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This: Becoming Free
Doubt-filled spiritual leader and reluctant Grammy-nominated Christian musician Michael Gungor finally let go of his belief in God as he tried to whittle together a god that he could love. Letting go of the stories that defined his identity and value in the world led Gungor and his family on a wild and painful journey through atheism, mysticism, betrayal, loss, medical issues, moving trucks, and thousands of online trolls.
The deconstruction of his faith is one story. The transformation of it is another. As Gungor lets us know, our stories are the seams of illusion that we sew into reality―in order to label this and that. But what you think of as you (or anything else for that matter) is simply movement within the ocean of Being―of THIS. Once you see that is it just a story, you can let go and be free.
THIS is beyond words, category, or distinction. It simply and fully is.
Through personal story, parable, philosophy, physics, and absurdity, Gungor shows us that who we think we are is an illusion, a constriction of reality that creates suffering in our lives. This: Becoming Free is a letter of love, reminding you of who you truly are under those stories of yours.
The deconstruction of his faith is one story. The transformation of it is another. As Gungor lets us know, our stories are the seams of illusion that we sew into reality―in order to label this and that. But what you think of as you (or anything else for that matter) is simply movement within the ocean of Being―of THIS. Once you see that is it just a story, you can let go and be free.
THIS is beyond words, category, or distinction. It simply and fully is.
Through personal story, parable, philosophy, physics, and absurdity, Gungor shows us that who we think we are is an illusion, a constriction of reality that creates suffering in our lives. This: Becoming Free is a letter of love, reminding you of who you truly are under those stories of yours.
208 pages, Paperback
Published April 16, 2019
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April 28, 2019
“This” is an odd one. I have two complete opposite parts of me that have very different opinions on this book. One side enjoys it, the other part of me heavily critiques it. Gungor’s book is hard to define: it is part memoir, part parable, part musings, part mystic exploration. It primarily aims for the audience that Gungor’s music is made for: the spiritually troubled millennial (and iGen).
It explores Michael Gungor’s loss of faith, him being condemned by the Christian community. All this leads him to explore atheism to then to return to a “woo” version of mysticism, aka Ram Dass and Alan Watts. In this process, he adopts a new name: “Vishnu Dass”. This version of spirituality seems to be a form of Jungian-ism (but more mystical, and less psychological), exploring the myths of religion. Knowing these stories not to be real, but that these stories engage with something real beyond themselves. The “real” is the “This”, aka the present moment, aka oneness, aka the non-dual reality of which all is energy of. There is a certain beauty to this view; it certainly makes sense to elements I’ve experienced in meditation. It also allows for a playfulness to life that is wonderful, and grounds one in a deep sense of seeing the other in compassion and with love- to encounter the “other” as yourself. It leads one to engage with your brother or sister as you which is powerful and this book demonstrates the power of "This" brilliantly in the later part of the book.
There are a few problems though, with all of this. The main one is that it still creates a Us vs. Them, since there is still an “awakened” vs “sleeping”, and this duality in the non-dual argument has always struck me as odd. I know Vishnu insists this is not the case, yet
As well, this version of mysticism can’t get at social injustice, since if all is a manifestation of the oneness, there is nothing to change, which can lead to problematic systems being kept in place (see the caste system, which Gungor does point out). Michael seems to turn off the non-duality glasses when arguing for social change, and to me, it looks a bit like he’s trying to have his cake and eat it too. On top of this, certain parts of Gungor’s critique on Christianity seem to address American Christianity rather than Christianity as a whole, although his critiques on Americanism is on point and gets at the unconscious drives present within evangelicalism.
Many Buddhists and gurus from the east look with a sceptical eye towards the western appropriations of their teachings and ideas, and I think this book shows why that is the case. Bringing the East and West together often tends to blend into a Californian hippie version of Eastern thought (although this is a bit rough, Vishnu’s ideas are certainly much more nuanced).
Despite my criticism, there is something all people, whatever the game is they’re playing (mystic, theist, atheist), can take away from Gungor’s insistence that these stories are just manifestations of the ego. “This” is summed up in “Neti neti” (meaning: not this, not that). All language falls short of expressing what one experiences in a non-dual state (or any claim anyone makes). Life is all some form of a game, and “Neti, neti” can remind us all that words fail when it comes to describing anything.
