WEBVTT 1 00:00:04.400 --> 00:00:10.400 Hey there, Welcome back to the Skeptic Metaphysicians. I am grateful, 2 00:00:11.119 --> 00:00:14.000 so grateful that you have decided to join me once 3 00:00:14.080 --> 00:00:20.280 again on this shorter episode of the Skeptic Metaphysicians. Today, 4 00:00:20.399 --> 00:00:24.679 I'm reading another chapter from Living Untethered Beyond the Human 5 00:00:24.719 --> 00:00:29.640 Predicament by Michael Singer. Living Untethered is a, I guess, 6 00:00:29.679 --> 00:00:33.320 an unofficial sequel to The Untethered Soul, which was Michael's 7 00:00:33.520 --> 00:00:39.399 breakout New York Times bestselling book, which I loved. And 8 00:00:40.079 --> 00:00:43.119 as I'm reading through this book, certain things jump out 9 00:00:43.119 --> 00:00:47.119 at me. And one of these chapters I felt was 10 00:00:47.159 --> 00:00:50.039 so strong that I felt the need have to share 11 00:00:50.039 --> 00:00:53.399 it with you. It's chapter twenty seven in the book. 12 00:00:53.439 --> 00:00:57.320 It's very short, and it's called the Paradigm Shift, and 13 00:00:57.359 --> 00:01:00.520 I think, before I get started, need to mind you. 14 00:01:00.880 --> 00:01:04.120 He talks about something called sam Scarow's and sam Scarow's 15 00:01:04.239 --> 00:01:09.560 are thought forms that we form in our intellect, in 16 00:01:09.599 --> 00:01:13.959 our minds, in our bodies, that lead the way we 17 00:01:14.200 --> 00:01:18.400 live our lives. A sam scare is a mental impression, 18 00:01:18.959 --> 00:01:23.760 a recollection, or psychological imprint that shapes our thoughts and 19 00:01:23.920 --> 00:01:29.159 actions and the influence future actions and circumstances. For each 20 00:01:29.200 --> 00:01:32.959 one of us, and we do that to ourselves very naturally. 21 00:01:32.959 --> 00:01:34.680 We've been programmed to do it, and it is a 22 00:01:34.920 --> 00:01:37.959 very organic way that it happens. He explains it in 23 00:01:38.000 --> 00:01:40.760 the book, but he touches on sam scares in this chapter, 24 00:01:40.840 --> 00:01:42.239 so I wanted to make sure that you understood what 25 00:01:42.280 --> 00:01:45.280 that means. For a deeper dive into sam scars and 26 00:01:45.319 --> 00:01:49.480 how they work, I would strongly encourage you to pick 27 00:01:49.560 --> 00:01:53.439 up the book Living Untethered. It's a fantastic exploration of 28 00:01:53.480 --> 00:01:57.359 how we can learn to release these sam scaros and 29 00:01:57.640 --> 00:02:04.920 break free from the metaphorical imprisonment that we are all under. Okay, 30 00:02:05.400 --> 00:02:10.759 here is chapter twenty seven, the paradigm Shift. Everyone wants 31 00:02:10.759 --> 00:02:14.400 to improve their experience of life. People are always looking 32 00:02:14.439 --> 00:02:19.280 for more joy, love, inspiration and meaning. The question is 33 00:02:19.400 --> 00:02:23.879 how to achieve this. Let's do an experiment. Imagine an 34 00:02:23.919 --> 00:02:26.599 all powerful force has asked you to write down some 35 00:02:26.680 --> 00:02:29.240 things that need to happen for you to totally enjoy 36 00:02:29.280 --> 00:02:32.960 your life. If you're like most people, you'll write down 37 00:02:33.000 --> 00:02:36.159 things like a new house, a special relationship, a higher 38 00:02:36.159 --> 00:02:39.680 paying job, maybe a year long vacation to your favorite 39 00:02:39.719 --> 00:02:43.719 spots around the world. When you're done, you will be 40 00:02:44.039 --> 00:02:46.120 so excited to turn in that list and get your 41 00:02:46.159 --> 00:02:50.280 wishes granted. Unfortunately, you're gonna have to wait a moment 42 00:02:50.360 --> 00:02:54.800 because we're gonna go deeper with this experiment. If you 43 00:02:54.879 --> 00:02:58.719 examine your list more closely, you'll see that it's not 44 00:02:59.280 --> 00:03:03.120 what you want. Let's say you wrote down that you 45 00:03:03.199 --> 00:03:04.800 want to get married to the person you love, and 46 00:03:04.840 --> 00:03:07.639 you want a wedding in Maui with birds of paradise 47 00:03:07.719 --> 00:03:11.120 surrounding the ceremony. After the wedding, you want to live 48 00:03:11.120 --> 00:03:13.879 in a beautiful, mortgage free house overlooking the ocean with 49 00:03:13.960 --> 00:03:17.080 two fancy cars in a driveway. It's the dream you've 50 00:03:17.120 --> 00:03:21.639 had since childhood. The problem is that that's not what 51 00:03:21.680 --> 00:03:24.800 you really want. See, your mind has played a trick 52 00:03:24.879 --> 00:03:27.879 on you. Say you have the wedding, the house, and 53 00:03:27.919 --> 00:03:30.319 the cars just like you wanted them, but your new 54 00:03:30.360 --> 00:03:33.319 spouse turns out to be a real jerk. You're treated 55 00:03:33.520 --> 00:03:36.520 terribly and it's obvious right from the start that this 56 00:03:36.599 --> 00:03:39.520 is going to be the worst marriage in human history. 57 00:03:40.360 --> 00:03:43.280 On top of that, you're Catholic, so you can't get divorced. 58 00:03:44.080 --> 00:03:48.639 Do you still want that wedding? Unlikely, so it wasn't 59 00:03:48.719 --> 00:03:52.639 really the marriage you wanted. You wanted the beautiful experience 60 00:03:52.639 --> 00:03:54.199 that you thought the marriage was going to give you, 61 00:03:54.800 --> 00:03:59.599 So why didn't you ask for that? The same thing 62 00:03:59.639 --> 00:04:02.560 holds for the new job, the million dollars in the bank, 63 00:04:02.599 --> 00:04:05.560 and the respect of the other people. Fine, you can 64 00:04:05.599 --> 00:04:07.919 have it all, but what if it creates so much 65 00:04:07.960 --> 00:04:12.199 stress and worry that you're miserable. You'd wish you could 66 00:04:12.199 --> 00:04:14.599 have your old job back. You didn't really want the job, 67 00:04:14.680 --> 00:04:17.319 the money, or the acceptance. You wanted what you thought 68 00:04:17.319 --> 00:04:20.759 they would give you. You wanted happiness, joy, and a 69 00:04:20.800 --> 00:04:24.879 sense of total well being. How about a constant innerstate 70 00:04:24.920 --> 00:04:28.759 of love, beauty, and inspiration at the highest level you've 71 00:04:28.800 --> 00:04:33.240 ever experienced. Why didn't you ask for that? What you 72 00:04:33.319 --> 00:04:37.720 did was allow your strongest past experiences to define what 73 00:04:37.759 --> 00:04:40.639 you think will make you feel happy. It doesn't work 74 00:04:40.680 --> 00:04:43.160 that way. There are plenty of people who have what 75 00:04:43.199 --> 00:04:45.920 you wrote down on your list, and they're not always happy. 76 00:04:46.600 --> 00:04:51.040 There's nothing you ever experienced that left you totally fulfilled 77 00:04:51.079 --> 00:04:56.000 for any length of time. You've always needed more your 78 00:04:56.199 --> 00:04:59.000 entire life. You've been saying, if I get this thing 79 00:04:59.040 --> 00:05:01.680 I want, I'll be okay, and if I don't have 80 00:05:01.759 --> 00:05:05.000 to get what I don't want, I'll be fine for 81 00:05:05.120 --> 00:05:07.720 your whole life. There's been a list. When will you 82 00:05:07.920 --> 00:05:12.079 realize that doesn't work? If you've been doing something every 83 00:05:12.120 --> 00:05:14.959 minute of your entire life and you're still doing it, 84 00:05:15.240 --> 00:05:18.480 Obviously it doesn't work. When I go directly to the 85 00:05:18.560 --> 00:05:21.759 root and say, what I want is to feel love 86 00:05:22.000 --> 00:05:26.360 and joy. What I want is every moment of every day, 87 00:05:26.439 --> 00:05:30.000 to feel complete well being as high as I've ever 88 00:05:30.040 --> 00:05:33.519 felt before, and to be inspired by everything I do. 89 00:05:34.079 --> 00:05:38.120 Now there's a list, let's turn that one in well. 90 00:05:38.160 --> 00:05:40.439 The interesting result of our experiment is that it has 91 00:05:40.519 --> 00:05:45.920 led us away from worldliness and into the essence of spirituality. 