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Living Untethered: Beyond the Human Predicament
The book you need right now is finally here! From beloved spiritual teacher Michael A. Singer—author of the #1 New York Times bestseller, The Untethered Soul—this transformative and highly anticipated guide will be your compass on an exciting new journey toward self-realization and unconditional happiness.
Now more than ever, we’re all looking to feel more joy, happiness, and deeper meaning in our lives. But are we looking in all the wrong places? When our sense of wholeness depends on things or people outside ourselves—whether it’s a coveted job, a new house, a lavish vacation, or even a new relationship—sooner or later we’re bound to feel unsatisfied. That’s why we must look inside for real freedom, love, and inspiration. But how do we embark on this inner journey?
Living Untethered is the book to reach for. At once profoundly transcendent and powerfully practical, it provides clear guidance for moving beyond the thoughts, feelings, and habits that keep you stuck—so you can heal the pain of the past and let your spirit soar. On each page, you’ll discover a deeper understanding of where your thoughts and emotions come from, and how they affect your natural energy flow. Finally, you’ll find freedom from the psychological scars, or samskaras, that block you and keep you from reaching your highest potential.
It’s time to stop struggling and start experiencing. This miraculous book will show you how to put the spiritual teachings of Michael A. Singer into practice every day, and propel you toward a life of liberation, serenity, openness, and self-knowledge.
Isn’t it time you started Living Untethered?
Now more than ever, we’re all looking to feel more joy, happiness, and deeper meaning in our lives. But are we looking in all the wrong places? When our sense of wholeness depends on things or people outside ourselves—whether it’s a coveted job, a new house, a lavish vacation, or even a new relationship—sooner or later we’re bound to feel unsatisfied. That’s why we must look inside for real freedom, love, and inspiration. But how do we embark on this inner journey?
Living Untethered is the book to reach for. At once profoundly transcendent and powerfully practical, it provides clear guidance for moving beyond the thoughts, feelings, and habits that keep you stuck—so you can heal the pain of the past and let your spirit soar. On each page, you’ll discover a deeper understanding of where your thoughts and emotions come from, and how they affect your natural energy flow. Finally, you’ll find freedom from the psychological scars, or samskaras, that block you and keep you from reaching your highest potential.
It’s time to stop struggling and start experiencing. This miraculous book will show you how to put the spiritual teachings of Michael A. Singer into practice every day, and propel you toward a life of liberation, serenity, openness, and self-knowledge.
Isn’t it time you started Living Untethered?
216 pages, Paperback
First published May 10, 2022
About the author
Michael A. Singer
27 books2,518 followersMichael A. Singer is the author of the highly successful The Untethered Soul, which has also been published in Turkey, Brazil (in Portuguese), Switzerland (in German), Spain, Japan, China, the Netherlands, Denmark, Finland, Poland, and Italy.
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. In 1975, he founded Temple of the Universe, a now long-established yoga and meditation center where people of any religion or set of beliefs can come together to experience inner peace. Through the years, Singer has made major contributions in the areas of business, the arts, education, healthcare, and environmental protection. He previously authored two books on the integration of Eastern and Western philosophy: The Search for Truth and Three Essays on Universal Law: Karma, Will and Love.
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. In 1975, he founded Temple of the Universe, a now long-established yoga and meditation center where people of any religion or set of beliefs can come together to experience inner peace. Through the years, Singer has made major contributions in the areas of business, the arts, education, healthcare, and environmental protection. He previously authored two books on the integration of Eastern and Western philosophy: The Search for Truth and Three Essays on Universal Law: Karma, Will and Love.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 569 reviews
July 10, 2024
This book is a compelling work by Michael that steers the reader on a journey of liberation from common human experience. Singer's work reveals a deep emotional connection as he explores going beyond routine human experience. An audiobook version is available. You can check it out here: Living Untethered
This book is the perfect place to start for those seeking to liberate their selves and better understand the existence of themselves and the world. Singer's thoughts impress upon the reader the lame-ness of societal and personal ties, and provokes deep self reflection. He prods the reader to consider a path toward spiritual growth, self awareness, and self knowledge.
I highly recommend readers starting with "Living Without Tying" as it offers an opportunity to be inspired and enlightened, and challenges the reader to think differently, and approach conventionalities in a way that is not common. This book will be of great help to people who are seeking significance, and to a greater experience of life itself.
This book is the perfect place to start for those seeking to liberate their selves and better understand the existence of themselves and the world. Singer's thoughts impress upon the reader the lame-ness of societal and personal ties, and provokes deep self reflection. He prods the reader to consider a path toward spiritual growth, self awareness, and self knowledge.
I highly recommend readers starting with "Living Without Tying" as it offers an opportunity to be inspired and enlightened, and challenges the reader to think differently, and approach conventionalities in a way that is not common. This book will be of great help to people who are seeking significance, and to a greater experience of life itself.
August 14, 2022
Full Rating: 4.5/5 Stars
I loved The Untethered Soul, so when I found out Michael A. Singer was releasing a new book, I immediately knew I wanted to read it. I love that the book itself still carried a lot of the same wisdom and spirituality but was written and implemented in an entirely different way from his other book.
