Michael Singer: The Pain That Ends All Pain

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July 21, 2026

Michael Singer: The Pain That Ends All Pain

Michael Singer July 21, 2026

What if the pain you’ve been avoiding is actually the thing that could set you free?

This week, Tami Simon speaks with Michael Singer, beloved wisdom teacher, founder of the Temple of the Universe, and author of The Untethered Soul, The Surrender Experiment, Living Untethered, and his newest book, Wisdom Untethered: The Time for Questions. Drawn from 1,200 reader questions distilled into 200 essential ones, the conversation keeps returning to a single teaching Singer once received from a saint: “It’s the pain that ends all pain.”

Join Tami and Michael to explore:

  • Why “letting go” is an inner practice, not spiritual bypassing or passivity
  • What samskaras are, and why blocked energy—not memory—is the real source of inner darkness
  • Why the willingness to feel disturbance, rather than suppress it, is the actual path of purification
  • The practice of “falling behind” resistance, and other techniques for letting stuck energy move and release
  • The difference between preferences and fears, and why the Buddha named preference as the root of suffering
  • How to face real-world injustice with clarity instead of ego-driven reactivity
  • Why the true motive of spiritual practice is simply to let go of what’s in the way

Whether you’ve read The Untethered Soul a dozen times or are new to Michael Singer’s teachings, this conversation offers both the practical tools and the felt experience of what it means to stop blocking the shakti that’s already flowing within you.

Listen now, and discover why the pain you’ve been running from might be exactly what ends it. →

This conversation offers genuine transmission—not just concepts about awakening, but the palpable presence of realized teachers exploring the growing edge of spiritual understanding together. Originally aired on Sounds True One.

Enter for a chance to win the Monthly Magic Subscription Journey. It includes 12 months of tea, a loose leaf starter kit, monthly virtual classes, and free shipping worth $673. Learn more at ClubMagicHour.com/TRUE (no purchase required). Get 20% off your first order of Magic Hour tea at ClubMagicHour.com with the code TRUE.

Michael A. Singer is author of the #1 New York Times bestseller The Untethered Soul and the New York Times bestsellers The Surrender Experiment and Living Untethered, all of which are published worldwide. He had a deep inner awakening in 1971 while working on his doctorate in economics and went into seclusion to focus on yoga and meditation. In 1975, he founded Temple of the Universe, a now long-established yoga and meditation center where people of any religion or set of beliefs can come together to experience inner peace. Along with his nearly five decades of spiritual teaching, Singer has made major contributions in the areas of business, education, health care, and environmental protection. Discover more here.

Author photo © Timothy Davis

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Founded Sounds True in 1985 as a multimedia publishing house with a mission to disseminate spiritual wisdom. She hosts a popular weekly podcast called Insights at the Edge, where she has interviewed many of today's leading teachers. Tami lives with her wife, Julie M. Kramer, and their two spoodles, Rasberry and Bula, in Boulder, Colorado.

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Also By Author

Michael Singer: The Pain That Ends All Pain

What if the pain you’ve been avoiding is actually the thing that could set you free?

This week, Tami Simon speaks with Michael Singer, beloved wisdom teacher, founder of the Temple of the Universe, and author of The Untethered Soul, The Surrender Experiment, Living Untethered, and his newest book, Wisdom Untethered: The Time for Questions. Drawn from 1,200 reader questions distilled into 200 essential ones, the conversation keeps returning to a single teaching Singer once received from a saint: “It’s the pain that ends all pain.”

Join Tami and Michael to explore:

  • Why “letting go” is an inner practice, not spiritual bypassing or passivity
  • What samskaras are, and why blocked energy—not memory—is the real source of inner darkness
  • Why the willingness to feel disturbance, rather than suppress it, is the actual path of purification
  • The practice of “falling behind” resistance, and other techniques for letting stuck energy move and release
  • The difference between preferences and fears, and why the Buddha named preference as the root of suffering
  • How to face real-world injustice with clarity instead of ego-driven reactivity
  • Why the true motive of spiritual practice is simply to let go of what’s in the way

Whether you’ve read The Untethered Soul a dozen times or are new to Michael Singer’s teachings, this conversation offers both the practical tools and the felt experience of what it means to stop blocking the shakti that’s already flowing within you.

Listen now, and discover why the pain you’ve been running from might be exactly what ends it. →

This conversation offers genuine transmission—not just concepts about awakening, but the palpable presence of realized teachers exploring the growing edge of spiritual understanding together. Originally aired on Sounds True One.

Enter for a chance to win the Monthly Magic Subscription Journey. It includes 12 months of tea, a loose leaf starter kit, monthly virtual classes, and free shipping worth $673. Learn more at ClubMagicHour.com/TRUE (no purchase required). Get 20% off your first order of Magic Hour tea at ClubMagicHour.com with the code TRUE.

