“98% of your thoughts are a complete waste of time. They do nothing but freak you out.”
~ Michael Singer, author The Untethered Soul
What a beautiful morning here in the Virgin Islands. A light misting of rain from a passing cloud had just cleared the air as I woke up, making everything outside feel fresh and alive. Getting outside to be one with nature. I can’t think of a better way to set the tone for the day.
As I sat with my thoughts this morning, resting with self, watching thoughts drift by like the clouds, my mind caught on a phrase from a book I read over vacation, The Untethered Soul, by Michael Singer:
“The day you decide that you are more interested in being aware of your thoughts than you are in the thoughts themselves – that is the day you will find your way out.”
I loaded my Kindle up with 10 books that I hoped to read, but I did not have nearly as much time to read as I had hoped. And I found myself not being in a “serious” frame of mind.
So most of my free time was spent devouring The Jack Reacher novels by Lee Child.
If you are looking for simple, action packed fiction, I can highly recommend this series. The main character of the books, Reacher, is an ex-MP or military police, a loner, that time and time again, gets thrown into situations that he must make right. To quote another reviewer: Reacher a peripatetic loner who leaves no traces except in the hearts of those he has touched, is a one-man wrecking crew, hurling bad guys into the darkness with breathtaking efficiency. Like Lays Potato chips, it’s hard to eat just one, and it took alot of willpower not to consume the whole bag (or series) LOL …
So in-between Reachers, I forced myself to get serious. The top 3 books on my non-fiction list were:
1. The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself by Michael Singer
2. The Astral Codex: Out-of-Body Experiences and Lucid Dreaming for Spiritual Knowledge by Belsebuub
3. Unapologetically You: Reflections on Life and the Human Experience by Dr. Steve Maraboli
The Untethered Soul
I started out with The Untethered Soul. I was very much looking forward to this book, as it came highly recommended by a good friend and yoga teacher. For those new to the concept of mindfulness, I can highly recommend this book.
But for me, I found the book to be highly repetitive, almost trite, and an oversimplification of Buddist theory (although the book claims to be non-secular). I did not end up finishing it. To quote another one-star reviewer: “Felt it was an attempt to dazzle with word play, but not much substance. There were few good sound bites, which may explain the newly available 30 minute version, could probably be pared down even more with little loss of content.” Or “Too much smoke, no roast. Reading this book is like listening to someone talk about the sumptuous meal they are going to serve you, but no food is presented…ever.”
Not saying that I’d give the book only one-star, but here’s what made me finally put the book down 68% of the way through: “Would you like to go beyond? Would you like to feel no edge? Imagine a comfort zone that is so expanded that it can easily fit the entire day, no matter what happens. The day unfolds and the mind doesn’t say anything. You simply interact with the day with a peaceful, fully inspired heart. If your edges happen to get hit, the mind doesn’t complain. It all just passes through. This is how great beings live.”
Nice huh. After years of Vipasanna Mindfulness Meditation practice, I get the concept. Truth be told, yes, we can choose in each moment to be happy. But I wish mindfulness was this simple. To become aware that I am not my thoughts requires practice. And just because I know this, doesn’t necessarily free me from them or make me happy and enlightened.
For a deeper look at mindfulness, and a true instruction manual on how to begin the practice, I recommend instead Eight Mindful Steps to Happiness by Bhante Henepola Gunaratan. Followed by his other books on the topic: Mindfulness in Plain English and Beyond Mindfulness.
I’ll offer my thoughts on the other two books – The Astral Codex and Unapologetically You – in upcoming Saturday segments.
Leftovers & Next Week
On the food front, I don’t have a whole lot to report. Our check-in was a scramble, right down to the wire. But we are back up, and ready for rentals, with only a few minor maintenance issues to still be addressed.
Dinner was leftover pizza and rice. Spencer chuckled at how good the two disparate dishes were together.
I’m looking forward to getting my menu together for next week, now that things are fully operational and back to some form of normalcy. Usually, for the two weeks leading into Thanksgiving, I detox on a raw diet.
It’s a great way to shave off a few pounds that no doubt will get added back on over the holidays. I’m not feeling like going raw right now, but instead, expect the coming week’s menu to be loaded with veggies.
So until tomorrow, I bid you a marvelous day! And to quote Michael Singer in one of his gems:
“You can’t offend the Divine One; its very nature is light, love, compassion, protection, and giving. You can’t make it stop loving you. It’s just like the sun. You can’t make the sun stop shining on you; you can only choose not to look at it. The moment you look you’ll see it’s there.”
