Page 16 - Horizons

THE UNTETHERED SOUL:

THE PATH OF UNCONDITIONAL HAPPINESS

Michael A. Singer is the author of The Untethered Soul, The Search for Truth and Three Essays on Universal Law: Karma,
Will and Love. During his doctoral work at University of Florida, Singer had a deep inner awakening. In 1975 he founded
Temple of the Universe. Singer has made major contributions in the areas of business, the arts, education, health care,
and environmental protection. Visit untetheredsoul.com

The highest spiritual path is life itself. If you know say that as long as this doesn't happen, or as long as that does
how to live daily life, it all becomes a liberating happen, then you're willing to be happy. That's why it seems
experience. But first you have to approach life like it is out of your control. Any condition you create will limit
properly, or it can be very confusing. To begin with, your happiness. You simply aren't going to be able to control
you have to realize that you really only have one choice in this things and keep them the way you want them.
life, and it’s not about your career, whom you want to marry,
or whether you want to seek God. People tend to burden You have to give an unconditional answer. If you decide that
themselves with so many choices. But, in the end, you can you're going to be happy from now on for the rest of your
throw it all away and just make one basic, underlying decision: life, you will not only be happy, you will become enlightened.
Do you want to be happy, or do you not want to be happy? Unconditional happiness is the highest technique there is. You
It's really that simple. Once you make that choice, your path don't have to learn Sanskrit or read any scriptures. You don't
through life becomes totally clear. 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
Most people don't dare give themselves that choice because mean it regardless of what happens. This is truly a spiritual
they think it's not under their control. Someone might say, path, and it is as direct and sure a path to Awakening as could
"Well, of course I want to be happy, but my wife left me." possibly exist.
In other words, they want to be happy, but not if their wife
leaves them. But that wasn’t the question. The question was, Once you decide you want to be unconditionally happy, some-
very simply, "Do you want to be happy or not?" If you keep it thing inevitably will happen that challenges you. This test of
that simple, you will see that it really is under your control. your commitment is exactly what stimulates spiritual growth.
It’s just that you have a deep-seated set of preferences that In fact, it is the unconditional aspect of your commitment that
gets in the way. makes this the highest path. It's so simple. You just have to
decide whether or not you will break your vow.
Let's say you've been lost and without food for days, and you
finally find your way to a house. You can hardly make it to When everything is going well, it's easy to be happy. But the
the doorstep, but you manage to pull yourself up and knock moment something difficult happens, it's not so easy. You tend
on the door. Somebody opens the door, looks at you and says, to find yourself saying, "But I didn't know this was going to hap-
"Oh my God! You poor thing! Do you want something to eat? pen. I didn't think I'd miss my flight. I didn't think Sally would
What would you like?" Now the truth is, you really don't care show up at the party wearing the same dress that I had on. I
what they give you. You don’t even want to think about it. didn't think that somebody would dent my brand-new car one
You just utter the word "food." And because you really mean hour after I got it." Are you really willing to break your vow of
it when you say you need food, it no longer has anything to do happiness because these events took place?
with your mental preferences. The same goes for the ques-
tion about happiness. The question is simply "Do you want Billions of things could happen that you haven't even thought
to be happy?" If the answer is really yes, then say it without of yet. The question is not whether they will happen. Things
qualifying it. After all, what the question really means is "Do are going to happen. The real question is whether you want to
you want to be happy from this point forward for the rest be happy regardless of what happens. The purpose of your life
of your life, regardless of what happens?" is to enjoy and learn from your experiences. You were not put
on Earth to suffer. You're not helping anybody by being miser-
Now, if you say yes, it might happen that your wife leaves you, able. Regardless of your philosophical beliefs, the fact remains
or your husband dies, or the stock market crashes, or your car that you were born and you are going to die. During the time
breaks down on an open highway at night. Those things might in between, you get to choose whether or not you want to
happen between now and the end of your life. But if you want enjoy the experience. Events don't determine whether or not
to walk the highest spiritual path, then when you answer yes you're going to be happy. They're just events. You determine
to that simple question, you must really mean it. There are whether or not you're going to be happy. You can be happy just
no ifs, ands, or buts about it. It's not a question of whether to be alive. You can be happy having all these things happen
your happiness is under your control. Of course it's under your to you, and then be happy to die. If you can live this way, your
control. It's just that you don't really mean it when you say heart will be so open and your Spirit will be so free, that you
you're willing to stay happy. You want to qualify it. You want to will soar up to the heavens.

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