As a final thought: Michael Gungor’s mind is beautiful, and I am thankful he wrote this work, It has the potential to free anyone from fundamentalism and teach them how to engage with one another in a better way. On a memoir side: I am so so happy Gungor seems to have found peace and his place in this universe, it’s terrific to witness. All in all, a mixed bag - just like this review, it feels too harsh for the lovely person that is behind this book.
PS. this book is worth getting as an audiobook. It should be the example of how a well-crafted audiobook should sound like, with composed music and different sound effects, which kept the book engaging, even during moments this book fell flat.
It explores Michael Gungor’s loss of faith, him being condemned by the Christian community. All this leads him to explore atheism to then to return to a “woo” version of mysticism, aka Ram Dass and Alan Watts. In this process, he adopts a new name: “Vishnu Dass”. This version of spirituality seems to be a form of Jungian-ism (but more mystical, and less psychological), exploring the myths of religion. Knowing these stories not to be real, but that these stories engage with something real beyond themselves. The “real” is the “This”, aka the present moment, aka oneness, aka the non-dual reality of which all is energy of. There is a certain beauty to this view; it certainly makes sense to elements I’ve experienced in meditation. It also allows for a playfulness to life that is wonderful, and grounds one in a deep sense of seeing the other in compassion and with love- to encounter the “other” as yourself. It leads one to engage with your brother or sister as you which is powerful and this book demonstrates the power of "This" brilliantly in the later part of the book.
There are a few problems though, with all of this. The main one is that it still creates a Us vs. Them, since there is still an “awakened” vs “sleeping”, and this duality in the non-dual argument has always struck me as odd. I know Vishnu insists this is not the case, yet
As well, this version of mysticism can’t get at social injustice, since if all is a manifestation of the oneness, there is nothing to change, which can lead to problematic systems being kept in place (see the caste system, which Gungor does point out). Michael seems to turn off the non-duality glasses when arguing for social change, and to me, it looks a bit like he’s trying to have his cake and eat it too. On top of this, certain parts of Gungor’s critique on Christianity seem to address American Christianity rather than Christianity as a whole, although his critiques on Americanism is on point and gets at the unconscious drives present within evangelicalism.
Many Buddhists and gurus from the east look with a sceptical eye towards the western appropriations of their teachings and ideas, and I think this book shows why that is the case. Bringing the East and West together often tends to blend into a Californian hippie version of Eastern thought (although this is a bit rough, Vishnu’s ideas are certainly much more nuanced).
Despite my criticism, there is something all people, whatever the game is they’re playing (mystic, theist, atheist), can take away from Gungor’s insistence that these stories are just manifestations of the ego. “This” is summed up in “Neti neti” (meaning: not this, not that). All language falls short of expressing what one experiences in a non-dual state (or any claim anyone makes). Life is all some form of a game, and “Neti, neti” can remind us all that words fail when it comes to describing anything.
As a final thought: Michael Gungor’s mind is beautiful, and I am thankful he wrote this work, It has the potential to free anyone from fundamentalism and teach them how to engage with one another in a better way. On a memoir side: I am so so happy Gungor seems to have found peace and his place in this universe, it’s terrific to witness. All in all, a mixed bag - just like this review, it feels too harsh for the lovely person that is behind this book.
PS. this book is worth getting as an audiobook. It should be the example of how a well-crafted audiobook should sound like, with composed music and different sound effects, which kept the book engaging, even during moments this book fell flat.
August 20, 2019
Where to begin ... while I am a bit of a hippie myself I feel like you can’t reject one form of spirituality as too judgmental and absurd while embracing an absurd mishmash of spiritualism and judging the “non enlightened”. I agree with some of his critique of America’s particular way of warping Christianity into a cultural set of behaviors with no intellectual engagement behind it but I don’t think we need ton throw out the baby and drink the bath water. Purpose, meaning, how we treat those we love and those that are downtrodden and vulnerable - these are logical criteria for evaluating a system of belief. They can give you observable, objective data points. Talking about how the interconnectivity of the universe ties all things together and makes such things like “the period at the end of this sentence” - possible, is post intellectualism at its finest. There is a reason our thoughts are only heard inside our heads, most of what we think isn’t worth printing and neither was “This”.
March 20, 2019
I was incredibly excited to read Vishnu's latest book. I closely follow his work and music. I feel like that certainly helped make this book easier to read and understand. There were certainly parts that felt more elevated and "out there" for a lack of better terms. This seems necessary considering what he is trying to communicate.
