If you’ve read or listened to My Story, you might recall a memory I share about playing strip poker in middle school at a friend’s house. Well, as I planned to move away from Portland, OR in 2018, I found out that this friend from my past was now living in Portland with his daughter and fiancee. We reconnected before I left Portland, and we’ve stayed in touch digitally since then. He’s been expanding his life coaching business and I’ve been interested to see where he goes from here.
Recommendation #10 from Andrew Eastman
The Untethered Soul by Michael A. Singer
Michael A. Singer is a former software programmer who has since transitioned into a best-selling author and a meditation center founder. He has been featured on Oprah and has since written a second book called The Surrender Experiment.
There was lots to take note of and think about in this book. It begins with focusing on your internal voice, the storyteller inside of you that attempts to narrate and make sense of the world around you.
“What you’ll see, if you study this carefully, is that narration make you feel more comfortable with the world around you. Like backseat driving, it makes you feel as though things are more in your control. You feel like you have some relationship with them.
“True personal growth is about transcending the part of you that is not okay and needs protection. This is done by constantly remembering that you are the one inside that notices the voice talking. This is the way out. 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.
The depths of your being is the seat deep within you. Singer ties it to the Buddhist self, the Hindu Atman, and the Judeo-Christian Soul. He also focuses on remaining open to the universe, to life, to experiencing the things that happen in and around us.
“There is a very simple method for staying open. You stay open by never closing. It’s really that simple. All you have to do is decide whether you are willing to stay open, or whether you think it’s worth closing. You can actually train yourself to forget how to close. Closing is a habit, and just like any other habit, it can be broken.”
In his book, Singer takes you through five parts of the journey towards openness, freedom and joy.
- Part I: awakening consciousness
- Part II: experiencing energy
- Part III: freeing yourself
- Part IV: going beyond
- Part V: living life
Encountering the Divine…Seeing with God’s eyes
On Miracle Sunday, I encountered a Richard Rohr quote that says, “We don’t think ourselves into a new way of living; we live ourselves into a new way of thinking.” Because life can teach us so much, about ourselves, about what we expect and desire. Our expectations and desires are great, powerful forces in our life, but they aren’t always right or good for us.
“All you have to do is stop expecting the mind to fix what’s wrong inside of you. That is the core, the root of it all. Your mind is not the guilty party. In fact, your mind is innocent. The mind is simply a computer, a tool. It can be used to ponder great thoughts, solve scientific problems, and serve humanity. But you, in your lost state, told it to spend its time conjuring up outer solutions to your very personal inner problems. You are the one who is trying to use the analytical mind to protect yourself from the natural unfolding of life.”
Living life, and appreciating everything that happens, is the start to experiencing a profound sense of joy. In my own life, that it what I’ve learned in my year of adventuring. I’ve been happier, more settled, and more open to whatever comes my way. And it all started by my encounter with the Divine on Miracle Sunday.
“What if that is how God looks upon His Creation? Then you’ve lost out if you’ve been told otherwise. Instead of being encouraged to feel completely protected, loved, honored, and respected by the Divine Force, you’ve been taught that you’re being judged. Because you’ve been taught that, you feel guilt and fear. But guilt and fear do not open your connection to the Divine; they only serve to close your heart. The reality is that God’s way is love, and you can see this for yourself. If, for even one moment, you can look at someone with the eyes of true love, you’ll know those eyes are not yours. Your eyes could never look with that amount of love. Your eyes could never be that unconditional. Your eyes could never, even in a million years, see only beauty and total perfection in your beloved. Those are the eyes of God looking down through you.
I highly encourage you to check out this book. I have about two dozen other quotes like the ones above that help me to think about what is truly important, what will make me happy, and how I should live in love. While I don’t always get it right, I’m walking the path more closely than I have in my life, and that makes all the difference.
Your song for this page…the 28th song from my Fellowship playlist for this month – Beautiful World by Brieuc & Gregor Potter. I think it fits nicely with the book and it’s concept of appreciating life.