The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself

"Come to know the one who watches the voice, and you will come to know one of the great mysteries of creation."-Michael SingerThe Untethered Soul, much like Eckhart Tolle's, The Power of Now, became popular not from any big advertising campaign, but by word-of-mouth. One person would read it and something inside them would resonate strongly with the truth of Michael's words, and they would begin to experience a much deeper sense of peace and inner-happiness. And so naturally, they would tell their friends about the book. Wash, rinse, repeat. Eventually, like The Power of Now, The Untethered Soul found its way into Oprah Winfrey's hands. And like Eckhart, Michael got a call from Oprah and did a rare (for him) interview on Oprah's Super Soul Sunday series in August of 2012.What`s unique about The Untethered Soul is that Singer has seemly done the impossible: written a step-by-step guide to help spiritual seekers discover genuine inner-peace and freedom. And by genuine, I mean it is not dependent on (not linked to) outside circumstances or experiences.As Michael explains in the book, this peace/freedom/well being is always right here within us (in fact, it IS us!), but we unwittingly shut ourselves off to it every time we close our heart. It's as if when our defenses come up we contract energetically, and the inherent joy naturally produced by an open heart is no longer available to us.For example, let's say you are driving your car, feeling fine, and suddenly you notice another driver shoot you a dirty look. At that moment you have a choice. You can either stay feeling fine, at peace, or you can choose to get caught up in reactive thoughts such as, "What's his problem? Who does he think he is giving me a dirty look!?" etc., and suddenly where's your peace? Gone! Why? Because reacting to the stranger who made the face was more important to you, in that moment, than staying open and connected to your natural, inherent, inner-peace.Michael assures you throughout the book that there isn't really ever a good reason for closing your heart and thus cutting yourself off from the ever present living flow of shakti energy.What's more, because we don't know it's possible to be free and at peace, regardless of circumstances, we spend much of our time trying to manipulate the outside world into being the way we want it to be so that we can feel happy! And so basically until the outside world matches the picture of what we think we need to be happy in our head, we are, by default, always unhappy at some level.It sounds crazy, but that's what's going on. Are we doing this on purpose? No, it's happening out of ignorance. That is until you start to catch on to how the mind works, which The Untethered Soul explains with a rare clarity."Basically you re-create the outside world inside yourself, and then you live in your mind." -Michael A. SingerThe first step to authentic peace and freedom is to be 100% clear, in every cell of your body, on what you are NOT. Namely, The Voice Inside the Head, which is the title of Chapter One. It begins:"In case you haven't noticed, you have a mental dialogue going on inside your head that never stops."That Singer begins The Untethered Soul by pointing out something so apparently obvious tells you the tremendous significance he places on it. That in fact just about everyone on the planet has become so identified with the `voice-in-the-head,' that the idea of really looking closely at the mechanics of it, how it behaves, how it functions, how it appears to work, simply doesn't occur to most of us."If you're smart, you'll take the time to step back, examine the voice, and get to know it better. The problem is, you're too close to be objective. You have to step way back and watch it converse." -Michael SingerIt's sort of like our car windshield; we don't really think about it (unless there is a problem with it) because it's always there! We are so used to automatically/robotically believing our thoughts that the idea that we have the option of NOT believing them simply never occurs to most of us! And yet it's the first step to real freedom.And the thing to notice about the `voice-in-the-head' is this startling (yet so obvious we miss it) observation by Singer:"If you spend some time observing this mental voice, the first thing you will notice is that it never shuts up."And not only does this `voice-in-the-head' opine virtually non-stop about everything we seem to experience, but it's happy to argue ANY point-of-view, including those that cause us much inner-conflict and turmoil:"Notice that the voice takes both sides of the conversation. It doesn't care which side it takes, just as long as it gets to keep on talking."And here's the point that must be grokked: None of the voices are YOU! None. But the key is