The untethered soul the journey beyond yourself

Ключевые идеи книги: Душа освобожденная. Путешествие за пределы себя. Майкл Сингер

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The Untethered Soul. The Journey Beyond Yourself

Michael A. Singer

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Введение

«Душа освобожденная. Путешествие за пределы себя» – это книга, разрушающая обыденные представления о том, как надо жить. Автор убежден, что все беды современного человека возникают из-за неумения заставить замолчать внутренний голос, который призывает бояться, сомневаться, переживать по пустякам и копить неразрешенные проблемы прошлого. На самом деле все проблемы существуют исключительно в нашем сознании, из-за того, что мы боимся встретиться с неприятными событиями лицом к лицу.

Автор размышляет о том, что все мы ненадолго приходим в этот мир и являемся лишь маленькими песчинками на небольшом шарике под названием Земля в бескрайней Вселенной. Так стоит ли тратить бесценное время, стараясь соответствовать социальным стандартам и беспокоясь о том, как угодить начальнику, что скажет сосед о вашей новой машине и пригласит ли вас приятель на вечеринку?

М. Сингер дает простые ответы на вопросы, волнующие всех современных людей: кто я и в чем мое предназначение? Стоит ли бояться смерти? Возможно ли чувствовать себя счастливым постоянно? Как справиться со страхом, ревностью, завистью, обидой? Как жить без стресса? Он не призывает читателей стать адептами того или иного религиозного направления, а, напротив, утверждает, что все религии едины в вопросах жизни и смерти, души и тела, добра и зла. Нужно просто открыть свое сердце и разум для жизни, а не прятаться от негативного опыта, стереотипов и иллюзий.

Данная книга – путеводитель по сознанию и подсознанию: вы можете обрести себя настоящего и стать свободным.

1. Пробуждение

1.1. Внутренний голос

Слышите ли вы внутренний голос? Конечно, да.

Вы едете на машине, мотор ревет, ветер шумит, вы чувствуете себя беззаботно и радостно, и вдруг: «Разве я не должен был позвонить Фреду? Должен. Неужели я забыл? Он, наверное, в ярости. Он больше не будет иметь со мной дело! Может быть, остановиться и позвонить ему прямо сейчас? Или не стоит? Возможно, позвонив сейчас, я сделаю только хуже…»

Внутренний голос никогда не молчит, он мешает спать, портит настроение, лишает уверенности. Единственный способ избавиться от него, это понять, что этот голос – не вы. Постарайтесь максимально отдалиться от внутреннего диалога и понаблюдать за ним. Если вам удастся оставаться беспристрастным наблюдателем, вы обнаружите, что то, о чем говорит голос, не имеет смысла; это пустая трата времени и энергии. Большинство событий происходят вне зависимости от наших желаний и мыслей. Размышлять о том, что мы хотим, чтобы что-то случилось или не случилось в будущем – это все равно что всерьез думать о том, хотим мы или нет, чтобы завтра взошло солнце или не пошел дождь. Наши мысли и эмоции не в силах оказать влияние на внешний мир, они действуют только на нас, заставляя нас чувствовать себя хорошо или плохо относительно того, что происходило, происходит и будет происходить:

Если вы сердитесь на кого-то, внутренний голос многократно ругает этого человека, а в реальности вы либо его больше не встретите, либо при встрече ничего ему не скажете, либо скажете что-то другое. Пора перестать обдумывать, что будет, потому что все равно вы не можете этого предугадать, и от вас это не зависит. Так вы лишь культивируете свою злость и вгоняете себя в состояние стресса.

Ваш внутренний рост зависит от того, что вы осознаете: для того чтобы достичь умиротворенного состояния, надо перестать постоянно думать о себе, отождествляя себя с мыслями и эмоциями.

Например, вы испытываете ревность. Станьте бесстрастным наблюдателем этого чувства и задумайтесь над тем, кто видит вашу ревность. Тот факт, что вы ее видите, означает, что она – это не вы. Вы – свидетель или субъект, а ревность – то, что вы видите, то есть объект. Просто признайте это чувство, не пытайтесь что-то делать с ним и не растворяйтесь в нем.

Источником проблем является не сама жизнь, а то, что вы о ней думаете. Даже если вас ничего не беспокоит в данный момент, голос не умолкает:

«Ой, собачка. Кажется, это лабрадор. Или нет? А там кошка, которая очень похожа на кошку, которая жила у моей бабушки. А то дерево такое высокое, наверное, метров пять…»

Голос описывает мир вокруг, чтобы вы чувствовали себя комфортно. Дерево – не просто дерево, оно имеет к вам отношение после того, как голос его описал. Оно интегрировалось в ваше сознание, став частью вашего опыта. Таким образом, в сознании формируется образ мира.

Попробуйте какое-то время посмотреть на мир, не описывая и не оценивая его. Вы удивитесь, насколько сильно он отличается от мира, придуманного вами.

1.2. Станьте своим «соседом»

Наблюдая за своими мыслями и чувствами, вы увидите личность со слабыми и сильными сторонами. Станьте своим «соседом».