Several years ago I was exposed to the realization that language itself is limited in what it sets out to achieve. We tend to take this for granted, but all of language is metaphor. This realization began to seep into my thinking and world view. In THIS, Vishnu, who very clearly understands the limits of language, adequately extrapolates tbis idea to everything. Simply put, our realities can only be experienced from our limited perspectives. These perspectives are translated into stories that fill in gaps and help make sense of it all. In other words, it's not just language that is metaphor, it's all metaphor.
Vishnu attempts to move beyond this metaphor to the THIS behind it all. This at times is confusing and even frustrating to read. Some pages required multiple readings (I'm certain I would benefit from another reading of the book in its entirety after I sit on it all for a while). However, the pay off is almost always worth it. I find he does a wonderful job of bringing it all back to how these concepts should influence our perspectives.
I will likely be returning to this book in my own thought and practice. As limited as our language and communication can be, I'm thankful for this attempt at providing another story that tries to make sense of it ALL.
Several years ago I was exposed to the realization that language itself is limited in what it sets out to achieve. We tend to take this for granted, but all of language is metaphor. This realization began to seep into my thinking and world view. In THIS, Vishnu, who very clearly understands the limits of language, adequately extrapolates tbis idea to everything. Simply put, our realities can only be experienced from our limited perspectives. These perspectives are translated into stories that fill in gaps and help make sense of it all. In other words, it's not just language that is metaphor, it's all metaphor.
Vishnu attempts to move beyond this metaphor to the THIS behind it all. This at times is confusing and even frustrating to read. Some pages required multiple readings (I'm certain I would benefit from another reading of the book in its entirety after I sit on it all for a while). However, the pay off is almost always worth it. I find he does a wonderful job of bringing it all back to how these concepts should influence our perspectives.
I will likely be returning to this book in my own thought and practice. As limited as our language and communication can be, I'm thankful for this attempt at providing another story that tries to make sense of it ALL.
December 26, 2023
Loved every bit of this book. I connected with Michael’s journey as it resonated very much so with my own. His perspective is not one that is popular and will be shunned as heretical by most of the “the church” but it is a beautiful one full of truth, Hope, and peace. It’s doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to our ego identities and it is met with much resistance, but i think if we can learn to see “this” and live “this” things will change for ourselves and for the world.
April 24, 2019
So good
My brain in book form :-) I loved it so much. Highly recommend to anyone trying to make sense of life, love, God, and happiness.
My brain in book form :-) I loved it so much. Highly recommend to anyone trying to make sense of life, love, God, and happiness.
August 10, 2019
In short, this book was a hot mess. There were some moments, some pages, that rose above the rest, and the chapter on "THIS is Love" was probably the highlight of the book (though that doesn't say a whole lot). But overall it was just a sludgy mess of Michael Gungor unconvincingly trying to mish-mash a TON of different spiritual and philosophical ideas and influences (together with snippets of personal narrative and memoir) into one incredibly inconsistent perspective on life and how to live it. I wanted to get to the end to be sure I wasn't leaving any of this thoughts incomplete, but I was very happy when it was over. The conclusion was probably a bit better than most other parts of the book, but in some ways, still just more mess.
To me, it was very clear that Michael Gungor comes from an extremely privileged consumerist perspective whereby he thinks he can effectively pick-and-choose and appropriate any aspect of any spiritual/metaphysical idea he wants and try to squish them all together to make himself feel better depending on the situation and mood he's in. He essentially admits all of this as well (his privilege, his consumerism, his appropriation of aspects of other people's worldviews, and that he freely tries to squeeze all these "myths" together, but not consistently), so I'm not saying anything new here. Just a head's up about the nature of the book and the spiritual philosophy he espouses within it. He does liberally borrow from Christian terminology and theology throughout the book, and occasionally claims it as the best expression of spiritual truths that he's encountered, but then states his assumption that it's not true and he just likes to use it because it seems more true than pretty much anything else.
His spiritual offerings were potentially at their most interesting when he occasionally tried to intertwine scientific ideas, as I imagine that to be a rare effort from mystical spiritualists. Unfortunately, it just didn't work out. A large part of the ideas he tried to combine simply didn't go together at all, and it was clear in his personal narrative portions that it also gave him no more of a guide for living life in any consistent way at all.
