The Abanak Library

The Abanak Library

All of these curated teachings have a place in our spiritual growth. With each being a tool in our journey to becoming a sovereign soul.

How to Use This Library

This isn't a comprehensive list of every spiritual resource. It's a curation.

We've chosen books, courses, teachers, and tools that align with the Abanak philosophy: spiritual sovereignty, anti-tribalism, consciousness over commerce, and authentic facilitation.

What you won't find here:

  • Gurus claiming to be the only way
  • Tribalistic spiritual communities
  • Expensive programs designed to trap you in dependency
  • Spiritual materialism disguised as enlightenment

What you will find:

  • Teachers who honor your sovereignty
  • Resources that expand consciousness without creating false hierarchies
  • Authentic guides walking their own pilgrimage
  • Tools that serve your journey, not someone's ego

Each resource is organized alphabetically by teacher.

A note on affiliate links: Some resources below are affiliate links (Amazon Associates, Mindvalley, etc.). We earn a small commission if you purchase through our links. This helps sustain Abanak. But we only recommend what we genuinely use and believe in. Transparency over profit, always.

Authors

Aaron Abke

Aaron Abke is a spiritual teacher and content creator focused on non-dual consciousness, mysticism, and the integration of Eastern and Western spiritual traditions. Through his YouTube channel and teachings, he explores the nature of reality, ego dissolution, and the direct experience of unity consciousness. His work bridges ancient wisdom with contemporary spiritual seekers navigating the awakening process.

YouTube Channel: Aaron Abke

Recommended Books:

  • The Kybalion: Hermetic Philosophy (Oneness) — A foundational text exploring the seven universal principles underlying all existence, essential for understanding the mechanics of consciousness and spiritual law.
  • The Emerald Tablet of Hermes Trismegistus (Oneness) — An ancient wisdom text revealing the correspondence between macrocosm and microcosm, fundamental to non-dual understanding.

Adrienne Maree Brown

adrienne maree brown is a visionary organizer, author, and facilitator dedicated to building movements rooted in joy, pleasure, and collective liberation. Her work emphasizes anti-oppression, community care, and the spiritual practice of organizing for social transformation. She teaches that personal healing and collective rising are inseparable, making her essential for understanding sovereignty within the community.

Recommended Books:

Alan Watts

Alan Watts was a British-American philosopher and interpreter of Eastern philosophy who made Buddhist, Taoist, and Hindu teachings accessible to Western audiences. His work emphasizes the illusion of separation, the nature of consciousness, and living in harmony with the Tao. Watts is foundational for understanding non-dual philosophy and the dissolution of the tribal ego-self.

YouTube Channel: Alan Watts

Recommended Books:

  • The Way of Liberation (Oneness) — A direct exploration of consciousness and freedom, revealing how the sense of separate self is an illusion and how to awaken to unity.
  • Nature, Man and Woman (Presence) — Examines humanity's relationship with nature and the present moment, essential for understanding authentic presence and ecological consciousness.
  • The Joyous Cosmology (Awakening) — A philosophical exploration of consciousness expansion and the nature of reality beyond conditioned perception.

Brené Brown

Brené Brown is a researcher, author, and speaker specializing in vulnerability, shame resilience, and wholehearted living. Her work demonstrates that authentic connection requires courage, self-compassion, and the willingness to be seen. She bridges personal transformation with collective healing, making her essential for understanding love, compassion, and authentic community.

YouTube Channel: Brené Brown

Recommended Books:

Byron Katie

Byron Katie is a spiritual teacher and author known for "The Work," a simple yet profound inquiry process for questioning painful thoughts and beliefs. Her method reveals how suffering arises from believing stressful thoughts and how liberation comes through direct investigation of the mind. Her work is essential for understanding the mechanics of the ego and the path to inner peace.

YouTube Channel: Byron Katie

Recommended Books:

Carl Sagan

Carl Sagan was a renowned astronomer, cosmologist, and science communicator who explored the intersection of science, philosophy, and spirituality. His work emphasizes wonder, critical thinking, and humanity's place in the cosmos. Sagan bridges scientific materialism with spiritual awe, making him essential for seekers integrating reason and transcendence.

YouTube Channel: Carl Sagan

Recommended Books:

Charles Eisenstein

Charles Eisenstein is a philosopher and author exploring the transition from a civilization of separation to one of interbeing. His work addresses money, technology, nature, and spirituality, revealing how systems of separation perpetuate suffering. He is essential for understanding how personal sovereignty connects to collective and ecological healing.

YouTube Channel: Charles Eisenstein

Recommended Books:

Christina Lopes

Christina Lopes is a spiritual teacher and healer specializing in spiritual awakening, kundalini activation, and integrating shadow work. Her YouTube channel offers practical guidance for navigating the challenges and gifts of spiritual emergence. She is essential for understanding the embodied journey of awakening and integration.