that YOU must see this for yourself. (And really that's all that matters, as otherwise this wisdom remains at the intellectual level only and does little to end our suffering.) How? By getting some SPACE between ourselves and the thoughts in the head. We must break our habitual/robotic tendency to obsessively identify with/as the `voice in-the-head.' Says Michael:"In order to see this clearly, we have to take a step back and get some space between ourselves and the mental chatter between our ears, so we can see clearly that the thoughts arrive unbidden, and are not our identity. Cease identification with thoughts, which are always going to be problematic, as that is there nature."Remember that it doesn't matter the subject matter or content of the thought--a thought is a thought:"The only way to get your distance from this voice is to stop differentiating what it's saying. Stop feeling that one thing it says is you and the other is not you. If you're hearing it talk, it's obviously not you. You are the one who hears the voice. You are the one who notices that it's talking."The bottom line, says Michael: "If you're hearing it talk, it's obviously not you."So if you are not the thoughts in your head, what are you? You are what is AWARE of the thoughts. Being aware of something is not the same as actually being that something! The very fact that you are able to think about literally anything means that YOU must be emptiness itself, devoid of any features (yet fully alive/aware), or how else could you pull it off?"The one inside who is aware that you are always talking to yourself about yourself is always silent. It is a doorway to the depths of your being. -Michael SingerThis aware silence within you is Life itself. IT is the only `thing' presently Conscious to know anything. And it is not mine or yours, and so is totally impersonal. Yet, because it never comes or goes, it's easy to overlook, which is why so few seem to be aware of it. (Although thanks to the internet, this is changing as more and more are awakening to the timeless Truth of their being, usually after exhausting themselves for years, even decades, trying to get the phenomenal world to be the way they want it and finding no lasting success.)In CHAPTER 2: Your Inner Roommate, Singer points out that as long as we attach to/believe/identify with thoughts, we are always going to feel disturbed:"The bottom line is, you'll never be free of problems until you are free from the part within that has so many problems."-Michael SingerAnd how do you become "free from the part within that has so many problems"? Says Michael: "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 key sentence in the above quote is:`What part of me is being disturbed by this?' That instead of asking the usual question, "WHY am I feeling this way and how can I make it stop?", Michael recommends that we observe or notice WHERE it's located within our Awareness.If we actually take the time to do this, it immediately gives us some SPACE between the thought and ourselves. Eventually we can come to see that Awareness is the only subject, and everything else is an appearance to the ONE Consciousness."Basically you re-create the outside world inside yourself, and then you live in your mind." -Michael SingerAnother thing that sets "The Unethered Soul" apart from other spiritual books is its practicality/helpful suggestions. For example, in the excerpt below Singer suggests that you imagine your inner-voice belonging to someone else, outside of you. This allows you to get some space between yourself and the `voice-in-the-head' so you can start to hear it objectively and begin to understand how confused, clueless, and `groping around in the dark' in its imaginary world it actually is:"The way to catch on to what your inner roommate is really like is to personify it externally. Make believe that your roommate, the psyche, has a body of its own. You do this by taking the entire personality that you hear talking to you on the inside and imagine it as a person talking to you on the outside. Just imagine that another person is now saying everything that your inner voice would say. Now spend a day with that person."As Michael reminds us throughout the book, regardless of any feelings or beliefs to the contrary, you have NEVER been the voice in your head.FINAL THOUGHTSI have barely scratched the surface of all the great material inside The Untethered Soul. In fact, I could see a high school or university class taught using it as the course text. Imagine if you had learned in school that NO thought is you, and that peace is available 24/7 if you are willing to keep your heart open regardless of outer (or inner) fleeting appearances, i.e., that which comes and goes. This is one of those books that is more profound with each reading. Highly recommended!-Michael Jeffreys

