Below are resources I recommend. If you would like any further information, please contact me at kim@kimillig.com.

The Four Fold Way: Walking the Paths of the Warrior, Teacher, Healer, and Visionary

by Angeles Arrien

Angie was one of the blessed ones who was able to take indigenous teachings and re-articulate them for the western perspective.  To me she was the consummate teacher of kindness.  Everything that she produced was a thing of beauty.

Places that Scare You

by Pema Chodron

This book, along with When Things Fall Apart, are the go-to books for me when intense fear or anxiety gets under my skin or starts coloring my world. 

Anatomy of the Spirit

by Caroline Myss

This is the book that brought me to study with Caroline.  When I heard her say that energetic anatomy should be taught before physical anatomy in medical school I could barely restrain myself from fist pumping the divine right then and there!  The audio version is even better than the book!

Braiding Sweetgrass

by Robin Wall Kimmerer

In this book, Robin brings the empirical magic of botany together with the intimate sense of the world of the Native Americans in a series of essays that reminds me of how humans are one of many examples of sentient life on this planet. I love how she shares how she “imagined that the land heard us—murmured to itself, “Ohh, here are the ones who know how to say thank you””

Headspace.com

I love, love, love the meditation app from HeadSpace.com. Andy’s voice is wonderful for me to listen to. This program empowered me to embrace that regular meditation for 5 minutes a day is good enough.  The key is consistency with compassion and intention.

Women Rowing North: Navigating Life’s Currents and Flourishing As We Age

by Mary Pipher

As I inexorably move into my elder years, my radar vigilantly searches for resources to help us navigate in a life territory that has little role modeling that supports participating in society as an elder.  This text fits the bill…Enjoy!

Taming Your Outer Child: Overcoming Self-Sabotage and Healing from Abandonment

by Susan Anderson

You probably have heard the term ‘inner child’ coined in personal work.  It has been a revolutionary step in self awareness in my lifetime.  Doing that work has been enhanced by Ms. Anderson’s differentiation of the inner child, whose feelings and needs need to be protected and nurtured, and the outer child, whose behavior needs to be acknowledged, contained and managed by our adult-self aspect.  This differentiation is profound enough for me to place it here on my resource page.

Sacred Contracts

by Caroline Myss

This was the foundational text in my study with Caroline.  It is also the reference text for the Archetypal Analysis (link to copy on site) I offer.  There is some really good stuff in this text.  It is one of Caroline’s best offerings, in my opinion.

He, She and We

by Robert Johnson

Years ago, Robert Johnson wrote 3 “little” books on understanding relationship and each gender’s psyche. Today, He, SheandWestillprovide an archetypal context to understanding the internal landscapes of your partner and your intimate partnership.

Getting the Love You Want: A Guide for Couples

by Harville Hendrix

Imago Dialogue, Harville Hendrix’s method outlined in this book, is by far the most respectful technique I have in my relationship “tool kit.” This book and its counterpart, Keeping the Love You Find: A Guide for Singles, are both treasure troves of insightful information and tools that give a foundation for understanding the exciting process of inquiry into a relationship.

The Gift of Fear and Other Survival Signals that Protect Us From Violence

by Gavin de Becker by Dell

When I was “heart-deep” in the experience of getting my certification for intuitive counseling, one of my classmates suggested this book to all of us. I read it as an adjunct to all of our required reading and was amazed that when I substituted “intuition” every time Gavin used “fear,” the text turned into a virtual primer for intuitive development! I would judge this book as a foundational text for anyone who wants to study the practicalities of intuitive development and/or wants to re-frame their beliefs of fear into, as Caroline Myss says, “a form of instruction,” rather than a message to fight, flee or freeze. It is a quick and informative read.

Sacred Choices: Thinking Outside the Tribe to Heal Your Spirit

by Christel Nani

This book was referred to me by a client. With all humility, I have to confess being green with envy because I could say that I “should” have written this book! 🙂 Much of what I am curious about is how our tribal-limiting beliefs, conscious and unconscious, dictate how we choose to manage our lives. Christel articulates this phenomena and gives helpful tips on how to explore this inquiry. I feel gratitude that it can be used as such a wonderful resource.