It's a bit sad, because his music is obviously incredible and though his lyrics certainly took a bit of an opaque turn in recent years, he previously seemed to be able to portray whole ideas quite well. Well, that stage is clearly over if this book is any indication. Perhaps it was the psychedelic mushrooms he took before he "awakened" to his current spiritual enlightenment? Perhaps that formed connections in his brain that an average non-drug-user can't see as having any real connection or sense to them. Either way, too bad.
SPOILERS AHEAD (SORT OF - really just a summary that will prevent you from wasting your time on this book):
Basically, Michael Gungor's entire philosophy espoused in his book is grounded in pantheism. He wants to believe that everything and everyone is one connected divine entity (and it was the magic mushrooms that he seems to state really awakened him to this "reality").
The initial part of the book basically just tried to state that being content helps you avoid emotional suffering. (Really? Wow, what a surprise.)
But he uses his (mushroom-influenced) perspective on the pantheistic everything-is-connected "THIS" to try to make it easier for people to be content. Essentially, if you assume that literally all of existence is divine and unified, then it's already perfect as is (including every single "expression" of "THIS"). That means no matter how good or bad things *appear* to be (including murder, rape, genocide, or even just the sort of ennui that Michael Gungor usually suffers from) they're all connected in some way such that we can assume they're perfect and thus no need to fret if anything doesn't feel great, or if a person or race or species or planet is destroyed - no biggee... they (and you) are all just interchangeable expressions of "THIS". (I believe his science input has made the whole thing mostly, but not entirely, deterministic. There's certainly a strong undercurrent of this throughout the book, mainly when discussing the pantheistic aspects of "THIS".)
Your sense of separate self is just a (convincing) illusion, so anytime it doesn't feel great, just remember you're not distinct and you're actually the innately good, no matter what, (why? never really explained) expression of the pantheistic reality. Except some ideas and ways of living (and indeed, some expressions of art) are better than others, so practice a lot.
So, don't get caught up in your ego and sense of self, that's just a false myth. EXCEPT (here's the conclusion): life's not fun when you transcend past sense of self, so feel free to fully engage in all the typical individualistic perspectives and tendencies you have anyway, because life's better that way (and apparently that's how "THIS" wants to experience it). Though if you ever feel the need to, remember you're just an expression of the pantheistic "THIS" so that hopefully you'll be content. Except not, because you can't really live life like that.
Seriously.
That's how the whole book goes (except for the welcome short interludes of personal narrative).
One statement contradicted by the next and back and forth ad infinitum. It's so frustrating. The worst (to me) was where he went off on the fact that YouTubers' expressions of "art" really suck because they don't put in enough effort and instead assume that their momentary expressions are valuable. This flatly contradicts the idea that "THIS" is being perfectly expressed in every single thing and person that is, including each person's momentary desires and actions. (Sure, Michael Gungor is an incredibly talented musician, and I don't doubt that he's put in the hard effort over time to get there, but the spiritual philosophies he's stating don't really give room for his condescending opinions about other "artists".)
Maybe the reason his conclusion emphasizes the positive aspects of living within the ego and sense of self is because his mushrooms are finally wearing off (he didn't indicate that he takes them regularly), and thus so is his sense of transcendence within "THIS".
Finally, the area where I think his privilege showed most clearly was in the narrative with his and Science Mike's interaction with a homeless woman. He essentially praised himself for feeling bad for (and thus "loving") a homeless woman while doing almost nothing to help her out, because "it's complicated". Yes, it's complicated, of course! But guess what, the one spiritual philosophy he flat out rejects as untrue makes it a lot more simple: you take care of the least of these, even if it means a bit of personal sacrifice. In the same paragraph, Michael Gungor can claim to have love and identity with a homeless woman because he's enlightened to the point that everything is all connected as a perfect expression of "THIS", but then he can argue himself into doing nothing to help the lady (except gently lower her down to sleep on damp grass where rats are running by) so that he can keep his family unstained and unaffected by her presence if he actually considered letting her stay in his own nice and well-kept house for the night.
This incident with the homeless woman very well sums up Michael Gungor's entire spiritual philosophy expounded in the book: if you repeat spiritual sounding metaphysical contradictions to yourself often enough, then nothing in your life or anyone else's really needs to change but you can try to feel good about it anyway, even claiming to be "enlightened". Pretentious privilege much? That's this book. Too bad. :-( Still, he's an incredible musician.