From the first few chapters, I found myself completely submerged in his thinking and perspective and immediately began looking at life around me differently. When I was feeling stressed out, overly emotional, mindless or moving too quickly, I caught myself coming back to the analogy given in the book that life was coming into my senses and any friction or resistance to it was a samskara I could investigate.
There are certain times where I think the information and philosophy from this book can be powerful and valuable, and times when I think a different approach might also serve us. The only reason I would deduct half a star from this read is that for myself, I believe there does need to be some room for moments in life where we allow ourselves to ride the wave of emotions that can come from our experiences instead of just attempting to be mindful of and then non-reactive to them. This is where some of the greatest art, greatest soul evolution and greatest understandings of ourselves can come from. That said, this book is a helpful reminder of how not to get lost and powerless to the twists and turns of our inner and outer worlds and instead to find a deep sense of grounding and resilience that allows us to live in an essence that can be quite beautiful.
It's a deep invitation to greet the true roots of our soul, and that is an invitation I am always happy to have extended to me in such beautiful words, timeless inspiration and empowering knowledge.
I loved The Untethered Soul, so when I found out Michael A. Singer was releasing a new book, I immediately knew I wanted to read it. I love that the book itself still carried a lot of the same wisdom and spirituality but was written and implemented in an entirely different way from his other book.
From the first few chapters, I found myself completely submerged in his thinking and perspective and immediately began looking at life around me differently. When I was feeling stressed out, overly emotional, mindless or moving too quickly, I caught myself coming back to the analogy given in the book that life was coming into my senses and any friction or resistance to it was a samskara I could investigate.
There are certain times where I think the information and philosophy from this book can be powerful and valuable, and times when I think a different approach might also serve us. The only reason I would deduct half a star from this read is that for myself, I believe there does need to be some room for moments in life where we allow ourselves to ride the wave of emotions that can come from our experiences instead of just attempting to be mindful of and then non-reactive to them. This is where some of the greatest art, greatest soul evolution and greatest understandings of ourselves can come from. That said, this book is a helpful reminder of how not to get lost and powerless to the twists and turns of our inner and outer worlds and instead to find a deep sense of grounding and resilience that allows us to live in an essence that can be quite beautiful.
It's a deep invitation to greet the true roots of our soul, and that is an invitation I am always happy to have extended to me in such beautiful words, timeless inspiration and empowering knowledge.
February 27, 2023
I had read Michael Singer’s ‘The Untethered Soul’ a few years back. While lesser known than Eckhart Tolle’s ‘The Power of Now’, it is an excellent introduction to mindfulness. It is well known and acknowledged in mindfulness circles. This book builds on the foundation of the first book very well.
A large part of the book is devoted to acceptance and alignment. A lot of the unhappiness we experience is due to harbouring pain and resisting the way the world is. We build a model inside us and are frustrated that the outside world is not falling in place with that expectation. There is detailed discussion on how we acquire our mental models, our thoughts and why we experience pain. Letting go aligns our energies for internal and external harmony. There is a part of us which can witness and align our behaviours for peace. The book refers to concepts in Buddhism, Hinduism and Christianity but the language is very culture neutral and is a strength of the narration.
The advice in the book is all sensible and it abstracts the deeper/profound mindfulness teachings very well. This is not however a detailed guidebook on how to practice mindfulness or meditate and is largely conceptual. A good follow-up to his earlier introductory book, with very sound directional advice.
I listened to the audiobook narrated by the author himself, and while decent, could have been better.
A large part of the book is devoted to acceptance and alignment. A lot of the unhappiness we experience is due to harbouring pain and resisting the way the world is. We build a model inside us and are frustrated that the outside world is not falling in place with that expectation. There is detailed discussion on how we acquire our mental models, our thoughts and why we experience pain. Letting go aligns our energies for internal and external harmony. There is a part of us which can witness and align our behaviours for peace. The book refers to concepts in Buddhism, Hinduism and Christianity but the language is very culture neutral and is a strength of the narration.
The advice in the book is all sensible and it abstracts the deeper/profound mindfulness teachings very well. This is not however a detailed guidebook on how to practice mindfulness or meditate and is largely conceptual. A good follow-up to his earlier introductory book, with very sound directional advice.
I listened to the audiobook narrated by the author himself, and while decent, could have been better.
May 11, 2022
The wait is worth. Almost a decade after The Untethered Soul and The Surrender Experiment, Michael Singer's long-awaited new book is finally here. And miraculously, I got the book on my birthday, 20 days before the release date!
His first two books are my all-time favorites. I've read The Untethered Soul countless times.
Like all spiritual teachings ultimately point towards the same thing - the liberation of the soul - the message of this book is not much different from his previous books.
But this book itself is a great spiritual journey, a spiritual experience.
The human predicament is that we're not okay inside. Everything we do or everything we try to achieve is for us to feel okay inside. To go beyond the human predicament means to be okay with what is. This is what living untethered means. This is the main message of this book, simplified.
This reminds me of what J.Krishnamurti said in one of his discourses, "This is my secret: I don't mind what happens." This is also what this book is about.
I also love the book Choiceless Awareness by J.Krishnamurti. Living Untethered means living in what Michael Singer calls "Witness Consciousness", or what J.Krishnamurti calls "Choiceless Awareness".
Sometimes, just one word or one phrase is enough for you to realize enlightenment, like in many Zen stories. But other times, you have to go the journey all through the way by yourself.
