The Untethered Soul by Michael A Singer

The Untethered Soul

by

Michael A. Singer

While this book is totally out of my genre, I sometimes really enjoy reading or listening to a book that a family member has recommended.  It is a basis of conversation and something to share in common with the loved one.  I may not like or agree with a book that someone recommends but nevertheless, it is a shared experience.  When my children were small,  I spent many hours reading to them while they were snuggled up on my lap.  I miss the sharing this involved.  So when one of my kids says they read a book I am pretty quick to add it to  my to read list.  It might be awhile till I get to it but I will probably get to it eventually.   This is the case with The Untethered Soul by Michael A. Singer.  This a non fiction book which would probably be found in the self help section of the book store.  Or perhaps on the shelf with spirituality books.  It draws in teachings from Yoga, Buddhism, Taoism, and Christianity and forms a blend of ideas for the reader to take away.  The author makes some valid points.  The concept of mindfulness is explained in a clear manner.  He also does a good job of giving ideas of how to not become so upset over things that are not in our control.  I found the first three fourths of the book to have helpful ideas.  There were things I didn't quite accept but over all I think the author did a good job of explaining things which I had read before or been taught before in a more simple and straightforward way.  I did disagree with some concepts. For example, I think our experiences teach us things to avoid or not do.  While some of his tactics for letting go of unreasonable fears might be helpful, in my opinion some of our fears are very reasonable things to have.  For example my fear of heights, or  stated in another way, my fear of falling.  I am a klutz so therefore it is not unreasonable for me to be leery of situations where I might fall and to avoid activities that might cause me to injure myself.  I have no desire to be free of this fear which I consider in my situation reasonable. I am very clumsy and can easily fall over my own feet.  But I do think his suggestions for letting go of past hurts which are causing us to avoid situations in the present are valid in many instances; if used with common sense.   I just think some of our past hurts taught us lessons which we shouldn't get past or let go.  His explanation of living in the present is very valid.  Unfortunately he kind of lost me in the last quarter of the book where he gets more into the spirituality of his belief system.  I think many of the things earlier in the book would help me reach goals of feeling less anxiety and being more grounded.  In the last part of the book he uses the "untethered"  imagery along with floating in freedom and that sort of wording.  Transcendence has been a concept I never quite was in agreement with because I want to remain with my feet firmly planted on the ground.  But the reader of this book will take away many good ideas to improve their outlook and Singer explains difficult concepts  in very easy terms.  It is worth a read and will cause the reader to stretch their experience to whatever degree they so choose.  Even, if like  me,  the prefer to remain tethered to reality.   Please click on the author's name and book title above to follow the links to more information and enjoy the video that follows.