92 00:05:46.079 --> 00:05:48.879 Not that worldliness is a negative term. It just means 93 00:05:48.879 --> 00:05:51.439 you think the answer is in the world. You think 94 00:05:51.480 --> 00:05:54.519 the answer lies in what's unfolding in front of you. 95 00:05:55.319 --> 00:05:57.959 It isn't wrong to go to the world for what 96 00:05:58.040 --> 00:06:02.040 you think you want it it doesn't work. You're trying 97 00:06:02.079 --> 00:06:05.360 to find something outside that matches your sam scare of 98 00:06:05.399 --> 00:06:08.560 the day. Once you get what you want or avoid 99 00:06:08.560 --> 00:06:11.800 what you don't want, that will no longer be your 100 00:06:11.839 --> 00:06:15.639 major desire or greatest fear. Once that's out of the way, 101 00:06:15.680 --> 00:06:18.759 there will always be the next time or the next 102 00:06:18.800 --> 00:06:23.759 issue coming to the surface. Eventually you wake up you 103 00:06:23.839 --> 00:06:27.839 realize that you want to feel love, not that you 104 00:06:27.879 --> 00:06:30.399 want to love someone or have someone love you. You 105 00:06:30.519 --> 00:06:34.279 just want to feel love all the time. If your 106 00:06:34.319 --> 00:06:37.680 love is not dependent on anything or anyone, it can 107 00:06:37.800 --> 00:06:42.959 last forever. We call that unconditional love. The great Yoga 108 00:06:43.000 --> 00:06:49.720 master Mayor Baba taught that love must spring spontaneously from within. 109 00:06:50.399 --> 00:06:54.240 It cannot be coerced, and it cannot be dependent upon anything. 110 00:06:54.959 --> 00:06:58.839 That is what pure love is. Otherwise, you have a 111 00:06:58.920 --> 00:07:04.040 temporary situation that just happens to match your stored patterns. Unfortunately, 112 00:07:04.279 --> 00:07:08.319 this won't last, and you've got lots of sem scarows 113 00:07:08.360 --> 00:07:12.040 in there. In addition, if you're in a relationship, the 114 00:07:12.199 --> 00:07:15.480 other person has lots of patterns of their own, quite 115 00:07:15.759 --> 00:07:20.399 different from yours. This is why relationships are so complicated. 116 00:07:21.000 --> 00:07:24.439 Not only are each person's past sem scaers different, but 117 00:07:24.680 --> 00:07:29.279 both people have different experiences every day to add to 118 00:07:29.319 --> 00:07:32.560 the collection. If somebody yelled at your partner at work, 119 00:07:33.120 --> 00:07:35.360 they're different when they come home than if somebody was 120 00:07:35.600 --> 00:07:38.959 nice to them. You of course had your daily experiences. 121 00:07:39.319 --> 00:07:42.000 If your feeling of love is dependent upon your partner 122 00:07:42.040 --> 00:07:45.279 behaving a certain way when they come home. You're in trouble, 123 00:07:45.480 --> 00:07:48.920 and so were they. You have enough difficulty dealing with 124 00:07:49.000 --> 00:07:51.120 your own sam scarrows, now you have to deal with 125 00:07:51.160 --> 00:07:55.879 theirs also. Now, don't get scared. This doesn't mean you 126 00:07:55.920 --> 00:08:00.279 don't have meaningful relationships. There are beautiful relationships and they 127 00:08:00.319 --> 00:08:03.560 can last forever. In fact, they can get more and 128 00:08:03.639 --> 00:08:08.160 more beautiful all the time. But they are not sam 129 00:08:08.199 --> 00:08:12.600 Scara relationships. They're not based on the world outside matching 130 00:08:12.639 --> 00:08:17.600 your inner patterns. They're based on unconditional love. Once love 131 00:08:17.680 --> 00:08:20.879 is always flowing freely inside you, you'll be pleased to 132 00:08:20.920 --> 00:08:24.560 share it with another person. Such love is not based 133 00:08:24.600 --> 00:08:28.879 on needs or expectations. It's based on pure love wishing 134 00:08:28.920 --> 00:08:33.600 to express itself unconditionally. So how do you reach such 135 00:08:33.600 --> 00:08:36.519 a state of unconditional love and well being? Instead of 136 00:08:36.600 --> 00:08:39.120 trying to get the world to match your blockages, you 137 00:08:39.200 --> 00:08:42.759 work on letting go of the blockages. That's the secret 138 00:08:42.879 --> 00:08:47.480 of real spiritual growth, That is the real paradigm shift. 