In this week's edition of The Wisdom Vault, we're exploring Michael A. Singer's book, The Surrender Experiment.

About the Author

Michael A. Singer is a spiritual teacher, entrepreneur, and author known for his work on mindfulness and spirituality. He founded the Temple of the Universe, a meditation center in Florida, and is also the author of the bestselling book The Untethered Soul. Singer’s teachings focus on inner peace, surrender, and the exploration of consciousness.

Why Read the Book?

The Surrender Experiment is a result of a lifelong experiment about the inner chatter that every single one of us experiences on a daily basis; more specifically, attempting to ignore what it says. Through Singer’s personal journey, the book shows how surrendering to life’s events, rather than resisting them, can lead to personal growth and lots of unexpected opportunities. It’s the type of book that could benefit everybody. The Philosophy of Singer is very Humbling and Beautiful.

Summary

The Surrender Experiment is Michael A. Singer’s life story, where he shares how surrendering to life's flow led him to discover its true beauty. It all started in his 20s during a conversation with his brother-in-law. In a moment of awkward silence, he noticed his inner voice telling him how uncomfortable the situation was.

From that point on, he couldn't ignore the voice. It kept popping up, annoying him greatly. He began obsessively researching the subject, reading all the major psychology books, but finding nothing helpful. Then one day, he came across a book called The Three Pillars of Zen. This book about Zen buddhism was exactly what he had been looking for.

The Three Pillars of Zen taught him how to silence the inner chatter that bothered him so much. The key was meditation. This marked the real beginning of his journey. Through meditation, he discovered yoga, and after a long journey of self-discovery, and a few key realizations about the mind's nature, he came up with the idea of the surrender experiment.

What is the Surrender Experiment?

Singer’s meditation practice revealed how much he was resisting life's events and circumstances, always acting based on what his inner voice said. Here are a few examples from the book:

• "It better not rain today."

• “I hate traffic.”

• "I don’t want to deal with this right now."

• "Things need to go my way."

• "I can't wait until the weekend."

These thoughts are familiar to all of us. They represent our preferences, desires, and biases. The point of the surrender experiment is to ignore what the inner voice says and instead go with the flow of life.

This mindset shift allowed Singer to live one of the most extraordinary lives I have ever read about. He went from trying to get a doctorate in economics to being a university lecturer in sociology, creating a Buddhist prison circle, building a temple, making a construction company, starting to play around with computers, and creating a billion-dollar medical management program. All of this, because he did not listen to his inner voice.

You probably won’t get much more than this from any summary. The Surrender Experiment is one of those books that you should read, even if you don’t have much time. One of the most life-changing books I’ve ever read. The concluding thought of this summary: There is a wonderful life waiting for you, with innumerable opportunities, you just have to let it happen. Don’t resist, let the universe do its job. Of course, that does not mean, that you don’t have to do yours!

Thought-Provoking Quotes

"Eventually you will see that the real cause of problems is not life itself. It's the commotion the mind makes about life that really causes the problems."

"To let go of the part of you that wants to control your life is to let go of the part of you that separates yourself from life."

"What would happen if you let go of the fear, let go of the need to control, and just let life be life?"

A Little Rant about Meditation

There is something to be said about Buddhism, and how it had something, that the books of psychology did not. If there is just one takeaway from this episode, let it be this: Meditate! In this modern day and age, it is especially beneficial, because every single one of us is overstimulated. Meditation makes it easier to enjoy the little things in life. It can also be your most effective tool for self-discovery. The Surrender Experiment is the perfect example of this. Without buddhism, Singer would have just forgotten about the inner voice, or went crazy. With it, he had the most incredible life. This is your call to start (or keep) meditating.