Thoughts from Chapter 2 of "The Untethered Soul"

Michael Singer says "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?' " (T.U.S., p. 15).  He suggests that you look at why something is bothering you. Michael goes on to say that if you keep doing this you will see that there is a part of you that will have a problem with just about everything in your life. 

Have you ever noticed that when one thing that your worried or upset about disappears something else will pop-up?  From this perspective life is like that "pop-up" or "wack-em" game where you use a mallet to hit the things that keep popping-up...as soon as you've knocked one down there is another ready to be wacked.

If you want to live from a deeply spiritual place than you recognize that fixing the problem that is outside of you is not the solution.  These problems are not you - they are something that is happening to you.  "You" are the one that is observing your life unfold.  Asking "Which part of me is having this problem?" can help shift your awareness back to the Witness, where you watch your reaction to things.  Breath and let go of your reaction. 

Michael describes a subject-object relationship.  You are the subject and anything that you observe (a feeling, belief, perception, thing) is the object.  If you are observing "it" than "it" is not you.  Thus you are not your pain, anger, fear, disease... It is an experience that you are having. 

If you have read T.U.S. you know that Michael says that you will deal with situations in your life, but that when you are seated in the Self (or Observer, Witness...) than you will actually be dealing with the situation itself as opposed to dealing with your reactions to situations.   

TODAY'S CHALLENGE is to make this your response to every problematic thought that arises today:  "WHICH PART OF ME IS HAVING A PROBLEM WITH THIS SITUATION?"

More from Chapter 1

According to Michael Singer "much of what the voice says is meaningless...most of life will unfold in accordance with forces far outside your control, regardless of what your mind says about it."  (T.U.S., p. 10).  We use the mind to try to make sense of the world, to navigate in the world.  We think that if we have others and life figured out then we will know how to handle our lives more effectively.  But if you think about it, how much of life can you really control?  Can you control your spouse, boss, friends...anyone?  The economy? The weather? The government?  Whether or not you get laid off or find a job?  The traffic?  The price of gas? How people react to you?

Obviously the answer is NO.  And since we cannot control these things, we use the mind to make it better - either to fix problems that have already occurred, or to prevent problems from occurring in the future.  We use the mind to rationalize why things have happened so that we feel better about them.

But the reality is...life will keep unfolding the way that life unfolds, therefore many of these thoughts are meaningless.

Because we do not trust the process of life we do not accept this natural unfolding.

If you stop and think about it why not trust this process of life.  What nature/life/God can accomplish is so much more powerful than what any single human being can accomplish.  We cannot creat life.  We cannot cause a seed to grow into a tree.  We can plant the seed and water it, but we cannot make it grow.

As advanced as medical technology is, it cannot create life.  A doctor can take an embryo that was created in a laboratory (remember the "test tube" babies?), and put it in the uterus, but cannot make it grow into a human being.

Michael Singer often uses the example of how the planets revolve around the sun in perfect order.  I've heard that if Earth were just a little bit closer to the sun that we would burn up.  What is it that keeps the planets in perfect alignment?

Even Jesus who was able to perform great miracles said 'It is not I, but the Father within me that doeth the work.'

So there is a force greater than us - call it nature, God...

 Do we really want to attach to our tiny, little neurotic minds...to rely on that same mind to fix all of our problems...when the world is going to unfold anyway and when there is a power much greater than us at work?

 Michael Singer says:  "Eventually you will see that the real cause of problems is not life itself.  It's the commotion the mind makes about life that really causes problems."  (T.U.S., p. 10)

Thoughts from Chapter 1 of "The Untethered Soul"

In Chapter 1 Michael Singer discusses that "Who you are" is the one who hears the voice in the head, not the one who is in there talking.  That realization makes so much sense to me.  That voice in the head is always talking because it is looking for some peace. In order to find some peace it has to change what it is saying, and make judgements (sometimes rash judgments).  The voice is erratic and very annoying because it is always talking, always trying to figure 'it' out. 

Michael says that the only way to free yourself from the voice is to "just notice it...Stop feeling that one thing it says is you and the other thing it says is not you." (T.U.S., p. 9)  Remember, none of it is you.  You are the Listener of the voice, the Observer, the Witness.  Period.  No matter what the mind says, it is not you.  How can what it says be you, when what it says is always changing?  Yet we are soooooo hooked into what the mind says.  We take it what it says seriously and then make decisions based on what it says.

I think that this point is so important.  It is the groundwork for the whole process of transformation.  As long as we think that we are this voice we will not be able to move beyond it.  Take a moment and let this soak in.

I find great freedom in realizing that I no longer have to try and make this voice of mine cooperate or have my mind figure everything out so that I can be happy.  The voice in the head is not the answer.  (I have heard Michael Singer say on a CD that all problems stem from the mind, not that the mind is the way to fix all problems.)

Some questions to ponder: 


Do you think that you are your thoughts? 

If yes, then who are you when your thoughts change?  Are you a different person?

If no, then ponder this:  "Who are you?" 

Transcending the self in a nutshell!

Here is a summary of how I would describe this path of transcending the self based on the teachings of Michael Singer:  First you accept what is happening in your life at the moment, including your thoughts, feelings, perceptions, behaviors...  Then you move you awareness to the part of you that is watching or witnessing your thoughts, feelings etc.  While your awareness is on the Watcher you notice the thoughts and feelings, take a deep breath, open your heart and let them go. 

In some cases I have found that the feelings immediately release with the breath.  In other situations (deeper, more painful feelings) I have found that the feelings do not diminish.  In these situations I work to keep my awareness on the Watcher.  I accept the pain (frustration or whatever), but I know that it is not me, it is an experience that I am having and it will pass. 

The goal here is not to learn how to avoid feelings.  The goal is to transcend the self by allowing life to happen without attaching to it.  A part of this goal is to also allow stored energies from the past to come to the surface so that they can be released. 

Ultimately this path leads one to their true or highest Self (the part of them that is connected with the Universe or God).

I will expand on each of these steps in future postings.

Set the intention for...

Yes, set your intentions but if you really want peace, love and joy, then set the intention for what you want to BE, not what you want to get.  I say this for a couple of reasons.  First, you know that whatever you get will not make you happy for long.  The happiness about the new outfit fades quickly and you will need another new outfit to make you happy.  Same with the new car, relationship, job... As I have heard Michael Singer say on one of his CDs (and I am paraphrasing) "Many people have good health and they're still not happy."  So even perfect health does not lead to happiness. 

Second, happiness comes from within.  It is our inherent state of being to be happy.  Infants are happy.  If they are cold, hungry, or have a wet diaper they may cry expressing their unhappiness with a temporary situation, but they continue to be happy. Once their needs are met, they let the negative feelings go and they return to a state of happiness (hey, that sounds like Witness and Release!)

So set the intention to "Be Peace", "Be Love", "Be Joy" or to "Be the Witness" and Let It Be!

Let Go...Let God!

At times it can be sooooooo hard to Witness the voice in the head, especially WHEN THE HEART IS INVOLVED.  When this happens it can be like sinking in a pit of quicksand - you see yourself sinking (getting sucked into to the thought and emotion) and you would like to be Witnessing your way out of the mess but sometimes it just doesn't work and you stay stuck...

Whatever you do, DO NOT QUIT.  Keeping moving your awareness to the part of you that is watching the voice in the head, the one watching the feelings.  Accept what you are feeling.  Breath.  Breath deeply and open your heart.  At times like this I also say a prayer such as "Help God, I want to move my awareness (consciousness) to the highest place right now but I can't let go of this situation.  My intention is to let go."  And guess what happens?  I find that I can climb my way out of the pit!