139 00:08:48.159 --> 00:08:51.720 If you don't have the sam scaros, nothing will be 140 00:08:51.759 --> 00:08:55.440 blocking your inner energy flow. You'll feel love, joy, and 141 00:08:55.600 --> 00:09:01.919 inspiration all the time, willing to experience the moment unfolding 142 00:09:01.919 --> 00:09:04.279 in front of you. You'll have the opportunity to be 143 00:09:04.440 --> 00:09:09.720 inspired by everything. The simple fact that things exist will 144 00:09:09.759 --> 00:09:13.559 be sufficient to move you. You only have two choices. 145 00:09:13.600 --> 00:09:15.759 Either you devote your life to getting the world to 146 00:09:15.799 --> 00:09:20.200 match your sam scarows, or you devote your life to 147 00:09:20.399 --> 00:09:24.840 letting go of those sam scaros. If you choose the ladder, 148 00:09:25.080 --> 00:09:27.519 you don't end up with both a worldly life and 149 00:09:27.559 --> 00:09:33.080 a spiritual life. You end up with one life. Work, meditation, retreats, 150 00:09:33.240 --> 00:09:36.360 taking out the garbage, sweeping the floor, driving, showering through 151 00:09:36.360 --> 00:09:39.799 all the same The same thing is going on in 152 00:09:39.919 --> 00:09:44.240 all your activities. You are letting go of your blockages. 153 00:09:45.120 --> 00:09:47.879 It's equally beneficial to be letting go of your blockages 154 00:09:48.000 --> 00:09:51.080 at work, when you're driving the kids to soccer, picking 155 00:09:51.159 --> 00:09:53.720 up the groceries, or doing whatever it is that you're doing. 156 00:09:54.559 --> 00:09:58.399 Every single moment of your life, you are either naturally 157 00:09:58.519 --> 00:10:01.720 enjoying what is or letting go of what's keeping you 158 00:10:01.759 --> 00:10:05.200 from enjoying what is. If you let go of the 159 00:10:05.279 --> 00:10:09.039 wants and fears that are limiting you, you'll always be 160 00:10:09.159 --> 00:10:14.679 okay letting go of yourself instead of serving yourself. That 161 00:10:15.159 --> 00:10:19.879 is a real paradigm shift. That's the end of the chapter. 162 00:10:20.200 --> 00:10:22.080 I hope that you got as much out of it 163 00:10:22.120 --> 00:10:25.159 as I did. This whole book is mind blowing. It's 164 00:10:25.200 --> 00:10:27.279 not an easy one to break into. But once you're 165 00:10:27.320 --> 00:10:29.600 in the right mindset and you let it speak to you, 166 00:10:29.639 --> 00:10:36.000 like truly speak to you, the wisdom is unbelievable. It 167 00:10:36.080 --> 00:10:41.440 makes so much sense. Things that I have experienced are 168 00:10:42.159 --> 00:10:44.559 causing me to react to the world in a certain way. 169 00:10:45.480 --> 00:10:48.679 And how many teachers and yogi's across the world have 170 00:10:48.759 --> 00:10:52.919 always said that. I think it's the Buddhist thought process 171 00:10:52.919 --> 00:10:59.240 of philosophy that says the sources of all suffering is attachments. Well, 172 00:10:59.480 --> 00:11:01.840 in essence, that's what a simska is. I guess right. 173 00:11:01.879 --> 00:11:05.159 You're attached to a particular outcome. Someone cuts you off 174 00:11:05.200 --> 00:11:08.720 in traffic. Your experience in the past has been a 175 00:11:08.720 --> 00:11:12.080 negative one, so you react negatively. But if instead you 176 00:11:12.120 --> 00:11:14.639 think about the fact that, oh, they just cut me 177 00:11:14.679 --> 00:11:19.240 off in traffic, Thankfully nothing happened, everybody is safe. It 178 00:11:19.279 --> 00:11:23.399 really doesn't affect you if you allow it to feel 179 00:11:23.440 --> 00:11:26.480 that way. Of course, our first reaction is to let 180 00:11:26.519 --> 00:11:29.039 it affect us. In buoy in a big way. But 181 00:11:29.720 --> 00:11:32.360 what good does that do. It's not going to make 182 00:11:32.480 --> 