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The Surrender Experiment: My Journey Into Life's Perfection
Paperback – 2 June 2015
by Michael A Singer (Author)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 9,298 ratings
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - From the author of The Untethered Soul and Living Untethered comes the astonishing true-life story about the spiritual harmony and personal happiness he found when he just let go.
"With his hallmark precision and clarity Michael Singer reveals how everyday life, doing business in the world, and spiritual practice can be synchronized to carry us into the heart of life's unimaginable perfection."--Jack Canfield, co-author of The Success Principles and co-creator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul(R) series
In The Surrender Experiment, Michael A. Singer tells the extraordinary story of what happened when, after a deep spiritual awakening, he decided to relinquish his personal fears and desires and simply let life unfold before him. Singer shares how this pivotal decision to embrace the flow of life led him to extraordinary success, sustained him through times of crisis, and allowed him to cultivate profound inner peace--whether as a young man pursuing a life of solitude in the woods, the founder of a thriving spiritual community in Florida, or the CEO of a billion-dollar medical software company.
As he takes you through his grand experiment, Singer demonstrates how surrender is the key to a peaceful and harmonious life. His remarkable and unexpected personal experiences will challenge your deepest assumptions, teaching you how to stop making the outside world conform to your desires, let go of the need to control everything, and place your trust in life's perfection.
Thought-provoking and moving, The Surrender Experiment will inspire you to seek the calm and freedom that comes from letting go.
by Michael A Singer (Author)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 9,298 ratings
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - From the author of The Untethered Soul and Living Untethered comes the astonishing true-life story about the spiritual harmony and personal happiness he found when he just let go.
"With his hallmark precision and clarity Michael Singer reveals how everyday life, doing business in the world, and spiritual practice can be synchronized to carry us into the heart of life's unimaginable perfection."--Jack Canfield, co-author of The Success Principles and co-creator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul(R) series
In The Surrender Experiment, Michael A. Singer tells the extraordinary story of what happened when, after a deep spiritual awakening, he decided to relinquish his personal fears and desires and simply let life unfold before him. Singer shares how this pivotal decision to embrace the flow of life led him to extraordinary success, sustained him through times of crisis, and allowed him to cultivate profound inner peace--whether as a young man pursuing a life of solitude in the woods, the founder of a thriving spiritual community in Florida, or the CEO of a billion-dollar medical software company.
As he takes you through his grand experiment, Singer demonstrates how surrender is the key to a peaceful and harmonious life. His remarkable and unexpected personal experiences will challenge your deepest assumptions, teaching you how to stop making the outside world conform to your desires, let go of the need to control everything, and place your trust in life's perfection.
Thought-provoking and moving, The Surrender Experiment will inspire you to seek the calm and freedom that comes from letting go.
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Product description
Review
"A lone voice in the modern wilderness calling for surrender instead of striving, Singer shows how surrendering to life does not mean giving up our dreams."--Shawn Achor, happiness researcher and New York Times bestselling author of The Happiness Advantage
"Only the rarest of books has the power to clearly explain the difference between a human being and a human doing, and why that distinction is so important. The Surrender Experiment is such a book.Inspiring, authentic, and intensely compelling."--Dean Radin, author of The Conscious Universe
"Michael Singer writes a beautiful, touching memoir on the amazing power of surrender in his life. With courage, spunk, and thoughtfulness, he has reached beyond the status quo to dare to trust life and surrender to its ultimate perfection."--Judith Orloff MD, author of The Ecstasy of Surrender
About the Author
Michael A. Singer still lives in the woods where his great experiment began and where it continues. He is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller The Untethered Soul.
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9,298 total ratings, 1,386 with reviews
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From other countries
PIA
5.0 out of 5 stars Truly Superb!!! Although I'm a "you create your own reality" believer [VERY detailed review]
Reviewed in the United States on 4 June 2015
Verified Purchase
First I should say I'm a lover of Michael's first book "The Untethered Soul" which radically transformed my life, so I pre-ordered this one and anxiously awaited. Before I got the book, I wasn't sure if I'd totally buy into the premise of "complete surrender" because I'm more in the arena of "you create your own reality" not to mention believing in parallel universes etc. etc.
Michael's book is a totally different angle - life just happens, don't try to figure out why and how it's happening, you're not doing any of it, just follow life, and it'll be just fine. So with great intrigue I was looking forward to reading it. Even though I knew his perspective on life was different than mine, I do believe in surrender - meaning it's fine to envision something but then completely let go and allow the Universe to do its thing. So even if I used Michael's viewpoint in that way, I was open to hearing what he had to share on the topic of surrendering.
By the way, some chapters ended with such an incredible promise of what will unfold next that you just had to keep reading. I told my son, "OK, leave me alone. I'll be in the sunroom for 5 hours - not getting up until this book is done!" I was up until after 1am, but it was done. I got both the audio book (read by the author) and the paperback.
UNTETHERED SOUL VS SURRENDER EXPERIMENT
Untethered Soul freed me from the chatter of my mind. Although I had been familiar with the concepts of not allowing your thoughts to control you, Michael Singer explained it so radically clear, that my own transformation came via the Untethered Soul. Or so I thought. I might need to go back and re-read Untethered Soul because The Surrender Experiment was mind-blowing.
To me, Untethered Soul was the message of "You are NOT your thoughts AND.... you don't have to just blindly follow your thoughts." Surrender Experiment, however, took that concept quite a bit further. Surrender Experiment was more about "What if you went ahead and did the very thing your thoughts made you fearful or resistant about doing?" and instead saw those opportunities as Life delivering to you your next task/action/decision. I had MANY jaw-dropping moments witnessing JUST how far Michael took that concept. Freakin' mind-blowing! Surrender Experiment was somewhat of a personal demonstration of what was taught in Untethered Soul and then some - totally riveting.
INITIAL REACTIONS
The first couple "life delivered" stories he shared, I was kinda like "Eh, that's nice but really not that extraordinary." (but not to worry that changed as I continued reading!)
My other initial reaction was toward the beginning of the book when I read one of the first stories of how he did NOT give into the chattering resistance of his mind. My reaction was "What?!!! That's nuts! Crap, there's no way I'd give in to a situation like that!" In rebellion, I shut the book and walked away feeling uncertain that I'd wanna keep reading... 30min later I feel drawn in.
I reminded myself that I can read any book and decide to use what resonates and discard what does not. Well hey, at least that perspective got me reading it again. SO freakin' glad I did!! (although I'll admit my reaction of "No way! He did NOT just allow that to happen!" re-occurred as I continued reading the book - see "is resistance holding me back" below)
WHAT I REALLY ENJOYED
Surrender when you feel resistance. (Chp 30):
This made VERY aware of just how many thoughts of RESISTANCE crossed my mind. Untethered Soul made me aware of the constant chatter, but Surrender Experiment made me acutely aware of thoughts of RESISTANCE which was truly transformative. Through the stories of his own thoughts of resistance I became aware of my own... painfully aware of my own (in a good way).
