Wisdom Untethered summary

The voice that’s always in your head –⁠ judging, chattering, worrying –⁠ is probably very familiar to you. Likewise with the ever-raging storm of emotions, preferences, complaints, likes, and dislikes. Most people believe they are their thoughts and emotions. 

This isn’t true. Your real Self lies beneath all that chatter. It’s the inner witness, the pure awareness that simply watches everything else going on inside of you. In this section, we’ll explore questions around that relationship –⁠ between your mind, your emotions, and the inner witness.

Our first question is, how can you use the mind as a tool to escape negative thoughts or feelings? 

Start by recognizing that the mind is layered. The lower mind pulls you down into reactive patterns based on your past experiences, while the higher mind can be consciously engaged to lift you up. When you notice your mind beginning to spiral into negativity, engage the higher mind with a simple affirmation: “I can handle this.” No matter what else is happening, just keep reinforcing to yourself that you can handle it. This lifts you to a place where you can stay centered.

When that affirmation feels ingrained, you can go deeper by physically relaxing in the face of whatever your mind is doing. Notice when the mind begins trying to pull you into reaction. In the face of that pull, just relax and let go –⁠ breathe deeply, and intentionally release the tension in your body. It’s very simple, but the more you practice, the more your mind will start to quiet, and the more the things that once disturbed you will lose their power. 

Okay, next question. What’s the best way to start letting go as a beginner? Funnily enough, it’s by using the weather. Why? Well, because it’s an everyday thing that your mind has all sorts of neurotic responses to –⁠ it’s always too hot, too humid, or too rainy. But none of those complaints actually change anything, so you’re just bothering yourself out of habit. If you can train yourself to let go around something this simple, the skill will carry over to increasingly bigger things –⁠ from traffic to hurtful comments to the deepest disappointments of your past.

What you’re doing when you engage your higher mind, when you observe your emotions and relax in the face of them, is practicing witness consciousness. This means being aware of what’s happening inside of you without trying to change it. You’re creating space for the emotional disturbance to arise and pass through you without getting pulled into it, ignoring it, or pushing it away.

This all leads us to our final question; should you actively trigger suppressed emotions to release them?

No. Trust life to bring up exactly what it needs to, when it needs to. It’s like fruit ripening on a tree –⁠ you can’t force it to be ready. Instead, watch the emotions as they arise, whenever they do, and let go. You can encourage the process by telling your emotions: “I see you down there. You’re welcome to come up whenever you’re ready, and I’ll do my best to let go.” But don’t go trying to dig up old stuff. Life will bring it to you when it’s time.