A Reflection On The Unbound Soul By Richard L. Haight
The Unbound Soul by Richard L Haight is properly a book about spiritual awakening. It’s divided into four parts with the first describing his encounters with various spiritual elements in earlier years like the force he calls Isness which he describes as an all-good spiritual entity that is forgiving and accepting. He uses this specific section to familiarise the reader with his key reasons for authoring the book. The second part lays down the principles and process of awakening and the third discusses ways to preserve the health of the mind and body during the process of awakening. The fourth and final part explores the soul and the spirit, forces he says are fundamental in stimulating suffering and driving a person towards spiritual awakening. The whole book is compiled through the connection with the unnameable, the Tao.
To me, the first part was undoubtedly the most interesting because the author succinctly described his life in considerable detail, specifically the near-death experiences he had when he was younger. He claims to have perceived a force near a part of his body, like his head, and each time something unpleasant was prevented from happening. I’m uncertain on the plausibility of his extraordinary claims because most of the time he had out of body experiences he had eagerly consumed concoctions that may have affected his cognitive ability.
One of the aspects I really liked about this book was how unabashedly the author told his truth. He didn’t seem to mind the possibility that some would criticise him and naturally label his visions false. I genuinely admire someone who believes in themselves enough to render their work for others to judge. And I must say, true or false, the author did a good job of narrating his story. The language in which he wrote it was clear, concise and poignant. As a modern reader, I was able to instantly get a vivid image of what he was going through; it felt as real as something that may have happened to me.
I also liked that the author offered several practical tips for those willing to undertake the spiritual journey. Although I may not exercise them myself, I can appreciate the care with which he described each step of the process. He equally didn’t seem out to proclaim his process as better than everyone else’s (as most people are) but he gently encourages the reader to earnestly try for themselves and judge if his method is more satisfactory.
What I disliked most about this book was that some chapters invariably seemed to drag on. The author tried simplifying some of the more complex phenomena with relatable analogies and metaphors but still, he talked at length about things that could have been glossed over and still understood. In this classic case, the author could have cut out unnecessary parts and retained those that mattered; rigorous editing would have helped here.
Other than that, I have little else to say about the book except that I didn’t really enjoy it much. I choose to rate it two out of four stars. In my opinion, the author could have put in more effort to make the book more engaging. I must, however, mention that this book was exceptionally well edited. I found no grammatical or spelling errors and that is commendable. I would recommend this book to those looking to find themselves and undertake a spiritual journey. I would not recommend it to people who do not believe in the power of spirituality. I look forward to reading more from the author.