Refusing income:
Initially he refused to be paid by someone who was insisting to pay him. Sounds like he had that "too spiritual to receive payment" concept going on - a lot of "spiritual" people experience that so it was good to watch that play out in Michael's life. He admitted that he undercharged for his services quite a bit. That refusal to be paid was a form of mental resistance that he overcame later - clearly he shed resistance to accepting money given the millions he experienced in his companies.
Mental concept separating worldly and spiritual dissolves:
It was cool to witness the dissolving of his concepts "separating worldly and spiritual" as he puts it. For anyone who thinks spirituality is meditating, finding as much isolation as you can, and doing a whole bunch of spiritual practices, get ready to have your perspective shifted a bit. Michael found a way to merge deep spirituality while making millions. In fact, his spirituality deepened as a result of his many "worldly" encounters. He shows you how his spirituality deepened DURING his worldly encounters. What's more is that he often credits his everyday experiences in life and business with deepening his spirituality MORE than meditation and isolation. Truly dumbfounded by how it effortlessly came together.
Also, most people who think about being in a spiritual community, are often doing so to escape dealing the "worldly drama" or "non-spirituality" of regular life and to be surrounded only by like-minded people. That's the way Michael Singer started out as well - alone out in the woods. But somehow he merged living in his spiritual community with the experiences of running businesses etc. FROM that very reclusive spiritual community. And he did so with uniquely remarkable life-changing results.... merely by surrendering to events of his life.
Is resistance holding ME back:
Many times, Michael surrendered to a life situation that seemed utterly ridiculous to surrender to and the voice in my head said "You have GOT to be kidding me!!! Why would you just give in to that?!" Someone builds a house on YOUR land without asking you.... an irate customer demands you pull your workmen off one job and come do hers immediately. Just say OK to both??!! Huh??!! Are you kidding me right now??!!
Then.... the rest of the story unfolds and life not only fully supports him but over delivers leaving me shaking my head with a smile realizing the gem this book really is. I know it sounds ridiculous but ya gotta read the book to really get this folks... ya just gotta read the book. I can't even explain it here. Truly....
By chapter 34 my resistance to this level of surrender was overtaken by fascination with what may actually be possible that I have not yet tapped into. (yes it took me THIRTY-FOUR chapters to start feeling a great deal of acceptance to what he was saying). :) Suddenly I'm realizing that my own mental/internal resistance to change (and to what life put in front of me) probably had me turn down more opportunities in my life than I could ever count because the voice in my head resisted it in some way. My personal preferences won most of the time disallowing the natural flow of life. Wow, I see this SO clearly now! Unreal.
Life hands you the next task:
Loved this quote "I'm sitting on a tiny planet spinning in out of space and this is the next task that life handed to me. I'm doing this as a gift to the Universe." Shifted my perspective quite radically especially considering certain events occurring my life right now, and the many events I disallowed in the past.
Follow your Bliss:
Although the book doesn't specifically say "follow your bliss" Michael was a living example of precisely that in many instances. He just allowed himself to fall in love with whatever he felt passionate about and lo and behold life threw him all kinds of opportunities that lined up with precisely that. It's an awesome reminder that the Universe will support you in your passion. Often times, we don't believe that we can make money with our passion so we go do something else. Pay very close attention to how that multi-million software company got started - THAT was an incredible display of "follow your bliss" supported by the Universe a million fold.
Awesome Intuitive flow
I loved reading about the beautiful resonant inner flow of creativity Michael experienced where things just flowed out of him - clearly from an amazingly inspired place that delivered projects so effortlessly that it was pretty much like meditating. Really opened me up to experiencing more of this flow and reading how he got into the flow was cool as well.
Is this about the "Art of Allowing?"
OK I know the author probably is NOT into the Law of Attraction. BUT.... at some point I became aware that Michael Singer was remaining in a "state of allowing" that a lot of "Law of Attraction" people talk, preach about, and write books about, and do seminars about but don't really know how to experience. In a way, THIS book is the "art of allowing" LIVED (not just preached).... but that's just my perspective.
Learning to quiet or ignore the voice in his head also provided a tremendous a level of peace in tumultuous situations. Loved how he demonstrated just how easy it is to do that. I followed his guidance and immediately was able to practice the feeling of calm and serenity in any given moment. Very cool. That very peace, is ALSO allowing the law of attraction to work in his favor (I think.) Many people try to "do things" to attract desired experiences never once realizing that attracting is a BEING experience (not a doing one). Michael Singer fully surrenders, experiences tremendous peace and joy in life, and (of course) naturally attracts amazing life experiences (that he did NOT ever envision, set an intention for, asked the Universe for or make a vision board for I might add). Mmm hmm.... there's more than ONE way to live this thing called life folks.
UNANSWERED QUESTIONS & PONDERINGS
What about a combo of desire plus surrender:
Michael's teachings are all about "Surrender your preferences and just follow the stream of naturally occurring life events." And to his credit, he presents a mountain of evidence as to how well this has worked for him. That said, other authors (like Trevor Blake multi-million dollar author of Three Simple Steps and also the book Parallel Realities of Self) embraces the combo of "desire/preferences + surrender."
Personally, I see nothing inherently wrong with having desires and preferences for different life experiences - just don't think your puny little human mind has a better plan than the Universe - dream, envision, then fully surrender to the magic of the Universe. I'd say Michael's book both expanded my view and instantly influenced my experience of the surrender/allowing part.
Always do what life puts in front of you?
At a certain point in the book, he shared that he chose to NOT accept different biz opportunities so as to not sacrifice his meditation practice. But he also says "do what life puts in front of you." I felt a bit conflicted in reading that as life was putting lots of biz opportunities in front of him but he went with his preference for his twice-daily meditation practice, but hey, no big deal... I still love this book. :)
There was also the time when a colleague was impressing upon Michael to build a bigger house for himself on the land he owned. In previous stories where others were impressing upon him to do something, he took it as a "sign from life" and surrendered. But when his colleague was impressing upon him to build a nicer house for himself, he said no, he'll just wait for the timing of life (which he did with remarkable results) but still... I wondered.... that whole surrender and preferences thing isn't so black and white is it?
Do what life puts in front of you even if you really don't enjoy it?
Here's the thing... what's working in Michael's favor is that he fully BELIEVES that the Universe will support him no matter what. That unwavering belief is a big part the magic in all of this (see my overall comment below). So at times, he says "yes" to opportunities he really does NOT want to do. That left me a bit concerned for readers who may blindly throw themselves into situations they despise which will then create very undesired life experiences.
