Weekend Book Review: The Untethered Soul

The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself

Author: Michael A. Singer

Genre: Self-Help, Spirituality

Page Length: 186 pages, auidiobook is 6 hours, 10 minutes

Publisher/Publication Date: New Harbinger Publications, Oct. 3, 2007

“There is nothing more important to true growth than realizing that you are not the voice of the mind – you are the one who hears it.”

Michael A. Singer

Michael A Singer’s The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself was published in 2007 and it’s one of those that I’ve been meaning to read for a long time. I knew it was an international best seller, and that it focused on finding freedom, both of which caught my interest. What I didn’t know is that listening to the audiobook narrated by Peter Berkrot would set me on a journey toward my higher self and open the possibility of living a happy and truly fulfilling life.

“If you want to be happy, you have to let go of the part of you that wants to create melodrama. This is the part that thinks there’s a reason not to be happy. You have to transcend the personal, and as you do, you will naturally awaken to the higher aspects of your being. In the end, enjoying life’s experiences is the only rational thing to do. You’re sitting on a planet spinning around in the middle of absolutely nowhere. Go ahead, take a look at reality. You’re floating in empty space in a universe that goes on forever. If you have to be here, at least be happy and enjoy the experience. You’re going to die anyway. Things are going to happen anyway. Why shouldn’t you be happy? You gain nothing by being bothered by life’s events. It doesn’t change the world; you just suffer. There’s always going to be something that can bother you, if you let it.”

I felt like Singer called to light the limiting and annoying tyrant inside my mind who I usually let run amok and manipulate my thoughts, feelings and actions. He calls it the voice in your head and brings up the point that, if this voice were an actual person, say a roommate, we would never put up with the incessant chatter that so often robs us of the present moment. This is part 1, the first step of the journey, where you awaken your consciousness, become aware that this inner voice is not you, and explore who YOU are. 

In Part 2, Singer explains that we all have internal energy, and it is as real as the external energy present in the world. He explains how you have access to infinite energy if you learn how to not close your heart when you are anxious, hurt, or afraid. Closing is your body’s natural reaction and can be caused by a current circumstance or be triggered by something from your past. If you allow yourself to be aware of the feeling, let it pass, and let go, your heart remains open and energy is free to flow from your heart and make you feel alive and present. 

Part 3 focuses on freeing yourself, letting go and removing the source of the pain that you’ve protected, stuffed away and arranged your life around. This pain can also be fear, both of which cause suffering. “People don’t understand that fear is a thing. It’s just another object in the universe that you are capable of experiencing. You can do one of two things with fear: you can recognize that you have it and work to release it, or you can keep it and try to hide from it.” I felt so empowered when I looked at fear as just another thing I experience, and releasing it means freedom.  And, conversely, holding onto it will cost me my freedom. 

Part 4 is about Going Beyond, taking down walls you’ve built around yourself and letting go of false solidity. He discusses the concept of Enlightenment, and how it is difficult to understand as something we have not experienced. He uses an allegory of a house that we build and construct around ourselves, thinking it will keep us safe and secure, but it eventually becomes our prison, something that blocks out the light. How true freedom is just on the other side of your walls. We all have a self-concept that we construct and cling to as a means of safety and security, but what if these walls are blocking the light?  “Spirituality is the commitment to go beyond no matter what it takes. It is an infinite journey based upon going beyond yourself every minute of every day for the rest of your life.”

Finally, Part 5 is about truly Living Life. It explores the path of unconditional happiness, how death is our greatest teacher, the secret way of the middle taught in Taoist philosophy, and becoming closer to a loving God. If you make the choice to be happy and stick to it, if you avoid extremes both in your psyche and in life, and if you live in light of the fact that life could end at any time, then you identify with the spirit more than with form. What you appreciate and let fill you are of the spiritual rather than material realm. And from this place, you can receive love unconditionally. 

This book is hard to summarize as there is so much to unpack, so I’ve relied on Singer’s words, which are far more eloquent than mine. I recommend this book to everyone, but especially those who have struggled with addictions and self-worth. These people, myself included, are all too familiar with letting the voice in their head get the upper hand and shape their thoughts and actions as a result. And we all want and deserve freedom from that which tethers our soul. 

There is also a Guided Journal that goes with the text. I ordered it and it is great reinforcement since there is so much to take in. It also guides you through writing exercises and gives insight on how to apply the book in your own life. This book is a game changer for me and I am eager to read Life Untethered: Beyond the Human Predicament, his follow-up to The Untethered Soul. 

Happy reading.