Recommended Reading

Besides the Gor books, themselves, there are books which inspired JN's Gor Saga, and also many which contain very "Gorean" values and insights.

Some of those are listed here, along with other philosophical works. Some are couched in story form, as were the Gor novels, some more straightforward, but all worth reading, IMO.

Philosophical readings, in general can help us to analyse, shape, form, and examine our own values, ethics, morals, codes, beliefs, and views of the world. If our convictions cannot stand under the barrage of scrutiny - of questioning, deeply examining, and challenging them, they they must not be very worthy convictions.

So far, there is not as much listed here as I eventually plan, but that will change in the foreseeable future, as I have more time to update and make additions to the website.

Personal growth, accountability, and freedom are all very much a part of Gorean philosophy, no matter what your spiritual path or other belief systems. The titles suggested here are all recommended for building and furthering those goals.

• Be Here Now by: Lama Foundation - Editor: Ram Dass
Ram Dass tells the story of his spiritual awakening and gives you the tools to take control of your life, featuring powerful guidance on yoga, meditation, and finding your true self.

Just ten years earlier, he was known as Professor Richard Alpert. He held appointments in four departments at Harvard University. He published books, drove a Mercedes and regularly vacationed in the Caribbean. By most societal standards, he had achieved great success. . . . And yet he couldn’t escape the feeling that something was missing.

Psilocybin and LSD changed that. During a period of experimentation, Alpert peeled away each layer of his identity, disassociating from himself as a professor, a social cosmopolite, and lastly, as a physical being. Fear turned into exaltation upon the realization that at his truest, he was just his inner-self: a luminous being that he could trust indefinitely and love infinitely.

And thus, a spiritual journey commenced. Alpert headed to India where his guru renamed him Baba Ram Dass - “servant of God.” He was introduced to mindful breathing exercises, hatha yoga, and Eastern philosophy. If he found himself reminiscing or planning, he was reminded to “Be Here Now.” He started upon the path of enlightenment (without drugs!), and has been journeying along it ever since.

• Chop Wood, Carry Water: A Guide to Finding Spiritual Fulfillment in Everyday Life - by Rick Fields, et al
More than a thousand years ago a Chinese Zen Master wrote:
Magical Power, Marvelous Action!
Chopping Wood, Carrying Water...

The message is as true today as it was then: the greatest lessons and the profoundest heights of the spiritual path can be found in our everyday lives. It is the greatest challenge for people living in contemporary society to find the spiritual aspects of working in an office, store, or factory; balancing a checkbook; raising a family; or making a relationship work. How can we make all these daily activities a part of the path? How can we apply the insights of great spiritual traditions, and our own experience, to the way we live and develop?

This book is a guide - a handbook filled with information, advice, hints, stories, inspiration, encouragement, connections, warning, and cautions, for the inner journey as we live throughout our lives.

Chop Wood, Carry Water contains much ancient wisdom, but the emphasis is on contemporary perceptions. Many of our guides have been known to humanity for millennia: they are the world’s great spiritual teachers - Christ, the Buddha, Loa Tse, Confucius. Others are contemporary teacher and healers, widely recognized and respected. All offer ways to integrate the events, our focus on relationships and family, our struggle with technology, money, politics and more - into the quest for spiritual fulfillment.

• Conversations With God - by: Neale Donald Walsch
Blasphemy! Heresy! Who does this man think he is, claiming to speak directly to God?! Jesus did it, Muhammad did it, the Jewish prophets did it, but none of their Gods had the sardonic wit or raw verve of Prophet Walsch's God. Neale Donald Walsch isn't claiming to be the Messiah of a new religion, just a frustrated man who sat down one day with pen in his hand and some tough questions in his heart. As he wrote his questions to God, he realized that God was answering them... directly... through Walsch's pen. The result, far from the apocalyptic predictions or cultic eccentricities you might expect, turns out to be matter-fact, in-your-face wisdom on how to get by in life while remaining true to yourself and your spirituality.
Also check out the The Conversations with God Foundation website. Good stuff to be found there!

• Jonathan Livingston Seagull - by Richard Bach.
This is the story for people who follow their hearts and make their own rules…people who get special pleasure out of doing something well, even if only for themselves…people who know there’s more to this living than meets the eye: they’ll be right there with Jonathan, flying higher and faster than they ever dreamed.