The Untethered Soul Summary

12min Team | Posted on February 4, 2019 |

The Journey Beyond Yourself

No one can deprive you of the right to become the next “Untethered Soul”. We can all agree that we’ve lost ourselves in the struggle for survival.

Don’t fall into despair, because there is still time to recover our essence.

We summarize some key elements of “The Untethered Soul” in brief and through this summary, the fragrance of peace and contentment arises.

Who Should Read “The Untethered Soul”? And Why?

“The Untethered Soul” is one of those books you don’t wish to end. It’s one of those masterpieces which speak to you in a way typical for bestsellers.

The quality of this book cannot be compromised because it alludes to all aspects of spirituality and in the meantime, integration with other disciplines takes place.

The author’s deep focus breaks the brick wall of sorrow. Armed with years of experience, Michael A Singer doesn’t lack the native wit and easily copes with the problems of an ordinary person.

This book is highly recommendable to all individuals around the world who crave to experience the miracle of inner peace.

The only obstacle is you, the only issue is embedded within you. Don’t blame anyone and start your journey to find your way back home.

About Michael A. Singer

MICHAEL A. SINGER is a recognized person of international stature, as a result of The Untethered Soul – New York Times #1 bestseller.

He also wrote The Surrender Experiment, which deservedly has been praised all around the world. His journey starts in 1971, after having a mystical experience, Michael for the first time became aware of his inner reality.

Meditation and inner contemplation enabled him to stabilize that state of mind, which resulted in everlasting freedom and happiness.

Several years later, he founded Temple of the Universe, an open sacred place for every person.

Regardless of the religion, beliefs, culture or methods of finding God, you are more than welcome to find peace and inner satisfaction.

The center indeed marked the beginning of a new era, driven by yoga and meditation.

Despite spending countless of hours in silence, Michael created a cutting-edge software package which was later implemented by the medical practice management industry.

Described as a spiritual teacher, Michael also had a positive impact on various sectors including: education, healthcare, finance, ecology, etc.

“The Untethered Soul Summary”

What if….? This is how existentialist questions start. The answer leads you, almost always, to a new self.

Here’s the best part:

“The Untethered Soul” is not just any book which promotes an exploration of person’s inner space, it is about life duties.

Whether you are at the beginning of self-inquiry process or not it doesn’t matter; by devoting your life to a higher purpose – the inward journey to happiness will automatically start.

Initially, every individual should become skeptical about its surroundings; your life is not a product for disposable use.

Change your life, transform how people perceive you and strengthen your relationship with the world by becoming emotionally available. Is there anything more important than freedom? “

Michael A. Singer will help you discover how a person can end the disturbing thoughts.

Every individual continuously strives to put a stop to the negative thoughts and other sensations including emotions (consciously or unconsciously) that control your fake personality or the “I” consciousness.

The summary of Michael A. Singer’s book is more than capable of introducing you to the basics of meditation and mindfulness.

The author (spiritual teacher) shows that even awareness can be practiced if you adopt the proper attitude and openness.

Just take a quick scan of this book and allow the present moment to take full responsibility for your life.

Don’t fight with the past, just let it pass you like the wind in autumn; the painful thoughts will soon become a distant memory and not an obstacle that keeps you away from achieving real happiness.

What’s my life mission?

Unintentionally we tend to get selfish, and irresponsible for the things that trouble our peace. In fact, remember what is the last time you had a quiet mind?

Don’t be afraid to taste the bitter medicine of silence, because it is the embodiment of happiness.

“The Untethered Soul” will come in handy on this expedition, make room for one more passenger and go get your treasure!!

Generally speaking, our real mission is to connect with the other beings of the universe.

Key Lessons from “The Untethered Soul”

1. Free of the extra burden
2. The Secret of Blissfulness
3. Keep that energy flowing

Free of the extra burden

We all know that there is nothing more painful than the responsibility to carry a heavy load.

By letting go all those mind-things that you’ve gathered or collected over the years, you’ll once again feel the inner flow.

The Secret of Blissfulness

Once you’ve dealt with “yourself”, and won that battle – you can allow any other sensations to enter, but you’ll not be troubled.

Somehow, the secrecy of self-knowingness will reveal itself to you.

Keep that energy flowing

If you lack that ambition, that motivation to push yourself to the limits, (internally) then you need a little shift inwardly.

Make sure that you once again are in the driving seat of your life. Don’t “authorize” skepticism and fear to rule on your behalf.

What if you let go of boundaries and build a new path towards your dreams and expectations?

“THE UNTETHERED SOUL” Quotes

What if you could release yourself from fears and limitations, and be as free as a bird in the sky?

What if you can discover within yourself a better you? A stronger you? A wiser you?

We’ve found some answers to these questions in 30 inspirational nuggets from Michael A. Singer’s The Untethered Soul.

Check them out below and download the free pdf to find out more.

Our Critical Review

Perhaps, many people are still skeptical about the life without worries; it sounds like a fairy tale that rarely comes true. In reality, every problem is self-created, in the here and now, there is nothing other than you, and your awareness.