00:11:35.399 that person not have cut you off. It's not going 183 00:11:35.480 --> 00:11:38.399 to teach the person a lesson if you suddenly get 184 00:11:38.440 --> 00:11:41.759 all road raging on them, right, what's the good in it? 185 00:11:42.519 --> 00:11:45.639 All it does is hurt you inside. It makes you 186 00:11:45.720 --> 00:11:51.080 feel bitter and angry and resentful, and then your entire 187 00:11:51.159 --> 00:11:55.559 day is led from that energy perspective. And that's no 188 00:11:55.679 --> 00:11:59.919 good for anybody. If instead we said, ooh, okay, this 189 00:12:00.080 --> 00:12:02.679 person's in a hurry, or maybe they got in the 190 00:12:02.679 --> 00:12:04.919 wrong lane and they were trying to get over didn't 191 00:12:04.960 --> 00:12:07.639 know how or anything that you want to. When you 192 00:12:07.679 --> 00:12:13.080 assume good intent, good things happen. But even further than that, 193 00:12:13.120 --> 00:12:15.080 what the book is talking about, with what the chapter 194 00:12:15.200 --> 00:12:18.639 is talking about is I'm not even assuming good intent, 195 00:12:18.720 --> 00:12:22.480 but rather not letting it phase you. It's just an 196 00:12:22.519 --> 00:12:26.759 action that someone has taken because of their own Sam 197 00:12:26.799 --> 00:12:30.879 scarows that doesn't affect you unless you allow it to, 198 00:12:31.039 --> 00:12:34.080 unless you want it to. And I believe me, it's 199 00:12:34.080 --> 00:12:36.759 a much easier thing said than done. I've been working 200 00:12:36.759 --> 00:12:38.240 on this since I started reading the book. It is 201 00:12:38.279 --> 00:12:41.159 not easy. The good thing is later on in the book. 202 00:12:41.200 --> 00:12:43.679 It does give you very specific ways of how to 203 00:12:43.759 --> 00:12:47.159 release thee Sam scarows these energies are being blocked inside 204 00:12:47.200 --> 00:12:51.480 your emotional system throughout your entire life, and so I'm 205 00:12:51.519 --> 00:12:53.639 starting to get it. I'm starting to see it. I'm 206 00:12:53.639 --> 00:12:58.039 starting to make changes inside myself, release certain things, some 207 00:12:58.080 --> 00:13:02.720 situations that in the passive call me to be super anxious. 208 00:13:04.519 --> 00:13:07.960 By utilizing the steps he is showing me in the books, 209 00:13:08.080 --> 00:13:12.919 I have found a way to deactivate those situations, and 210 00:13:13.000 --> 00:13:15.960 that anxiety is not as strong for me anymore. I 211 00:13:16.000 --> 00:13:18.600 got a long way to go, but boy, I've come 212 00:13:18.600 --> 00:13:21.879 a long way, all right. If this spoke to you 213 00:13:21.919 --> 00:13:23.840 in any way, I encourage you to pick up Living 214 00:13:23.919 --> 00:13:29.320 Untethered by Michael Singer's It's remarkable if you allowed to, 215 00:13:29.360 --> 00:13:33.159 if you're ready for it. So curious if you're reading 216 00:13:33.600 --> 00:13:36.240 Living Untethered, or if you've read it, what your thoughts 217 00:13:36.279 --> 00:13:38.679 are on It'd love to hear your thoughts. You can 218 00:13:38.720 --> 00:13:41.279 always reach us at Skeptic Metaphysician dot com. You can 219 00:13:41.360 --> 00:13:44.360 leave us a voicemail or an email directly from the site, 220 00:13:44.600 --> 00:13:47.360 or if you prefer a more personal approach, you can 221 00:13:47.399 --> 00:13:55.519 always email me directly at will Will at skepticmanaphysician dot com. 222 00:13:55.679 --> 00:13:57.600 Like I said at the very beginning, I'm very grateful 223 00:13:57.600 --> 00:14:00.399 that you choose to join me on these journeys. Every 224 00:14:00.399 --> 00:14:03.840 time that you hit play, I hope that you have 225 00:14:03.919 --> 00:14:07.200 received as much out of this as I have, and 226 00:14:07.279 --> 00:14:11.279 I look forward to a lot more connections like this 227 00:14:11.320 --> 00:14:15.480 one with you in the future. Until next time, please 228 00:14:15.879 --> 00:14:16.720 take care of yourself.