When I first encountered this book, I was not in a place to receive the information in it. I would pick it up, and then put it right back down, BORED. I could not engage with the material. Two years later, I picked it up again and BAM my life was changed. When you are ready to receive a message, you do. And if you're not, you don't! Michael introduces us to the crazy person living in our minds -- the never-ending, nonsensical mind chatter we all experience day in and day out. He describes how at this stage in our evolution, the biggest threats to us are emotional threats. We're no longer trying to survive amongst animals, foraging for food. And yet, we have the same self-protection mechanisms in place now -- but instead of avoiding physical danger and preserving our lives, these mechanisms aim to avoid any emotional discomfort. So we walk through life, unconsciously paralyzed by fear all of the things we are do not want to feel and experience - rejection, dislike, disapproval, embarrassment, etc.
"On the other side of pain is ecstasy. On the other side is freedom. Your true greatness hides on the other side of that layer of pain. You must be willing to accept the pain in order to pass through to the other side. Just accept that it is in there and that you are going to feel it. Accept that if you relax, it will have its moment before your awareness, and then it will pass. It always does."
