As you probably already know if you’ve ever met me, or read my blog long enough (see here and here), reading The Surrender Experiment by Michael A. Singer had a profound impact on me – and Repurpose Your Purpose would probably not exist without it.
So finally, after a few years of getting deeper and deeper into Mickey’s work and my own practice, I took the leap and went to Florida to hear him speak at The Temple of the Universe. I stayed in Gainesville – 30 min. from Alachua – and attended his Sunday’s service (which has been happening since 1975!) and his Monday night’s talk.
I read (or listened to) The Surrender Experiment and read The Unthetered Soul many, many times during the past 3+ years. I find Mickey’s style of writing and teaching to be really helpful in grasping some timeless concepts. The Truth is always the same, but isn’t there a saying that every generation needs its own books? I think it’s also true that each individual needs her own path to it, and Mickey’s work resonates particularly well with me.
Why travel all the way across the country just to hear the writer of The Surrender Experiment speak – someone who has plenty of books, audio and video recordings available? I expected there would be something different about being in the same space with Michael Singer – something technology could never quite capture. What I experienced surpassed my expectations.
I read so many times in The Surrender Experiment about Mickey’s Sunday Service – I was really looking forward to it! When I arrived there were maybe 30 people, and soon we were a group of 60 or 70. The energy was great, but comparable to any other gathering of sincere meditators. What really struck me was being in the presence of Michael Singer. I only once before met someone who clearly had crossed over another level of consciousness through meditation – and the similarities were uncanny.
Mickey had this quality of absolute joy – it reminded me of what Alan Watts said in his lectures – that if you do find God you cannot help but laugh. I felt as if Mickey Singer had seen the entire universe and found it delightful, funny, full of love, and was in a complete state of bliss – as if he had gotten the joke. Hearing his laughter made me want to really, really tune in, so I could join in the fun.
I grew up in a strong intellectual environment: the Italian public school system is very good – and I enjoyed years of philosophy in high school, along with Italian, Latin, French, English and German literature, scientific studies, and more. I went to college in California and learned a bunch more. I am very grateful for all that knowledge and it served me well. But it had one flaw – one that I see present in so much of Western thought, from academia to politics to psychology: the belief that pessimism, talking about problems, and feeling “down” are all hallmarks of people who know more and are smarter. This is simply not true. What I have been discovering instead is that when you actually get to what is real – what is beyond the mind – you would be crazy to feel down! And this is what I have observed while in the presence of those who “get it” – there is something beyond – and it is a place of unconditional love. Once you get a glimpse, and if you ever get to inhabit it consistently – you cannot help but feeling joy. What we consider sanity is absolute madness.
Reading The Surrender Experiment, I had imagined Alachua to be quite remote, but I had not fully grasped how isolated it is! Michael Singer’s entire tale of creating The Temple of the Universe there and building a company from basically nothing, seemed to me even more fantastic now that I was actually there. A few people in town asked me what I was doing in Gainesville, and not one had heard of Mickey. I saw that it really doesn’t matter where you are – if you connect with Spirit, if you put yourself in service of what’s in front of you, if you truly commit to transformation – you will always be exactly where you are meant to be. Mickey is a human being just like you and me, except for one big difference: he committed to the practice. He started from where it was – as he encouraged us all to do during one of his lectures – and took on the practice of small, incremental, consistent steps of letting go.
One thing I always wondered reading The Surrender Experiment was how intentional he had been while building his business. In the book he always seemed to “go with the flow,” and yet he had to make a ton of decisions, such as how much to price his products, how to hire people, etc. Did he really just let things happen? Had he been way more intentional, but failed to recognize it? I felt there was something escaping me from his narrative – and I was hoping to find the answer during my trip.
As “life’s perfection unfolded” (to borrow one of his phrases), during his Monday night’s talk someone asked a question that provided me with the answer I had traveled thousands of miles to get. Mickey shared that he worked 10-15 hours per day and had to make decisions for many people when he was running his company – but he never identified with his mind. Such a beautifully simple answer – and yet it takes a strong practice to achieve! I really got that there is a higher place from where we can operate so that our decisions do not come from a place of self consciousness, manipulation and ego, but from a place where we are at One with everything. Letting go of your personal self doesn’t mean you stop making decisions – but who makes those decisions ceases to be the you you used to identify yourself with.
Here are some of my biggest take-aways from this trip – not new, but always good to remember:
- Intellectual knowledge – how much theory you know, how many facts you can recite – is nothing without real application in the world and understanding that comes from a deeper place within.
