The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself (New Harbinger/Noetic Books) (co-published with the Institute of Noetic Sciences) (Paperback)

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Key Phrases: inner roommate, inner thorns, false solidity, The Untethered Soul, Letting Go of False Solidity, Transcending the Tendency (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Who are you? When you start to explore this question, you find out how elusive it really is. Are you a physical body? A collection of experiences and memories? A partner to relationships? Each time you consider aspects of yourself, you realize that there is much more to you than any of these can define. In this book, spiritual teacher Michael Singer explores the question of who we are and arrives at the conclusion that our identity is to be found in our consciousness, the fact of our ability to observe ourselves and the world around us. By tapping into traditions of meditation and mindfulness, Singer shows how the development of consciousness can enable us all to dwell in the present moment and let go of painful thoughts and memories that keep us from achieving happiness and self-realization.

Divided into five parts, the book offers a frank and friendly discussion of consciousness and how we can develop it. In part one, he examines the notion of self and the inner dialogue that all of us live with. Part two examines the experience of energy as it flows through us and works to show readers how to open their hearts to the energy of experience that permeates their lives. Ways to overcome tendencies to close down to the rest of the world are the subject of part three. Enlightenment and the embrace of universal consciousness are the subject of part four. And finally, in part five, Singer returns to daily life and the pursuit of "unconditional happiness." Throughout, the book maintains a light and engaging tone, free from heavy dogma and prescriptive religious references. The easy exercises that figure in each chapter help readers experience the ideas that Singer presents.

From the Publisher

"In the book, The Untethered Soul, Michael Singer takes you step-by-step through the process of Gyana, the Yoga of the Intellect, to the Source. Moreover, he does it with elegant simplicity. Read this book carefully and you will get more than a glimpse of eternity."

--Deepak Chopra
Author, Life After Death: The Burden of Proof

"In lucid, unadorned prose, Michael Singer delivers the essence of the great spiritual teachings of the Ages. Each chapter of The Untethered Soul is an instructive meditation on the binds of the human condition and how each and every knot can be gracefully untied so that our souls may fly. The accuracy and simplicity of this work is a measure of its pure mastery."

--James O'Dea
President of the Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS)

"This is a seminal book that quite frankly is in a class by itself. In a simple, yet paradoxically profound way, Michael Singer takes the reader on a journey that begins with consciousness tethered to the ego, and ends having taken us beyond our myopic, contained self-image to a state of inner freedom and liberation. Michael Singer's book is a priceless gift to all who have futilely searched and yearned for a richer, more meaningful, creative life."

--Yogi Amrit Desai
Internationally recognized pioneer of modern yoga

The Untethered Soul, in a clear practical manner, shows the reader how to achieve the real goal of human life--self-realization."

--Bikram Choudhury
Founder of Bikram Yoga and worldwide Yoga College of India

"East is East and West is West, but Michael Singer bridges these two great traditions in a radiant treatise on how to succeed in life from our spiritual quest to our everyday tribulations. Freud said that life was composed of love and work. With great eloquence, wit, and compelling logic, Singer's brilliant book completes this thought by showing them to be two poles of the same selfless devotion."

--Ray Kurzweil
Inventor, National Medal of Technology recipient and author of The Age of Spiritual Machines, The Singularity is Near, and other books

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Product Details

• Paperback: 181 pages
• Publisher: New Harbinger Publications/ Noetic Books; 1 edition (October 3, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1572245379
• ISBN-13: 978-1572245372
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (70 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,840 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

65 of 67 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Soar with The Untethered Soul, September 18, 2007

By	Stephanie Davis - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I simply cannot say enough great things about this profound book! The Untethered Soul gets right down to business answering some of the deepest, soul searching questions I'd had for years but didn't know whom to ask. It's almost as if the author has seen into the inner-workings of my mind!

With very straight forward examples, the book emphasizes the pitfalls of relying on the mind to come up with ideas for making ourselves happy. The book points out that relying on the outside world for inner happiness just simply doesn't work. Happiness comes to us when we change and let go of ourselves at the deepest, innermost-level rather than changing the world outside.

The Untethered Soul helps to explain the crazy world around us where the unhampered ego creates conflict. This book is a step-by-step guide to the letting go of the ego - a process that may seem counter-intuitive initially, but ultimately leads to freedom from the nagging mind and heavy heart and directs you to the beauty of the self within.

The chapter on Contemplating Death has made me truly appreciate each living moment. I no longer want to waste time on energy depleting thoughts and feelings.

I am grateful that Michael Singer has written a book so deep that it could actually make a difference in people's lives and help to make the world a better place to live.

Consider yourself warned! Once you read this book, there is no turning back from The Untethered Soul within.

59 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A journey of self discovery, October 17, 2007

By	D. Dodds (Florida) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

There are moments in your life, that you will never forget, in which you became aware of joy flowing through your heart. Have you ever stopped to study a moment such as this, or contemplate the source, or question why you don't feel that all of the time? It came from within you, didn't it? You were aware of the joy that you felt inside. Are you interested in these things and exploring the edges of who you currently think you are?

Take the time to study, as a scientist would, and explore these questions. This book is for those that want to explore such things. In a clear and straight forward manner the author advises us how to take the first step and the next and so on, on what becomes a journey of self discovery. No matter where your consciousness is consumed today, the author clearly illustrates how you may become more aware of how this consumption is presiding over your everyday life. Once aware of these things, you may begin to truly understand why you don't feel the joy in your day to day life and come to know and challenge the edges of yourself.

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars To the point, November 27, 2007

By	Arteest "arteest" (Washington DC) - See all my reviews

Unequivocally the best yet for anyone who is on a spiritual path or has had the undeniable feeing that there is more to who we are than what we currently know. For those who are 'answer-hungry' and cannot let go of something until they understand (incessant questioning), this book is for you. I assure you it will touch parts of yourself you may have squelched for years but if you've got the courage to allow 'whatever' to surface, you can tap into a sensation of lightness and freedom and actually 'get more of yourself'. Definitely a book to read and reread and reread. A 5-STAR plus and a welcome addition to the sources of insight that are here now to help us all get in touch with who we really are.