So read this book and experience the journey. It's way much better than reading any of the reviews here.
[Update]
I received the audio of this book from Netgalley for an honest review. Thank you, Netgalley and the publishers.
I have already read the book and also written a review on Goodreads. But I wanted to listen to the audiobook as well since it's narrated by the author Michael Singer himself! So I requested the audiobook on Netgalley. Thanks again, the publishers and Netgalley. After all, what is better than the audiobook narrated by the author himself/herself?
His first two books are my all-time favorites. I've read The Untethered Soul countless times.
Like all spiritual teachings ultimately point towards the same thing - the liberation of the soul - the message of this book is not much different from his previous books.
But this book itself is a great spiritual journey, a spiritual experience.
The human predicament is that we're not okay inside. Everything we do or everything we try to achieve is for us to feel okay inside. To go beyond the human predicament means to be okay with what is. This is what living untethered means. This is the main message of this book, simplified.
This reminds me of what J.Krishnamurti said in one of his discourses, "This is my secret: I don't mind what happens." This is also what this book is about.
I also love the book Choiceless Awareness by J.Krishnamurti. Living Untethered means living in what Michael Singer calls "Witness Consciousness", or what J.Krishnamurti calls "Choiceless Awareness".
Sometimes, just one word or one phrase is enough for you to realize enlightenment, like in many Zen stories. But other times, you have to go the journey all through the way by yourself.
So read this book and experience the journey. It's way much better than reading any of the reviews here.
[Update]
I received the audio of this book from Netgalley for an honest review. Thank you, Netgalley and the publishers.
I have already read the book and also written a review on Goodreads. But I wanted to listen to the audiobook as well since it's narrated by the author Michael Singer himself! So I requested the audiobook on Netgalley. Thanks again, the publishers and Netgalley. After all, what is better than the audiobook narrated by the author himself/herself?
May 20, 2022
Notes:
+ Two types of thoughts
1. Willful
2. Automatic
Typo p. 24: “... you have made a really big deal out the moment in front of you…”
Potent Quotables:
You get to the point where you realize all you’re ever doing in there is trying to be okay. First you think about what will make you okay, then you go out and try to make it happen.
One of the most amazing things you will ever realize is that the moment in front of you is not bothering you - you are bothering yourself about the moment in front of you. It’s not personal - you are making it personal.
When Self focuses one-pointedly on a single object, one experiences the nature of Self - total peace, contentment, and overwhelming bliss. This is available to us at any time if we can just learn to enter the undistracted state of one-pointed consciousness.
You have just made life a lose-lose situation. If anything reminds you of what bothered you before, you lose. If you are not getting to reexperience what you liked before, you lose.
The mind is great; it’s just not supposed to be used for storing all your personal preferences and then thinking the whole world is supposed to match what you stored.
All your preferences exist because you stored experiences from the past inside your personal mind. This makes it difficult to live in there, but instead of fixing it, you double down and try to satisfy your preferences.
The foundational choice we have in life is either constantly control life to compensate for our blockages or devote our lives to getting rid of our blockages.
A wise person realizes that the world is not going to unfold the way they want it to because it’s not supposed to. No two of us agree how it’s supposed to unfold, yet there’s only one world out there… The world in front of you has the power of reality behind it. It is unfolding in accordance to the influences that made it be the way it is, and there are billions of influences going back billions of years. In contrast, you’re just making up how it’s supposed to be based on the impressions you held inside from your past.
Suffering is caused by the contrast between what you mentally decided you wanted and the reality unfolding in front of you. To whatever degree they don’t match, you suffer.
What’s going on in the heart ends up in the mind as thoughts. The samskaras you stored are trying to release their energy from the heart, and that is causing the mind to get active. The roots of the samskaras are stored in your heart. That is where the patterns you shoved out of your mind went. They did not dissipate. They went down further into the source of your energy flow, which is in your heart… Your mind is telling your heart, “It’s okay, I’ll take care of it.” You’re simply directing your awareness to your mind, so you don’t have to feel the difficult emotions emanating from your heart… The mind becomes a place the soul goes to hide from the heart.
As long as the other person’s presence helps your heart open, you feel love for them. If their presence stops opening your heart, you start looking elsewhere. This is why human relationships are so difficult. We project the source of love outside, instead of realizing it is always inside.
The heart is a very sophisticated instrument that few people know how to play. If the heart opens, they try to possess the things that helped it open. If the heart closes, they try to protect themselves from the things that caused it to close.
If you can point to a reason why your heart is open, be careful - it will change. If you can point to a reason why your heart is closed, don’t worry - it will change.
You’re using thoughts to see how different choices will shift the flow of your energy through your blockages. The problem is you have so many conflicting blockages stored in there that what to do is not clear. Of course it’s not clear; you’re consulting your inner mess and expecting a clear response. All the while, you are noticing that thoughts and emotions keep shifting inside.
What you pay attention to determines your experiences in life. You should have the right to consciously decide what to pay attention to. Until you learn to back away from the mind, you have no choice; you pay attention to whatever your mind says.
Suppression blocks inner energy; unchanneled expression wastes its power. The highest use of the energy is transmutation.
