He then prepares you through his thought provoking writing to discover the way to your spiritual journey. The author makes great points that will help you to peal away the layers that are holding you back in life, too. When we are motivated by pain rather than love, we become prisoners to that pain. We limit our spiritual growth by clinging to our pain and to the false personas that we have created for ourselves. Remember that this is not who we truly are. Many of us not only defend our pain, we also defend the false personas that we have created for ourselves. Part 4 is called, “Going Beyond” and it is about taking down the walls that we build to protect ourselves. The sooner that we remove them, the better. Have you ever had a splinter and were afraid of the pain if you tried to remove it? This is great analogy for the emotional thorns that also cause us pain. When we stuff them down and do not allow them pass through our hearts where they are transmuted and released, they become like a thorn that festers within us, consuming our energy. According to Michael Singer, events are not traumatic, it’s how we respond to them that makes them traumatic.
This series of chapters describe how emotional energy passes through our bodies and how we block it whenever we stuff down a painful event. Part 2 and Part 3 were when this book really took off for me. This is our spirit, the part of us that is infinite and connects directly with the Divine. Then he takes us deeper, leading us to the heart of who we are, which lies within the seat of our souls. This is just the facade of who we think we are. In chapter three the author asks the question, “Who Are You?” Most people answer this question with a physical description of themselves that also lists their titles and achievements, but this is not our true selves. When we realize that we are instead the observer of the thoughts, then we begin our spiritual awakening. The first four chapters lay the foundation for this book explaining the process of “Awakening Consciousness.” According to the author, we are not the thoughts that are in our heads.