
Plant Medicine
Herbal Foundations by Mary Blue
Opening Our Wild Hearts to the Healing Herbs by Gail Faith Edwards
Herbal Recipes for Vibrant Health by Rosemary Gladstar*
The Herbal Kitchen by Kami McBride
The Authentic Herbal Healer by Holly Bellebuono
The Illustrated Herbiary by Mia Toll
Homegrown Herbs by Tammi Hartung
Insider Tip: While learning about plants from books is great, the best way to learn is from the plants themselves! Observe what is growing in your backyard or in natural places nearby. Make a simple infusion (tea) and see how the plant makes you feel. This empirical knowledge is much more life changing than anything you could read.
Podcasts
Medicine Stories with Amber Magnolia Hill*
Starseed Survival Guide with Erin Rivera Merriman*
Earth Speak with Natalie Ross
Earthed Soul with Melissa Sandon
Soulful MBA with Jenny Barcelos + Sandy Connery
The Plant Path with Sajah and Whitney Popham
Seeds of Awakening with Forrest Dwyer and Kim Jacobson
DENtalks with DEN Meditation
Bespoken Bones with Pavini Moray
Insider Tip: Podcasts are the best! I mostly listen to podcasts when I’m driving and it makes the drive much more enjoyable, especially when my heart can’t handle what’s being spoken about on NPR. I really think that podcasts are going to continue on into the future as an integral part of the way that we share information with one another. Anyone can upload a podcast to iTunes or Spotify which makes this the news and information sharing of the people.
Movies
Fiction
Star Wars*
The Big Lebowski
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
The Fifth Element
It’s a Beautiful Life
Amelie
Harry Potter Series
Moana
The Matrix*
Baz Leurman’s Romeo and Juliet
Inglorious Basterds
Memento
Kill Bill Vol. 1 + 2
Arrival
Interstellar
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Django Unchained
Requium For a Dream
Insider Tip: Who doesn’t love a good movie?! These are some of my favorites either because of the message within or the empowerment the story or a character offered me at some point in my life. A good movie is enjoyable to watch, a great movie makes you question your existence.
Documentaries
Planet Earth
Heal*
Bowling for Columbine
Babies
What the Bleep Do We Know!?
Happy
Jiro Dreams of Sushi
Supersize Me
Exit Through the Gift Shop
Insider Tip: Like podcasts, documentaries are fantastic at showing you different points of view that you don’t always get to see, and more often than not they go against what you are likely to encounter in the mainstream.
Television
Rick and Morty
Battlestar Gallactica
Dear White People
Game of Thrones
Stranger Things
Broad City
Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia
The OA
Downton Abbey
Call the Midwife
The 100
The Expanse
Man in the High Castle
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Westworld
Girls
High Maintenance
Insider Tip: I’ll admit it, I love watching tv shows. Getting immersed in a great story is exciting. Watching how characters develop and the decisions that they make leave me on the edge of my seat. Because there are now so many more watching platforms outside of the mainstream networks, fringe ideology is easily accessible and so fun to watch.