You have physical limitations. But inside you have no such limitations because there is no physical aspect to the Self. You are pure consciousness, and your will has complete dominion over mind and emotions.
You fall completely in love with the spiritual energy flow. Once you’re being fed by the inner flow, your outer life will be fine. Before you cleared the blockages, you needed the world to be a certain way for you to be okay. This created a struggle with life on a daily basis. When you let go enough to clear the inner energy flow, the struggling ceases. You realize through direct experience that everything you ever wanted is flowing inside you, and the battle will pretty much be over.
A spiritual life is not about adhering to a given set of rules - it’s about never acting based on your personal energy.
June 24, 2022
Michael A. Singer what a great and helpful book. I wish I could have read it earlier in my life. I am sixty-four years old now, but your words have changed my life for the better. I read it in one day. It was very fluid and packed with common sense. This book was a game changer for me. The challenging concepts of the workings of consciousness/mind/emotions explained so simply. Highly recommend to anyone who is seeking deep peace within.
May 6, 2022
I am a huge fan of Mr. Singer’s book The Untethered Soul. It has been hugely transformative in my spiritual journey. I was really excited to receive an advanced reader’s copy of this from NetGalley thinking it would offer practical ways to implement the big ideas in The Untethered Soul but I was disappointed. The book feels far less accessible than the first and I don’t feel like I learned anything new or deeper for having read this follow up. If I hadn’t been familiar with the previous book maybe this would’ve resonated more. It feels like an unnecessary addition and I was bored.
May 27, 2022
Too much God stuff. Unfortunate because his other books were amazing
May 21, 2022
I’ve listened to a lot of Michael Singer - all his past books, podcasts, and regularly listen to his weekly messages from the TOU website. This book did such a good job of consolidating all of his “best hits” to distill things into one powerful message. And I love his own voice doing the narrating. Can’t recommend this book highly enough.
January 4, 2023
An uplifting and positive philosophical book. Nothing in the description prepared my atheist ass to hear the word God so much, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.
Deep and beautifully written. The writer narrates the audiobook, and he has a calming, grandfather-ish voice that is very pleasant.
Deep and beautifully written. The writer narrates the audiobook, and he has a calming, grandfather-ish voice that is very pleasant.
October 9, 2022
1.25
I thought some of the writing in here was really beautiful and made me feel small and hopeful in the best way possible--but there were still a few things that annoyed me so much about this book. For one, spiritual books can be very problematic in that sometimes or most times they very much just tell you to get over your negative emotions. This book put such an emphasis on how you should just release your negative emotions-if it was that easy one could do that simply without the help or advice of a book/writer. Another aspect that bugged me was that the book took 200 pages just to say the same repetitive things that could have easily been said and done within the first 5o pages. Also realized late in the game that this was not the same book that a friend recommended to me anywaysssss.
I thought some of the writing in here was really beautiful and made me feel small and hopeful in the best way possible--but there were still a few things that annoyed me so much about this book. For one, spiritual books can be very problematic in that sometimes or most times they very much just tell you to get over your negative emotions. This book put such an emphasis on how you should just release your negative emotions-if it was that easy one could do that simply without the help or advice of a book/writer. Another aspect that bugged me was that the book took 200 pages just to say the same repetitive things that could have easily been said and done within the first 5o pages. Also realized late in the game that this was not the same book that a friend recommended to me anywaysssss.
July 4, 2022
“Let it go.” Love the clarity of his writing and the paradigm of blockages. It all makes sense. But the end result of being in continuous, spiritual flow seems a little surreal and an impractical place for everyday living. Has he achieved this? Who but the greatest masters that dedicate their lives to spiritual pursuit has achieved this? The aspects that make us human are the things that really engage us with life.
February 19, 2023
Really great book, life changing, a must read.
It's all about letting go of your hurts 'blockages' so that the energy can flow like a river through your heart and you can be free.
It's about self healing, it's about spirituality, it's about being free, it's about being a kid again and letting that love and happiness flow through you.
It's all about letting go of your hurts 'blockages' so that the energy can flow like a river through your heart and you can be free.
It's about self healing, it's about spirituality, it's about being free, it's about being a kid again and letting that love and happiness flow through you.
May 14, 2022
Waste of money. Rambling. Nonsensical. Nothing usable for meditative practice. This book's publisher (Sounds True) hyped it on social media as transformative. All it transformed was the size of my donation pile for my local library. Very disappointing.
November 24, 2022
According to Michael Singer, we spend the vast majority of our lives just trying to be Okay. Some stress from interacting with the world upsets us and we strive to regain emotional neutrality. First we think about what will make us feel okay, then we try to make it happen. The interaction between the outside world, our emotional reaction, and our thoughts constitute what Singer calls the “three-ring circus.” Yet we are not the circus: we are the subjects watching the circus. The path to “living untethered,” to gaining your personal freedom, lies in recognizing that you are the subject not the object, the observer witnessing each moment in front of you, including your thoughts and emotions. The world out there isn't you.
Singer's diagnosis of the human condition, and prescription, is at once simple and profound: holding on to what bothers you about the world is a formula for suffering; therefore, surrender your personal judgment of the world, the part of you that likes or dislikes what’s out there, and accept reality. How do you do this? By using every moment of your life to free yourself. Singer enumerates a number of techniques for doing this, including positive thinking and the use of mantras, but the most powerful of the techniques is witness consciousness: noticing that you're noticing, that the mind is creating thoughts and emotions, and practicing nonjudgmental awareness.
