Watkins' Mind Body Spirit magazine issue 29 features the Spiritual 100

We are delighted to share with you our 2012 list of the 100 Most Spiritually Influential Living People. This marks the second year that we are publishing our 100 list. Last year’s list was extremely popular and we received a great deal of feedback. We’ve done our best to consider as many people as possible and our spiritual database includes the names of approximately 500 candidates. This list is meant to serve as a positive guide to some of the leading modern teachers that are alive today, and we hope that you are as inspired as we are by their impact. There are a few interesting newcomers to this year’s list. Meanwhile, we are sad to report that three members of last year’s list recently passed away: Kenneth Grant, Sai Baba, and Jerry Hicks.

There are several factors that were taken into account when compiling the list. The main three criteria are:
1) The person has to be alive
2) The person has to have made a unique and spiritual contribution on a global scale
3) The person is frequently googled, appears in Nielsen Data, and is actively talked about throughout the Internet

It’s interesting to think about the amount of times that a person is googled; in a sense, being googled is a form of digital voting, and illustrates just how often someone is being sought out.

Watkins’ Mind Body Spirit magazine (previously Watkins Review) is a quarterly publication by Watkins Books, London’s oldest and largest independent esoteric bookshop, established in 1893. Watkins’ Mind Body Spirit magazine is now available from most WHSmith high street stores in the UK, as well as in Canada, Australia and over 700 Barnes & Noble stores in the USA. You can also get a copy of the current issue (£3.50) or take out a subscription directly from Watkins Books. We appreciate your support!

LIST AT A GLANCE: (scroll down for the top-10 in detail)

Dalai Lama (c)Darko Sikman

1 - Dalai Lama.

Born Lhamo Dondrub, Tenzin Gyatso is the 14th Dalai Lama. Tibetan Buddhists believe him to be a reincarnation of his predecessors and the Buddha of compassion. He is a vocal activist for Tibetan independence and has made an incredible contribution to global spirituality. His visit to Mongolia in November 2011 was criticized by China, but his popularity shows no sign of waning. Time Magazine call him “The most influential person in the world”, while The Times commented “He draws crowds that no other spiritual leader or politician could hope to match…he seems to look at life in a different way to everyone else”. His latest book Beyond Religion: Ethics for a Whole World was published in January.

www.dalailama.com ::  Born in Taktser, Tibet :: 06/07/1935 :: Spiritual Leader

Eckhart Tolle

2 - Eckhart Tolle.

Eckhart’s profound yet simple teachings have helped countless people throughout the world find inner peace and greater fulfillment in their lives. At the core of the teachings lies the transformation of consciousness, a spiritual awakening that he sees as the next step in human evolution. His books, The Power of Now and the highly acclaimed follow-up A New Earth are two of the best-selling Mind, Body, Spirit books in the world. Eckhart Tolle TV is a subscription service offering monthly live streamed guided meditations and new teachings with Eckhart, an on-line community, and more.

www.eckharttolle.com :: Born in Lünen, Germany :: 16/02/1948 :: Spiritual Teacher and Writer

Thich Nhat Hanh

3 – Thich Nhat Hanh.

Buddhist monk, teacher, author and peace activist. He founded the Order of Interbeing and the Unified Buddhist Church, along with monasteries and spiritual centres in Vietnam, the USA and France, where he now lives. His latest book The Novice, a retelling of an ancient Vietnamese folk tale, proposes a real way of being in the world relevant to the twenty-first century.

www.plumvillage.org :: Born in Thua Thien, Vietnam :: 11/10/1926 :: Spiritual Leader

Deepak Chopra (c)Helga Esteb

4 – Deepak Chopra.

As a writer on Ayurveda, mind-body medicine and spirituality, Chopra has had huge success with titles such as Ageless Body, Timeless Mind and The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success. In 2011 he published The Seven Spiritual Laws of Superheroes: Harnessing Our Power to Change the World with his son Gotham and apologised for his “unfair criticism” of Richard Dawkins, after a long-running feud. His latest book, War of the Worldviews: Science vs Spirituality, pits his views against leading physicist Leonard Mlodinow.

www.deepakchopra.com :: Born in New Delhi, India :: 22/10/1946 :: Physician, writer and public speaker

Paulo Coelho (c)cinemafestival

5 - Paulo Coelho.

The Alchemist is one of the top selling books in history, with over 65 million copies sold in 150 countries. Warner Bros bought the film rights in 2003, but the project stalled. In 2008, Harvey Weinstein bought the rights to the film. Laurence Fishburne is set to direct and play the lead role. Coelho has sold more than 100 million books worldwide and his work has been translated into 67 languages. His latest book Aleph was published in September.

paulocoelho.com :: Born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil :: 24/08/1947 :: Novelist

Elizabeth Gilbert (c)Deborah Lopez

6 – Elizabeth Gilbert.