Remember, Michael did NOT allow himself to feel "despise" for any of the things he accepted but initially felt dislike for. THAT's the key and it created amazing results for Michael. If you cannot follow that ability to turn "initial dislike" into "full positive love and acceptance" for things you really don't wanna do, then you may not wanna blindly follow what Michael's doing in this book. (again... see my overall comment below). Personally, I believe the Universe has infinite opportunities available for us all to experience and it's much more fun for me to align with the manifestation of enjoyable ones, so I choose to do that. :)
Is this all just too perfect?
At times, after reading one life event after another that miraculously turned out just fine, I found myself wondering if this is just almost too perfect. The book is doing an awesome job of articulating a series of selected events that were perfectly timed and that worked out beautifully each time. BUT.... any stories of following whatever life brought to you only to have it blow up in your face? Surely that MUST have happened a few times in 40 years.
Can't help but wonder... were there other events occurring that did not go so well. Quite a few staff members were divinely timed hires. Certainly not all hired employees showed up effortlessly and perfectly timed (for example). Yes, there was the FBI raid where all hell seemed to break loose.... but my mind wondered.... did Michael feel like the employee (who was taking kickbacks) was an effortless and divinely timed hire when that employee showed up? But to be fair, there were other stories of "things seemingly gone wrong... then turned out just fine."
Michael says the growth of the company was astonishing and with it came all the problems associated with a rapidly growing technology company. But doesn't quite say how those typical problems were experienced. Were they all experienced with effortless serendipity? Or was it the typical corporate drama.
Wait, there WERE some preferences expressed:
The book seems to be heavily embracing the "surrender all of your preferences" concept but there were times when I thought "Well isn't THAT a preference?" For example, why NOT simply surrender to the trees being cut down (Ch 38) vs attempting to preserve it which is what Michael did. Why not say "Hey, so trees are being chopped down in our beautiful neighboring surroundings... life just delivered that so I'll just accept it." Nope, Michael had a preference for saving the trees and leased the land to save them. Scratched my head on that one as it seemed like a clear desire/preference to me. The outcome from leasing the land was pretty cool but still.... I wondered.
Mind vs Spirit/Intuition talking
He talks about not listening to the resistant chatter going on in your mind, but what about being guided by the Spirit within to NOT do something? The book didn't address intuitively NOT doing something. It was either focused on not listening to the mind or not resisting whatever life put in front of you. Perhaps he perceives NOT listening to the mind as, by default, listening to your Spirit/intuition? If you're just being the observer of your thoughts, then by default you are indeed following the Spirit? Not sure, but I was left wondering about that as the concept of intuition wasn't addressed (except for the intuitive flow of inspiration in completing projects).
Merge this with Law of Attraction maybe?
Perhaps the Law of Attraction that many Spiritual/new-age people are trying to "master" or "use" isn't as complicated as we make it. ALSO, to fly in the face of what this book is about, MAYBE... just MAYBE.... one can indeed envision preferences and desires, then promptly move your daggone butt out of the way, surrendering to the natural flow of whatever shows up, expecting no particular outcome and remaining completely unattached. I say MAYBE.... yet I'm aware there's plenty of evidence of this being true (e.g. Three Simple Steps by Trevor Blake or Parallel Realities of Self by Frederick Dodson, and a bazillion other authors).
OVERALL
Amazing book! A totally riveting page-turner! Five stars all the way! Another masterpiece delivered by Michael Singer and I am SO glad I bought both the paper-back and the audio version. I read them both together - kinda like Michael reading it to me (cool that this audiobook was read by him - Untethered Soul audiobook was not read by him but it was still awesomely read).
The powerful stories in this book almost... ALMOST... made me second-guess my belief in "you create your own reality." But alas, once the last chapter was read, I realized I have my own slew of stories to support creating my own reality and so do others who do not follow the "surrender all your preferences." teaching (again e.g. Three Simple Steps by Trevor Blake or Parallel Realities of Self by Frederick Dodson). It's awesome reading books like The Surrender Experiment however, because you get clear validation that there is indeed more than one way to dance to the music of life and experience amazing results.
Ever wondered how authors can provide such amazing supporting evidence of their very different teachings/beliefs? Easy peasy... it's Universal Law - that which you believe must become your reality. Michael Singer believes in "surrender your preferences and life will support you" and that became his reality. Trevor Blake believes in "set your intentions then let go and allow the Universe to do it's magic" and that became his reality. Frederick Dodson believes in "get clear on what you want, shift into that parallel reality and you'll experience it" and magically, that became his reality. It's Universal Law at work - whatever you firmly believe will happen MUST therefore become your reality (even bad stuff I might add - be careful!). So just choose your preferred "awesome sauce" recipe that resonates and flow with it. We are THAT powerful as creators of our own human experiences - makes life very cool I think, don't you? :)
As I said WAY back in the beginning of this review, I take what resonates and discard what does not when it comes to *any* spiritual teacher. Love Michael Singer's work a whole lot, yet I believe we're each here to have our own unique life experiences on this earthly ride. At the end of anyone's "spiritual teachings" remember to pause, lay aside the excitement of discovering something new, take a breather, then go within... meditate.... get quiet enough to access your OWN inner compass/guidance, your own intuition, the Spirit within you.... to see what aspects of that new teaching was actually meant for YOU at this time.
For me, my own life experiment will be a merger of expressing my desires to the Universe AND (thanks to Michael) surrendering a whole lot more to whatever shows up. Different than Michael for sure... and we'll see where that little experiment takes me. Hey, life is a playground and I'm gonna play it any way I like darnit! :)
Really loooooong review. BUT... hope it was helpful to you my fellow Amazon browsers and spiritual seekers! :)
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Tabitha
5.0 out of 5 stars Read it!!! Its enlightening, captivating and a life altering book!!!
Reviewed in India on 2 December 2020
Verified Purchase
There is so much evidence that life does quite well on its own.
The planets stay in orbit, tiny seeds grow into giant trees, weather patterns have kept forests across the globe watered for millions of years, we are not doing any of these things as conscious acts of will; they are being done by the perfection of life itself.
All these amazing events, and countless more, are being carried out by forces of life that have been around for billions of years. This was so evident, especially during these Pandemic times, when the Nature has put the whole world on stand still.
So, can we trust our life to this same natural flow of events and let yourself be carried by life? These are some of the questions that this book compels us to ponder. Michael is of the opinion that nature knows best, and it functions well without much of interference from us. He wanted to apply the same logic and hence started his biggest Experiment of life, The Principle of Surrender.