"Things are the way they are…if you're wise, you'll start to change your reactions to reality instead of fighting with reality." -Singer
Singer creates a compelling vision of a life lived in harmony with yourself. Most modern problems, he believes, are caused by psychological blockages. Spirituality is the inner work of releasing these blockages by allowing thoughts to come and go, by relaxing and releasing. The energy flow released as a result yields a deep, indwelling well-being regardless of circumstances. There's no need for a positive external event. Energy just springs from inside, an enthusiasm for life or for whatever you're doing. Learn to work with your body and its energy, allow the blockages to clear, and experience unending joy.
Singer has a religious way of talking about this process which may not work for everyone. He describes the energy that is always flowing through us as Shakti. The psychic scars–mental impressions left over from unresolved thoughts and feelings–or energy blockages he labels samskaras. Language about imaginary energy flows and samskaras initially turned me off until, with the help of my therapist, I made the connection to PTSD therapy. Clearing blockages to release energy is analogous to trauma incident reduction, probing an issue with provocative questions to experience the emotion in a safe environment. Research into trauma desensitization shows that this therapeutic technique works. Learning that research confirms something similar to what Singer describes lends his conceptual framework some legitimacy, despite his religious jargon.
Singer's work is also susceptible to the same criticisms that apply to every spiritual guru hyper-focused on the individual and personal freedom, namely: it seems to "free" the person from any social obligation or responsibility. What of the role of our (in)actions in perpetuating privilege and thus the oppression of others? The sharp division between the individual and social dimensions of spirituality makes his repeated admonition that "the world has nothing to do with you" troubling. Nearly every decision we make has "something to do" with the world around us; we're part of a capitalist marketplace in which demand for certain goods (whether cheap plastic household items, off-season fruit, or carbon-based, dirty energy) drives corporate profit-seeking behavior and creates negative externalities, including massive human suffering and ecological devastation.
Still, I'm sympathetic to the perspective that you need to get your own house in order before you can help others. If you can't create harmony in yourself, how will you change your community? Stated as a Kantian imperative we might say: Live the life that, if everyone lived it, would make the world a better place. Singer's formulation of a life well lived certainly fits the bill. "The highest life you can live," he admonishes, is one in which "every moment that passes in front of you" is better off because of your presence.
Despite my concerns about its hyper-individualistic perspective, Living Untethered offers some solid guidance for how to get in touch with the you that's in there, and stop identifying with the inner narrator that's constantly making judgments about the world. You have two choices: continue struggling with life or allow the energy to flow; hold on to pain and latch on to what you think will save you or let the energy heal the psychic scars so you can enter into a state of ecstatic well-being. You can free yourself and reach a state in which reality doesn't bother you. It simply exists and you simply exist in perfect harmony. Let that become your new motivation, rather than meeting your needs. Then you'll be living untethered.
Singer's diagnosis of the human condition, and prescription, is at once simple and profound: holding on to what bothers you about the world is a formula for suffering; therefore, surrender your personal judgment of the world, the part of you that likes or dislikes what’s out there, and accept reality. How do you do this? By using every moment of your life to free yourself. Singer enumerates a number of techniques for doing this, including positive thinking and the use of mantras, but the most powerful of the techniques is witness consciousness: noticing that you're noticing, that the mind is creating thoughts and emotions, and practicing nonjudgmental awareness.
"Things are the way they are…if you're wise, you'll start to change your reactions to reality instead of fighting with reality." -Singer
Singer creates a compelling vision of a life lived in harmony with yourself. Most modern problems, he believes, are caused by psychological blockages. Spirituality is the inner work of releasing these blockages by allowing thoughts to come and go, by relaxing and releasing. The energy flow released as a result yields a deep, indwelling well-being regardless of circumstances. There's no need for a positive external event. Energy just springs from inside, an enthusiasm for life or for whatever you're doing. Learn to work with your body and its energy, allow the blockages to clear, and experience unending joy.
Singer has a religious way of talking about this process which may not work for everyone. He describes the energy that is always flowing through us as Shakti. The psychic scars–mental impressions left over from unresolved thoughts and feelings–or energy blockages he labels samskaras. Language about imaginary energy flows and samskaras initially turned me off until, with the help of my therapist, I made the connection to PTSD therapy. Clearing blockages to release energy is analogous to trauma incident reduction, probing an issue with provocative questions to experience the emotion in a safe environment. Research into trauma desensitization shows that this therapeutic technique works. Learning that research confirms something similar to what Singer describes lends his conceptual framework some legitimacy, despite his religious jargon.
Singer's work is also susceptible to the same criticisms that apply to every spiritual guru hyper-focused on the individual and personal freedom, namely: it seems to "free" the person from any social obligation or responsibility. What of the role of our (in)actions in perpetuating privilege and thus the oppression of others? The sharp division between the individual and social dimensions of spirituality makes his repeated admonition that "the world has nothing to do with you" troubling. Nearly every decision we make has "something to do" with the world around us; we're part of a capitalist marketplace in which demand for certain goods (whether cheap plastic household items, off-season fruit, or carbon-based, dirty energy) drives corporate profit-seeking behavior and creates negative externalities, including massive human suffering and ecological devastation.
