An Untethered Perspective

Crux of Spirituality, Untethering, Multifaceted Mind, Will, What Are You Using Your Mind For?

These 5 Big Ideas are inspired by the teachings of author, spiritual teacher, businessman, and former software developer Michael A. Singer.¹

I.

Crux of Spirituality

At the heart of spirituality lies the idea that we are not just the sum of our human parts; rather, we are a “spirit” housed within a physical body. Spirituality is not just a practice—a quieting of the mind to reconnect with spirit—it’s also a perspective. Even if you’re not fully convinced of the existence of a spiritual self (also called a “soul,” “consciousness,” or “Higher Self”), understanding the perspective of spirituality can still be worthwhile, as it challenges you to untether yourself from your most harmful thoughts and feelings.

If our true nature is spirit, which is formless, then what is our relationship with our bodies? Our bodies are the spirit’s temporary vessel. Spirit inhabits the body to experience life on Earth. While the body is made of finite, earthly materials (oxygen, carbon, hydrogen), the spirit is not. Perhaps spirit is immortal; we may never know. But what matters is what we’re experiencing right now—that is, navigating life through our remarkably capable and intelligent bodies.

The human body comes equipped with sensory mechanisms to perceive things outside of the body—we see, hear, touch, smell, taste. And while we can deeply engage with the living and nonliving elements in our environment, we recognize that they are distinct from ourselves; in other words, they exist outside of us. But what about the internal experiences within our bodies—our thoughts and emotions? While these experiences are inherent to humanity, they are not necessarily inherent to spirit. Just as the objects in our environment are separate from us, thoughts and emotions are separate from us, too. They are just things we experience while inhabiting a human body.

II.

Untethering

Thus, until the man learns complete control of thought and feelings, he sees nothing as it really is.

Annie Besant and Charles W. Leadbeater, Thought-Forms

If this spirituality stuff isn’t your jam, or you’re hesitant to entertain this alternative perspective, then you might want to stop here. I seldom write about spirituality because of the negative connotations associated with religion and because humans are inherently stubborn (myself included). Rest assured, I won’t write about this stuff next week.

But if I’ve piqued your interest, let’s press on. Here lies perhaps the most pivotal aspect of spirituality: You are not your thoughts and emotions; you are merely experiencing them. By embracing this mindset, you are decidedly untethering yourself from your thoughts and feelings. You keep them at arm’s length so that you can interact with them more objectively instead of serving their every desire. Essentially, you can engage with them as you would any other object in your environment. If a thought is not serving you, you can let it go. The thought is not you; it’s just a thought. Perhaps this is why many people turn to spirituality later in life: They’re tired of being slaves to their every thought and feeling; they want to reclaim their life.

In theory, this approach sounds great. Who wouldn’t relish the opportunity to let go of a bad thought as effortlessly as offloading a tchotchke to a local thrift store? But, of course, this is not easy in practice. And practice is what’s required to adopt such an unconventional perspective. You must continuously remind yourself that your thoughts and feelings do not define you; you are the boundless spirit within simply experiencing them. With persistence, your relationship with your thoughts and emotions evolves. Instead of acting impulsively on intrusive thoughts and feelings, you can discern whether to engage with them or not.

III.  

Multifaceted Mind

This above all: to thine own self be true

William Shakespeare, Hamlet

Just as humans are equipped with multiple sensory organs to help us engage with the outer world in various ways, we are equipped with multifaceted minds that can perceive many different viewpoints. If we consider ourselves to be our minds, rather than the observers of our minds, then which part of the mind are we? Polonius’ counsel to Laertes in Act I of Hamlet raises a question: to which self are we to be true?

Should we be true to the despondent self? What about the sublime self? And should we be true to the self identifying as a devoted husband and father, or the one who had a clandestine affair three years ago? What about the self that is a career engineer? Should we be true to him or the self that feels called to be a music producer? Can we truly be true to one self without betraying another self?

If we are to approach this question from a spiritual perspective, the answer is simple: We are the spirit self. All of these other selves we’ve identified with are constructs of the mind. That’s not to say there’s anything wrong with any of our identities; identities help us navigate this experience called life and give us purpose. However, identities change throughout the course of life and often conflict with each other. Can we really be at odds with our own self, or is this just a phenomenon we’re experiencing within the mind?

