Do You Really Want To Be Happy?
My recent spiritual challenge arose from my reading of Michael Singer’s book, “The Untethered Soul” (2007) which a friend passed on to me. When I first picked up the book, it didn’t appeal to me and after a few pages, I decided to give it away to a second-hand shop. As I was packing the box of books in my car, the box tipped and one book fell out. You can guess which one. I took it as a sign to read it.
I found a lot of the book repetitive and uninspiring but when I got to Chapter 15, I felt as if the kernel of what the author was getting at was there: Singer writes: “The highest spiritual path is life itself. If you know how to live daily life, it all becomes a liberating experience. . . . To begin with, you have to realize that you really only have one choice in this life, and it’s not about your career, whom you want to marry, or whether you want to seek God. People tend to burden themselves with so many choices. But, in the end, you can throw it all away and just make one basic, underlying decision: Do you want to be happy, or do you not want to be happy? It’s really that simple. Once you make that choice, your path through life becomes totally clear” (p. 141).
Singer goes on to say that your choice needs to be unconditional. That is, he claims that too many people attach conditions to their desire to be happy. I’ve heard myself lay down conditions: “I’ll be happy when I find my soulmate.” “I’ll be happy when I have 1000 followers on Facebook.” “I’ll be happy when I have more money.” “I’ll be happy when my business takes off.” You can add your own conditions.
Yet, Singer challenges us to choose happiness without conditions. He writes: “Do you want to be happy from this point forward for the rest of your life, regardless of what happens?”
Could you make such a choice and live with it on a daily basis? What if your partner leaves you? What if you are diagnosed with cancer? What if you lose all your money? What if your business fails? There is so much that is not under your control, but your choice of whether you want to be happy or not is under your control. So what’s your choice?
Singer concludes: “You have to give an unconditional answer. If you decide that you’re going to be happy from now on for the rest of your life, you will not only be happy, you will become enlightened. Unconditional happiness is the highest technique there is. You don’t have to learn Sanskrit or read any scriptures. You don’t have to renounce the world. You just have to really mean it when you say that you choose to be happy. And you have to mean it regardless of what happens. This is truly a spiritual path, and it is as direct and sure a way to Awakening as could possibly exist.”
Is Singer full of himself or does this resonate with you? What conditions do you need to let go of?
I welcome your comments.
