Not sure about books, but I like the site livinglifefully.com
There is a section for spiritual meditations, but the daily posts are not religious per se.
Here is what is posted for Nov 26th:
Today's Quotation:
A bag of apples, a pot of homemade jam, a scribbled note,
a bunch of golden flowers, a coloured pebble, a box of
seedlings, an empty scent bottle for the children. . . . Who
needs diamonds and van-delivered bouquets?
Pam Brown
Today's Meditation:
What do we want? Are our wants sabotaging our feelings of contentment and happiness? It seems pretty obvious that the simpler we keep our wants, the easier it will be to find contentedness and happiness. The more complicated or expensive the things that we want, the more difficult it becomes to attain them, and then we find that much of our effort and energy in life is spent in the struggle to attain material things, when that time and effort could be spent in so many other ways that can make us so much happier.
The expectations that we choose to have are one way that we determine how we feel. If our expectations are very high, and if our feelings depend on whether or not those expectations are met, then we're setting ourselves up for many disappointments. If we always expect things that cost a great deal of money, then someone has to work very hard to make that money, and then spend it on us.
If, on the other hand, we make ourselves able to see the incredible beauty in the bag of apples, if we allow ourselves to feel the joy of the expectation of their taste, if we choose to be aware of the miracle of growth that apples represent, then we can make ourselves richer in life without gaining a single material product. If we can keep alive our recognition of the wonders of life, then our lives will be filled with wonder, and all of our days will be filled with bright moments as we realize just what a joy it is to be alive and to be able to partake of such things.
All day, every day, we're exposed to wonderful things in this life. The question is, do we choose to see the simpler things as wonderful, or do we lose out on the beauty and magic that they can add to our experiences while we're here on this planet?
Questions to ponder:
1. What are some of the simpler things that
we tend not to see as marvelous?
2. Why do so many people need the expensive
things to keep them "happy"?
3. How might our lives change if we're able
to see the marvelous in the simple?
For further thought:
The fewer desires, the more peace.
Thomas Wilson