Still, I'm sympathetic to the perspective that you need to get your own house in order before you can help others. If you can't create harmony in yourself, how will you change your community? Stated as a Kantian imperative we might say: Live the life that, if everyone lived it, would make the world a better place. Singer's formulation of a life well lived certainly fits the bill. "The highest life you can live," he admonishes, is one in which "every moment that passes in front of you" is better off because of your presence.
Despite my concerns about its hyper-individualistic perspective, Living Untethered offers some solid guidance for how to get in touch with the you that's in there, and stop identifying with the inner narrator that's constantly making judgments about the world. You have two choices: continue struggling with life or allow the energy to flow; hold on to pain and latch on to what you think will save you or let the energy heal the psychic scars so you can enter into a state of ecstatic well-being. You can free yourself and reach a state in which reality doesn't bother you. It simply exists and you simply exist in perfect harmony. Let that become your new motivation, rather than meeting your needs. Then you'll be living untethered.
August 6, 2024
A wonderful book written by a wonderfully enlightened human being!
Michael Singer is one of my new favorite teachers.
Although I very much enjoyed The Untethered Soul, it wasn’t until my friend Joe Okleberry sent me a picture of him and Michael that I picked up this book. Now, I didn’t have to go far to pick it up as Alexandra had been raving about him for months. This book was literally on our kitchen table. With the two of them extolling his awesomeness, I decided to join the party. And, I’m very glad I did.
After reading this book, I immediately picked up the first two books he wrote—nearly FIFTY years before he wrote this one: The Search for TRUTH and Three Essays on Universal Law. Notes on those coming soon.
Some of my favorite big ideas from this book include:
1. True Surrender - Looks like this.
2. How to Get Perspective - Remember: 13.8B + 4.2 light-years.
3. Low-Hanging Fruit - Grab some today.
4. Meditation - Train your mind.
5. Serve the Present Moment - With all your heart.
P.S. I’ve added Living Untethered by Michael Singer to my collection of Philosopher’s Notes--distilling the Big Ideas into 6-page PDF and 20-minute MP3s on 600+ of the BEST self-development books ever. You can get access to all of those plus a TON more over at https://heroic.us.
“Sitting on a planet spinning through vast outer space for a handful of years—in the broadest sense, this is the human predicament. Earth has been here for 4.5 billion years, yet each of us is limited to roughly an eighty-year ride on the planet, give or take a few years. We were born onto the planet, and we will leave it when we die. That is simply the truth. What is not such a hard and fast truth, however, is what our few years on Earth are like. Undoubtedly, the planet can be a very exciting experience. It can bring enthusiasm, passion, and inspiration at every turn. When it unfolds that way, every day can be a beautiful adventure. Unfortunately, life on Earth rarely unfolds exactly as we want it to, and if we resist, our experience can be quite unpleasant. Resistance creates tension and anxiety, and it makes life a burden.
To avoid this burden and be able to fully embrace life, wise ones throughout the ages have taught the importance of accepting reality. Only by accepting reality can we work with the flow of life as it passes by and create a better world. All of science is based on studying reality, learning her laws, and then working with those laws to improve our lives. Scientists can’t deny reality; they must fully accept reality as the starting point of their endeavors. To fly, we must fully embrace the law of gravity, not deny its existence. The same is true in the spiritual realm. Teachings such as surrender, acceptance, and nonresistance form the basis of a deeply spiritual life. But these concepts can be difficult to grasp. In Living Untethered, we are embarking on a journey into the sheer reasonableness of acceptance and the great gifts it promises: freedom, peace, and inner enlightenment. Acceptance is best understood as nonresistance to reality. Try as you may, no one can make an event that has already happened not have happened. Your only choice is to accept the event or resist it. During our journey together, we will explore how and why you make this decision. But first you have to understand who is within that has the power to decide.”
-Michael Singer from Living Untethered
Michael Singer is one of my new favorite teachers.
Although I very much enjoyed The Untethered Soul, it wasn’t until my friend Joe Okleberry sent me a picture of him and Michael that I picked up this book. Now, I didn’t have to go far to pick it up as Alexandra had been raving about him for months. This book was literally on our kitchen table. With the two of them extolling his awesomeness, I decided to join the party. And, I’m very glad I did.
After reading this book, I immediately picked up the first two books he wrote—nearly FIFTY years before he wrote this one: The Search for TRUTH and Three Essays on Universal Law. Notes on those coming soon.
Some of my favorite big ideas from this book include:
1. True Surrender - Looks like this.
2. How to Get Perspective - Remember: 13.8B + 4.2 light-years.
3. Low-Hanging Fruit - Grab some today.
4. Meditation - Train your mind.
5. Serve the Present Moment - With all your heart.
P.S. I’ve added Living Untethered by Michael Singer to my collection of Philosopher’s Notes--distilling the Big Ideas into 6-page PDF and 20-minute MP3s on 600+ of the BEST self-development books ever. You can get access to all of those plus a TON more over at https://heroic.us.