Coming Home to Myself: Reflections for Nurturing a Woman’s Body and Soul

by Marion Woodman and Jill Milleck

Whenever I am in a personal winter, this book, a compilation of Marion’s wisdoms, is one of my favorites to sink into. Gentlemen, please consider that nurturance is not just for us women!

The Second Half of Life: Opening the Eight Gates of Wisdom

by Angeles Arrien

To be frank, I thoroughly enjoy Angeles’ voice, so I truly relished the audio version of this title. Since living consciously is optimal why not do the aging part of life in a Beauty Way—the Angeles Arrien way?

The Subtle Body: An Encyclopedia of Your Energetic Anatomy

by Cyndi Dale

I haven’t had a chance to read the whole thing, but I love the literal beauty of this book! What I would have given for this to be a text in nursing school. If you want to study in the dark of winter, this could be an option.

Mother Night: Myths, Stories, and Teachings for Learning to See in the Dark (Audio CD)

by Clarissa Pinkola Estes

This is the first of an amazing and fantastic 2 ½ year study of the Dangerous Old Woman archetype with this storyteller par excellence! CPE is, without a doubt, one of our crone treasures. Her combination of story and intellect is one of my primary role models.

Romancing the Ordinary

by Sarah Ban Breathnach

“Women were created to experience, interpret, revel in, and unravel the mysteries of Life through their senses,” declares Breathnach, insisting that women have two extra senses: those of “knowing” and “wonder.” To be frank, it was the title of this book that enchanted me. I love the idea of bringing the ordinary everyday into the realm of the romance. So I ordered it, sight unseen, because of the title and was pleasantly surprised to receive a beautiful book filled with consistent affirmations to love myself just the way I am. I would like to think that men will also enjoy its content but, if not, maybe as a gift to a lovely lady in your life? Enjoy!

Comfortable with Uncertainty: 108 Teachings on Cultivating Fearlessness and Compassion

by Pema Chodron

If stopping to receive the fullness of your blessings is creating discomfort for you, reading Pema Chodron is always a good bet to ground yourself and help re-frame any fears that come up. Any titles by Pema will do, but this one, with the seemingly oxymoronic title, seems to be the best fit with my approach. May you relax into cultivating comfort with the discomfort of personal exploration.

Defy Gravity: Healing Beyond the Bounds of Reason

by Caroline Myss

Dear Caroline does it again! Here she articulates the sacred advice of St. John of the Cross on how to navigate the dark night of the soul in a way that we, hundreds of years later, can actually understand and apply to our everyday. She is also adding to the energetic anatomy template she so brilliantly wrote of years ago in Anatomy of the Spirit. She writes of a shadow passion and its accompanying grace and associates it with each chakra/belief structure center.

I Heard God Laughing: Poems of Hope and Joy

by Hafiz and Daniel Ladinsky

I was going to offer Hafiz’s The Gift, but I think that the title of this is just what we (really “I” :-)) need to support the choice to shine our brightest authentic selves. I am planning to put this one on my Kindle today! I have felt so comforted by Hafiz’s way of immortalizing the potential intimacy with the divine. Enjoy!

Emotional Intelligence

by Daniel Goleman

This the seminal book that moves the idea that emotions are ‘real’ into the theory that they are actually vital components for being a whole healthy human being. It is quite heady, so I loved the unabridged audio version from Audible.com.

The Language of Emotions

by Karla McLaren

When deeply inquiring into the emotional realm very often it quickly becomes complicated and quite overwhelming. Karla McLaren has an amazing ability to bring simplicity to the inquiry and she does it in this book in spades.

When Things Fall Apart

by Pema Chodron

Frankly, one of the reasons I choose books for my library is because of how the titles affect me. Pema Chodron has written many amazing books that have gotten me through some pretty rough soul search spots. After reading these two, I keep them on my shelves so when I walk by I can remember to breathe when I feel the ground has left me.

The Biology of Belief

by Bruce Lipton

30 years ago who would of ‘thunk’ that that this title would have ever actually made sense in the western world of insisting on empirical proof! This is a relatively short book that is a great start for anyone interested in the biochemistry of belief. I dance a jig every time I realize we now have empirical proof of the validity of the unseen!