To me, it was very clear that Michael Gungor comes from an extremely privileged consumerist perspective whereby he thinks he can effectively pick-and-choose and appropriate any aspect of any spiritual/metaphysical idea he wants and try to squish them all together to make himself feel better depending on the situation and mood he's in. He essentially admits all of this as well (his privilege, his consumerism, his appropriation of aspects of other people's worldviews, and that he freely tries to squeeze all these "myths" together, but not consistently), so I'm not saying anything new here. Just a head's up about the nature of the book and the spiritual philosophy he espouses within it. He does liberally borrow from Christian terminology and theology throughout the book, and occasionally claims it as the best expression of spiritual truths that he's encountered, but then states his assumption that it's not true and he just likes to use it because it seems more true than pretty much anything else.
His spiritual offerings were potentially at their most interesting when he occasionally tried to intertwine scientific ideas, as I imagine that to be a rare effort from mystical spiritualists. Unfortunately, it just didn't work out. A large part of the ideas he tried to combine simply didn't go together at all, and it was clear in his personal narrative portions that it also gave him no more of a guide for living life in any consistent way at all.
It's a bit sad, because his music is obviously incredible and though his lyrics certainly took a bit of an opaque turn in recent years, he previously seemed to be able to portray whole ideas quite well. Well, that stage is clearly over if this book is any indication. Perhaps it was the psychedelic mushrooms he took before he "awakened" to his current spiritual enlightenment? Perhaps that formed connections in his brain that an average non-drug-user can't see as having any real connection or sense to them. Either way, too bad.
SPOILERS AHEAD (SORT OF - really just a summary that will prevent you from wasting your time on this book):
Basically, Michael Gungor's entire philosophy espoused in his book is grounded in pantheism. He wants to believe that everything and everyone is one connected divine entity (and it was the magic mushrooms that he seems to state really awakened him to this "reality").
The initial part of the book basically just tried to state that being content helps you avoid emotional suffering. (Really? Wow, what a surprise.)
But he uses his (mushroom-influenced) perspective on the pantheistic everything-is-connected "THIS" to try to make it easier for people to be content. Essentially, if you assume that literally all of existence is divine and unified, then it's already perfect as is (including every single "expression" of "THIS"). That means no matter how good or bad things *appear* to be (including murder, rape, genocide, or even just the sort of ennui that Michael Gungor usually suffers from) they're all connected in some way such that we can assume they're perfect and thus no need to fret if anything doesn't feel great, or if a person or race or species or planet is destroyed - no biggee... they (and you) are all just interchangeable expressions of "THIS". (I believe his science input has made the whole thing mostly, but not entirely, deterministic. There's certainly a strong undercurrent of this throughout the book, mainly when discussing the pantheistic aspects of "THIS".)
Your sense of separate self is just a (convincing) illusion, so anytime it doesn't feel great, just remember you're not distinct and you're actually the innately good, no matter what, (why? never really explained) expression of the pantheistic reality. Except some ideas and ways of living (and indeed, some expressions of art) are better than others, so practice a lot.
So, don't get caught up in your ego and sense of self, that's just a false myth. EXCEPT (here's the conclusion): life's not fun when you transcend past sense of self, so feel free to fully engage in all the typical individualistic perspectives and tendencies you have anyway, because life's better that way (and apparently that's how "THIS" wants to experience it). Though if you ever feel the need to, remember you're just an expression of the pantheistic "THIS" so that hopefully you'll be content. Except not, because you can't really live life like that.
Seriously.
That's how the whole book goes (except for the welcome short interludes of personal narrative).
One statement contradicted by the next and back and forth ad infinitum. It's so frustrating. The worst (to me) was where he went off on the fact that YouTubers' expressions of "art" really suck because they don't put in enough effort and instead assume that their momentary expressions are valuable. This flatly contradicts the idea that "THIS" is being perfectly expressed in every single thing and person that is, including each person's momentary desires and actions. (Sure, Michael Gungor is an incredibly talented musician, and I don't doubt that he's put in the hard effort over time to get there, but the spiritual philosophies he's stating don't really give room for his condescending opinions about other "artists".)
Maybe the reason his conclusion emphasizes the positive aspects of living within the ego and sense of self is because his mushrooms are finally wearing off (he didn't indicate that he takes them regularly), and thus so is his sense of transcendence within "THIS".