YouTube Channel: Christina Lopes

 

Dan Harris

Dan Harris is a news anchor, author, and meditation advocate who discovered mindfulness after a panic attack on live television. His work makes meditation and mindfulness accessible to skeptics and secular practitioners. He bridges mainstream culture with contemplative practice, making him essential for practical spirituality.

YouTube Channel: Dan Harris

Recommended Books:

Dean Radin

Dean Radin is a parapsychologist and consciousness researcher exploring the intersection of quantum physics, consciousness, and spirituality. His work provides scientific evidence for phenomena traditionally dismissed by materialism, bridging the gap between science and mysticism. He is essential for understanding consciousness as fundamental to reality.

YouTube Channel: Dean Radin

Recommended Books:

Debbie Ford

Debbie Ford was a shadow-work pioneer and author who taught that wholeness requires integrating all aspects of the self, including the disowned shadow. Her work is essential for understanding how tribal conditioning creates fragmentation and how reclaiming shadow leads to authentic power and compassion. Though she passed in 2013, her teachings remain transformative.

YouTube Channel: Debbie Ford

Recommended Books:

Deepak Chopra

Deepak Chopra is a physician, author, and meditation teacher who integrates Ayurvedic medicine, quantum physics, and consciousness studies. His work emphasizes the mind-body connection, the power of intention, and the spiritual nature of healing. He bridges Eastern wisdom with Western science, making him accessible to diverse audiences.

YouTube Channel: Deepak Chopra

Recommended Books:

Eckhart Tolle

Eckhart Tolle is a spiritual teacher and author whose work centers on presence, ego transcendence, and the dissolution of the pain body. His teachings emphasize living in the now and recognizing the illusory nature of the separate self. He is foundational for Abanak's philosophy of sovereignty and presence.

YouTube Channel: Eckhart Tolle

Recommended Books:

Jack Kornfield

Jack Kornfield is a Buddhist teacher, psychologist, and author who integrates meditation practice with psychological insight and compassion. His work emphasizes the heart path, loving-kindness, and the integration of spiritual practice with daily life. He is essential for understanding compassionate awakening and authentic community.

YouTube Channel: Jack Kornfield

Recommended Books:

Jon Kabat-Zinn

Jon Kabat-Zinn is a molecular biologist and meditation teacher who created Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), bringing meditation into mainstream medicine and psychology. His work demonstrates the scientific validity of contemplative practice and its transformative power. He is essential for understanding mindfulness as both spiritual and practical.

YouTube Channel: Jon Kabat-Zinn

Recommended Books:

Joseph Campbell

Joseph Campbell was a mythologist, writer, and lecturer who explored the universal patterns underlying human mythology and spirituality. His concept of "the hero's journey" reveals the archetypal structure of transformation present across all cultures and traditions. Campbell's work is essential for understanding the spiritual journey as a universal human experience beyond tribal boundaries, making him foundational for sovereignty and collective rising.

YouTube Channel: Joseph Campbell Foundation

Recommended Books:

  • The Hero with a Thousand Faces (Awakening) — The seminal work on the hero's journey archetype, revealing the universal structure of transformation across all cultures and spiritual traditions.
  • The Power of Myth (Oneness) — Explores mythology as a map to spiritual meaning, demonstrating the interconnection of all human spiritual experience beyond tribal divisions.
  • Pathways to Bliss: Mythology and Personal Transformation (Presence) — Practical guidance for applying mythological wisdom to personal awakening and authentic living.

Joseph Goldstein

Joseph Goldstein is a Buddhist teacher and co-founder of the Insight Meditation Society, specializing in Vipassana meditation and mindfulness practice. His work emphasizes direct experience, insight into the nature of mind, and the liberation that comes through sustained practice. He is essential for understanding the mechanics of consciousness and the path of insight meditation.

YouTube Channel: Joseph Goldstein

Recommended Books:

Lee Harris

Lee Harris is an intuitive channeler, energy guide, and author known for his monthly Energy Updates and channeled messages from "The Z's." His work addresses collective energy shifts, personal transformation, and the challenges of navigating spiritual awakening in modern times. He is essential for understanding the energetic dimension of consciousness evolution and collective transformation.

YouTube Channel: Lee Harris

Recommended Books:

Mark Wolynn

Mark Wolynn is a leading expert in inherited family trauma and the founder of The Family Constellation Institute. His work reveals how unresolved trauma passes through generations and how healing ancestral patterns liberates both individual and collective consciousness. He is essential for understanding the depth of tribal conditioning and the path to generational healing.