Stick to your logic and see what happens. We were thrilled by the approach and perfect flow that lifts you up. In other words, you will rarely find such useful and helpful piece of advice that is also applicable in the digital era.

Learn more and more, in the speed that the world demands.

Summary: The Untethered Soul. The Journey Beyond Yourself. Michael Singer

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Notice: This is a SUMMARY of “The Soul Unchained. Journey Beyond Ourselves” by Michael Singer.

Spiritual guru Michael Singer’s book “The Soul Unchained. Journey Beyond Ourselves” explores our consciousness. Even when you are happy, your inner voice expresses doubt and fear, and tries to teach you how to live. It prevents you from enjoying life because it does not allow you to perceive reality objectively. This inner voice evaluates events, which persuades your consciousness to create a model of the world in which you feel comfortable. How can you separate this inner voice of self-reflection from your true self? Why are you so afraid to change your life? How can you get rid of negative thoughts? The book, a collection of lectures on yoga philosophy, self-concept, the meaning of life, and the theory of the mind, was number one on the New York Times Best Seller list. Singer’s ideas even caught the attention of Oprah Winfrey, who then decided to invite the author on her talk show.

The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself by Michael A. Singer [Book Summary & PDF]

The Untethered Soul: The Journey beyond yourself by Michael A. Singer

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Michael A. Singer is the New York Times bestseller The Untethered Soul.

Singer received a master’s degree in economics from the University of Florida in 1971. During his doctoral work, he had a deep inner awakening and went into seclusion to focus on yoga and meditation.

Along with his more than four decades of spiritual teaching, Michael has made major contributions in the areas of business, education, healthcare, and environmental protection, to name a few.

Without further notice, here are some of the main key takeaways and important passages from the book—the Untethered Soul by Michael, a Singer.

The Untethered Soul by Michael Singer Book Summary

PART 1

AWAKENING CONSCIOUSNESS

Ramana Maharshi (1879-1950), a great teacher in the yogic tradition, used to say that to attain inner freedom, one must continuously and sincerely ask the question, “who am I?” He taught that this was more important than reading books, learning mantras, or going to holy places.

Just ask. “Who am I? Who sees when I see? Who knows that I am aware? Who am I?

To take a clear look at this, imagine that you’re watching a dog play outdoors. Suddenly you hear a noise right behind you–a hiss, like a rattlesnake! Would you still be looking at the dog with the same intensity of focus?

Of course not. All your attention can very quickly become absorbed in your emotions. But who feels the fear? Isn’t it the same you who was watching the dog?

You can become so absorbed in beautiful inner feelings, or frightening inner fears, that it’s hard to focus on outer objects.

Inside and outside objects compete for your attention. You are in there having both inner and outer experience, but who are you?

Rene Descartes, a great philosopher, once said, “I think, therefore I am.” But is that really what’s going on?

You are very aware of your presence of being, your sense of existence, without the help of thoughts. When you go into deep meditation, for example, the thoughts stop.

If you are in there experiencing the peace that occurs when your thoughts stop, then obviously your existence is not dependent upon the act of thinking won’t you say?

You are not your thoughts. You are simply aware of your thoughts.

You will begin to notice who is experiencing the experience. Eventually, you will get to a point within yourself where you realize that you, the experiencer, have a certain quality. And that quality is awareness, consciousness, an intuitive sense of existence.

You know that you’re in there. You don’t have to think about it, you know. You exist regardless, thoughts or no thoughts.

Consciousness is the highest word you will ever utter. There is nothing higher or deeper than consciousness. Without awareness of being or consciousness, there is nothing.

The Voice Inside Your Head.

If you spend some time observing this mental voice, the first thing you will notice is that it never shuts up. When to its own, it’s just talking and talk.

In fact, the only way to free yourself from this incessant chatter is to step back and view it objectively. Don’t think about it; notice it.

When a problem is disturbing you, don’t ask, “what should I do about it? Ask, “what part of me is being disturbed by this?” If you ask, “what should I do about it?” you’ve already fallen into believing that there really is a problem outside that must be dealt with.

The very fact that you can see the disturbance means that you are not it.

No solution can exist while you’re lost in the energy of a problem. Singer suggested that you have to break the habit of thinking that the solution to your problems is to rearrange things outside.

The only permanent solution to your problems is going inside and letting go of the part of you that seems to have so many problems with reality. You’ll realize that you’ve only had one problem your entire life, and you’re looking at it.

The Lucid Self

There is a type of dream, called a lucid dream, in which you know that you’re dreaming. When you are an aware being, you no longer become completely immersed in the events around you. Instead, you remain inwardly aware that you are the one who is experiencing both the events and the corresponding thoughts and emotions.

When a thought is created in this state of awareness, instead of getting lost in it, you remain aware that you are the one who is thinking the thought.

Life is a dream, and lucid dreamers are its masters.” ― Wayne Gerard Trotman

The essence of consciousness is awareness, and awareness has the ability to become more aware of one thing and less aware of something else. In other words, it has the ability to focus on certain objects. You can be reading, and then suddenly you’re not reading anymore and started thinking about something else. It happens all the time; consciousness has the ability to concentrate on different things.