Finally, the area where I think his privilege showed most clearly was in the narrative with his and Science Mike's interaction with a homeless woman. He essentially praised himself for feeling bad for (and thus "loving") a homeless woman while doing almost nothing to help her out, because "it's complicated". Yes, it's complicated, of course! But guess what, the one spiritual philosophy he flat out rejects as untrue makes it a lot more simple: you take care of the least of these, even if it means a bit of personal sacrifice. In the same paragraph, Michael Gungor can claim to have love and identity with a homeless woman because he's enlightened to the point that everything is all connected as a perfect expression of "THIS", but then he can argue himself into doing nothing to help the lady (except gently lower her down to sleep on damp grass where rats are running by) so that he can keep his family unstained and unaffected by her presence if he actually considered letting her stay in his own nice and well-kept house for the night.
This incident with the homeless woman very well sums up Michael Gungor's entire spiritual philosophy expounded in the book: if you repeat spiritual sounding metaphysical contradictions to yourself often enough, then nothing in your life or anyone else's really needs to change but you can try to feel good about it anyway, even claiming to be "enlightened". Pretentious privilege much? That's this book. Too bad. :-( Still, he's an incredible musician.
June 16, 2019
Hated so much of this book couldn't wait for it to be over. I liked a lot of his personal stories, identified with some of his negative experiences with belief and church culture. But on the whole, his ideas are totally unsatisfying. As a 4 on the enneagram I think he has mistyped himself as a 5. It takes one to know one, and this dude is definitely a self indulgent four like me. Also was super irritated that he thinks he can just stir all the belief systems together and cherry pick to his heart's content. Belief in God is ridiculously hard for me, but what is in this book are just so not the answers to my questions.
June 5, 2019
A millennial who denies Christianity but then accepts everything as truth and nothing as selfish -- all in an effort to feel better about his own life and the reality in which we all find ourselves. Not original but still so very sad.
June 17, 2019
Beautiful and real. Gungor's anti-story storytelling is incredible. I'll come back to this book many times.
March 22, 2021
This book started out interesting and insightful but by the end turned bizarre and incoherent. I can’t imagine a situation I would recommend this book to anyone.
I was deeply impressed by how creative and well done this book (more specifically audiobook) was done from an artistic perspective. Gungor is an exceptional creative however he has a few fringe ideas that are a little too “out there” for me to get on board with.
I was deeply impressed by how creative and well done this book (more specifically audiobook) was done from an artistic perspective. Gungor is an exceptional creative however he has a few fringe ideas that are a little too “out there” for me to get on board with.
May 8, 2021
I feel bad giving this book such a low review cuz I know I’m not the intended audience for this book and I only read it because of a friend..... but I had no idea what he was saying 90% of the time. Not for me.
July 2, 2020
Michael Gungor, a former Christian musician, discusses his transition from Christian, to Atheist, to Buddhist, to... THIS. He spends the first half of the book discussing his religious background and upbringing, before the upheaval that followed an epiphany he had one day at a spa. The last quarter of the book is where the bulk of "the magic" happens, though, as Gungor waxes philosophic about the nature of God, Love, and Suffering.
As someone who finds a lot of solace with spiritual books, specifically books on Buddhism, this was a refreshing change of pace. While Gungor dropped out of the Christian church, he never quite lost faith, instead figuring out his own way to be a Christian while not restricting himself to a narrow category of belief. I have a tendency to reflexively rankle at the mention of Jesus Christ or Christianity, as my experience with his fans have been less than stellar. Which is why I related so much with Gungor's experience (to a far lesser extent - I was never, EVER so immersed in Christianity that I started my own church in my basement). Like Gungor, I saw the limitations of what Christianity could teach, not to mention the incredibly selfish, tribalistic, hypocritical behavior of most of its followers, and so felt repulsed by it to look elsewhere for spiritual succor.
Unlike Gungor, though, I never made peace with my negative feelings towards Christianity, and this book was helpful in that regard. I won't be attending service any time soon, but at least I may no longer feel angry and outrage at someone for inviting me.
That aside, Gungor displays an excellent understanding and grasp of Buddhist philosophy, which should come as no surprise if he studied directly under Ram Dass. I found it to be very helpful to me in getting my spiritual bearings, which can be easy to lose track of, especially nowadays. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys the work of Ram Dass, Lama Surya Dass, or Thich Nhat Hanh.