One of the best spiritual self help books I have ever read and will certainly be reading again! So much to take in from this book. Very enlightening.

This book lays out essential truth in such an elegantly simple way - I absolutely loved it and will spend my last days practicing relaxing my judgements, attachments and emotions and just allowing life to flow through me. So simple yet such a challenge! So glad a dear friend recommended this book and I hope this review motivates another to read it as well!

This book is truly amazing. It is very eye opening. One can learn a lot from this book. It is not a typical self help book. I do want to mention that the book does mention God towards to end for all the non-believers out there, however, I am a believer and I encourage everyone to use this book.

Newcomers to the main idea contained in this book - the idea that who we really are is the witness behind our thoughts, feelings and what we sense in the world - may find this book to be an amazing revelation, and can lay the foundation for a life-changing journey. However, for me, I am already quite familiar with these ideas, and even have started to learn how to become "the witness", or at the very least, can distinguish when I am lost in thought, or pulled in by my emotions, and when I am able to remain centred in my true self: the consciousness or awareness that I am.However, there were some new ideas in this book for me - particularly around the ideas on chakras and how we either open or close our hearts to things, and how we often close our hearts and heart energy in response to certain triggers or events. What I found was a bit lacking (and hence the reason for only 4 stars) was that there were no clear instructions on how to achieve the things he recommends for us to do. For example, when reading the chapter on energies, he says "just don't ever close your heart", or "just stay open". Ok, I understand at an intuitive level how to do this, at least I think so - from past experiences of being really open it seemed to come about by letting go and not resisting what is - but I wish the author could have given more specific instructions to the reader on how to open our hearts or how to "stay open", as this has been an elusive state for me and not easy to achieve at all.I haven't finished the book yet (I am up to chapter 11), but I thought I'd write a review whilst the book is fresh in my mind. I am finding that the later chapters just seem to contain the same main ideas covered in the earlier chapters, but just uses different words or contexts; to that extent I am finding it a little difficult to remain focused on what I am reading.This book does seem to be quite similar to Eckhart Tolle's work, especially "The Power of Now", which I have read. Maybe that is why this book is not so new to me.In summary, this book would be great for anyone who is new to the ideas in it. For me, I think that it lacks a little substance as to how to achieve liberation, or how to have an "untethered soul". It is very good at describing what we need to do to become free, but is light on details as to how to actually do it. For more help on specifics on how to become liberated, I suggest doing a search for mindfulness meditation books, or more Buddhist-style teachings on meditation. In my experience, it is one thing to know that you need to practice residing in the "seat of conscious awareness", and another thing completely to actually be able to do it for any length of time consistently. For me, a meditation practice is the very thing that can assist and empower us to actually be able to do what this book recommends in order to become free.

This book has the ability to distill complex spiritual concepts into clear and accessible language. His teachings resonate deeply, offering profound insights that illuminate the path to inner peace and fulfillment. Whether discussing the nature of consciousness, the power of mindfulness, or the art of letting go, Singer's words resonate with clarity and authenticity.I highly recommend it to anyone seeking profound wisdom and inspiration on the path to self-realization.

The book’s condition is really good you can tell it is brand new! I’ve read a bit of the book already and my god does it just jump into things. It’s a good read!

This book is around us humans as being the spirit and our voices inside of us. Understanding that these voices impact what happens on the outside and most importantly everything in the universe is the way that it is supposed to be and it is not worth losing our freedom for anything.

Such Positive, High Vibrational Book, Written by Someone who knows Awakening! Is pleasure to read like a Balm for the Soul. I feel so uplifted, so unbelievably good upon reading this book. I had such an amazing dream upon spending the day reading this book yesterday. I was surrounded by really positive people in my dream, by it seems awakened people, who were loving and I felt so incredibly peaceful in my dream. I was so happy and so at peace. I follow the advices given in the book and i am already feeling so much at peace and my vibrations are rising - I can tell. That's why I had such a dream. This book is amazing! It gives really great advices. It is not just theory but is practical as well. It tells you how to put that theory into practice in everyday life- which is great! It tells you how to let go of fear, of pain, how to embrace happiness, how to be happy, how to be content. It helps you uplift your vibrations, let go of negative, destructive thinking, let go of depression, anxiety, forgive, move on, open up your heart to new experiences. It is truly a gem!

Absolutely loved this book. Definitely one of my.. favourite books ever. everyone needs to read this. So much wisdom to be taken from this book

I am very happy I have read this book. You should too if it resonates with you.

A superb read, excellent sharing of author’s own experiences. Very educational. Thank you!