The Story Behind Stepping Aside

How The Art of Unwriting came into being.

My upcoming book, The Art of Unwriting, revealed itself through phases, each requiring its own kind of readiness.

It will be released in a week, and you can already pre-order it by clicking here.

First, I had to realize what stepping aside actually entails. Then I had to remember this revelation in countless ways. Eventually I was ready to play with this knowing, and I could finally remember to forget. Only then could I apply this understanding to something tangible: writing a book. Each phase needed me to write a book about it.

Phase I: Realizing

Stepping aside didn’t happen when I decided to write. The decision was never mine anyway. Writing took place as soon as I stepped aside.

When this happened, it felt like enlightenment. There was a huge transformation unfolding, and it had to be written down to give it a place. Others might be left speechless for a year or more.

My first book emerged: Enlightenment, no refunds!

It explores the human experience of great relief from stepping aside. As a spontaneous life event rather than a chosen action. I made a distinction between your false self and true nature.

Your false self seems to fall back every time, forgets, wants to hear it again, tries to stay. Only your false self can swing back and forth, from interfering in life and making it heavy to knowing you’re not the doer.

Your true nature always stays in the same place. It’s indestructible. It makes every human being enlightened, with only a few being actually aware of that. We don’t have to step aside in order for stepping aside to take place.

Phase II: Remembering

Then I noticed how easy it is to fall back. Stepping in to try to control things, especially when life isn’t working out our way. It might even feel like our responsibility to solve everything: being happy, freeing your book, saving society.

This brought forth my second book: Not your responsibility.

With everything that’s going on, we could see reasons every day that make us feel like we’re stepping in again. We might become aware that either stepping in or out is illusionary and unnecessary, because we already arrived despite any conditions or circumstances. Inherently, we are already free.

This realization might come with having to remind yourself, repeatedly. Simple reminders like “you’re not your thoughts” or “you’re already free” might not be enough. Sometimes you need dynamite to break free from old patterns.

I know I did, so I listed 60 direct interventions to “stay” in our sweet place of being.

Phase III: Playing

When you’ve realized your true nature and everything seems alright, you might be ready to deliberately step in again. Just to play with your insights and paradoxical ways of looking at life. You might even like to set goals again, because you don’t mind it not being spiritual. You either see yourself doing it or you don’t, and that’s all that can be said.

Playing with reality, surrendering to it, and letting your intentions be turned into a third book: Insert life-changing title here: the relief of not solving life and playing with it anyway.

This might give you more satisfaction than having to learn or do something in order to attain or maintain a state.

I was quite fed up with that approach. When you realize you’re already peace, love, flow, it doesn’t make sense to read a book to get to that. You could tap into it anytime anyway, or you don’t and you might be at peace with that not being your decision.

Phase IV: Applying

With these three books, a nondual-inspired trilogy, it felt round. It set the foundation for stepping aside.

Stepping aside affects everything, from leading to coaching and speaking. Everything that can be done.

When there’s no more interference, our apparent actions become effective and authentic. We don’t keep taking up space with endless worries, doubts and certainties. There’s ample space left for the activity to come through. Once the doer disappears, it flows.

I found myself applying this revelation to writing. It could have been any other area. But it made perfect sense, after having written a trilogy. So my fourth book came into being: The Art of Unwriting.

It reminds you that you’re not the one who writes your book. With it, your book gets written naturally and effortlessly. I’d written about this before, but never applied it to a specific area in book form. This book was my first attempt at doing so, and it was incredibly fun to write, because I was simply the witness.

You can pre-order this book. It releases on August 31st.