The only aspect of your being that remains the same is the consciousness of these objects. According to Michael Singer, what differentiates a conscious, centered being from a person who is not so conscious is simply the focus of their awareness.

Consciousness is neither pure nor impure; it has no qualities. It’s just there, aware that it’s aware. The difference is that Singer said it becomes totally focused on the objects of consciousness when your consciousness is not centered within.

When you are a centered being, however, your consciousness is always aware of being conscious. Your awareness of being is independent of the inner and outer objects you happen to be aware of. Once you become conscious of the consciousness itself, you attain a totally different state. You are now aware of who you are. In other words, you have become an awakened being.

The more you are willing just to let the world be something you’re aware of, the more it will let you be who you are; the awareness, the Self, the Atman, the Soul.

PART II

INFINITE ENERGY

Consciousness is one of the great mysteries in life. Inner energy is another. It’s actually a shame how little attention the Western world pays to the laws of inner energy. We study the energy outside and give great value to energy resources, but we ignore the energy within.

The truth is, said the author, every movement of your body, every emotion you have, and every thought that passes through your mind is an expenditure of energy. For instance, holding onto thoughts, recalling thoughts, creating thoughts, generating emotions, controlling emotions, and disciplining powerful inner drives require tremendous energy expenditure.

This energy we are discussing does not come from the calorie your body burns from food. No, This flow of energy comes from the depth of your being. It’s been called by many names. In ancient Chinese medicine, it is called Chi. In yoga, it is called Shakti. In the West, it is called Spirit. Call it anything you want. All the great spiritual traditions talk about your spiritual energy; they give it different names.

This energy that Michael Singer talks about, is always available to you. At any moment you can draw upon it.

The only reason you don’t feel this energy all the time is that you block it. Said Singer, you block it by closing your heart, by closing your mind, and by pulling yourself into a restrictive space inside. As a result, this closes you off from all the energy.

Although various energy centers exist within you, the one you intuitively know the most about opening and closing is your heart. If you love life, nothing is worth losing over. So likewise, nothing, ever, is worth closing your heart over.

Energy doesn’t get old, it doesn’t get tiring, and it doesn’t need food. What it needs are openness and receptivity.

The most important thing in life is your inner energy. If you’re always tired and never enthused, then life is no fun. But if you’re always inspired and filled with energy, every minute of every day is an exciting experience.

THE SECRETS OF THE SPIRITUAL HEART

Your heart is an instrument made of extremely subtle energy that few people come to appreciate. This energy center can also be referred to as what is called a chakra. It is one of the most beautiful and powerful energy centers and affects our daily lives.

We begin this analysis by asking a fundamental question: What is it about the structure of the heart center that permits it to close? You will find that the heart closes because it becomes blocked by stored, unfinished energy patterns from the past.

You need only examine your everyday experiences to understand this. As events occur in this world, they come in through your senses and impact your inner state of being.

When you take in the world through your senses, it is actually energy that is coming into your being.

Your senses are, indeed, electronic sensing devices. But if the energy patterns coming into your psyche create a disturbance, you will resist them and not allow them to pass through you. When you do this, the energy patterns actually get blocked within you.

When you cannot allow life’s events to pass through, they stay inside and become a problem. These patterns may be held within you for a very long time.

As you willfully struggle to keep these events from passing through your consciousness, the energy first tries to release by manifesting through the mind. It’s why th e mind becomes so active.

When the energy can’t make it through the mind because of conflicts with other thoughts and mental concepts, it then tries to release through the heart.

In the yogic tradition, that unfinished energy pattern is called a Samskara. It’s a Sanskrit word meaning “Impression,” which is considered one of the most important influences affecting your life in the yogic teachings.

A Samskara is a blockage, an impression from the past. It’s an unfinished energy pattern that ends up running your life.

There is a way that the energy can keep moving and stay in one place, which is to circle itself. We see this in atoms and planetary orbits that everything is energy, and energy will expand outward if it is not contained. That’s why energy manifesting as an atom forms the basic building block of this entire physical universe.

This packet of cycling energy is literally stored in your energetic heart center. All the Samskaras you have collected over your life are stored there. If they build up sufficiently, you will find yourself in a state of depression. In that state, all becomes dark. But, again, it’s because very little energy is coming into your heart or mind.

Eventually, everything appears negative because the world of the senses must pass through this depressed energy before it gets to your consciousness.

The alternative is to enjoy life instead of clinging to it or pushing it away. If you are willing to experience the gift of life instead of fighting with it, you will be moved to the depth of your being.

TRANSCENDING THE TENDENCY TO CLOSE

The findings of Western science very much strengthen the foundations of spiritual growth and personal awakening. Science has shown us how an underlying energy field forms atoms, which bind together into molecules and ultimately manifest into the entire physical universe.

The same is true inside of us. All that goes on inside also has its foundation in an underlying energy field. Regardless of what you call this inner force field–Chi, Shakti, or Spirit—it is an underlying energy that flows in particular patterns through your inner being.