Surrender - the word itself has negative connotation to many and it literally strikes terror in people’s heart when they hear this word. People translate it to mean as ‘loosing/giving up control of their lives’. And that is a terrifying feeling for many, as we are taught at an early age to be prepared for life - make your weekly goals, monthly goals and yearly goals. Can you imagine what it will do to Self Help Industry claiming to change your life in a day’s workshop, seminars and books based on 5/10 steps to change your life?? Yes...it would put an end to that thriving billion-dollar Self-help industry for sure.
So, should we then give up on life and ‘just settle’ for whatever life throws at us?? Hell no!!!
What if is there is another way? A way that feels right in your mind and soul. It is to the exploration of this intriguing question that this book is devoted.
Michael A Singer called this, The Surrender Experiment. This experiment would not be about dropping out of life; it would be about leaping into life to live in a place where we are no longer controlled by our personal fears and desires.
At the core of this book is the Principle of Surrender and what happens if you don’t let your preferences get in the way and Surrender to Life...What would that life like look like?
Ever since he awakened at 22, witnessed his thoughts and being the awareness behind this constant chatter, he wanted to rid himself of this incessant chatter that goes in our mind and took to meditation in Florida.
When he started this inward quest to rid himself of this negative voice, life changed dramatically for him. They say, “When the student is ready, the master appears” and he came across two books that played the role of a spiritual guru in his life. First book was, Three Pillars of Zen, by Philip Kapleau and second book that altered his life was, Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahamsa Yogananda (eternal fav of every spiritual seeker during that era n even now).
These books satiated his thirst for learning in depth about meditation and all the real questions he had for quieting that incessant chattering voice and freeing himself from the hold of the mind.
One day, he went camping with his wife along with a few of his friends to Ocala National Forest for the weekend. But this trip wouldn’t turn out to be just another trip – this trip was destined to have a profound impact on Michael’s life. When he saw that place, he was overwhelmed by the beauty of that place and picked up a nice spot and just like Buddha, decided to meditate and not get up until he has reached enlightenment. He was just 22, when he had this life transforming experience.
He began sitting in a lotus position, concentrating on his breath and chanting on the sound of Mu.(Something he learnt from a book)
“I lost myself in the warm flowing force that tied my
exhalations to the warmth in my abdomen. The force
became much stronger as I concentrated more deeply.
Eventually, all consciousness of my body and my
surroundings was gone. I was only aware of the
effortless flow of warm energy that was building and
expanding at the core of my belly. I was not there;
only the flow was there”
After this intoxicating experience, Michael was left with stillness, awareness and at peace with himself and most importantly - there was no voice. He truly experienced the sound of silence in that moment. He was in this state for weeks and a moat of thick peace allowed nothing to reach the citadel of his elevated state.
Although he returned home after the trip, he couldn’t relate to the life he was coming back to. Remember, he was in a doctoral program, on full fellowship. Yet his heart was yearning to go back beyond and experience that stillness and elevated state he felt during that camping trip.
He wasn’t able to stay detached for long as his outer existence did catch up with him. After 2-3 weeks, the unassailable inner peace began to develop cracks and leak back into his sanctuary of silence, that he held so dearly.
Just when he was experiencing this internal struggles, his outer life mirrored the same changes. One day, Shelly (his wife) told him that it was time to move on. Although married for a year, the foundation of his personal life was built around this relationship. He was shattered to say the least. In one swell swoop, his “normal” way of being was gone. From Absolute peace he was pushed to absolute turmoil. From a married man with a definite career path, he started to envision himself as a meditator who was seeking deeper truth.
During this stage, his life was pretty simple - doing meditation, some yoga, and periodically going to class. He kept throwing himself into meditation more and more. It was not just a way of escaping the pain; meditation gave meaning to his life.
He was so intrigued by meditation, that he finally decided to drop out of his Doctorate studies and concentrated on meditation daily.
As he studied both his master’s degree and doctorate work under full scholarship, he had saved 15,000$ left by his father for his education. After his divorce, he was looking for a place to buy so he can concentrate on his meditation. A series of events led him to purchased a piece of land (a lot of 10 acres) in April Gift Estates with that same amount. He literally retreated into the woods, away from civilisation so he can start his inward quest by leading a monastic life.
He, along with his close friends built a small cottage on this land, so he can meditate. He also constructed a small Temple, by keeping all the deities, so people can come and meditate. Word spread around and people started coming to The Temple of the Universe to meditate and its still running to this date.
After seeing his well constructed humble cottage, made entirely of wood, he started getting more offers from his neighbourhood to build a similar house and that’s how he started his first business venture, Built from Heart. Michael had only 1 principle, say Yes to whatever life has thrown open to him and take up that task with reverence and give his all. As this venture started to thrive, his life changed for the better. Even though he didn't have any experience about construction, he started learning on the job and kept saying YES to life.
When you find your calling...you heart and soul just know it. There is this magnetic pull towards that activity/ product. You feel lit up inside and there is this child like curiosity to learn as much as you can about your calling, you become like a kid in a candy store. You also loose sense of time and that activity fills your soul in a beautiful way. It is this all consuming passion, that Michael felt when he first saw a Personal Computer in a store, nearby his home in 1970’s.
And it was love at first sight for him. He got one of those PCs and taught himself coding. And then he stared coding for small companies. During this time, he sold off his first venture to a friend and got into coding full time. Life didn’t stop there for Michael as better was in store for him.
"I simply sat at the computer and wrote down the
spontaneous stream of inspired thoughts in the
form of code. I wrote and wrote this in a fervor
and passion that was almost frightening.
Everything i did, i did to the absolute best of
my ability. I was probably writing the best program
i could as my gift to the universe. The flow of inspiration
was such that i was not allowed to cut a single corner."
Word spread around quickly and he started writing personalised coding for Fortune 500 companies too. From a one-man army, he now had a total of 1500 employees working for him. Whenever he needed a new employee, somehow the right kind of a person either came in contact with him or he was led towards them through his friends and colleagues...Serendipity is the word here.
Although Michael and his team had no formal training or experience in medical software design, they went on to create one of the best written programs.
"If you asked me how, i would tell you that my
experience with meditation had shown me that
there were 2 very distinct aspects of what we
call mind. There was the logical, thought-driven mind
that comes up with logical solutions. Then there was
the intuitive, inspiration-driven mind that can look
at a problem and instantly see a creative solution.
As it turned out, the years of spiritual work i had
done to quiet that voice in my head that opened
the door for almost constant inspiration. It seemed
the quieter the mind, the more that solutions
became self-evident."
Apart from writing coding, he was also actively hosting Spiritual Retreats at his temple regularly and was religious with his daily meditations as well.
Michael created the Medical Manager, one of the first programs that helped medical practitioners to digitise their medical records. I guess Medical Manager was bound to become a massive success.