Gilbert is best known for her 2006 memoirs, Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything across Italy, India and Indonesia. Oprah Winfrey so enjoyed the book she devoted two episodes of her show. The film appeared in 2010 starring Julia Roberts. Gilbert followed this up with a sequel, Committed: A Skeptic makes Peace with Marriage, covering her life after Eat, Pray, Love.

elizabethgilbert.com :: Born in Waterbury, Connecticut, USA :: 18/07/1969 :: Novelist and memoir writer

Iyanla Vanzant (c)J Lyons Photography

7 – Iyanla Vanzant.

An inspirational speaker, spiritual teacher, author, and television personality, Vanzant was named one of the 100 Most Influential Black Americans by Ebony magazine, which said that “Her books, lectures and television appearances have made her a multimedia high priestess of healthy relationships”. Her latest book is Peace from Broken Pieces: How to Get Through What You’re Going Through.

innervisionsworldwide.com :: Born in Brooklyn, New York, USA :: 13/09/1953 :: Lawyer, minister, talk show host and author

Ken Wilber

8 – Ken Wilber.

Wilber has advocated Integral Thought and influenced figures as varied as Bill Clinton, Deepak Chopra, and Billy Corgan. He founded the Integral Institute and has written about adult development, developmental psychology, philosophy, worldcentrism, ecology, and stages of faith.

www.kenwilber.com :: Born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA :: 31/01/1949 :: Author and Integral Theorist

James Redfield

9 – James Redfield.

Best known for The Celestine Prophecy, which he self-published in 1992. Redfield produced and co-wrote the screenplay of the movie, which came out in 2006. Redfield’s latest book, The Twelfth Insight, is now available in paperback.

www.celestinevision.com :: Born in Birmingham, Alabama, USA :: 19/03/1950 :: Writer

Rhonda Byrne

10 - Rhonda Byrne.

Well known for The Secret book and DVD, Byrne advocates the belief that we can all transcend our suffering by not falling prey to negative thoughts. She has been listed among Time Magazine’s list of 100 people who shape the world, and has also produced television shows. Her new book The Magic is published in March.

www.thesecret.tv :: Born in Australia :: 12/03/1951 :: Writer and TV/Film producer

To read the full Spiritual 100 list, please ask for issue 29 of Mind Body Spirit magazine at your local newsagents, WHSmith (UK) or Barnes & Noble (US), or purchase a copy online directly from Watkins Books.

The Watkins Spiritual 100 list that came out in February has helped raise awareness about spiritual teachers and authors across the globe – in fact, people from 174 countries read it here on our blog alone!

The reincarnated Watkins Review, now Mind Body Spirit magazine has become a quarterly 100-page publication, distributed world-wide – we just heard the other day from someone in Australia who has picked up their first a copy from the local shop!

People from over 40 countries and 250 cities have made a purchase online through our website watkinsbooks.com – we’re always so delighted to see you here in London, but also appreciate your support when you’re not in town.

And last but not the least, one more piece of good news for 2011 as we’d like to announce the release of our very own Watkins Books app that provides a full environment for reading inspirational ebooks on iPads, iPhones and all Android devices! We’ve even selected some great free ebooks for you to enjoy.

The app is free to download. Browse esoteric and spiritual ebooks, download to your e-library and read directly from the Watkins ebook reader!

Our app also includes Watkins Spiritual Map announced earlier this year, with which you can find places of spiritual beauty, mysterious buildings, serendipitous incidents, ghost visions right next to you (based on your GPS location!), and contribute by sharing your own sightings.

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In addition, Autumn/Winter 2011-2012 Issue 28 of the Watkins Mind Body Spirit magazine (previously Watkins Review) is also out and available in WHSmiths across the UK already! It will be out in Canada, Australia and Barnes&Noble stores across the USA in another couple of weeks.

You can get it for free with a purchase of £25 or more in the shop or online, or order it for £3.50 (+ delivery).

Annual Subscription (which makes for a perfect present, we think is still only £10.00 and can be purchased online or in the bookshop.

Signe Pike now lives and writes full-time in Charleston, South Carolina, with her husband, two pets, and of course, their resident faeries. She is currently at work on her next exploration into things unseen. Visit her website at www.signepike.com

The new Made Easy Series of titles are brief 100 page introductions to a broad range of spiritual knowledge areas. They appeal to anyone asking spiritual questions and wishing to explore new areas of spirituality.

Join us for the launch here at Watkins Books in 19, Cecil Court, London WC2N 4EZ on Wednesday 1^st June at 6pm. Author talks introducing their books will be followed by Q&A and book signings.