From the simplest of living forms to the most complex, there has always been the day-to-day struggle to protect oneself during eons of evolution. To that effect, our major struggles end up being with our own inner fears, insecurities, and destructive behavior patterns and not with outside forces.

When you close down and protect yourself, you are pulling a shell around the weak part of you. The part that feels it needs protection even though no physical attack is taking place.

Although a situation may present no physical danger, it may cause you to experience disturbance, fear, insecurity, and other emotional problems. Therefore you feel the need to protect yourself.

The problem is that the part of you that gets disturbed is way out of balance. It’s so sensitive that the slightest little thing causes it to overreact. You will get to a point in your growth where you understand that you will never be free if you protect yourself. It’s that simple.

Life becomes stagnant when people protect their stored issues.

Real spiritual growth happens when there is only one of you inside. There’s not a part that’s scared and another part that’s protecting the scared part. All parts are unified.

Because there is no part of you that you’re unwilling to see, the mind is no longer divided into the conscious and subconscious. Instead, there is simply the pure energy pouring inside you that creates the ripples of thoughts and emotions, and there is the consciousness that’s aware of it.

Begin by seeing the tendency to protect and defend yourself. There is a profound, innate tendency to close, especially around your soft spots. However, the reward for not protecting your psyche is liberation. You are free to walk through this world without a problem in your mind. You are just having fun experiencing whatever happens next.

Once you’ve committed to free yourself of that scared person inside, you will notice that there is a clear decision point at which your growth takes place.

PART III

Freeing Yourself

As you grow spiritually, you will realize that your attempts to protect yourself from your problems actually create more problems.

If you attempt to arrange people, places, and things, so they don’t disturb you, it will begin to feel like life is against you. You’ll feel that life is a struggle and that every day is heavy because you have to control and fight with everything.

Do not fight with life. Realize and accept that life is not under your control. Life is continuously changing, and if you’re trying to control it, you’ll never be able to live it fully.

Change can be viewed as either exciting or frightening, but regardless of how we view it, we must all face the fact that change is the very nature of life.

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. Blockages cause fear in the flow of your energy. When your energy is blocked, it can’t come up and feed your heart. As a result, your heart becomes weak.

When your heart is weak it becomes susceptible to lower vibrations, and one of the lowest of all vibrations is fear.

The alternative is to protect your blockages so that you don’t have to feel fear. You will then realize that life is actually trying to help you. Life is surrounding you with people and situations that stimulate growth.

You don’t have to decide who’s right or wrong. You don’t have to worry about other people’s issues. You only have to be willing to open your heart in the face of anything and everything and permit the purification process to take place.

When you start seeing that you don’t like the people you used to like, the moment you start seeing that your life looks really different, it all starts getting negative; let go.

If you are sincerely seeking truth , you’ll let go every time. It’s the beginning and end of the entire path; you surrender yourself to the process of emptying yourself.

REMOVING YOUR INNER THORN

The spiritual journey is one of constant transformation. To grow, you must give up the struggle to remain the same and learn to embrace change at all times.

The minute you allow the core problem to stay, it expands out into multiple problems. It wouldn’t dawn on you to get rid of it. So instead, the only solution you see is to try to avoid feeling it.

If you do not remove the thorn, you will end up responsible for both the thorn and everything you pulled around yourself in an attempt to avoid it.

Real transformation begins when you embrace your problems as agents for growth.

Do not doubt your ability to remove the root cause of the disturbance inside of you. It really can go away. You can look deep within yourself, to the core of your being, and decide that you don’t want the weakest part of you running your life.

You want to be free of this. You want to talk to people because you find them interesting, not because you’re lonely. You want to love because you truly love, not because you need to avoid your inner problems.

If you want to be free of these energies, you must allow them to pass through you instead of hiding them inside of you. Then, when you are no longer absorbed in your melodrama but, instead, sit comfortably deep inside the seat of awareness, you will start to feel this flow of energy coming up from deep within.

This flow has been called Shakti. This flow has been called Spirit. This is what you begin to experience if you hang out with the Self instead of hanging out with inner disturbances.

If you sit within the Self, you will experience the strength of your inner being even when your heart feels weak. There’s no reason to spend your life protecting the thorn from getting touched when you can remove it. Once the thorn is removed, you are truly free of it.

STEALING FREEDOM FOR YOUR SOUL

The prerequisite to true freedom is to decide that you do not want to suffer anymore.

By searching your mind, you will notice that it is engaged in the process of trying to make everything okay. And when it does that, I want you consciously to remember that this is not what you want to do and gently disengage.

External changes will not solve your problem because they don’t address the root of your problem.

When you see the mind telling you how to fix the world and everyone in it to suit yourself, don’t listen. Just watch the mind talk, and keep relaxing and releasing by falling behind the noise. That’s how you get out. You just let it go.

It is truly a gift to realize that you don’t have to put up with or protect your psyche.

PAIN, THE PRICE OF FREEDOM

One of the essential requirements for true spiritual growth and deep personal transformation is peace with pain. This pain is part of your growth. So even though you may not actually like the feelings of inner disturbance, you must be able to sit quietly inside and face them if you want to see where they come from.