YouTube Channel: Mark Wolynn

Recommended Books:

Matt Kahn

Matt Kahn is a spiritual teacher and empathic healer whose work emphasizes self-love, emotional healing, and the integration of shadow through compassion. His teachings reveal how loving what arises transforms suffering into awakening. He is essential for understanding the heart path and the role of self-compassion in spiritual transformation.

YouTube Channel: Matt Kahn

Recommended Books:

Michael Singer

Michael Singer is a spiritual teacher and author whose work explores consciousness, surrender, and the liberation that comes from releasing identification with mind and emotion. His teachings emphasize the observer perspective and the practice of letting go. He is foundational for understanding sovereignty, presence, and the mechanics of inner freedom.

YouTube Channel: Michael Singer

Recommended Books:

Michael Talbot

Michael Talbot was an author and researcher exploring the intersection of quantum physics, consciousness, and mysticism. His holographic universe theory proposes that reality is a projection of consciousness, bridging science and spirituality. Though he passed in 1992, his work remains essential for understanding the nature of reality and the scientific basis for non-dual consciousness.

Recommended Books:

  • The Holographic Universe (Oneness) — A groundbreaking exploration of reality as a holographic projection of consciousness, bridging quantum physics and mysticism, essential for understanding non-dual reality.
  • Mysticism and the New Physics (Oneness) — Explores the convergence of Eastern mysticism and modern physics, revealing consciousness as fundamental to reality.

Pema Chödrön

Pema Chödrön is an American Buddhist nun and teacher in the Tibetan tradition, known for her accessible teachings on compassion, groundlessness, and working with difficult emotions. Her work emphasizes befriending uncertainty and transforming suffering through loving-kindness. She is essential for understanding the path of compassion and the courage required for authentic awakening.

YouTube Channel: Pema Chödrön

Recommended Books:

Ram Dass

Ram Dass (born Richard Alpert) was a spiritual teacher, psychologist, and consciousness explorer who bridged Eastern spirituality with Western psychology. His journey from Harvard professor to spiritual seeker inspired generations to explore consciousness beyond conventional boundaries. His teachings emphasize love, service, presence, and the dissolution of ego, making him foundational for understanding spiritual sovereignty and compassionate awakening.

YouTube Channel: Ram Dass

Recommended Books:

  • Be Here Now (Presence) — A countercultural classic and transformative guide to presence, consciousness, and the spiritual journey, essential for understanding the power of now.
  • Polishing the Mirror: How to Live from Your Spiritual Heart (Love & Compassion) — Explores the heart path and the practice of living from love and service, essential for compassionate awakening.
  • Be Love Now: The Path of the Heart (Love & Compassion) — A profound exploration of love as the highest spiritual practice and the dissolution of separation through the heart.

Robert Greene

Robert Greene is an author and speaker specializing in power dynamics, human nature, strategy, and mastery. His work draws from history, psychology, and philosophy to reveal the patterns underlying human behavior and social structures. While not traditionally spiritual, his insights are essential for understanding tribal conditioning, ego patterns, and the mechanics of power—critical knowledge for maintaining sovereignty in a world of manipulation and tribal thinking.

YouTube Channel: Robert Greene

Recommended Books:

  • The Laws of Human Nature (Awakening) — A masterwork on understanding human psychology, ego patterns, and social dynamics, essential for recognizing and transcending tribal conditioning.
  • The 48 Laws of Power (Awakening) — A controversial exploration of power dynamics and manipulation, essential for spiritual seekers navigating worldly systems while maintaining sovereignty.
  • Mastery (Presence) — Explores the path to excellence and authentic power through discipline, practice, and self-knowledge.
  • The Art of Seduction (Awakening) — Reveals the psychological patterns of influence and attraction, essential for understanding ego dynamics and maintaining discernment.
  • The 33 Strategies of War (Awakening) — Applies strategic thinking to personal and professional challenges, helping navigate conflict while maintaining presence.

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Robin Wall Kimmerer

Robin Wall Kimmerer is a botanist, author, and member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation whose work explores indigenous wisdom, reciprocity, and humanity's relationship with the natural world. Her teachings reveal how gratitude, gift economy, and ecological consciousness are pathways to healing both personal and collective trauma. She is essential for understanding the sacred interconnection of all life and the dissolution of the illusion of human separation from nature.

Recommended Books:

Shinzen Young

Shinzen Young is a meditation teacher and neuroscientist who has dedicated his life to making meditation accessible across cultures and traditions. His work integrates Zen Buddhism, Vipassana, and contemporary neuroscience to offer practical, secular approaches to mindfulness and consciousness exploration. He is essential for understanding meditation as both a spiritual practice and a scientifically validated tool for transformation.

