In this Universe, there's no such thing as coincidence. ✨

It was meant for me to find this book, so to say that I "randomly stumbled" onto this book feels to be imprecise. I'd go for "this book found me" in the most perfect timing. I discovered the book via the post "11 Best Spiritual Books to Nurture the Soul (For Beginners)". I'm actually familiar with some of the titles, specifically Jonathan Livingston Seagull (Richard Bach). But actually, I didn't have that recollection of the book being a "spiritual one", which led me to read again as an adult. I'll dive into that interesting experience in another post. 😀

So among the titles listed on that post, The Untethered Soul got my attention. I was intrigued and got a copy of the book. Honestly, the first few chapters felt completely off for me. The concepts that Michael presented were new to me. However, knowing that I am a poor judge for first impressions (like what happened with the Livingston Seagull book), I continued reading the rest of the book. Guess what, I'm so thankful I did, because apparently, this book contains A LOT of life lessons that I needed to learn, especially during this time of my life. 📖💗

I got to highlight a lot of passages in the book (thanks Kindle for making this easier), and I want to include them here on this post, because these kinds of lessons merit more than one reading to fully make sense of what the book is trying to convey. For sure, these messages will affect me differently each time I encounter them, so I am curating them all here, not just for my future self's convenience, but also to share my learnings with you, my readers. 🥰

I have always been fascinated with the conspiracy theory that this life is just some kind of simulation, a very modern VR wherein we experience everything with such lush detail and accuracy. When we die, we just move out of the simulation and disconnect our consciousness from the machine. If I look at life that way, I don't really need to be so caught up with drama and problems. 

Our memories make up the personal image that we have of ourselves.

This is so true, this is why I believe social media is so toxic because people are trapped in their own echo chambers so they become really invested with something, so when they meet people online with opposing beliefs, it becomes a huge and chaotic keyboard war.

I recall those anecdotes of actors who have played villain roles in soap operas. They would encounter viewers of the show who would call them by their villain characters' names with such hatred, some even wanting to hurt them. Those viewers are so invested with the show that they couldn't recognize real-life from fiction. And that could be a dangerous position to be in.

 

100% me. 😭

I'm a loser versus I'm feeling like a loser. I am dumb versus I'm feeling dumb. The latter feels more like a passing/flowing experience. It means it is not permanent.

This echoes the lyrics of Taylor Swift's song "Dear Reader."

This message is so in parallel with the message that I got from The Little Money Bible audio book that I was also listening during the time that I was reading this book. It was during the time when I passed up an opportunity to travel abroad with the best of my friends. I knew I wasn't comfortable with involving myself in that activity, and that it wasn't my priority during that time. During the week of their trip, I felt this eerie stillness that allowed me to just contemplate. As they say, the teacher appears when the student is ready. And so I found myself listening to that audiobook and reading this book. I now understand that I need to learn these lessons at my own pace. I am still grateful that I respected my own boundaries. If I went with the flow and something went wrong that affirmed my fears, without learning these lessons, I would have a misguided judgment that might lead me into searching for someone/something to hold the blame. I'm grateful that I got to have that "enlightenment" moment, and now that I have a clear understanding of my life compass, I know what to do next time life presents a similar circumstance.

I agree 100%.

I already read the book. I am the former in some parts, while I am the latter in some chapters of the book. 😅

The concept about the pendulum was so intriguing, and it actually makes sense when you think about it. The message that I got from a virtual healing session (which I have not written a post by the way, will publish that soon! 😅) aligns with the message in this chapter. 

Obviously, the book has a lot more wisdom to offer, so I highly recommend everyone to read the book. The passages above are those that resonated with me. I'm sure your list will have a different set of messages compared to mine. Maybe my future self would have a different collection, too. It was such a great read, and I truly enjoyed the experience of reading it. I'm grateful for the lessons, and I will keep them with me from hereon. 🥰✨