Once you can face your disturbances, you will realize that there is a layer of pain seated deep in the core of your heart. This pain is so uncomfortable, challenging, and destructive to the individual self that your entire life is spent avoiding it. But to spend your life avoiding pain means it’s always right behind you.

One choice is to leave the pain inside and continue to struggle with the outside. Or you can decide that you don’t want to spend your entire life avoiding the inner pain; you’d rather get rid of it.

Few people ever dare to turn the process inside like this. Most people don’t even realize that they are running around with pockets of pain inside that need to be worked out.

Look inside yourself and determine that from now on, pain is not a problem. It is just a thing in the universe.

If you feel insecure, it’s just a feeling. You can handle a feeling. If you feel embarrassed, it’s just a feeling. It’s part of creation. So laugh at it, have fun with it, but don’t be afraid of it.

When you feel pain, view it as energy. Just start seeing these inner experiences as energy passing through your heart and before the eye of your consciousness. Then relax. Do the opposite of contracting and closing. Relax and release.

When you are comfortable with pain passing through you, you will be free. This world will never be able to bother you again because the worst the world can do is hit the pain stored within you. Eventually, you will understand an ocean of love behind all of this fear and pain.

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PART IV: Going Beyond

TAKING DOWN THE WALLS

Our consciousness, our awareness of being, is living deep inside of us in an artificially sealed off area that is absolute.

It has four walls, a floor, and a roof. It is so solid that not one ray of natural light comes in. The only light we get is what we manage to create for ourselves.

We do this by trying to bring things in there with us, hoping to create at least a little light in the house of our own making, where we have sealed ourselves off.

We decorate our walls with memories of our past experiences and with our dreams of the future. In other words, we decorate them with thoughts.

Your house is made of your thoughts and emotions. The walls are made of your psyche.

That’s what that house is. All your past experiences, thoughts, and emotions, all the concepts, views, opinions, beliefs, hopes, and dreams that you have collected around yourself. You hold them in place on all sides, including above and below you.

You have pulled together a specific set of thoughts and emotions in your mind, and then you have woven them together into a conceptual world in which you live. This mental structure completely blocks you from whatever natural light is on the outside of its walls. And because you avoid running into them, they lock you inside their perimeter.

They become your prison because they are the boundaries of your awareness. And because you are not willing to approach them, you cannot see what is beyond them. Eventually, you’ll realize that darkness is not what’s really there. What is really there are the walls that are blocking the infinite light.

It is often said that you must go through the darkest night to get to the infinite light. This is because what we call darkness is really the blockage of light.

You must realize that when you defend yourself, you are really defending your walls.

At the end of the day, you must realize that there is nothing else to defend in there. There is just your awareness of being and the limited house you built to live in.

Enlightenment is an extraordinary thing. But in truth, one should not focus on it. Focus, instead, on the walls of your own making that are blocking the light.

FAR, FAR BEYOND

Going beyond always means letting go of the effort to keep things within your defined limits. Your choice is to either resist reality and devoting your life to staying in your comfort zone, or you can work on your freedom.

A cage doesn’t have to look like a cage. It can be a cage created by your fear of discomfort. As long as you stay inside it, you cannot possibly know what is on the other side.

If you want to go beyond your model, you have to take the risk of not believing in it.

When you constantly go beyond yourself, there are no more limitations.

Spirituality is the commitment to go beyond, no matter what it takes. It’s an infinite journey based upon going beyond yourself every minute of every day for the rest of your life.

When you are trained, like a great athlete, to relax through your edges when they get hit immediately, then it’s all over. You realize that you will always be fine.

Nothing can ever bother you except your edges. All you have to do is constantly relax and lean into them. Then one day, when you least expect it, you fall through into the infinite. That is what it means to go beyond.

LETTING GO OF FALSE SOLIDITY

The inside of one’s psyche is a very complex, sophisticated place. It is full of conflicting forces that are constantly changing due to both internal and external stimuli.

This results in wide variations of needs, fears, and desires over relatively short periods of time. Because of this, very few people have the clarity to understand what’s going on in there.

The Buddhist have a term for this: “clinging.” In the end, clinging is what the psyche is all about.

As you go deeper into yourself, you will naturally realize that there is an aspect of your being that is always there and never changes.

This is your sense of awareness, your consciousness. It is this awareness that is aware of your thoughts, experiences the ebb and flow of your emotions, and receives your physical senses.

Your sense of self is determined by where you are focusing your consciousness.

If you dare to look, you will see that you live your entire life based on the model you built around yourself.

You take a set of thoughts in mind, and you hold onto them. Then, you make a highly complex relational structure and then present that package as who you are. But it is not who you are. It is just the thoughts you have pulled around yourself in an attempt to define yourself.

You do this because you are lost inside. Basically, you attempt to create a sense of stability and steadiness inside.

This generates a false but welcomed sense of security. In addition, you also want the people around you to have done the same thing.

You want people to be steady enough so that you can predict their behavior. If they aren’t, it disturbs you.

