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Blink 3 of 8 - The 5 AM Club
by Robin Sharma
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The Untethered Soul summary
Michael A. Singer
The Journey Beyond Yourself
4.5 (366 ratings)
12 mins
6 key ideas
Audio & text
What is The Untethered Soul about?
The Untethered Soul is all about you: your feelings, thoughts and consciousness. By drawing on different spiritual practices, this book explains how you can navigate your own mind, get in touch with yourself and become your own master, to ultimately achieve enlightenment.
About the Author
Michael A. Singer is a writer and the founder of Temple of the Universe, a yoga and meditation center. His other writings include The Search for Truth and Three Essays on Universal Law: Karma, Will and Love.
Table of Contents
The Untethered Soul
summarized in 6 key ideas
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Key idea 1 of 6
Listen to your thoughts, but understand that they don't define you.
We all have a little voice in our heads. It is our inner monologue – or stream of consciousness, the style in which author James Joyce wrote Ulysses.
But what is it exactly, and why does it never stop talking?
If you pause for a minute, you should be able to hear it. Your inner train of thought hardly ever stops to take a break!
Your first step toward enlightenment is to start paying attention to your inner voice.
You also need to understand that your thoughts don’t define you. They're simply outputs of your consciousness. Your consciousness is the part of your brain that spends all day processing your thoughts and feelings, and the information your senses pick up.
When you start paying attention to your inner voice, you'll notice that it follows certain patterns. Sometimes it makes you worried, upset or surprised. It also influences your emotions.
Sometimes we get so caught up in our thoughts that we forget they’re actually just objects of our consciousness. This is the difference between our self and personal self.
Your self is your pure consciousness, which flows as it likes. Your personal self is the way you perceive yourself and the patterns of your thoughts.
If you often feel sad, for example, you may start to think of yourself as a sad person. If you're always envious of others, you might see yourself as a jealous person.
To become enlightened, you have to accept that these thoughts and feelings don't define you. Your sadness isn't you. Your jealousy isn't you. The real you is merely aware of the role these thoughts and feelings play.
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Best quote from The Untethered Soul
Come to know who watches the voice, and you will come to know one of the great mysteries of creation.
—Michael A. Singer
Who should read The Untethered Soul
- Anyone who wants to lead a happier and healthier life
- Anyone needing to let go of negative emotions
- Anyone who wants to learn about the benefits of spiritualism
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