YouTube Channel: Shinzen Young

Recommended Books:

Tara Brach

Tara Brach is a psychotherapist, meditation teacher, and author who integrates Buddhist psychology with Western psychology to offer a path of radical compassion and awakening. Her work emphasizes self-compassion, mindfulness, and the healing power of presence. She is essential for understanding how acceptance and loving awareness transform suffering into wisdom and freedom.

YouTube Channel: Tara Brach

Recommended Books:

Thich Nhat Hanh

Thich Nhat Hanh was a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, peace activist, and mindfulness teacher whose work bridges spirituality and social engagement. His concept of "engaged Buddhism" demonstrates how contemplative practice naturally leads to compassionate action and collective healing. He is foundational for understanding how presence, mindfulness, and love dissolve tribalism and create peace.

Recommended Books:

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Getting the Most from These Resources

Start with what calls to you. You don't have to read every book or take every course. Trust your intuition. If a resource keeps appearing in your life, that's probably the one you need right now.

Go deep, not wide. Read one book thoroughly. Take one course fully. Let it integrate before moving on. Depth over consumption.

Pair with practice. Don't just read or watch. Practice what you're learning. Meditate. Journal. Integrate. The teaching is only half the work.

Share with fellow travelers. Discuss what you're learning with others in the Seeker's Circle. Your understanding deepens when you articulate it.

Return often. You'll discover new layers in the same resource as you evolve. A book that didn't resonate two years ago might be precisely what you need now.

Trust your discernment. Not every teacher or resource will resonate with you—and that's okay. We're all at different places on the journey. If something doesn't feel aligned, move on. There's no obligation to agree with every recommendation.

Sovereignty Over Guru Worship

One of the core principles of Abanak is spiritual sovereignty. You are your own authority.

The teachers and resources in this library are guides, not gurus. They're fellow travelers who've walked further down specific paths and are sharing what they've learned.

Use them as maps, not destinations.

If any teacher asks you to surrender your discernment, to follow them blindly, or to place them above your own inner knowing—that's a red flag. Move on.

The best teachers will:

  • Honor your sovereignty
  • Encourage you to question and verify their teachings
  • Point you inward, not toward yourself
  • Model humility and ongoing learning
  • Acknowledge their own limitations and blind spots

The ones to be cautious of will:

  • Claim to be the only way
  • Discourage questioning or critical thinking
  • Create dependency or tribalism
  • Prioritize their ego or their movement over your growth
  • Hide their shadow or refuse accountability

Trust your discernment. Always.

Recommended Reading

Standalone books that deserve special highlighting—essential resources for the spiritual journey that transcend single-teacher frameworks.

The Unknown Life of Jesus Christ

by Nicolas Notovitch

An intriguing exploration of Jesus's "missing years," this book presents the controversial claim that Jesus traveled to Tibet and studied with Buddhist monks during his childhood and early adulthood. Whether historically accurate or not, it opens profound questions about the intersection of Eastern and Western spirituality, the universality of spiritual wisdom, and the hidden connections between traditions. Essential for seekers exploring how consciousness transcends cultural and religious boundaries.

Amazon Link: The Unknown Life of Jesus Christ

Conversations with the Z's

by Lee Harris

Channeled wisdom from "The Z's" offering guidance on humanity's collective transformation, energy shifts, and the transition from separation consciousness to unity consciousness. This book addresses the challenges and gifts of spiritual emergence in modern times, making it essential for understanding the energetic dimension of our collective awakening and the role each soul plays in humanity's evolution.

Amazon Link: Conversations with the Z's

The Laws of Human Nature

by Robert Greene

A masterwork on understanding human psychology, ego patterns, tribal conditioning, and the mechanics of power. While not traditionally spiritual, this book is essential for spiritual seekers navigating worldly systems while maintaining sovereignty. Understanding human nature—including its shadow, tribal impulses, and manipulative patterns—is foundational for recognizing and transcending conditioning, making authentic choices, and maintaining freedom in a world designed to control consciousness.

Amazon Link: The Laws of Human Nature

Section 3: Recommended YouTube Videos

Curated video teachings from our teacher community, organized by your spiritual journey stage. These videos offer accessible entry points into more profound wisdom and practice.

How to use this section: Each teacher's name links to their YouTube channel. You'll personally curate and add specific video titles and links that resonate most with Abanak's philosophy and your community's needs.


Deepen Your Journey

These resources are here to support your pilgrimage. But they're most powerful when combined with community, practice, and real-world application.

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New book recommendations, teacher spotlights, and course reviews delivered to your inbox each month. Curated wisdom for your journey.

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Nicholas Rivera

Nicholas Rivera is the founder of Abanak, a former US Marine and a 25-year Merchant Marine who started his spiritual journey over 30 years ago. He shares personal stories and teachings to empower seekers on their journey to awakening.