May 10, 2022
This book is quite profound and has similar vibes as any Eckhart Tolle book. The author describes that there is much resistance in our lives and “resistance creates tension and anxiety and makes life a burden.” He continues to explain that excepting reality and exploring the nature of ourselves and reasons why we resist things will help us to live more fulfilled lives. We need to learn to surrender and let go; we need to accept rather than resist. He continues by discussing the three objects of consciousness: experience outside world through our senses, thoughts and feelings & emotions. Further to this he quotes that “you are not your thoughts you notice your thoughts.” Another deep concept is that “everything changes but we are the constant being (consciousness).” Questions posed by the author: Where do your thoughts exist? What are thoughts and where do they come from? Further focus on dreams and moods/emotions and their relationship with thoughts, energy flow within the body and blockages within this flow.
Narrated by the author, he does a wonderful job with his tone and speed. He had great real life examples of the concepts discussed making them more digestible and understandable. He mentions ideas and suggests ways to move through our human condition with less suffering and with more acceptance. It’s one of those texts that will take awhile to digest and likely need to come back to for further absorbing.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC version of this audiobook for my honest thoughts and opinion. I would recommend this book to those who appreciate deep, profound and thought proving books on life. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Narrated by the author, he does a wonderful job with his tone and speed. He had great real life examples of the concepts discussed making them more digestible and understandable. He mentions ideas and suggests ways to move through our human condition with less suffering and with more acceptance. It’s one of those texts that will take awhile to digest and likely need to come back to for further absorbing.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC version of this audiobook for my honest thoughts and opinion. I would recommend this book to those who appreciate deep, profound and thought proving books on life. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
April 16, 2024
HIGHLIGHTS:
1. Non-resistance to reality.
2. You are not your body. You are in there.
3. The universe created the opportunity for each moment.
- Thank the stars.
4. I am energy flowing that is having experiences.
- I am not this experience.
5. Remove blockages to love.
- Energy comes from within.
- The heart can feed you love.
6. Witness Consciousness: notice the mind.
- Your thoughts are not “you”.
- Meditation, commit to a daily practice. Don’t expect anything.
7. Transmutation: we suppress energy flow by hanging on to old scars.
- Allow higher energy to help you release blockages.
8. When the energy shifts, let it go.
1. Non-resistance to reality.
2. You are not your body. You are in there.
3. The universe created the opportunity for each moment.
- Thank the stars.
4. I am energy flowing that is having experiences.
- I am not this experience.
5. Remove blockages to love.
- Energy comes from within.
- The heart can feed you love.
6. Witness Consciousness: notice the mind.
- Your thoughts are not “you”.
- Meditation, commit to a daily practice. Don’t expect anything.
7. Transmutation: we suppress energy flow by hanging on to old scars.
- Allow higher energy to help you release blockages.
8. When the energy shifts, let it go.
February 22, 2023
This book blew me away. It goes so deep. It’s one of those books I will need to buy the written copy and read it over and over, marking it up with highlighters and margin notes. So many gems in this book. This is one I’m definitely going to recommend my book group read.
November 13, 2023
Beautifully written and thought provoking. I took my time reading it to absorb every word. An important addition for those on their spiritual journey.
January 7, 2023
You are not actually looking out at the world; it is coming into you through your senses. p28
You are the one bringing your personal preferences....p24
Once you create preferences, they will dominate your entire experience of life. p63
The moment in front of you is not bothering you - you are bothering yourself about the moment in front of you. p25
Those personal preferences: it is in our attachment to these we get stuck. MS identifies these impressions that stick to us as samskaras. What he proposes is counterintuitive. Don't bother resisting or trying to bypass; allow the unpleasant sensations to pass through you, neither clinging or avoiding whatever it is that troubles you.
A few other things that MS would have us remember:
Your body is just another thing you see....you are not your body p4
Thoughts are just another thing you notice in there. p13
The moment in front of you is just another moment in the universe that exists even when you are not looking at it. It is completely impersonal, p24
I finished my first reading of this provocative book on the last day of 2022. Personally, even though I found myself indignantly resisting some of his key points, I was surprised by how much sense they make if you are willing to drop all preconceptions.
Spirituality is not about changing the objects that you're looking at. Spirituality is about accepting the objects but not getting sucked into them. It's about being detached and feeling at peace with whatever your mind and heart are doing. When you are perfectly comfortable with everything that can come from your mind and heart, they will stop creating inner disturbance. p155
MS makes it sound so easy. That can feel maddening to those who are struggling, but it is also somewhat hopeful. I am looking forward to going through this material again with a book club and comparing notes.
The deepest truth is that it doesn't even matter what you do. What matters is where you are coming from.... to let go of yourself and serve the moment in front of you. p198
You are the one bringing your personal preferences....p24
Once you create preferences, they will dominate your entire experience of life. p63
The moment in front of you is not bothering you - you are bothering yourself about the moment in front of you. p25
Those personal preferences: it is in our attachment to these we get stuck. MS identifies these impressions that stick to us as samskaras. What he proposes is counterintuitive. Don't bother resisting or trying to bypass; allow the unpleasant sensations to pass through you, neither clinging or avoiding whatever it is that troubles you.
A few other things that MS would have us remember:
Your body is just another thing you see....you are not your body p4
Thoughts are just another thing you notice in there. p13
The moment in front of you is just another moment in the universe that exists even when you are not looking at it. It is completely impersonal, p24
I finished my first reading of this provocative book on the last day of 2022. Personally, even though I found myself indignantly resisting some of his key points, I was surprised by how much sense they make if you are willing to drop all preconceptions.
