Media

A selection of books, films, and writings that have filled me with wonder and shaped my understanding of spirituality. May they offer insight, wisdom, and inspiration for your journey.

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Books

These are the texts I return to again and again, the ones that opened something in me, challenged me, or quietly changed how I see. Some are ancient, others recent, but each carries a voice that deepened my understanding of the sacred.

Thoughts in Solitude | Thomas Merton

Merton was my gateway into Christian mysticism, and this book remains a cornerstone of Western spirituality. Merton explores solitude not merely as an escape but as a path to self-discovery, transformation, and divine encounter. His reflections reveal the depth and complexity of our existential fear of being alone, yet he insists that only in solitude can we truly meet God. His commitment to shedding the false self and seeking truth exemplifies the best of Christian contemplative practice.

Thomas Keating was one of the principal architects of the Centring Prayer movement, drawing from the depths of Christian monastic tradition to make contemplative silence accessible to modern seekers. Open Mind, Open Heart is the foundational text; a gentle but profound guide to entering the silence where God dwells. For those drawn to zazen or mindfulness yet yearning for a deeply relational encounter with the Divine, this book offers a path rooted in humility, surrender, and love. It reveals a contemplative heart at the center of Christianity, often hidden beneath its institutional forms.

In The Universal Christ, Richard Rohr invites us to rediscover a vision of Christ that is cosmic, inclusive, and intimately present. Drawing from scripture, mysticism, and deep pastoral insight, Rohr reframes the Incarnation as an ongoing reality, Christ not as a surname for Jesus, but as the eternal presence of God in all things. For those disillusioned by narrow doctrines or seeking a more spacious faith, this book offers both challenge and comfort. It opens the heart to a God who is everywhere, always loving, and impossible to contain.

This book didn’t just shift my perception of anthropocentrism; it completely transformed my worldview. Hinton presents a radical reimagining of how we relate to the earth, not as separate entities but as deeply interconnected beings. His perspective is both poetic and philosophical. Through this book, I came to see the natural world as an extension of my very being. Hinton’s work invites us to embrace a way of seeing rooted in kinship, presence, and respect for all life.

Ever since childhood, this book introduced me to a secret world that few knew about and inspired me to take meditation more seriously. It offers a rare glimpse into the lives of Taoist-Ch'an hermits in China’s Chungnan Mountains through the travelogue of an American translator of Chinese poetry. While the subject might appear obscure, Chinese hermit poetry has gained considerable recognition in contemporary Western circles.

Running is more than just exercise. Running is a practice, a moving meditation, that brings the power of stillness to all the activities in our lives. Vanessa Zuisei Goddard combines her experience leading running retreats with her two-decade practice of Zen to offer insight, humor, and practical guidance for grounding our running, or any physical practice, in meditation. Still Running is a book about freedom, ease, and the joy of movement.

The Hatha Yoga Pradipika, authored in the 15th century, is one of the foundational texts on physical yoga. This particular translation offers rare insight from Sri T. Krishnamacharya, a pivotal figure in shaping modern yoga. Drawing from personal study notes, his longtime student A. G. Mohan provides critical analysis unavailable elsewhere. While I’m moving away from yoga as the central framework of my work, I still find its systematic approach to body, breath, and inner transformation deeply instructive. This text remains a valuable reference for understanding the discipline and depth behind yoga’s original intent.

While this may be one of the most mainstream books on the list, it deserves a place here because the yogic method outlined in the Yoga Sutras forms the foundation of the bomiso method. This text provides a non-sectarian framework for purifying the body, mind, and soul to reach a state of clarity and truth. Rather than dictating who God is or what that truth must be. This is the beauty of yoga: it is a tool and a method available to everyone seeking their own direct experience of truth.

Films and Videos

These videos linger. Whether through beauty, silence, suffering, or mystery, each one opens a window into the sacred hidden within the ordinary. They are not just entertainment, but invitations to see more deeply, to feel more fully, and to remember what matters. May they stir something in you.

Where are you, Adam?

Where Are You, Adam? is a documentary unlike any I’ve seen. Filmed within the Docheiariou Monastery on Mount Athos, it offers a breathtaking, unhurried glimpse into Orthodox monastic life, its stillness, its beauty, and its humanity. There’s no narration, only the cadence of daily prayer, silence, and labour. Every frame feels like a living icon: austere, radiant, and unsentimental.

This film captures the visual essence of Orthodoxy I longed to share, the texture of light in a chapel, the rhythm of bells and incense, the humility of those who live hidden with Christ.

Though not currently available for streaming, it’s a treasure worth seeking out. Even knowing it exists is, in itself, a kind of blessing.

On The Road With Thomas Merton

On the Road with Thomas Merton is a quiet film essay retracing Merton’s final pilgrimage across the American West. Woven together with archival footage, his journal entries, and wide, breathing landscapes, it captures the inward journey of a man who never stopped seeking.

Rather than offering a biography, it offers a sense of Merton’s being, his gaze, his questions, and his longing for solitude and communion. It’s a meditation as much as a documentary, inviting us to slow down and listen not just to his words, but to the silence between them.

For those drawn to the Christian contemplative path, this short film is a gentle doorway in.

The Mountain Path

The Mountain Path is Edward A. Burger’s return to the inner landscapes he first explored in Amongst White Clouds. In this poetic documentary, Burger journeys into the remote Zhongnan Mountains of China in search of hermits still living the ancient Buddhist path of solitude, silence, and devotion.

What unfolds is not just a travelogue, but a meditation on renunciation, impermanence, and the quiet dignity of lives hidden from the world. Shot over many years, the film offers rare encounters with practitioners who have stepped outside time, and in doing so, remind us of what truly matters.

It’s a gentle, reverent offering. One that doesn’t explain so much as invite.

Anthropocene: The Human Epoch

A visually arresting, deeply unsettling meditation on humanity’s impact on the planet. Through sweeping cinematography and poetic restraint, it documents the vast industrial, ecological, and geological transformations that mark our age, as lived and visible consequences.

More than a documentary, it’s a kind of modern lament. And yet, within its stark imagery lies a spiritual provocation: What does it mean to be human now? What does reverence look like in an era of extraction? This film invites reckoning, humility, and the possibility of repentance.

To watch it is to remember that the earth is sacred, and that we are not separate from what we shape.

Breath of the Gods

Breath of the Gods traces the modern roots of physical yoga through the life and legacy of Tirumalai Krishnamacharya. Through rare archival footage, interviews, and reverent cinematography, the film offers a glimpse into the origins of what is now a global practice; one that was once deeply personal, disciplined, and devotional.

This is not a commercialized view of yoga, but a return to its source: breath, lineage, and spiritual intention. As I step away from yoga as a primary framework, I still find value in remembering its historical depth.

Yoga - The Architecture of Peace

A visually striking meditation on the global yoga movement, captured through the lens of photographer Michael O’Neill. Blending portraiture, travel, and sacred landscapes, the film explores how yoga has evolved and what it still offers in a fragmented world.

While it moves across cultures and styles, the film's true focus is the interior space yoga points toward: discipline, presence, surrender. It reflects the tension between ancient roots and modern reinvention, without losing reverence for either. For those curious about the spiritual heart behind the postures, this film is a quiet, searching witness.

Podcasts

These conversations, reflections, and teachings have accompanied me on walks, in quiet hours, and through seasons of change. Each one has offered insight, companionship, or a needed question. I share them here in the hope that they might speak to you, too, in your own time, in your own way.