The fact that one of the most-respected New Age Spiritual teachers in the world, Ram Dass carried this software in Michael’s car, before this software was to be presented at Computer Dealers Exhibition in 1982, LA...kind of gave early signs of its success...like it was destined for greatness right from the start. In all honesty Ram Dass even asked Michael, “Is it any good?”
And far from being good...this software took the Tech world by storm. It was acquired by WebMD, a billion-dollar public company which focused on medical data management. Medical Manager is a recognised achievement archived in Smithsonian Institution, NYC.
When he started resisting less to life and surrendering more to life, things had a way of working out, whether it was getting near by patches of land or the right employee...things just worked out seamlessly.
Just when it looked like it can’t get any better than this, life had a wicked way of throwing a curve ball. That’s precisely what happened when FBI landed in their office premises on Sep 3, 2003 with a search warrant owing to some discrepancies in accounting, which is punishable act.
So, when this whole FBI Trial was going on...nearly 1.2 million e-mail messages, 1,500 boxes of files containing more than 3 million pages of documents, and 830,000 computer files were confiscated by FBI .... anyone can loose their mind. But not Michael. 40 years of practicing yoga, had instilled Michael to be in alignment with his mind, body and soul.
It’s very easy to be at peace when you are tucked away in a monastery, practising solitude. The real test is when you are in the midst of an intensely dark period and still retain that oasis of calmness, being centered and not let anything deter you from that peaceful center.
After 7 years of countless investigations and court room dramas, Michael and his team were allowed to walk free by dropping all the charges. Turns out, it was one of his employees, Bobby Davids who tied up with some dealers and presented discrepancies in accounting and falsely made accusations against Michael and Team. And just like that, Michael was free of all charges.
Even during this Trial period, Michael chose this time to become more centered and reconnect with the Divine Source even though his inner voice was wreaking havoc in his mind, he didn’t allow himself to surrender to that negative chatter. The fact that he wrote his 2 NYT Best Sellers, ‘The Untethered Soul’ and ‘The Surrender Experiment’ during this dark phase, speaks volumes about his spiritual strength.
There are times in our lives when a book, an article or a film comes at the right time. Call it a Divine intervention but that was how it was for me and this book.
At a time, when the whole World was under the grip of COVID 19 and so much of doom and gloom was being predicted by media...this book was a nice solace for me.
I came across Michael, some years back on Oprah’s Show. Somewhere at the back of my mind ...this book kept coming back to me ...I took this as a sign from the Universe and got this amazing book and I’m so glad I read this book.
Just like the beautiful cover page that is soothing to the eyes, this book was soothing to my soul as it has re kindled the stillness within me. A wave of contentment and peace washed over my soul while I was reading this book. This book will have a permanent place on my night stand along with my other soulful books.
From living a life of a hermit, surviving on a mere 250$ as guest lecturer to becoming VP of WebMD (renamed after acquisition). Throughout this amazing journey, Michael didn’t let go off his meditation, which he practices daily (to this day!) and held on to that oasis of stillness.
From leading a life in solitude, to leading a life with purpose and service, this is an extra ordinary journey of Michael, who surrendered to the flow of life events. And when you start living life in a new way, in alignment with your spirit and by listening to higher intelligence that’s always guiding you, you can unleash MAGIC in your life.
"Once you are ready to let go of yourself, life
becomes your friend, your teacher, your
secret lover. When life’s way becomes your
way, all the noise stops, and there is great peace" - Michael
Read this life altering book, so you can start surrendering to the flow of life events and participate in life’s dance with a quiet mind and an open heart.
Read it!!! Its enlightening, captivating and a life altering book!!!
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Parth Mehta
5.0 out of 5 stars The Practical Guide To Surrendering
Reviewed in India on 10 August 2023
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If you want to make you life to be your Secret Lover, read this book as soon as possible!
In this book, you will find the power of your own Divinity throbing as Life in you.
The courage, stability and Spirituality that Michael Sir has showed us is really very exemplary.
So much grateful for revealing the events of his life journey so beautifully that the reader can easily understand how powerful it is when we surrender the power of Ego to the Universal Life Priciples!
Thank you, Dear Friend Mickey !!!
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Vinnie
5.0 out of 5 stars inspiring
Reviewed in Australia on 23 June 2023
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Very hard to put this book down. I found it uplifting, inspiring, and filled me with a deep sense of peace, joy and awe for life.
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Barnabe DUDORET
4.0 out of 5 stars A very relaxing read
Reviewed in Australia on 1 June 2023
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Not much in terms of substance as the concept is clearly stated in the first pages. However the superb writing carries you on a fantastic journey. A “feel good” book!
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Truly inspirational
Reviewed in Australia on 13 November 2022
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This book reaches down and transforms at a very deep level, forcing you (in the kindest way) to reexamine your approach to life. Highly recommended.
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5.0 out of 5 stars Best Book Ever
Reviewed in Australia on 5 June 2022
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Teaching me to become a better person who lives a life full of peace. Life changing. Thank you so much!
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting and well told
Reviewed in Australia on 24 January 2022
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This book is autobiographical. It is well written and gives an interesting account of michael singer's life and explains how Singer's book 'The Untethered Soul' came about. I really enjoyed reading it - it is very uplifting and inspiring.
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Kerri martin
5.0 out of 5 stars True with us
Reviewed in Australia on 26 February 2022
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I love this book, Michael Singer is such a magnificent writer, I always feel so connected to him and he inspires me in every way, if only we could all follow this path 💜
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Amitabh Dg
5.0 out of 5 stars Did not want this book to end.
Reviewed in Australia on 12 December 2020
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This book deeply impacted me and has a depth and sincerity to call out how you can be in the world but still practise your spiritual values of surrender and faith irrespective of all that challenges life throws it you.
Will recommend it to anyone trying to centre their lives on the fundamentals of “Who am I “
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TruthSeeker2012
3.0 out of 5 stars Some strong moments but repetitive and felt too clean
Reviewed in Australia on 7 November 2016
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Some tear jerker a when I connected to my own desire or choice to surrender. I feel like an article on his life would have been far more worthwhile. The beggining is hard to get through because everything just works out so perfectly all the time and I don't think he accurately represents the struggle, he doesn't really tell you about the misses either it's all one big ride yeah sure it was hard but I just surrendered and got to work and it all just happened. He also reached stillness so quickly and easily in the beginning even with very little meditation training.
This felt like a TCM/lifetime movie version of events. I can't really connect or relate to those who don't share the true pain and challenges and just give a stylised hollywood event. Not worth the price tag but there are some lovely moments.
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Deanna C Ward
5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring empowering The Untethered Soul in action!
