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A review by jananne
This: Becoming Free by Michael Gungor
3.0
“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.