Book Review: The Untethered Soul

Book Review: The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself. Michael A. Singer. New Harbinger Publications: Oakland, CA. (2007).

The Mind Screams: “No! Not Again!”

To be a peacemaker is to  look at a troubled world and to see what could be but is not yet there.  Today we are focused on pictures of burning hotels, weeping people and dead bodies in Mumbai, India as we see the carnage of yet another mass, terrorist attack. The heart weeps. The mind screams, “If only . . .” and “This does not need to be.”

I am a peacemaker because I envision a world of joy, where people can laugh, play, sing and dance together. I am so tired of the slaughter and bloodshed.  Yet when I look closer at these thoughts I notice they are based on the thought that something is wrong.  I am out of peace.

External Peacemaking Ineffective

Sometimes a book literally falls into your hands and so it was with The Untethered Soul.  Wandering aimlessly in a bookstore in Boulder, Colorado this book found me-and it changed me profoundly. My approach to peacemaking has long been that the peacemaker’s work is both internal and external.  Some of us peacemakers are angry people. We are good at telling the rest of the world how they should be different, i.e. “just stop being violent and we could all live in peace.”I notice that this approach has not ended any wars.

Clarity of Language Marks this Rare Book

This book is for those of us who have concluded that peace is really an inside job. It is one of the most beautiful and effective books I’ve ever seen on this subject. You could say this is a book on spirituality, dealing as it does with consciousness and the witnessing self. Usually such books are rooted in eastern spirituality and Michael Singer, a yoga and meditation teacher, is certainly grounded in these traditions.  What is different about this book is the clarity  and simplicity of its language.  There is no airy-fairy or religious language here, just absolutely straight talking. Do you want to be happy? Do you want to stop suffering? Here’s what to do . . .

It is classic in its directness. It is also enormously challenging. The spiritual path is about a lifelong practice of observing one’s thoughts and emotions in a disciplined way. But ultimately it is about a marriage of consciousness (the observing Self) and the life energy that animates the Self, and releasing that energy so it has its fullest expression as joy, delight, even ecstasy in this world.  Reading Singer, one sees that this is altogether possible. It’s just about putting one foot in front of the other.

Learning to Stay Open–No Matter What Happens

The heart of this book, and the relevancy of it to violence and all the forms of discord and unhappiness in our world, are centered in the chapters called “Transcending the Tendency to Close” and a section called “Freeing Yourself.” This is exciting stuff, and Singer’s genius is writing about this so lucidly.  When we have been hurt we close down our thoughts and emotions, but energetically as well.  The antidote to all of this is to relax, let go, stay open. Sounds easy but it’s not. Therein lies the secret to freedom and happiness.

This book is one to buy, keep, read, re-read and commit to memory. I’ve never experienced anything like it before. It’s an instant classic.

Questions of Inquiry:

1. What is the relationship of inner work to outer work for the peacemaker?

2. What resources have you found useful in your own journey to effect change?

 Let us hear from you.  We are eager to hear your comments.