This is because you have made your predictions of their behavior part of your inner model.

In most societies, you are well rewarded for how good you are at clinging and building. If you get that model down absolutely right and behave consistently every time, you have actually “created” someone.

You can get really good at this game of creating someone. And if the person you created is not receiving the popularity and success you expected, you can adjust your thoughts accordingly.

It’s not that there’s anything wrong with this. Obviously, everybody does it. But who are you that’s doing this, and why are you doing it?

People feel their very existence is at stake, and they will fight and argue until they get control back. This is all because we have attempted to build solidity where there is none. So now we have to fight to keep it together.

The problem is, there is no way out that way. There is no peace, and there is no winning in that struggle. You were told not to build your house upon the sand. Well, this is the ultimate sand.

In fact, you built your house in an empty space. If you continue to cling to what you built, you will have to continually and perpetually defend yourself.

It’s a constant struggle to keep it together.

What it means to live spiritually is to not participate in this struggle. It means that the events that happen at the moment belong to the moment. They don’t belong to you. They have nothing to do with you. You must stop defining yourself in your relationship with them and just let them come and go. Don’t allow events to leave impressions inside of you. If you find yourself thinking about them later on, just let go.

When you become truly spiritual, you are totally different from everybody else. That which everybody else wants, you don’t want. That which everybody else resists, you totally accept.

If anything can cause disturbance inside of you, it means it hits your model. It means it hit the false part of you that you built to control your own definition of reality.

It would help if you learned to be comfortable with psychological disturbance. The only way to inner freedom is through the one who watches: the Self.

PART V: Living Life

THE PATH OF UNCONDITIONAL HAPPINESS

People tend to burden themselves with so many choices. But, in the end, you can throw it all away and make one basic, underlying decision: Do you want to be happy, or do you not want to be happy? It’s really that simple. Once you make that choice, your path through life becomes totally clear.

You have to really mean it when you say that you choose to be happy. And you have to mean it regardless of what happens.

Events don’t determine whether or not you’re going to be happy. They’re just events. You determine whether or not you’re going to be happy.

Once you decide you want to be unconditionally happy, something inevitably will happen that challenges you. This test of your commitment is exactly what stimulates spiritual growth. In fact, it is the unconditional aspect of your commitment that makes this the highest path.

The purpose of your life is to enjoy and learn from your experiences.

You were not put on Earth to suffer. You’re not helping anybody by being miserable. There’s always going to be something that can bother you if you let it.

Affirm that all you want is to be at peace and to appreciate life. You don’t want your happiness to be conditional upon the behavior of other people.

If you have trouble remembering that, then meditate. Meditation strengthens your center of consciousness so that you’re always aware enough not to allow your heart to close.

The greatest gift one can give to God is to be pleased with His creation. God is ecstasy. God is as high as it gets. So if you want to be close to God, learn to be joyful and centered.

THE SPIRITUAL PATH OF NONRESISTANCE

If you’re neither pushing life away, nor pulling it toward you, then you are not creating any resistance.

It is not difficult to see the tendency toward stress and resistance in daily life. But if we want to understand this tendency, we must first examine why we are so resistant to just letting life be life.

If something happens that we don’t like, we resist it. But since what we’re resisting has already taken place, what good is it to resist?

Think of how much energy is wasted resisting what has already happened.

Anything you do causes more disturbance, not less. When you resist, the energy has no place to go. It gets stuck in your psyche and seriously affects you. It blocks your heart’s energy flow and causes you to feel closed and less vibrant.

This is literally what is happening when something is weighing on your mind or when things just get too heavy for you.

Over time, the energies can build up to the point that a person becomes so blocked that they either blow up or shut down completely. This is what it means to get stressed out or even totally burned out.

If you do not let this energy build up inside you but instead allow each moment of each day to pass through you, then you can be as fresh every moment as you would be on a stress-free vacation.

It is not life’s events that are causing problems or stress. It is your resistance to life’s events that is causing this experience. The solution is to stop resisting.

Let your spiritual path become the willingness to let whatever happens to make it through you, rather than carrying it into the next moment.

That doesn’t mean you don’t deal with what happens. However, if you don’t, you will not actually be dealing with the current event; you will be dealing with your own blocked energies from the past.

You will not be coming from a place of clarity, but from a place of inner resistance and tension.

Begin dealing with each situation with acceptance. This is because events are not problems; they’re just events. Your resistance to them is what causes the problem.

You will be surprised to find that there’s nothing to deal with except for your own fears and desires in most situations. But If you don’t have fear or desire about an event, there’s really nothing to deal with. Then, when the next thing happens, you’re fully present in that moment and simply enjoying the experience of life.

CONTEMPLATING DEATH

It is truly a great cosmic paradox that one of the best teachers in all lives turns out to be dead. No person or situation could ever teach you as much as death has to teach you.

While someone could tell you that you are not your body, death shows you.

A wise person realizes that they may breathe out at any moment, and the breath may not come back in. It could happen at any time, in any place, and your last breath is gone.

A wise being completely and totally embraces the reality, the inevitability, and the unpredictability of death.