- Ram Dass wrote: “Do not get high, be high!” meaning, drugs will never get you where you want to be, only a true spiritual practice will. If you have ever been around someone high on drugs vs. someone who is “high” through spiritual mastery, you will immediately see the truth of Ram Dass’s words. Don’t look for outside substances to help you merge into the One. Start a meditation practice instead.
- Start now – wherever you are. You already have all you need.
- Technology is great – but when you can, seek in-person connections and experiences. You’ll get much more from them that you can ever get from a video.
- Joy, Bliss, Love, these are Truth. The rest is just the rest.
Resources:
If you want to find out more about Michael A. Singer’s work, here are a few tips and resources. FYI, I am in no way affiliated with his work or organization and I get nothing whether you click on these links or not. I am simply sharing because I love his teachings ♥
- I recommend reading The Surrender Experiment first, and then The Unthetered Soul – I find the former helped me better understand the latter.
- If you are interested in spirituality, I highly recommend Singer’s short book Three Essays on Universal Law – it contains one of the best explanations of Karma I have read. You can also find a list of books Singer’s has been influenced by in the bibliography, including Autobiography of a Yogi, by Paramahansa Yogananda.
- Check out the video course.
- And here’s the website for The Temple of the Universe.
Last, but not least, stop taking a bunch of courses, reading book after book, learning all different theories, and practice instead. Choose a few teachers and/or approaches to transformation and apply yourself to them. I cannot tell you how many times when I mention Michael A. Singer’s work, people start telling me about all these other books or writers they read (and still feel stuck). Unless you do the work, it doesn’t matter how many books you read. Got that? Now go!
Glad to stumble across your post. I had purchased The Untethered Soul with other horse books (or so I thought) probably 4 years ago! Two years later, I reopened it on a nudge that I landed it for a purpose…Since then I have read/listened to The Surrender Experiment as well as many of his talks…Once I found Living From a Place of Surrender….The Untethered Soul in Action…I couldn’t begin to know how many times I’ve listened to that one. I found that the Temple is temporarily closed due to covid…But You answered my wondering question of going in person!! Thank you!
Thank you, Denise! And hopefully TOU will reopen soon ♥
I have just recently finished Mr. Singer’s book: The Surrender Experiment.
I enjoyed it. I often wonder how can most spiritual teachers blend family life with spiritual practice. I have always struggled with that concept after having kids.
Unfortunately, it seems there is no information on that topic anywhere. I kind of fear you have to chose and be either focusing on yourself and grow spiritually, or chose your family. In the book Mr. Singer mentions the birth of his daughter. But later on he is still not living with her nor she is ever mentioned. This makes me wonder if only the true loners can reach the greatest heights.
Thank you for sharing, Jana. I think it depends on the spiritual practice. Some actually do talk about parenthood as sacred work. Here are three examples that come to mind:
– I haven’t read it yet, but there is a book out by Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg on “how parenting can be considered a spiritual practice, and how seeing it that way can lead to transformation” https://danyaruttenberg.net/books/nurture-the-wow
– Thomas Moore talks about the need to see parenthood as a sacred work some are called to do. While I don’t have a specific book of his in mind on the topic, he has several you might want to look into: https://thomasmooresoul.com/books/
– And a religion such as Sikhi actually stresses the need to be spiritual while engaged in the world through work and family, and so it doesn’t have a place for people to practice spirituality in a vacuum, as a way to retreat from the world: https://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Sikhi
I hope this gives you some inspiration ♥
Thanks for sharing your experience Aurora. I serendipitously came across your post today as I was feeling totally overwhelmed by having too many books and courses to read/complete to help me on my spiritual journey. I took a screenshot of your advice to just stop the search and focus on those teachers you resonate with so I can remember it when I’m tempted to keep seeking. Mickey Singer is definitely one of those special teachers for me. I struggle with the letting go aspect that he teaches and I think that’s why I keep searching for techniques on how to do it, but I guess the whole point is to just keep practicing and intuitively the way that works best for you will come to you. Is that what you found in your experience? Thank you 😊🙏
Hi Carolyn, yes, I think you are onto something. What I have personally found is that once you have an experience of letting go, then the practice is one of nurturing and lovingly supporting yourSelf in that letting go. Sometimes you might feel in the flow for an extended period of time and sometimes it might come and go. It is ALL flow. So the quality of the feeling of your learning and seeking determines the difference: do you keep looking for something to “fix” you? Then consider you are not letting go, and that search is the ego trying to prevent you from letting go by creating more and more noise. If your search is playful, feels good, keeps nurturing and deepening your own spiritual practice, then it can be wonderful. Notice whether you are coming from a place of self love and oneness vs “fixing” and struggling.
