I recently read “The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself” by Michael A. Singer. This book deals with one of the biggest blocks to our spiritual development, which is the endless chatter in our minds from our egoic thoughts. By learning how to quiet these thoughts you are then able to soar above your mind and connect with who you truly are, the one observing the thoughts. He also discusses how to not let your energy get drained by these unending thoughts. To do this, you release your old emotional wounds and then you learn to accept the world as it actually is and not how you think it should be. Furthermore, he discusses how we should appreciate the gift of life that we have been given, all of it, the good and the bad. He explains that we should contemplate death and use it to remind us to prioritize doing the things we love, for who knows how much time we have.
Here are my 3 major insights:
-
You are not your thoughts, you are the one observing your thoughts. Once you realize this you see there is no need to get all caught up in the thoughts your ego mind is generating. You can just observe the thoughts and let them pass by. Try doing this, when you have many thoughts going on in your head, just change your focus from the thoughts to the one who is observing the thoughts. Instantly, you feel the separation and you realize the one who is observing the thoughts is peaceful and calm, this is who you truly are. Once you do this the thoughts dissipate and then your mind becomes much quieter. Meditation is a great way to practice this.
-
Many of these thoughts come from two main places, the first being stored emotions, feelings, and fears that you have held onto and the second from trying to make the world conform to what you think it should be. The stored emotions, feelings, and fears that you have held onto become like a tender wound, and once this wound is poked all of these thoughts come in, which he calls a disturbance. Once you recognize this disturbance you can choose to not give it your energy, you can choose to let it just pass through. You decide to let go and release this old emotion, feeling, or fear. Next for some reason, we have all been trained to think we need to have the world conform to our likes and wants, so we give the mind the task of making the world that way and when it isn’t our mind generates all these thoughts to protect us and make us feel better. This is an impossible task for the mind to do and that’s what keeps it generating endless thoughts of how things should be, how you should be, etc. all the time. If we learn to accept the world as it is right here and now, then there is no need to get caught up in all these thoughts. Once you have learned not to have your energy get drained this way, you will then find that your energy will flow more freely and in turn, you will feel more energized and vital in your daily life.
- Look at death as a great teacher. It teaches us that we are not our body. It also teaches us about the impermanence of things. Moreover, it teaches us that we are equal no matter what race, religion, class, or gender, death will happen to us all. Additionally, do not be afraid to think of death. Contemplating death can help you live the life you want. If you thought you had only a week to live, how would you be spending your time? What would like to do or accomplish before you leave? Is there someone you want to see or speak to before you leave? Ask yourself why aren’t you doing those things now. What are you waiting for? If you really thought you only had a week to live would you be thinking why did I waste my time? If so, now is the time to stop waiting and start living the life you want.
Once you realize that you are not the thoughts in your head and that you don’t have to waste your inner energy on things you can’t control or by trying to change past or future events. Then you will be able to live every day like it was your last. You will start to soar above your mind and reach new heights to where the real you lives.