E200: The Mind Is the Voice of the Heart

The personal mind is not the true source of our thoughts but rather an expression of the emotional disturbances, fears, desires, and unresolved experiences stored in the heart. Attempts to quiet the mind through suppression or mental control only strengthen these inner blockages, whereas genuine healing comes from relaxing through discomfort and allowing emotional energy to pass naturally. By practicing letting go in everyday situations and refusing to store new disturbances, we gradually free ourselves from past conditioning, keep the heart open, and experience greater love, peace, and spiritual freedom.

© Sounds True Inc. Episodes: © 2026 Michael A. Singer. All Rights Reserved.

E199: Why You Cannot Fix the Inside from the Outside

Spiritual growth occurs when we stop identifying with our ego and recognize ourselves as the consciousness that observes thoughts, emotions, and experiences. By relaxing instead of resisting life’s inevitable challenges, we allow stored emotional blockages to dissolve and discover that external circumstances cannot permanently resolve inner suffering. As this process deepens, love, wisdom, and inner freedom naturally emerge, culminating in the realization of our unity with divine consciousness.

© Sounds True Inc. Episodes: © 2026 Michael A. Singer. All Rights Reserved.

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Michael Singer: The Pain That Ends All Pain

What if the pain you’ve been avoiding is actually the thing that could set you free?

This week, Tami Simon speaks with Michael Singer, beloved wisdom teacher, founder of the Temple of the Universe, and author of The Untethered Soul, The Surrender Experiment, Living Untethered, and his newest book, Wisdom Untethered: The Time for Questions. Drawn from 1,200 reader questions distilled into 200 essential ones, the conversation keeps returning to a single teaching Singer once received from a saint: “It’s the pain that ends all pain.”

Join Tami and Michael to explore:

  • Why “letting go” is an inner practice, not spiritual bypassing or passivity
  • What samskaras are, and why blocked energy—not memory—is the real source of inner darkness
  • Why the willingness to feel disturbance, rather than suppress it, is the actual path of purification
  • The practice of “falling behind” resistance, and other techniques for letting stuck energy move and release
  • The difference between preferences and fears, and why the Buddha named preference as the root of suffering
  • How to face real-world injustice with clarity instead of ego-driven reactivity
  • Why the true motive of spiritual practice is simply to let go of what’s in the way

Whether you’ve read The Untethered Soul a dozen times or are new to Michael Singer’s teachings, this conversation offers both the practical tools and the felt experience of what it means to stop blocking the shakti that’s already flowing within you.

Listen now, and discover why the pain you’ve been running from might be exactly what ends it. →

This conversation offers genuine transmission—not just concepts about awakening, but the palpable presence of realized teachers exploring the growing edge of spiritual understanding together. Originally aired on Sounds True One.

Enter for a chance to win the Monthly Magic Subscription Journey. It includes 12 months of tea, a loose leaf starter kit, monthly virtual classes, and free shipping worth $673. Learn more at ClubMagicHour.com/TRUE (no purchase required). Get 20% off your first order of Magic Hour tea at ClubMagicHour.com with the code TRUE.

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You know the object of your addiction is bad for you. So why can’t you stop? Dr. Connie Zweig has spent decades working with people who feel stuck in exactly that gap between knowing and changing.

Zweig is a retired Jungian therapist and the author of the newly republished Meeting the Shadow and Romancing the Shadow — the books that helped launch the shadow-work movement, and the reason a new generation is now discovering it on TikTok.

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This clip is taken from the full Insights at the Edge conversation with Connie Zweig: “Meeting One of the World’s Leading Experts on the Shadow.” 

This episode is sponsored by Omega Institute, a global gathering hub for lifelong learning and spiritual exploration. Omega offers weekend workshops, special events, rest and rejuvenation retreats, professional training, online learning, and more. Discover what calls to you at eomega.org/true.

Caroline Myss: Breaking Through Fear—Welcome to Spir...

Why does the world feel so unstable right now—and why does the fear so many of us are feeling seem to have no clear target?

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Join Caroline to explore:

  • Why humanity appears to be moving through a collective “download” in consciousness—and why so much of today’s fear doesn’t seem to have a clear target
  • The real difference between what causes us pain and what causes us to suffer or break down
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Whether you’re feeling the weight of the world or searching for steadier ground, this excerpt offers both a map for making sense of the moment and practical tools for meeting it with more trust and less fear. 

Learn more and join at myss.com/spiritual-homebase.

Listen now, and step into Spiritual Home Base. →

This conversation offers genuine transmission—not just concepts about awakening, but the palpable presence of realized teachers exploring the growing edge of spiritual understanding together. Originally aired on Sounds True One.