Any time you’re having trouble with something, think of death. Think about what it would be like if you lived like that every moment with everyone.

Your life would be really different. It would help if you contemplated this. Death is not a morbid thought. On the contrary, death is the greatest teacher in all of life.

It doesn’t matter what age you are; at any time, you could take a breath, and there may never be another. It happens all the time, to babies, teenagers, and people in mid-life—not just to the aged.

Be willing to look at what it would be like if death was staring you in the face. Then you have to come to peace within yourself so that it doesn’t make any difference whether it is or not.

You should have a healthy relationship with death, and it should not be one of fear.

Feel grateful to death for giving you another day, another experience, and for creating the scarcity that makes life so precious. If you do this, your life will no longer be your to waste; it will be yours to appreciate.

Don’t be afraid of death. Let it free you. Let it encourage you to experience life fully. Don’t waste a moment of life trying to make other things happen; appreciate the moments you are given.

THE SECRET OF THE MIDDLE WAY

No discussion of living life as a spiritual path is complete without addressing one of the deepest of all spiritual teachings, the Tao te Ching. Literally translated, means “the Way.”

If you want to understand the Tao, you must take it very slowly and keep it very simple. Otherwise, you may miss it, though it is right in front of you.

The pendulum can swing all the way from gorging yourself to death, to starving yourself to death.

Everything has two extremes. Everything has gradations of this pendulum swing. If you go to the extremes, you cannot survive.

All the laws are the same—inner laws and outer laws. The same principles drive everything in this world. If you pull a pendulum out one way, it will swing back just that far the other way.

If you’ve been starving for days, and somebody puts food in front of you, you won’t be polite while you’re eating. You will shove the food into your mouth like an animal.

So where is the Tao? The Tao is in the middle. It’s the place where there is no energy pushing in either direction.

The Way is the place in which these forces balance quietly. And indeed, unless you go out of the Way, they will tend to stay in peaceful harmony.

If you want to understand the Tao, you must take a closer look at what lies between the two extremes. This is because neither extreme can last.

Extremes are good teachers. When you examine the extremes, it’s easy to see the effects of imbalanced behavior patterns.

When you move in the Tao, you are always present. Life becomes absolutely simple. In the Tao, it’s easy to see what’s happening in life because it’s unfolding right in front of you. But if you have all kinds of reactions inside because you’re involved in the extremes, life will seem confusing.

All things move quietly through that center balance. That is the Tao. It is really there. It is there in your relationships, in your diet, and your business activities. It is there in everything, yet completely at peace.

You must reach the point where your whole interest lies in the balance and not in any personal preference for how things should be.

Effortless action is what happens when you come into the Tao. Life happens, you’re there, but you don’t make it happen. The forces take care of themselves as you sit in the center. That is the Tao. It’s the most beautiful place in all of life. You can’t touch it, but you can be at one with it.

THE LOVING EYES OF GOD

Deep within us, there is a direct connection to the Divine.

There is a part of our being that is beyond the personal self. You can consciously choose to identify with that part, rather than with the psyche or the body. When you do this, a natural transformation begins to take place within you.

The changes you see within you are reflective of the force you’re approaching.

Just as rain makes you wet and fire makes you warm, you can know the nature of God by looking into the mirror of your transformed self.

How does it feel when you drift up? You don’t feel as much anger, fear, or self-consciousness.

You don’t feel resentment toward people. You don’t close or get tight as often; things still happen that you don’t want to happen, but they don’t seem to touch you as much.

It’s just what naturally happens when you let go of the lower vibrations of your being.

As you associate less with the physical and psychological parts of your being, you begin to identify more with the flow of pure energy.

You feel love for no reason. Your backdrop is love. Your backdrop is openness, beauty, and appreciation. You don’t have to make yourself feel that way; that is how Spirit feels.

As you let go and willingly release your being’s physical, emotional, and mental aspects, Spirit becomes your state.

You don’t claim to understand what is happening to you; you know it gets more beautiful as you go further and further back.

The drop of consciousness, the individual Spirit, is like a ray of light emanating from the sun. The individual ray is really no different from the sun.

When consciousness stops identifying itself as the ray, it comes to know itself as the sun.

To understand this, imagine what would happen if you started feeling tremendous love for all creatures, for every plant, for every animal, and all the beauties of nature.

As you went deeper and deeper, you would start noticing a phenomenal thing;-you are no longer judging.

Where there used to be judging, there is now respecting, loving, and cherishing.

When you feel love this deeply, you feel that it is coming from something greater than you. It is transcendental love. It is divine, unconditional, selfless love.

Your relationship with God is the same as your relationship with the sun. If you hid from the sun for years and then chose to come out of your darkness, the sun would still be shining as if you had never left. So you don’t need to apologize.

You can’t offend the Divine one; its very nature is light, love, compassion, protection, and giving. You can’t make the sun stop shining on you; you can only choose not to look at it.

This summary is not intended to replace the original book, and all quotes are credited to the above-mentioned author and publisher. Thank you for reading!

The untethered soul the journey beyond yourself

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