Preface
Anyone can be unhappy. How things might unfold differently, what one can do to make things better, is what you will learn here. Premise: The most important thing in life is to enjoy living it. The philosophy from which this book draws its vitality is Taoism, the philosophy which the ancient Chinese philosopher Lao Tze represented so splendidly.
The book does not attempt to silence once and for all the ongoing, yet necessary, quarrels between factions representing one or another world view or philosophy by putting forth a general, ultimate truth. It is intended only to convey motivation, to act as a stimulus and perhaps to expose one or more readers to an as yet unclenched mode of thinking.
A German edition Das Buch vom unbeschwerten Leben first appeared in print in 1991 and again in 1993. This is the online Version from 2020.
About
Sven E. Lennartz (pen name Lenny Löwenstern) was born near Hamburg, Germany in 1962. As well as writing several works of non fiction and fiction including fairy tales, science-fiction, and poems. He is co-founder of online magazine smashingmagazine.com and lives as an author in eastern Germany.
The translator, Eric J. Ford, is an American of German ancestry, born near Erie, Pennsylvania in 1962. He studied philosophy and literature at the University of Pennsylvania at Erie, holds diplomas in German, Russian, and Mandarin Chinese from the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California, and has earned a B.A. in Western Languages from the State University of New York.
Table of Contents
- Chapter 1 — Simply Spin in Unison with Your Surroundings
- Chapter 2 — Life is a Dance
- Chapter 3 — At the Bottom of Everything Lies Emptiness
- Chapter 4 — Give yourself Wings
- An Exkursurs on Death
A Readers Voice
Life Simplify …. A New Beginning
The Book of Unfettered Living by Sven Lennartz had a profound impact on my life and living. First time when I read it in 1993, a whole new conversation ‘Sifer’ was born and it also inspired me to write my book ‘I Come In My way’
My learning and sharing from this great masterpiece There is a way to respond to life that is always miraculous, that is free from fear and that always transcends the mind’s ability to grasp or understand. Learning this secret enables us to endlessly discover a mystery that cannot be imagined.
To be able to live in this way that is always miraculous, one must be willing to be in a state of not knowing. That means one have to be ready to embrace a kind of austerity that is intentional. This austerity is the unconditional renunciation of the need to know. It’s a way of living that most would consider strange, nonsensical and even outrageous. One discovers that one doesn’t need to know in order to be able to function perfectly. That’s the miracle, that’s the mystery and that is what is extraordinary about The Book of Unfettered Living by Sven Lennartz.
Azaad