Reviewed in Australia on 27 February 2021
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I had to read this once I read The Untethered Soul. It is Michael’s journey of his own experiences and how he came to write this beautiful book. Extremely enlightening. I would recommend you buy both. 🙏🏻
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Ellie
5.0 out of 5 stars The Most Transformational Book I've Read
Reviewed in Australia on 26 October 2018
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I went on a deep spiritual journey with this book. Michael tells his story so eloquently and articulately and I found myself learning to let go as he did throughout the book. It's an amazing story and full of golden truths and learnings that have shifted my whole approach to life and mindset. As Michael says - the more we let go, the freer we become. That is the essence of this book. I already want to re-read it!
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Justin
69 reviews · 14 followers
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November 29, 2015
I was really torn between giving this a 2-star and a 4-star.
Pros - it's very well written. It's also a powerful concept - of acknowledging the limit of our control, not being committed to a single outcome, but rather being open to where life takes us and letting things unfold as they do. The 2-page "premise" section sums this up beautifully, and the repetition of examples in the book are helpful.
Cons - it's really hard for to relate to someone who has an epiphany at age 22 and then never varies from his vision or convictions. Yes, he tells the story in a way in which you see his personal growth and personal struggle, but the heart of this story is - I committed at age 22 to surrendering to life, and did that the rest of my life and it worked out great. There are no real counterexamples to give this depth - he's obviously not saying yes to everything, he turns down a fulltime teaching position, he must have had countless requests that he turned down, so telling a story of "yes to everything" doesn't seem right. It's also not relatable for me - where is the struggle, the loss of faith, the self doubt, the errors and failures - this image of perfection doesn't inspire, for me it creates doubt or a feeling of inauthentic self description.
I think about it's message a lot, but based on the cons it's hard to go above 3 stars.
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Kate
9 books · 227 followers
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September 25, 2015
Ultimately, this book is about the art of allowing...of radical freedom, really. It's about following your passions and then lining up with whatever circumstances life places before you.
Here are some of my favorite lines:
"The sharp line I had drawn between spiritual and nonspiritual had begun to fade. The energy I experienced while teaching my classes...was the same energy I was dealing with in my yoga and meditations."
"Every time I got into or out of my car, I would slow down my breath and visualize Earth spinning through outer space. Before opening a door, any door, I would remember that I was walking through a door on this tiny planet in the vast emptiness of space."
"My formula for success was very simple: Do whatever is put in front of you with all your heart and soul without regard for personal results. Do the work as though it were given to you by the universe itself--because it was."
"Challenging situations create the force needed to bring about change. The problem is that we generally use all the stirred-up energy intended to bring about change, to resist change. I was learning to sit quietly in the midst of howling winds and wait to see what constructive action was being asked of me."
"When push comes to shove, I don't care what it takes, just free me from myself."
"No matter what, life is going to put us through the changes we need to go through. The question is: Are we willing to use this force for our transformation?"
"The more I let go, the freer I became. It was not my responsibility to find what was binding me; that was life's job. My responsibility was to willingly let go of whatever was brought up within me."
"Once you are willing to let go of yourself, life becomes your friend, your teacher, your secret lover. When life's way becomes your way, all the noise stops, and there is great peace."
memoir
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Uwe Hook
737 reviews · 13 followers
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August 11, 2015
I was hoping for a book that expanded on the wisdom of the Untethered Soul, which I thought was brilliant and life changing. I did enjoy the beginning of the book where Mr. Singer discusses the beginnings of his spiritual seeking and how his life fell into place in so many ways. I loved hearing about the spiritual commune he started and the spiritual teachers that he met and learned from. But I was caught off guard when he began to discuss developing his medical software billing empire. It became a major focus for the majority of this book. What a waste! It just went on and on and had virtually nothing to offer the reader who might be seeking spiritual awakening. If you enjoy hearing about computer software and business development and land acquisition, then this is for you. If you want a book about spiritual development then look elsewhere.
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Tina
337 reviews · 8 followers
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February 12, 2016
Let me start off by saying that I love the idea behind this book - the reason I purchased it. I want to better understand how to surrender to life, so my review and rating have nothing to do with the subject matter.
Obviously, this is Singer's story and it is his to tell, but I got absolutely nothing out of this book at all, which *might* have been acceptable if this were a third rate thriller, not a book which was obviously written as an enlightenment tool/read.
While I did not expect to get a "revelation" reading this book, I at least expected to enjoy it or find some tiny nuggets of wisdom and I did not. Frankly, I am wondering if I read the same book as all those people who left positive reviews.
The first part of the book, while idealistic, does not reflect real life - at least not the real life of anyone I know (including myself) so I could ABSOLUTELY NOT identify at all - which makes it very hard to gleam some kind of "wisdom" to apply to my own life.
I am not sure how many of us can live in a van and meditate all the time, instead of you know - living in the real world.
I am also constantly amazed at how this person puts absolutely no effort into being a contributing part of society (other than to spend most of his time in his temple) and yet, everyone wants him and everything is drawn to him.
I think this book was already written a long time ago, by someone who actually left some kind of literary mark on the world and the book was called WALDEN.
You know, maybe the problem is me and that I just did not get the concept or whatever behind this book, but honestly, I am annoyed that I spent the money. More power to those who got something out of this one.
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Lauren
1,447 reviews · 67 followers
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July 16, 2020
Well, that’s 250 pages of humble bragging.
Summary: Surrendering to life is easy when everything goes your way. Apparently, Mr. Singer had to learn to be OK with surrendering to people repeatedly telling him how awesome he is.
The Surrender Experiment reminds me of nothing of the books I’ve read about Buddhism and yoga. A closer counterpart would be prosperity gospel and the idea that you’re simply not praying hard enough if life isn’t going your way.
Regarding the court case at the end: As an attorney, I don’t buy his version of events. While I love nothing more than criticizing our modern legal system, this tale doesn’t jive with my own experiences and knowledge.
That’s one of the major problems of this book: The unstated inverse of “Michael A. Singer is amazing” is that idiots surround him. He didn’t want to do all of these amazing things, but people kept coming to him because he's the only competent person around. It’s obnoxious.
At the end of the day, Mr. Singer is a baby boomer who was a hippie but turned into a capitalist and is still trying to justify selling out his youthful principles in the name of the almighty dollar. Mr. Singer, own up to it. Surrender to that reality and stop pretending that not wearing a suit makes you alternative.
A final comment (wherein I try and sound less cynical): I don’t disagree with Mr. Singer’s premise. There is something to surrendering to life and not fighting against what happens to us. I know people who have dealt with some truly awful things with grace and compassion and found roses amidst destruction. I just found how he presented his own life lacking.
