Review: The Unbound Soul: A Spiritual Memoir for Personal Transformation by Richard L. Haight

Title: The Unbound Soul: A Spiritual Memoir of Personal Transformation

Author: Richard L. Haight

Publication Date: May 18, 2016

Publisher: Createspace

Genre: Religion & Spirituality 

Pages: 202

ISBN: 1533380463

Source: ARC from Author

Rating: 

Synopsis (from Publisher):

The true story of a young boy's mystical vision and his subsequent study of meditation, healing and martial arts in search of enlightenment. Tormented by visions mass-corruption and coming worldwide economic, social and ecological collapse, he presses ever onward in his search and eventually realizes the elusive truth of spiritual awakening. Through The Unbound Soul, Richard L. Haight reveals the understanding that will transform your life and he provides a unique meditation method and set of powerful awareness tools to assist you on your personal path towards practical spirituality in everyday life.

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Richard L. Haight instructs martial, meditation and healing arts. He spent 15 years living in Japan training in the ancient martial arts ultimately receiving the menkyo-kaiden (certificate of total mastery), which is the equivalent of a 10th degree black belt in modern ranking. Throughout his life, Richard has had a series of profound visions that have ultimately guided him to the realization of the Oneness that the ancient spiritual teachers often spoke of. Through his new book The Unbound Soul, his meditation and martial arts seminar, Richard Haight is spreading a practical method of spiritual unfoldment that is free of all constraints. Richard Haight now lives and teaches in southern Oregon, U.S.A..

Richard has a free online course at his website www.richardhaight.net to help expedite the spiritual unfoldment process.

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Richard L. Haight's The Unbound Soul is quite an interesting read for those who are curious about spirituality. Haight takes us through the journey of his own spirituality, beginning with a childhood many others may relate to. At a young age, he was told to believe who God was in an unbiblical light, but fortunately was encouraged by his parents to seek truth. Not long after, he began to experience spirituality in an unexpected form that aided him in his quest for answers. One instance in which he dreamed that Jesus told him to find his bones, as they are the core of his teaching. 

Be prepared to soak in information like a sponge, because there are many layers to Haight's writings. The further you delve into the book, the further you immerse yourself into the ideology that humanity and everything that surrounds it is one essence with what could be considered the "Presence." We are consciousness with infinite potential, but are ignorant of our identity within the context of universal dimension. He also states that it isn't that there are "spiritual" and "non-spiritual" people, the absolute is that we are all spiritual beings, but not all realize the level of spirituality within their being.

Some of the concepts and practices outlined throughout the book are, at times, difficult to follow. However, if you expand your reading to the resources on his website, you may gain better understanding and application. I would recommend at least giving the Observation Meditation and/or Dance of Self a try, as you may find them helpful in re-grounding yourself for the day. There are well detailed outlines in the book on how to perform these meditations.

Haight is also a coach in Shinkaido, which is a practice that works to achieve 4 primary goals (as stated at richardhaight.net):

1. Martial Arts: dealing with fear and violence through relaxed movement and awareness.
2. Dynamic Meditation: discovering what is innate yet beyond the mind, while realizing and resolving the barriers that have served to block that realization. 
3. Autonomic Stretching: Creating a balance between strength, flexibility and relaxation while resetting nerve organs throughout the body, you will realize the most efficient, silent, aware body possible.
4. Autonomic Therapy: Using reverse innervation and healing touch to resolve disharmony and disease.

I am very impressed that Haight struggled with a learning disorder growing up and was able to make so much progress as an adult to not only pen a book, but one with this much depth. It was definitely an interesting read. As with any book on spirituality, the only real way to take any of it literally is by applying it and seeing if it works for yourself. If it doesn't, that could mean it just isn't for you, but it doesn't hurt to try.