As someone who finds a lot of solace with spiritual books, specifically books on Buddhism, this was a refreshing change of pace. While Gungor dropped out of the Christian church, he never quite lost faith, instead figuring out his own way to be a Christian while not restricting himself to a narrow category of belief. I have a tendency to reflexively rankle at the mention of Jesus Christ or Christianity, as my experience with his fans have been less than stellar. Which is why I related so much with Gungor's experience (to a far lesser extent - I was never, EVER so immersed in Christianity that I started my own church in my basement). Like Gungor, I saw the limitations of what Christianity could teach, not to mention the incredibly selfish, tribalistic, hypocritical behavior of most of its followers, and so felt repulsed by it to look elsewhere for spiritual succor.
Unlike Gungor, though, I never made peace with my negative feelings towards Christianity, and this book was helpful in that regard. I won't be attending service any time soon, but at least I may no longer feel angry and outrage at someone for inviting me.
That aside, Gungor displays an excellent understanding and grasp of Buddhist philosophy, which should come as no surprise if he studied directly under Ram Dass. I found it to be very helpful to me in getting my spiritual bearings, which can be easy to lose track of, especially nowadays. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys the work of Ram Dass, Lama Surya Dass, or Thich Nhat Hanh.
August 18, 2019
I was very unsurprised when, about 100 pages in, Gungor reveals that Alan Watts was his favorite philosopher. Gungor lifted entire passages from Watts. The difference was, Watts was such a strong personality and competent writer who loved words and word-play and Gungor isn't. It came across as the straight edge college freshman who gets high for the first time. If Gungor had stuck to autobiographical elements about his life, faith, and doubt, this would have been an okay autobio. Instead the pages and pages of pontification and amateurish philosophizing revealed an annoying, subtle narcissism. I hated this.
August 10, 2019
"And then I took magic mushrooms and was born again."
Most of this book felt like hearing somebody's vast revelations from their drug induced life changing experience. Slightly entertaining, but mostly disappointing. I was glad when it was over.
Most of this book felt like hearing somebody's vast revelations from their drug induced life changing experience. Slightly entertaining, but mostly disappointing. I was glad when it was over.
August 26, 2021
DNF around 30%. Was listening to the audio. As some other reviews have said, this is a strange book. I found it to be a little too meta or focused on the headspace of analyzing and critiquing the basic assumptions of faith. While I enjoyed the Liturgist podcast in the past, listening to Gungor read his book was just too much strange introspection.
October 24, 2020
it’s both hard to read and easy to understand. i guess that means it’s exactly what it’s supposed to be.
Read
August 22, 2022In spirit of the book, I'm not including a rating. Really loved it, though! Longer review to come :-)
September 8, 2020
Interesting read on spirituality
May 1, 2019
Not totally sure about all my thoughts on this book, but there were some lovely pieces that I got from it.
April 11, 2019
This book kept me pulled in, but it’s a bit of a difficult read. It’s not so out there that I wouldn’t try to re read and understand more. I loved Vishnu’s personal stories and experiences, and much of it was so relatable. I wish there was more of his story in the book, but I understand that is not why he wrote the book. I would recommend this read if you are already familiar with Michael/Vishnu’s work, (specifically as a listener to the Liturgists). I’m not sure if I would recommend this book if it is the first time you are hearing his name.
August 1, 2019
Thought questions but rambling analysis
As a christian , I understand the questions and confusion that Michael has concerning the church. But from there he rambles through various beliefs and drug influenced thought that yield nothing but a final acceptance of that life is good and bad and you just have to accept it.
As a christian , I understand the questions and confusion that Michael has concerning the church. But from there he rambles through various beliefs and drug influenced thought that yield nothing but a final acceptance of that life is good and bad and you just have to accept it.
May 23, 2020
Love Vishnu Das's perspective, even when I'm not always fully on board. Good mixture of parable, comedy, personal narrative, wisdom, and a good dose of scepticism.
June 7, 2019
'THIS' excels when Gungor is telling his own story, but becomes longwinded at times when he gets deep into his main points. Nevertheless, it has some really beautiful sections and I found it a compelling read. Pretty interesting to read this right after Pete Holmes' 'Comedy Sex God', as they are very similar. Holmes is funnier, Gungor is more philosophical, but they both have a massive crush on Ram Dass.
June 8, 2019
"Regardless of how beautiful the story or belief may be that you are clinging to, the truth is that as soon as your fingernails are burrowed into it with attachment, the story becomes about your own ego."
