Ep. 119 - Michael Singer: The Surrender Experiment

Surrendering to what the universe has put in front of you, being able to set aside fears, and living in the moment sounds like an awesome way to go through life. Today's guest, Michael Singer, has written two books that say it is entirely possible to do that. His first book, New York Times No. 1 bestseller The Untethered Soul, was released in 2007. In The Untethered Soul, Michael explained ways to find inner peace. He also found himself on the other end of a phone call from Oprah, who loved the book and wanted to interview him on her show. He never thought of giving an interview. He made it a point not to. When The Untethered Soul came out, he paid for marketing but said he would not do interviews... That is, until Oprah called him directly. They talked on the phone for 45 minutes and he went to Chicago. That was his first and only "in-person" interview. The "second in-person interview" was... You guessed it, the one with Claudia and me, "because there was something there." Claudia and I  both e-mailed separately and a bunch of coincidences made our name stand out. One woman who lives on the grounds had read Claudia’s yoga book. Another woman tweeted with me. And so here it is. Michael just released a second book, The Surrender Experiment, which details his journey following his spiritual awakening as events unfolded in front of him, including running a multibillion-dollar company and finding himself embroiled in a lawsuit. Michael, who also goes by the name Mickey, founded the Temple of the Universe in Florida in 1975. It's a nonprofit organization established as a yoga and meditation center where, according to the site, people of any religion or set of beliefs can come together to experience the inner peace Michael talks about. The Temple of the Universe is where Claudia and I caught up with him. On the day of the interview, Michael took us to all the sites he mentions in the book. He took us to his house, which came to him when God called on the phone (an amazing story in the book). It has a meditation pyramid on the third level. I kid you not. It was the first house built on the property with all glass on the front... It was where he was staying when the guy dressed in Egyptian clothes (a story that is not in the book but is on the podcast) helped him grow by bothering him. He took us to the temple, of course, where we sang devotional songs ranging from the Gayatri Mantra to a Hebrew devotional song to the Our Father prayer to the Gita... and on and on... He also showed us the huge  five-building office space that "him getting out of the way" co-created while he was a CEO. It's a beautiful place of which he calls himself "the groundskeeper." In the interview, we talked with Michael about his books, the inner awakening he experienced, and how it has affected him personally and professionally. He explained how we can all achieve a similar state of being. He broke down some of the ways to do that, including: •Quieting the noise in our heads, which keeps us from achieving a high level of awareness •How fear affects us •Allowing events to unfold and how to deal with them as they do •Letting go of personal preference •How to live harmoniously rather than in a state of mental chaos Michael stated that it's important to relax and be in the moment and that our inner state is meant to be healthy. He said we need to surrender to the unfolding of the universe, and by doing so, we will flourish and life will become phenomenal. The Surrender Experiment is Michael's journey as he applies it to his life and the results he found from living in a state of surrender to the universe. Hope you enjoy, James Links and Resources Mentioned in the Show: Michael's website can be found at untetheredsoul.com. Here you can read more about Michael, his books, audio lectures, and get on his mailing list. The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself The Surrender Experiment   For more information about Michael's nonprofit organization, head to the Temple of the Universe. ------------What do YOU think of the show? Head to JamesAltucherShow.com/listeners and fill out a short survey that will help us better tailor the podcast to our audience!Are you interested in getting direct answers from James about your question on a podcast? Go to JamesAltucherShow.com/AskAltucher and send in your questions to be answered on the air!------------Visit Notepd.com to read our idea lists & sign up to create your own!My new book, Skip the Line, is out! Make sure you get a copy wherever books are sold!Join the You Should Run for President 2.0 Facebook Group, where we discuss why you should run for President.I write about all my podcasts! Check out the full post and learn what I learned at jamesaltuchershow.com------------Thank you so much for listening! 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