Spirituality is not about changing the objects that you're looking at. Spirituality is about accepting the objects but not getting sucked into them. It's about being detached and feeling at peace with whatever your mind and heart are doing. When you are perfectly comfortable with everything that can come from your mind and heart, they will stop creating inner disturbance. p155
MS makes it sound so easy. That can feel maddening to those who are struggling, but it is also somewhat hopeful. I am looking forward to going through this material again with a book club and comparing notes.
The deepest truth is that it doesn't even matter what you do. What matters is where you are coming from.... to let go of yourself and serve the moment in front of you. p198
July 26, 2023
Beautiful book. A wonderful guide for the mind and all of its intricacies through the journey of life. It’s all about breaking free of limitations as well as finding peace…a “how to” in maneuvering your thoughts and emotions especially during these turbulent times.
October 20, 2022
I mean… I don’t even know what to say. This book was MENTALLY exhausting. I feel both depleted and fulfilled. It took me 2 months to finish this book when I can finish most in a day. I just, wow.
The focus of this book is on letting go of your inner blockages in order to reach a constant state of high vibration, aka happiness within yourself.
My favorite quotes:
“Buddha said all of life is suffering. He wasn’t being negative. […] All of life is suffering. You will at some point realize that’s all you’ve done your entire life-is try to be okay.”
You don’t surrender the outside world - you totally accept it. What you surrender is your personal , made up judgement of it
The moment in front of you is not bothering you- you are bothering yourself about the moment in front of you
The Kingdom is within you
CUE APPLAUSE
The focus of this book is on letting go of your inner blockages in order to reach a constant state of high vibration, aka happiness within yourself.
My favorite quotes:
“Buddha said all of life is suffering. He wasn’t being negative. […] All of life is suffering. You will at some point realize that’s all you’ve done your entire life-is try to be okay.”
You don’t surrender the outside world - you totally accept it. What you surrender is your personal , made up judgement of it
The moment in front of you is not bothering you- you are bothering yourself about the moment in front of you
The Kingdom is within you
CUE APPLAUSE
October 2, 2022
The first half was great. Hit the spot exactly. Got me into analyzing my own thoughts - and the barriers that I actually put up myself. I ate it right up, and throughout the days was remembering the lessons from the book about controlling a runaway mind.
The second half lost me. I think I'm just too spiritually juvenile to be able to absorb it. The second half revolves around emotions, and the difference between emotions and thoughts and spirit. I couldn't absorb it and so in fact have decided not to finish it.
I think probably really spiritually-evolved people would be able to utilize this entire book and probably love it. I definitely benefited from the first half and am grateful to have read it.
The second half lost me. I think I'm just too spiritually juvenile to be able to absorb it. The second half revolves around emotions, and the difference between emotions and thoughts and spirit. I couldn't absorb it and so in fact have decided not to finish it.
I think probably really spiritually-evolved people would be able to utilize this entire book and probably love it. I definitely benefited from the first half and am grateful to have read it.
June 15, 2022
I read this to help with my (long-standing, ongoing and not very successful meditation practice). Michael Singer has a huge following and I did like the way he read his work and laid out the principles he's developed over the years. I wasn't too keen, though, on the way he began by describing the nature of matter - that was hard to relate to in a psychological way. And it seems that spiritual development can be reduced to positive thinking, having a mantra and 'relaxing and releasing' - would have preferred more detail here. But I will follow up on his other work. And, obviously, if everyone did this the world would be a lot less troubled etc etc
February 7, 2023
I started this a couple months ago but got distracted by the holidays and his other book I just read, The Surrender Experiment. Glad I got back to it and finished it. There’s so much to think about here. Following his first book, The Untethered Soul, it’s more about how to let go of the personal mind and the pain bodies we emotionally store inside ourselves. (For instance, why do we get upset when the weather isn’t the way we want? It is completely out of our control. Yet sometimes we hurt ourselves by allowing our desires to take precedence and feel disappointment/ suffering when things don’t work out exactly as we want them to.)
I know it’s a book I’ll return to.
I know it’s a book I’ll return to.
May 12, 2023
3.8, my favorite quote from this book “ No matter how high you get, you can always get much higher. Don’t believe those who say you can’t enjoy happiness unless you also know sadness”. This book was really informative as in it made me see things way less personal and appreciate every single thing that happened to me. The scientific explanations also helped me de attach from situations and insecurities. It was a little repetitive and hard to read (and all the quotes of bible/god) but worth it when you get to the end and do the work(s) he talked about in the book, in real life.
April 13, 2023
I didn't enjoy this book and didn't get anything out of it. The advice to just relax and just let your blockages go was laughable to me. Particularly for trauma survivors, it's much more complex. You can't just tell yourself to let something go, and suddenly you're fine. I am speaking from experience as someone who is a trauma survivor and also a meditator.
May 22, 2022
Just a fantastic book. Michael Singer has a gift of explaining the unexplainable in a surprisingly simple way. This book had me hooked from start to finish, and most importantly has me wanting to commit to understanding my true self. Could not recommend it enough.
September 21, 2023
Can’t believe a stranger in an airport recommended this to me bc damn
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