Here is the problem: Humans need assurance and security. You've seen the insurance commercials. You've dated people and didn't feel secure, and then you got married and felt secure; you've lost a job and felt insecure, you've had the same job for years and felt secure. You thought your health was a certainty and then you got sick, or your relative got cancer, and you prayed to God and it felt good and you felt held in his big hands, and the next day or month you felt like God went on a trip to Fiji and he forgot to tell you about his plans and it feels like a Siberian Winter in your heart, desolate and lonely.
Here is the problem: That is the not the problem -- the one I just described. The problem is that in our need to feel secure, we cling to things -- people, money, possessions, jobs, God -- and these things slip through our hands and we feel lost.
Hey. It's OK to feel lost. It really is OK. In fact it's better that way, that you lose. Tim Keller says that there is a ground note of cosmic disappointment running through life, and until you understand that deep in your psyche you will keep being confused and mad at God and life and your boss and your partner. It's OK to be confused, but one day when you're not young anymore you'll understand, and you'll be free. But if you get really attached to that freedom, you won't be free anymore. I bet that's confusing. It's OK to be confused. I'm confused half the time, or more.
"When God is a noun, God is an idol."
If you keep reading about God, and thinking, and talking about God, you can be fulfilled in a way that eating only corn will fill you. OK, fine, thank you corn. Thank you God the noun. But if you decide to be aware of the Presence as you wash your hair and walk from your car to your house and feel mad at your kid and mow the grass and turn off the radio and look at someone's face for longer than is comfortable and while you're playing games, star-gazing or farting, you will be filled with much more than corn. You will have eaten a 7-course meal and extra dessert and you won't know what to do with the joy spilling out your ears. This is God the verb. In this Presence you live and move and have your being-in-the-world. And in this case, everything belongs. Even the things you were taught don't belong. That's hard to hear because you are certain, Scripturally certain, clingingly certain, God-approved certain, that those things don't belong, can't belong! But the truth is more kind and wide than you ever dared imagine.
May 28, 2019
Many of my friends would have all kinds of theological meltdowns about some of the ideas presented here, but this book met me where I am in so many ways. Michael Gungor's journey is his own, but his vulnerable, frank, and humorous writing invited me to embrace my own journey towards love and freedom.
June 17, 2019
THIS is one of the most wonderful jaunts of a memoir blended with spirituality and philosophy that I’ve ever read. I had no real expectations going into this book and have not really read much about non dualism or in-depth explanations of eastern religious thought. What I found was a delight to read and some new ways of seeing the world. This book doesn’t try to assert any answers or conclusions on absolute truth. It simply pokes at the assumptions we make from the stories our ego tells us in the hope that we can get freedom from them. I’ve always thought oneness was impractical and woo but the stories found in the pages of THIS actually got me so absorbed in the present moment of reading and marveling that at one point I had a (brief) out of body experience. That said, there is nothing magical or revolutionary about this book. It is simply THIS. But it is beautiful. And it made me smile. Give it a read.
June 10, 2019
I loved this book. Loved it. There are things about the form of this book that I’d change - the type was small, some excerpts were in a tiny, gray font that was very difficult to read, the layering of parables and metaphors and real life were a bit of a challenge to follow and somewhat distracting - but regardless, I deeply enjoyed the book. It’s not a book I’d recommend to everyone, it’s definitely esoteric, but large portions of the thoughts shared by the author are, down to the specifics of the metaphors, ideas that I’ve had in my own head. I really appreciate his perspective.
August 8, 2019
A real and entertaining, yet profound look into life, faith, and everything in between
I only found Gungor a little while ago, through the Liturgists podcast, and was curious to learn more as it seemed he has been going through very similar thought processes as myself. I was not disappointed, as the book gave me a lot to think about and consider — and meditate on. “THIS” might very well be the natural step forward.
I only found Gungor a little while ago, through the Liturgists podcast, and was curious to learn more as it seemed he has been going through very similar thought processes as myself. I was not disappointed, as the book gave me a lot to think about and consider — and meditate on. “THIS” might very well be the natural step forward.
April 27, 2019
This book has helped introduce to me a way of seeing the universe that is beauty and interconnectedness and love that I never found anywhere else. Highly recommended for anyone who has stepped away from dogmatic beliefs and is looking to find direction and a way of practice that leads to peace and contentment
June 6, 2019
THIS is thoughtful, eye opening, heart warming, and soul touching. The balance between life stories, metaphors, and spiritual guidance is what makes THIS so special. It's hard truths delivered in gentle tones. It's all the things folks who had grown up in strict Christian homes who felt there was more to life than suppressing everything out of guilt and shame.
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