Aquest passat 08 de maig es varen trobar a la Biblioteca alguns dels membres del club de lectura en anglès. Parlen "The Unterthered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself" by Michael Alan Singer. Els varem demanar que ens fessin un petit resum i ens han comentat el següent:
"This Friday (May 8th 2026) we met to discuss the book The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself by Michael Alan Singer. A self help book that challenges us to change ourselves for the better by implementing some at first glance, basic simple principles.
What would it be like to free yourself from limitations and soar beyond your boundaries? What can you do each day to discover inner peace and serenity? The Untethered Soul offers simple yet profound answers to these questions.
Like the majority of books in this genre, there is so much that can be taken and applied towards our daily lives. The author really drives the point home throughout the book what is to be consciously aware (the conscious Self) versus the psyche. These are two very different aspects which people often conflate when describing "who am I?"
Once we truly grasp this separation and understand where we sit in ourselves, we can then take back control of our lives in a substantial way. Plenty of us deal with this persistent voice in our head, commenting on everything we do or interact with. As Singer would teach us, this voice is not who we are. It's a fundamental part of taking the first step in loosening the burden of life and pursuing true happiness.
While this all sounds wonderful, who wouldn't want to experience eternal bliss while silencing the anxious/fearful/critical noise in our minds i.e. psyche.
Unfortunately as the group began to dissect the chapters more and share their own attempts, things quickly began to fall apart. Ultimately while presenting as a very simple manuscript towards enlightenment, this simplicity becomes a double edge sword.
The unanimous opinion is that the text is too simple so that its not practical and/or without real answers. Answers like how to deal with situations that a newcomer may face when taking on the paramount task of unburdening oneself from oneself. We are told we are the only thing getting in our way and somewhat left to our own devices when its all said and down. The way Singer writes is very Black and White as far as life is concerned with no concern for the nuisances life presents.
I must reiterate there are many inspiring, thought-provoking points throughout the book. However our group couldn't ignore the veil of a guru selling snake oil. Amongst the group we even began to discuss similarities to American Christian Evangelical preaching. Our deep dive left us with more questions than when we started and perhaps that's exactly what Singer was going for. While that does not inherently make this a bad read it does not feel genuine. Especially not when it is consistently told to the reader how utterly simple this entire process of discovering inner peace is.
I will say in isolation there are chapters that do help us to think differently and counteract the psyche. And judging from the overwhelming admiration for this book online, it's clear Singer's words have helped several. For our group it just missed the mark. We're aware he's continued with another in the series, perhaps we'll review that someday. Who knows life can be strange like that sometimes.
William Loyd"
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