Singer describes his work, Unintelligent Humans…: Questions to Stimulate Your Soul (Author House;
ISBN 13: 978-1-4490-5623-0), as a “little book of important questions” which are intended to open the reader’s mind and to allow the accessing of wisdom contained within one’s soul. He regards his brief guide as a tool by means of which to gain access to “that inner part of ourselves that contains infinite wisdom and divinity”. The book is divided into two sections, with the first (“Are You Living Intelligently?”) comparing our behavior to that of other living creatures, and the second (“Approaching Life’s Questions with an Open Mind: An Internal Quest”) containing essays providing insight into certain issues that, once resolved, may contribute to leading a more peaceful and meaningful life. As emerges from the personal interview conducted with the author by Sue Vegan of BookPleasures.com, with which the guide ends, Singer is a clinical psychologist, based in Grand Cayman, who holds with the teachings of Carl Rogers and Irvin Yalom.
“Are You Living Intelligently?” consists of a series of questions, each of which is illustrated with a highly amusing cartoon featuring a wide array of animals, ranging from ants to whales. The two pivotal questions with which the section starts are “Are human beings really more intelligent and wise than all other living creatures? Are you?”. The questions reveal how unintelligent humans are in the way in which they act prejudicially and hurtfully towards one another, in contrast to the cooperation and understanding that prevails in the animal kingdom. By starting out in such a humorous way, Singer gains the empathy of his readership, so that one finds oneself opening up to the rest of what he has to say.
In “Who is Your Soul Mate”, Singer offers six suggestions for embracing and nourishing your relationship with yourself and others, including “Practice mindfulness” and “Acknowledge impermanence”. In “What is Truth?”, Singer provides three steps by means of which one can get in touch with one’s own inner truth. In “What are Your Core Beliefs?”, Singer reveals the eight core beliefs or principles that he utilizes as guidelines for the “How” and “Why” he lives, urging readers to adopt them as their own guideposts for daily living. In “Does Heartache Suck?”, Singer explores five specific actions that we can take to deal with emotional pain, based on his own direct experience and coming to grips with his own personal pain. In “How Important are Children?”, Singer describes some actions that you can take for honoring your own children, based on his experiences with his twin boys. In “Are Certain Human Beings Helpless”, Singer advises that one should “Never, Never, Never, Never give up on a human being”.
One of the most impressive aspects that I found about Unintelligent Humans was the way in which Singer was unafraid to reveal the nature of his own troubled past, as he has had to suffer through addiction, depression, anxiety and countless other difficulties. A key aspect of this work is that he has been able to recover from a position in which he was basically homeless, and estranged from his own family to where he is now, a practicing professional living in one of the most beautiful island groups on the planet. Clearly, he did not make this transition alone, but with the assistance of the spiritual guidance of a wide range of mystics, philosophers and spiritually enlightened leaders, from whose work he quotes widely. For those who are struggling to come to terms with the meaning of life and the importance of self-worth, Unintelligent Humans: Questions to Stimulate Your Soul is a must read. Brief it may be (consisting of only 60 pages), but the insights that it offers may well serve to revolutionize your life.
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