The Untethered Soul by Michael J. Singer
The Untethered Soul is one of the most profound and life-changing books I’ve ever read. Reading it was like turning on a light switch after having been secluded in darkness.
The author begins by revealing our limitations, then showing us how to go beyond them so that we can learn to soar above our man-made boundaries, and thus attain true freedom.
In PART I, Awakening Consciousness, Singer teaches us that we are not our thoughts. We are That which observes them.
He illustrates this beautifully in the following example: “Wasn’t I supposed to call Fred? I should have. Oh my God, I can’t believe I forgot! He’s going to be so mad. He may never talk to me again. Maybe I should stop and call him right now. No. I don’t want to stop the car right now…”
He likens Thoughts to Roommates living in our heads—the very thing that causes all our disturbances.
Who are you? This is a profound question he asks to get us to start looking deeply into who we really are. We learn that we are not Joe’s wife, Josh’s mom, or a doctor running the ER. We are the Thing that never changes—the Observer watching the roles we play.
Eventually, he addresses our Consciousness—the Seat of Self. This consciousness is always watching, shifting its focus of awareness.
In PART II, Experiencing Energy, he tells us that that we have an abundant supply of energy; sometimes unavailable due to life-long accumulated blockages.
The energy flow to which he refers is controlled by our hearts. If we’re happy, our hearts are open. But the moment someone says or does something that creates a disturbance, our hearts begin to close. Closing our hearts time and time again is what causes blockages to get stored. Singer explains why this happens, and teaches us how we can experience peace by learning to keep our hearts open.
In PART III, Freeing Yourself, Singer illustrates how we try to create a world that is “predictable, controllable, and definable.” All motivated by fear, which precipitates blockages. The answer to peace: to simply allow the pain to come up, and then let it go. The only way to grow spiritually, he states, is to come to terms with the pain. The only freedom is to see it, feel it, and release it.
In order to release it, we’re going to have to NOT WANT to suffer anymore.
PART IV, Going Beyond, explains that the best route to freedom is to observe from the seat of self—where the Witness resides; to know that we are independent of what we’re watching, or hearing. “To go beyond, you must keep going past the limits that you put on yourself.”
PART V, Living Life, asks the question, “Do you want to be happy?” Most people answer yes. But is that really true? Many of us are happy only if things go our way, with conditions placed on that happiness. If we want to be happy, Singer says, “there are no ifs, ands, or buts about it.”
Singer talks about being present, and writes, “If you’re neither pushing life away, nor pulling it toward you, then you’re not creating any resistance. You are simply present…witnessing and experiencing the events of life taking place. If you choose to live this way, you will see that life can be lived in a state of peace.”
Then he touches on a topic most of us avoid—DEATH. He beautifully explains that Death teaches us that we are all the same; that it challenges us all to live at our highest level! Death is our greatest teacher!
Singer refers to the Tao te Ching by Lao Tzu, and reminds us that the secret to all is BALANCE, the Middle Way.
And finally,
Singer talks about drifting upward, where we’re “no longer held down to your earthly self…” Where we let go and allow Spirit to become our state.
I will end with this quote from the book, “You have a loving God. In truth, you have love itself for a God. And love cannot do other than love. Your God is in ecstasy and there’s nothing you can do about it. And if God is in ecstasy, I wonder what He sees when He looks at you?”
This is the one book I’d take to my desert island, if I could only take one!