In Common Light

A lesson that really has worked for me, taught by Michael Singer in his book The Untethered Soul, is letting go. This process draws upon philosophies from Buddhism and Hinduism. Letting go is a subtle process that happens inward, and learning and practicing letting go allowed me to gain a sense of more inner freedom. What does it mean to “let go” and how can it improve one’s life?

Associating with Thoughts

Before learning about this, I associated with my thoughts, as if they were me. I took them seriously and followed everything they said. This sounds rational to us. Before reading this book, I wouldn’t have thought I was doing anything wrong by listening to my thoughts. I thought I needed them for guidance, to know what to do in social situations, to know how to go about life in general. 

I thought I needed this mental chatter. I resonated and listened to it as if it was me talking to myself. For example, my thoughts would guide me in what to do. For example, they would say, “Okay, the server is coming, it is time to order,” while I was out to dinner. But it would go deeper, “Wait, is she going to chose me to order first, or should I just voluntarily go first?” And then, “Okay, don’t sound rude, but don’t sound like you are trying to be super polite for no reason.” As you can see, this mental chatter became unnecessary. It didn’t just tell me what to do, it judged me.

We Are Not Our Thoughts

We don’t actually need this mental chatter. In the book, I learned that we are not our thoughts. Instead, we are the observer of our thoughts. Because we are not our thoughts, we should not believe what they say. This was a new concept for me. I had thought: “If our thoughts are not us, then what are they, where do they come from?”

Where Our Thoughts Come From

Our thoughts are stored energy patterns that are formed from our past experiences. When we use our will to draw our consciousness to particular objects that we perceive, called clinging (for things we like) and resisting (for things we dislike), this interrupts the natural flow of conscious awareness. Because consciousness is drawn to the most intense object, “Neither of these mental patterns can finish their journey through the mind” (Singer, 2022, pg. 58). Clinging and resisting create a blockage in energy and are called samskaras, according to Indian Philosophy. These blockages get stored in our psyche and then come up in future experiences when we perceive something similar to what we clung or resisted to, called vasanas (Significance of Vasana, 2026). 

To show what we resist to Singer uses the following example. Let’s say you are hiking on a beautiful trail and all of a sudden you see a snake on the ground. You immediately feel shock and fear, and run away from it in a hurry. When you notice that you are far enough from the snake to feel safe, you feel much more calm. Because our mind did not like this experience, it resisted it. Our consciousness distanced ourselves from that mental image. Then, a day later when you are walking down the street, you see a rope on the ground. This reminds you of the snake, and you feel the same shock. This settles when you realize it’s not a snake. In this example, our negative experience led to a similar experience a day later.

The Alternative

When you are triggered, like when you see a rope on the ground, this energy (shock) is pulling on your heart, and if you get sucked into that, you lose your center of consciousness, and fall into that energy. In the rope scenario, this doesn’t happen when you notice the rope is not a snake.

However, in other situations, like social ones, your mind then begins spiraling, overthinking. Your mind is not seeing reality; it is seeing impressions from your past patterns. In essence, we are reliving a past experience. It may feel wise to draw upon past wisdom, but it is not seeing reality clearly. We may feel like our current partner is betraying us by going out with their friends, but this in reality is from something we haven’t yet healed from in our past.

Letting Go

Letting go means to release the energy pull when it comes up. When you are triggered, let the energy move through you. When you notice yourself getting triggered, you could say to yourself, “I am aware that I am aware of this energy.” This pulls you away from the thoughts, creating distance. You will notice pretty quickly that the thoughts do not spiral.

For example, you could use this if someone cuts you off in traffic. You may find yourself getting angry. You may think, “How dare they, now I am going to cut them off back!” When you take this fall, you externalize the negative energy.

The more you let go, the more free you feel. The more you let go, the less triggered you get on a daily basis, and the more space you have in your mind for clarity and peace.

Practical Exercise

Mediation will make the process of letting go easier. Meditation strengthens your center of consciousness, increasing your ability to let go in the present moment by staying centered.

Conclusion

Letting go is a powerful tool for inner peace, clarity, and freedom. It is a subtle process that happens inward that I would not recommend enough. I would highly recommend Singer’s books to explain these concepts in more detail.

References

Www.wisdomlib.org. (2026, March 17). Significance of vasana. Vasana: Significance and symbolism. https://www.wisdomlib.org/concept/vasana

Singer, M. A. (2022). Living untethered: Beyond the human predicament. New Harbinger Publications.