For a better take on this subject, allow me to suggest Pema Chodron’s Fail, Fail Again, Fail Better, which is based on a graduation speech she gave a few years ago. It’s a much shorter read and better aligned with my own experiences and observations of what it means to honestly surrender to life and ending the belief that surrender is somehow defeat.
Not recommended.
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Mike
49 reviews · 10 followers
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January 10, 2021
I enjoyed Singer's "The Untethered Soul" and was hoping for more of the good stuff here.
Boy, was I disappointed.
This book is unbelievably obnoxious.
It’s ostensibly about surrender, yet Singer never finds the time to clarify what he means by the concept. For the most part, he appears to define surrender as saying yes to any opportunities that arise—especially those which he felt resistance towards. At times, however, he considers the rejection of opportunities as the epitome of surrender. That's having your ‘perfect’ cake and eating it too.
He lists things that went well for him throughout his life ad nauseam, attributing them entirely to his capacity to surrender to life's innate perfection. The circular reasoning goes as follows: If it worked out, he was surrendering; if it didn't, he was obviously resisting.
I found myself asking the following: Is there a distinction between inner and outer surrender? What happens when life presents two diametrically opposed opportunities? What qualifies as not being part of the natural flow of life? How exactly does one distinguish the 'flow of life' from the rest? These sorts of questions aren’t examined at all.
Moreover, he has a supremely annoying habit of overusing the most dramatic language. You can't go a few paragraphs without him saying something like “this changed my life forever” “I never could have imagined where this would lead me” “I felt ____ more intensely than I ever had before” “as destiny would have it” etc. It sounds like a 16 year old describing their first time smoking weed, on weed. His tone is consistently pompous and heavy-handed.
And what's the deal with the super short chapters?
There are 56 of them!
Did I practice surrender by finishing this book? Or, conversely, would I have been surrendering if I ditched it?
I wish I had done the latter.
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Cornmaven
1,636 reviews
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December 24, 2015
This one about does it for me on memoirs. While I understand the benefits of meditation on one's health and well-being, Singer's story, as he tells it, seems to imply that embracing full zenness is essential for getting good things in life and being successful. So here's my take:
1. Singer had the advantage of an upper middle class existence at the time that he "discovered" his ideology. No responsibilities, plenty of money to "tune in, drop out", and basically take a sabbatical from the real world. If he had had a child, or been born without a silver spoon in his mouth, he would not have been able to drop out of graduate school - the money would have been too important for his survival.
2. He keeps talking about becoming separate from himself, and observing life as it passes by, tamping down/ignoring his inner voice, as if this was a bad thing. I have never bought that concept. I have always wondered why some say it is such a bad thing to pay attention to your inner voice because I think that voice is important. I have also never understood why it is so important to detach oneself from reality. I am much more comfortable with the notion that we need to learn to live with reality and become comfortable with it, WITHOUT detachment. What Singer seems to be dealing with is anxiety, and yes, meditation can help with that, but so can therapy and medication; meditation isn't the only path.
3. I made it through about 8 chapters, then skipped around on the digital copy, coming upon the story about land across from his temple basically falling into his lap. But, it didn't. The landfill dump that was slated for the land wasn't a great thing, and he did something about it by galvanizing neighbors and appealing to the city council. And, as luck would have it, they voted against issuing a permit. It could have easily gone the other way, with the council voting for it. The land falling into his lap, right across from the temple, and so perfect, was not due in ANY way to his spiritual practice.
4. In the amount of the book I listened to, Singer only once acknowledged the force of luck in how things turned out for him. He starts a statement about some incident with "as fate would have it." And there you go. Fate, luck, chance are big players in our lives, and have nothing to do with our spiritual practice, how much we meditate, how strongly we believe. Just ask all the soldiers on Omaha Beach that never made it through the day, or even out of the water. If we don't acknowledge the work of luck in our lives, we would be forced to believe that some people are more deserving than others of success, wealth, and fortune, and that those who experience misfortune are somehow reaping what they sow. Not always. And that's the paradox of life.
I just got bored with another self-serving tome about someone's discovery being the be all and end all of life. My experience is that clinging to that notion is baloney. Singer is right that life throws you curve balls and how you respond will affect you in many ways. But his response method is not a one size fits all. I guess my DNA just won't fit with eastern philosophy as well as I or anyone else would like it to fit. :-)
Namaste!
abandoned
adult
non-fiction
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Lisa Guevara
100 reviews
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August 14, 2016
Like some other readers, I was excited by the idea of this book--surrendering to the way life unfolds and attempting to step away from the ego and concept of "self" which often gets in our way. But I was a bit disappointed. I wanted more depth, more of an idea of Micky's day to day life--how DOES this surrender concept really work. I also couldn't help but wonder what his wife and child think of it all, what their experience has been. Obviously, this is his story, his version of what "surrendering" to the flow of life looks like--but I was so curious as to how that surrender plays out in the context of family and intimate relationships. There is a great deal of focus on the business success but I was left wanting more.
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Veda
142 reviews · 22 followers
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July 4, 2022
Let me be frank, I started taking this book seriously ever since he mentioned Paramahamsa Yogananda, and there are quite a few mentions of him in this book, along with Baba Muktananda and Ma Yogashakti (who I am not familiar with 🙏🏾). Since, I am currently reading Paramahamsa Yoganananda’s works, I felt a personal connect to this book as soon as his name cropped up, and it kept cropping up again and again.
While the author mentions ‘karma yoga’ only once in this book, I felt that how he has chosen to live is pretty much a great example of it. He talks about how everything he does is a dedication to the higher intelligence above and that he trusts it to give him his best life, which to me at this point in life appears to be very freeing.
The book does get repetitive after a while, however, I am in a space where I am very lapping up everything about spirituality, hence this book worked for me.
Quite a few reviews mention the author to be indulging in ‘humble bragging’, if anything I found what he has chosen to do to be a humble tribute to what he says is his guiding light. Maybe I am missing out something here.
Certain phrases such as ‘destruction of self is my ultimate goal’ and so on, did stump me a bit, I would have probably understood the author better if I had read ‘An untethered soul’ first. That was the author’s first book apparently and I came to know this only at the end of the book. Additionally, there is not much on his roles as a husband and a father, maybe the author felt there wasn’t much to be mentioned there once he told us about his wedding and his wife’s pregnancy or maybe he wanted it to be private. Whatever maybe the case, I would have loved to know how he applied his ‘surrender experiment’ in his familial life too.
Overall, a book that I enjoyed reading and gave me something to think about.