Amazon.com Review
"Most gulls don't bother to learn more than the simplest facts of flight--how to get from shore to food and back again," writes author Richard Bach in this allegory about a unique bird named Jonathan Livingston Seagull. "For most gulls it is not flying that matters, but eating. For this gull, though, it was not eating that mattered, but flight." Flight is indeed the metaphor that makes the story soar. Ultimately this is a fable about the importance of seeking a higher purpose in life, even if your flock, tribe, or neighborhood finds your ambition threatening. (At one point our beloved gull is even banished from his flock.) By not compromising his higher vision, Jonathan gets the ultimate payoff: transcendence. Ultimately, he learns the meaning of love and kindness. The dreamy seagull photographs by Russell Munson provide just the right illustrations--although the overall packaging does seem a bit dated (keep in mind that it was first published in 1970). Nonetheless, this is a spirituality classic, and an especially engaging parable for adolescents.
~ Gail Hudson

• Awakening the Buddha Within - by: Lama Surya Das
The radical and compelling message of Buddhism tells us that each of us has the wisdom, awareness, love, and power of the Buddha within; yet most of us are too often like sleeping Buddhas. In Awakening the Buddha Within, Surya Das shows how we can awaken to who we really are in order to lead a more compassionate, enlightened, and balanced life. It illuminates the guidelines and key principles embodied in the noble Eight-Fold Path and the traditional Three Enlightenment Trainings common to all schools of Buddhism:

Wisdom Training: Developing clear vision, insight, and inner understanding—seeing reality and ourselves as we really are.

Ethics Training: Cultivating virtue, self-discipline, and compassion in what we say and do.

Meditation Training: Practicing mindfulness, concentration, and awareness of the present moment.

With lively stories, meditations, and spiritual practices, Awakening the Buddha Within is an invaluable text for the novice and experienced student of Buddhism alike.

• Norse Rede of Honor From "The Rites of Odin" - by Ed Fitch
Great words to live by, no matter what your path.

The ancient religion of Northern Europe was one of remarkable strength and power, as well as magic and beauty. Its adherents were themselves a solid and adventurous lot: the Norse, Slavs, Germans, ancient Russians, and of course, the Vikings.

The Rites of Odin is a complete sourcebook that brings the ancient values back to these turbulent times. What you read here is poetic and powerful, perfect for groups who have chose to follow the Old Ways, for families who wish to be unified by warm and close ceremonies, and for the solitary seeker.

The Rites of Odin puts forth the message, in rites, practice, and background lore, that you are uniquely important. You are in charge of your own destiny. The family and friends who constitute your "extended family" are also important: by working together and helping one another, all of you can prosper and be happy.

• Siddartha - by Herman Hesse
Steeped in the tenets of psychoanalysis, Eastern philosophy, and mysticism, Siddhartha presents a strikingly original view of man and culture, and the arduous process of self-discovery that leads to reconciliation, harmony, and peace.

With parallels to the enlightenment of the historical Buddha, Siddhārtha Gautama, Hesse's Siddhartha is the story of a young Indian Brahmin's quest for the ultimate reality—nirvana. His quest takes him from the extremes of indulgent sensuality to the rigors of asceticism and self-denial. After encounters with wandering ascetics, the famous Buddha Gautama, known as the Enlightened One, and his Buddhist monks, a courtesan named Kamala, and a ferryman, he learns that wisdom cannot be taught — it must come from one's own experience and inner struggle.

• Stranger in a Strange Land - by Robert A. Heinlein
Raised by Martians on Mars, Valentine Michael Smith is a human who has never seen another member of his species. Sent to Earth, he is a stranger who must learn what it is to be a man. But his own beliefs and his powers far exceed the limits of humankind, and as he teaches them about grokking and water-sharing, he also inspires a transformation that will alter Earth’s inhabitants forever...

Notable Quotes:
"Democracy is a poor system; the only thing that can be said for it is that it’s eight times as good as any other method. Its worst fault is that its leaders reflect their constituents—a low level, but what can you expect?"

"My dear, I used to think I was serving humanity . . . and I pleasured in the thought. Then I discovered that humanity does not want to be served; on the contrary it resents any attempt to serve it."

"Man is so built that he cannot imagine his own death. This leads to endless invention of religions."

Daily motivations, meditations, inspiration, etc. from various sources.
More suggestions for this section from different faiths, practices, etc. would be much appreciated!!

Titles and websites especially for men. Also good reading for those looking to get a better grasp of what to look for in a "real man".
More suggestions for this section from men would be much appreciated!!

Titles and websites specifically for women, both free and slave.