Lastly, spirituality in my view, encompasses our whole existence. Setting boundaries that let you and those around you live freely and peacefully is spiritual, sharing food with someone who is hungry is spiritual, appreciating your co workers is spiritual. You can see the whole of life as an invitation to merge into Oneness. Once you get that, you understand letting go. And then the practice becomes remembering we are all One in every moment, while staying in the here and now (not checking out). I hope this helps ♥
Thanks Aurora for sharing your experience at TOU in such a well-written and insightful way! I loved your takeaways, especially the one that recommended starting a practice now rather than endlessly consuming information from a variety of sources. I am definitely guilty of that.
I just got my hands on The Untethered Soul from the library a few days ago – after months of waiting. I was immediately taken in by his teachings. His approach resonated with me and even gave me a sense of relief. There is a way out of suffering and into joy through Self-awareness and letting go.
As Rumi said: “Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.”
Awesome! And I love that quote from Rumi, thank you for sharing.
Thanks Aurora for sharing your experience. I’ve also wanted to take the trip to mecca to visit Mickey’s temple – I just have to figure out how to make it worthwhile for my wife :-). In case people don’t know, they have been posting Mickey’s talks on their website due to the pandemic on Mondays, Thursdays, and Sundays to coincide to his normal schedule. This is very generous. I’ve found them very helpful although I’ve read his books umpteen times. I find his teachings dovetail nicely with my meditation practice.
Yes, I love that he is sharing his talks, what a wonderful gift ♥
I discovered Michael Singer last year while living in SE Asia and going thru intense family issues. His teachings have changed my life. But I struggle daily to ” surrender to the flow of life rather than my preferances” I was googling something in re to the surrender experiment and came across this. So I ask: in surrendering to the flow of life , how then do we know if we are going with the flow or not. ie ( I apply to a job , I get hired, but then due to a few factors I have strong intuition that says not to take it. So am I going with the flow or resisting if my intuition strongly says dont take the job. I hope this comment gets seen. Thank you
Hi Tara, great question! I remember being stuck on this quite a while. At first I tried to solve the issue by saying Yes to everything and ignoring my intuition – not a good idea! Then I realized that looking at your intuition as separate and opposed to what you “should” do is a trap – it puts you right back into a duality state of mind. I have come to see everything as part of the flow, including whatever comes up as intuition. So what do you do if you are not sure what to do? Here’s what I have found helpful:
– Always have a meditation or mindfulness practice that keeps you connected to Source – your deepest Self that is at One with everything
– Let yourself feel your feelings, stay open, as Mickey Singer explains (check out The Unthetered Soul for more about it)
– Let your thoughts be like clouds, thoughts always come and go and we don’t need to give them too much importance.
If you stick to the three above, a deeper sense of knowing starts to emerge, something very peaceful. And from that place you either know what to do, don’t know and can simply relax in the not knowing (you will eventually know), or understand that whatever is happening is an invitation to grow spiritually.
Even when it feels like you are not in the flow, it’s still the flow. You just closed up, feel disconnected. The moment you let go, you will find yourself at One with everything again ♥
Mickey is the real deal. Nobody can write or speak with such simple laser like clarity until they have experienced the full truth. This has made me want to go and visit the Temple one day. In the Google search page for the Temple, next to the Temple’s simple website, it was your link I was drawn to.
One day soon.
You’ll love it ♥ Thank you for reading my post and sharing your thoughts.
Thank you for sharing your experience. I, too, am drawn to the teachings of Mickey Singer. If I could sum up how I am when I read or listen to him into one word, that word is ‘alignment’.
Wishing you a wonderful spiritual journey!
I love it, “alignment”! That’s a great word.
this is beautiful, THANK YOU for sharing! I have felt similarly about Michael A Singer. No one I have read or followed has impacted my ACTIONS as much as Mickey has. Visiting the Temple of the Universe and hearing him speak in person would truly be a dream come true. Your blog post really inspired me to do that – so thank you.
Thank you, Isha, for sharing your experience. I loved visiting, if I didn’t live on the other side of the country, I would go again and often 🙂 Definitely worth it, if you can make it happen.
Thank you Aurora for this post.
I have been researching all that I could about the TOU and I am really grateful for what you have written.
I wonder if you know if its possible for an individual to relocate and live on temple grounds? Is it even possible or are visits the only option?
Thank you, Arik
Thank you, Arik! I am not affiliated with the Temple and I don’t know how it works as far as relocation. They are very friendly, my suggestion is to call or email them and ask directly. Feel free to post what they say in a comment here, I am sure you are not the only one wondering about it 🙂
Thank you for this article.
I heard Michael on the Super Soul podcast & knew immidiatly that I needed to read his books.