Modern psychology teaches that the psyche (the personal mind) can be divided into multiple parts for deeper analysis. Freud divided it into the id, the ego, and the superego, while Jung divided it into the ego, the personal unconscious, and the collective unconscious. The fact that we have such a structured and systematic mind should lead one to question the true nature of mind—is the mind who we are, or is it just another tool for our use? Do our thoughts define us, or are we simply conscious of them?

Source

IV.  

Will

The following passage comes from Three Essays on Universal Law by Michael A. Singer:

We all know that just prior to opening our mouths to speak or moving our bodies to act, there is a brief moment during which we could decide whether or not to allow the action to take place. Most of the time, however, we let this very important moment pass and allow speech and actions to flow automatically. In essence, we allow ourselves to react instinctively to the various stimuli of our outer and inner environments. Nevertheless, at least some of the time we do take advantage of that split second available for rational, reason-guided decision making. When we do this, and then consciously follow the results of this inner decision process, we say we are exercising our own “will.” This act of will is obviously in drastic contrast to the stimulus-response mechanism allowed to operate whenever permitting that moment available for inner reflection to pass by.

While the topic of free will often sparks heated debates, Singer finds it to be much simpler than most make it out to be. He asserts that we (our spiritual selves) possess will power, as do our bodies, emotions, and thoughts. When our bodies want something—food, sex, exercise—they exert will power with the expectation that we take action. Similarly, thoughts and emotions have a will of their own. Many of us have grappled with feelings of jealousy or fear despite intellectually recognizing them as foolish and harmful to our well-being. Letting go of such emotions proves challenging, especially without prior practice in exercising our own conscious will. And when it comes to thoughts, most people exert virtually no will power over them. This lack of volition can make it seem inconceivable to develop complete control over the constant stream of thoughts that pass before our consciousness every moment of every day. But by relinquishing power to our unexamined thoughts, we allow them to dictate our lives. In fact, whichever of our inner aspects—our spirit, thoughts, emotions, body—possesses greater will power determines every feature of our behavior. As we learn to exercise our own conscious will through practice, we become more advanced beings.

Your training begins within that split second available for rational, reason-guided decision-making. Slow down and make the most of these fleeting moments.

V.  

What Are You Using Your Mind For?

Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.

Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning

So, if the mind is a tool and not the essence of who we are, then what are you using your mind for? Left to its own devices, the mind will often think about itself and overanalyze every situation, crafting ideas about how the world must be for it to be happy. For instance, if you’re planning a barbeque tomorrow but the weather forecast is uncertain, your mind might fixate on this fact all day. It’ll think things like, “The weather must be perfect for my barbeque; I want everyone to see my new patio furniture.” But the weather is going to do what it’s going to do regardless of what your mind thinks or wants. By dwelling on things that are entirely outside of your mind’s control, you’re squandering your time; you’re letting your mind dawdle haphazardly. A wise person knows that reality is going to unfold in whatever way it’s going to unfold regardless of what their mind wants. They won’t waste time ruminating on a desired result and will plan around all potential outcomes.

While the average human mind is spent worrying about what other people think and pondering ways that the world should be to suit its preferences, it could be applied toward solving incredibly complex and meaningful problems. The human brain—yours, mine, everyone’s—is exceptionally brilliant. Human brains discovered the atomic nature of the physical world and then figured out how to split the atom. They’ve erected giant skyscrapers and automated factory equipment; they’ve engineered semiconductors and spaceships; they’ve developed Generative AI and CRISPR. Einstein used his mind to ponder hypothetical scenarios concerning the properties of light, gravity, and the universe’s fundamental laws. Meanwhile, your mind is preoccupied with thinking about all the ways the universe should be for it to be happy.

Don’t waste your brilliance. There’s so much more your mind can be used for.

1. While Singer gained prominence through his book The Untethered Soul, the inspiration for these 5 Big Ideas is not tethered to this one book. Rather, they are inspired by teachings found in all five of Singer’s books.