3 out of 4 stars
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The Unbound Soul is a book penned by Richard L. Haight. This spiritual book takes the reader on a profound journey of “spiritual unfoldment”.
The book contains twenty-four chapters. It is divided into four parts. The first part is named My Story. It is a personal account of the author's life. Growing up in California, Haight led a charmed childhood in his parent’s horse ranch. When he was eight years old, a certain Mrs. Pacetti introduced him to an orthodox form of religion. However, a discussion with his parents made him understand that God is not rigid. That very year, he started dreaming of Jesus. In his last dream, he promised Jesus that he would find the essence of His teachings and give it back to the world. After that, he overcame his learning disability. He also started learning martial arts. Gradually, life took him to Georgia, Japan, and Ecuador. He had many spiritual experiences. He also went on two vision quests. The first part of the book chronicles all this in a simple, lucid, and humorous manner. I believe this part makes the reader connect easily with Haight's teachings.
The second part of the book is named The Path. In this part, the author talks about the different ways to connect with Isness. He discusses the frequencies of the mind and consciousness. He upholds The Warrior's Meditation as a way to tune into one's consciousness. He moves on to talk about the disharmonies present in the body. According to him, The Dance of the Self is an effective way to purge disharmony. Height also talks about the potential pitfalls. I loved the way the author included short anecdotes in this section. This made everything more relatable. The third part is named Daily Unfoldment. Haight started off this section by talking about teachers and their relationship with students. I truly admire the way he said that teachers should be respected, but not worshipped. Height moves on to talks about the care of the mind and the body. I like how he gives equal importance to both the mind and the body. Haight also expounds on mystical experiences. He used to play a game called ‘Truth or Lie’ with his students in Japan to talk about these experiences. I found this game to be both entertaining and enlightening.
The fourth part of the book is named Soul and Spirit. Here, the author talks about the soul, the spirit, and their place in the cycle of life. Then, he talks about mankind's greatest fears. He also outlines how these fears fit in the process of enlightenment. He moves on to stress the importance of discarding identifications. He clearly states that both positive and negative identifications bind the soul. Finally, he talks about “unconditioned love”.
The best thing about this book is that it did not force me to subscribe to a particular brand of belief system. For example, the author's belief in reincarnation could be easily understood. However, he clearly states that the reader need not believe in it. The only thing the reader needs to have faith in is “unconditioned love”. It is clear that the only thing the author expects from the reader is to keep an open-mind.
The Unbound Soul is a well-structured book. I like the way the author included links to pertinent websites and books. I also think the addition of the glossary and appendix can be quite helpful for some readers. I read the kindle version of the third edition of this book. In my copy, I found some errors. These errors were more than ten in number. Consequently, they have affected my rating. I think this is the only shortcoming of this book.
Keeping in mind the pros and cons, I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. If not for the errors, I would have gladly given it a perfect rating. I think orthodox people should steer clear of this book. Also, this book is not for atheists. I recommend this book to spiritualist. Open-minded readers can also learn a lot from The Unbound Soul.
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The Unbound Soul
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