His teachings are so simple & direct. I began practising letting go of the samskara’s & have to say I feel lighter than I have for decades. Some are stunorn & can take longer to shift. A few times I have wept with such sorrow, yet felt freer afterwards.
I also agree with you, just have a couple of spiritual teachers. It can become confusing as well as distracting if we try to take in too much information. If read, meet or listen to someone & their teaching resonate with you, then this is a path worth pursuing.
Thank you, Carmen, for sharing your experience ♥
Thank you for this post. It just so happens I’ll have a long weekend off, and I’ve toyed with the idea of visiting TOU. Are there accommodations nearby? Or does one have to stay in Gainesville? Thanks again!
Hi Chris,
I opted to stay in Gainesville at a hotel to use my free miles 🙂 If you email the Temple, they might have some recommendations for you. It is in the middle of a forest, just like Mickey writes, so there aren’t a ton of options. Well worth going – I was even more amazed by Mickey’s story once I got to experience the location!
Thank you for sharing this experience. I am researching a trip to the TOU from Kansas because I have listened to the Untethered Soul and recommended it so much I feel compelled to go check it out. The way Michael Singer writes resonates with me and makes so much of what My spiritual beliefs are clearer to me! It is hard to explain but wonderful. I hadn’t realized that he was still so engaged at the temple. Thank you for the great post.
Thank you, Steph! I hope you get to go – it’s totally worth it 🙂
What a marvelous post! I stumbled upon The Surrender Experiment after having read The Untethered Soul and I agree reading The Surrender Experiment helps greatly in understanding The Untethered Soul. I too am planning on going to see him as soon as time permits and am thinking of taking his video course. Did you take it?
Thanks for your insight and better yet this quote “Unless you do the work, it doesn’t matter how many books you read.”
Hi Helen, thank you for reading! I know about his video course, but I have not personally taken it. I am sure it’s great.
Let me know how the trip goes 🙂
Mr. Singer’s “Living from a Place of Surrender” video course is EPIC. I’d already read all of his books, and listened to “The Untethered Soul at Work” in January for a complete work overhaul on how I practice law… when I found the video course, I was riveted – I watched it for 6 hours straight. If this were Yelp, I would give it 3 billion stars! 🙂
♥
Love your post. Answer the same questions I have about making desitions and “do the work”.
Thank you, Monica.
Thank you for sharing your story! I found this site as I was doing some research on visiting Temple of the Universe. I, too, feel compelled to visit and meet Mickey one day. There is no book that has resonated with me more, and I have read quite a few. It’s great to know that his place is still thriving out in the woods.
Glad you liked the post 🙂
Hi Aurora–
Thank you for helping to clear up some of my understandings of Mickey’s teachings.
Here is the quote from your article that has helped me.-Letting go of your personal self doesn’t mean you stop making decisions – but who makes those decisions ceases to be the you you used to identify yourself with.
Mickey and I were high-school and college buddies.
But life events sent us on different paths and we lost touch until a few
years ago when I was re-introduced to my long lost friend.
I too have read his books many times and my wife and I have been to his Temple in Alachua twice in the past 2 years.
I have also been through his video course twice.
His teachings have certainly impacted my life and my relations. He’s right up there with all the other greats.
Thanks again for your article,
Thank you, Rich! And yes, I agree, he is “right up there with all the other greats.”
I just finished reading Surrender Experiment and his story was just incredible, I couldn’t put it down. Coming across your post, I am amazed to find that he is still serving at the Temple, I have to meet him as well, thank you for sharing your post!
Yes! It’s totally worth going. I love that book – it’s one I read regularly and keep close by. It changed my life ♥
Thank you
I love this, Aurora. I share your love of the way Michael writes and speaks and his messages. Thanks for this synopsis that clarifies his teachings for me! I, too, will go to the Temple of the Universe one day soon!
With love,
Gretchen
Thank you, Gretchen! And if you go, you’ll have to tell me what you think 🙂
Beautiful. This makes me happy!
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So beautiful. Thanks to your recommendations, these books have changed my life and I recommend them to my clients. Michael Singer is easily my favorite author. Thanks for sharing him with us!
Thank you for all our conversations, I am a better person because of them ♥
Thank you so much for writing this post! I loved hearing your experience with visiting the TOU. I discovered his teachings about a year ago and have since listen to The Unteathered Soul and read it many many times as well as the Surrender Experiment. I keep buying the book for everyone I know. The work is ultimately very simple. For example relax and release, stay open, don’t close… but boy oh boy, that can be confusing to put into practice sometimes. I think you’re so right about less resources is actually more helpful and spending time noticing our thoughts and not identifying with them has been really helpful also. I seek that permanent joyful/peaceful place. I know it’s inside all the while.. just trying to find my way back to it💕