• Simplicity MADE EASY by  Jennifer Kavanagh discusses why and how simplicity is more than a lifestyle option: it is a way of life.
• Downshifting MADE EASY How to plan for your planet-friendly future by Marian Van Eyk McCain is a simple, useful guidebook for anyone seeking to move and thrive, healthily and happily, into the coming ‘Age of Sustainability’.
• The Druid Way MADE EASY by Graeme Talboys introduces the Druid Way in an acorn.
• Kabbalah MADE EASY by Maggy Whitehouse is a down-to-Earth, no-red-strings-attached look at the mystical tradition made famous by the Kabbalah Center.
• Psychosynthesis MADE EASY – A psychospiritual psychology for today by Stephanie Sorrell explains why psychosynthesis is known as psychology with a soul,  and how it works from the ego to the Spirit.
• Myths of the Afterlife MADE EASY by Annamaria Hemingway alleviates the ever present anxiety surrounding by using the symbolic content of mythological near-death journeys, which change perception of reality and provide an illumined wisdom to enrich our myths about death.

Other books in the Made Easy series will cover: Numerology, Palmistry, Runes, Conscious Living, Philosophy of the Mind, Psychosynthesis etc.

Patrice Chaplin is an internationally renowned playwright and author who has published more than 25 books, plays, and short stories. Her most notable work includes Albany Park, Siesta, which was made into a film staring Jodi Foster and Isabella Rossellini, Into the Darkness Laughing, Hidden Star, Night Fishing, and Death Trap.  Married to Charlie Chaplin’s son Michael and living and working in Hollywood, she was friends with everyone from Lauren Bacall and Miles Davis, to Salvador Dali and Jean Cocteau, who gave her a starring role in one of his films.

What? Author talk followed by Q&A and book signing.

When? Wednesday, April 6, 6.00pm to 7.00pm (free entry)

Where? Watkins Books, 19-21 Cecil Court London (directions)

Our second event this March is with P.T. Mistlberger, the author of the Three Dangerous Magi: Osho, Gurdjieff, Crowley

The idea of the ‘crazy wisdom teacher’ – a spiritual teacher who generally speaking works outside of conventional approaches (and often, outside of strict moral codes) is frequently misunderstood, and needless to say, wildly misused at times. The 20th century saw a number of famous (and infamous) ‘crazy wisdom teachers’, with three of the best known, and most notorious, being Aleister Crowley, G.I. Gurdjieff, and Osho (Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh). P.T. Mistlberger has experiential knowledge of the work of all three of these teachers (and others). In this talk he will discuss some of the matters of the crazy wisdom approach, and in particular how it is more relevant in modern times.

What? Author talk followed by Q&A and book signing.

When? Thursday, March 17, 6.30pm to 7.30pm (free entry)

Where? Watkins Books, 19-21 Cecil Court London (directions)

Roger Straughan’s book A Study in Survival presents dramatic new evidence for the survival of our individual personalities after death. Providing this is an astonishing series of recent communications from a man who died in 1930 and whose mission, when alive, was to bring just such evidence to the notice of the widest possible audience – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. This ‘study in survival’ describes in vivid detail the intriguing twists and turns of an investigation worthy of the immortal Sherlock Holmes himself, whose legendary return from apparent death uncannily foreshadows that of his famous creator.

What? Author talk followed by Q&A and book signing.

When? Thursday, March 3rd, 6.30pm – 7.30pm (free entry)

Where? As usual, at Watkins Books, 19-21 Cecil Court, London (directions)

About the book: Describes the intriguing twists and turns of an investigation worthy of the immortal Sherlock Holmes himself, whose legendary return from apparent death uncannily foreshadows that of his famous creator. This title demonstrates paranormal knowledge of current affairs and major news events.

Hang on, for you’re headed down the rabbit hole…An original take on Alice in Wonderland, Daniel Silberberg aka Doen Sensei uses Lewis Carroll’s story as a jumping off point to convey the Zen concept of “one mind”. Using a lively mix of tone, quotation, and levels of discourse, he references everything from Detroit to the Diamond Sutra to Kill Bill and ketchup, creating a funny, thoughtful, and irreverent contribution to contemporary American Zen that honours its historic roots while striking out into fresh areas. With stories from his own life as well as from the larger cultural swirl around him, Silberberg reflects on the differences between how we perceive the world and the way it actually is. He offers important ideas on how to live fully and happily in the Wonderland we’re all already in.

We are delighted to hold our first event of 2011 and host the talk and book signing with Doen Sensei on January, 29, from 17.30 to 19.00. Watkins Books is London’s oldest esoteric bookshop located in the heart of London for over a century. In case you haven’t been over yet, here’s how to find us.

Wonderland: The Zen of Alice