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Vanessa Angelina
77 reviews · 3 followers
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March 21, 2020
DNF at 31% + some skimming of final chapters to see if it gets better. Spoiler alert: it doesn’t. This book is just the story of the author’s business venture forcefully tied into his whole “let’s surrender to life” experiment. EVERYTHING that happens to this dude seems to be “divine intervention” for him and tied to some spiritual and holy reason. And every event, or thought he has, or meditation session he does, or decision he takes “changes the course of his life forever”. 🙄 It reminds me of the Friends episode when Phoebe dates that guy Parker and he is annoyingly enthusiastic and optimistic about fucking everything. That’s Singer in this book. Also, sooo many situations described by the author are one of those I’ll-take-200-dollars-for-shit-that-never-happened. Like, who the fuck walks into a university lecture theatre shirtless, NOT realising they are half-naked because they’re so engrossed and at peace with their previous mediation session that it simply slipped their mind? Bullshit. The only thing I can agree with this book is the whole thing about surrender and only because it inspired me to ‘surrender’ the book and never pick it up again. How are there people out there who fall for this shit??? 🤯
dnf
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Linda Dong
36 reviews · 46 followers
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February 12, 2020
Woof. Just a guy humble bragging about his superior intellect, privilege and luck. The second half of the book is solely him fumbling to clear his name after being indicted for corruption by the FBI and giving up any premise of “surrender” for “fight against everything for 5 years with $120 million”.
Whatever spirituality lesson exists is just flattened by this guy’s ego. My favorite quote is his take on why his first wife left him: “the sheer strength of my personality and intellect had not given her the room she needed to breathe” 🙄
pop-psychology
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Kelly
590 reviews · 3 followers
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August 14, 2015
What a fascinating and pretty crazy life story this author had! Really interesting premise about how surrendering to the flow of life's events created a pretty incredible and interesting life for the author. I was a big fan of his prior book and this was a good follow-on book.
A few notes/quotes I highlighted:
* Every day, we give precedence to our mind’s thoughts over the reality unfolding before us. We regularly say things like, “It better not rain today because I’m going camping” or “I better get that raise because I really need the money.” Notice that these bold claims about what should and shouldn’t be happening are not based on scientific evidence; they’re based solely on personal preferences made up in our minds. Without realizing it, we do this with everything in our lives—it’s as though we actually believe that the world around us is supposed to manifest in accordance to our own likes and dislikes. If it doesn’t, surely something is very wrong. This is an extremely difficult way to live, and it is the reason we feel that we are always struggling with life.
* Since most of us only feel good when things are going our way, we are constantly attempting to control everything in our lives.
* There must be another, more sane way to approach life. For example, what would happen if we respected the flow of life and used our free will to participate in what’s unfolding, instead of fighting it? What would be the quality of the life that unfolds? Would it just be random events with no order or meaning, or would the same perfection of order and meaning that manifests in the rest of the universe manifest in the everyday life around us?
* If that inner voice could speak in Spanish and you immediately understood what it was saying, then you were fluent in Spanish. If, however, the Spanish words made no sense to you until you did the mental work of translating them so that the voice would repeat them in English, then you were not fluent in Spanish.
* When my mental voice had something to say, I now had a choice—pay attention to the voice or keep focusing on the inner flow of energy. I eventually realized that if I didn’t want to listen to the mental chatter, all I had to do was slightly increase my concentration on the energy flow to my brow. The thoughts would then pass right by without disturbing me. Letting the thoughts go became a game to me. All of life was a lighter experience than before.
* For example, there was the notion that you have to die to be reborn. That is exactly what I had been trying to do, die of the personal to be reborn in the spiritual. I
* The rules of the experiment were very simple: If life brought events in front of me, I would treat them as if they came to take me beyond myself. If my personal self complained, I would use each opportunity to simply let him go and surrender to what life was presenting me.
* I no longer saw the lower aspect of myself, with all his personal issues and melodramas, as the enemy that had to be destroyed. I looked at him now with a new understanding. I needed to use all these disturbed personal energies for my ascent. It was perfectly clear to me that since he was the problem, he was also the solution.
* “You can come out now." that scared, troubled person in there whom I had been watching and judging was indeed a person. The psyche is a person with feelings and thoughts, hopes, fears, and dreams. He is not to be locked in a room and constantly told to shut up. There are much more constructive ways to deal with these disturbed, self-centered energies.
* I had to learn to surrender more, instead of struggling so much. I had already determined to surrender to life’s flow, even if I couldn’t understand where it was taking me.
* Done properly, yoga is the science of channeling all energies upward until they merge together at the highest point—Oneness.
* The number of tasks life was giving me was out of control, but I was surrendering to it. My morning and evening meditations were my refuge. Throughout the day I took every opportunity to quiet myself and center within.
* My formula for success was very simple: Do whatever is put in front of you with all your heart and soul without regard for personal results. Do the work as though it were given to you by the universe itself—because it was.
* Right from the beginning, I resolved to use the whole situation to finally free myself from whatever was left of that scared person inside who had always held me back. This was my entire journey—liberation at any cost.
* How could I possibly explain the great freedom that comes from realizing to the depth of your being that life knows what it’s doing? Only direct experience can take you there. At some point there’s no more struggle, just the deep peace that comes from surrendering to a perfection that is beyond your comprehension. Eventually, even the mind stops resisting, and the heart loses the tendency to close. The joy, excitement, and freedom are simply too beautiful to give up. Once you are ready to let go of yourself, life becomes your friend, your teacher, your secret lover. When life’s way becomes your way, all the noise stops, and there is a great peace.
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Alex
24 reviews · 45 followers
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November 23, 2020
I read 49% of this book before I gave up. It's trash. It's a story about how mediocre white men don't even have to try and will still succeed in the United States.
purposely-put-down
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Chetan
290 reviews · 4 followers
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June 2, 2023
After being rather critical of Mr. Singer’s Untethered Soul, I wasn’t as eager getting to this. I must say I was pleasantly surprised and joyful to read such expounded discourse on what the Indian philosophies would call renunciation.
Essentially the Surrender Experiment is a book about surrendering yourself to nature, allowing the world to happen to you as much as you happen to it. Letting go of one’s ego and trusting that what is meant to be will happen. Coming from a place of understanding that there are some things in life that are beyond our control and so we gracefully, give up trying to change them. Allowing ourselves the freedom to base our mental health, emotional stability, and happiness on something more substantial.
dharmaesque
non-fiction
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Henrique Moody
6 reviews · 4 followers
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October 24, 2018
When I started this book it was a little bit hard for me because I couldn't really relate to the author's life. Everything seemed so distant from my reality that I didn't think it had something in there for me.
I'm glad I didn't give up, because Mikey's life story made me reflect a lot about how I've been dealing with my life, about how much I've been fighting against everything around me and how unnecessary and harmful that is.
I feel that something was changing inside of me while I was reading this book and I feel that in both my personal and professional life. I don't know if that's good or bad, but somehow I don't think I should care and that's definitely something I got from this book.
