Find a quiet spot in nature or in your garden where you don’t feel observed. If you choose a forest, look for a hiding place or a protected area. A high boulder, hill, or mountainside also works well for meditation.
Find a sensory impression that appeals to you and generates positive feelings, ideally one that fascinates you. Either a sound you hear, an object that appeals to you and you can hold in your hand, or maybe something else that you can see but not touch, like rays of sunshine cutting through the trees or a line of ants hiking across the forest floor.
Concentrate completely on your nature object. How does it feel? Notice the details. Get into your sensory perception and concentrate only on this perception. Try to put other sensory impressions in the background.
Try to assign your sensory impression an emotion. How does it feel in your mind? What does it remind you of?
Invite these feelings without forcing them. After a while, redirect your attention more and more to these feelings and toward your inner self. Do this knowing that your nature object triggered these feelings in you and represents itself in this way inside you.
Once you feel that your meditation is complete or that you can no longer maintain your concentration, you can thank your nature object with an inner or outer gesture and gradually direct your attention to other stimuli in your environment, one by one, until you see nature as a whole again.
Born in 1980, Clemens G. Arvay is an Austrian engineer and biologist. He studied landscape ecology (BSc) at Graz University and applied plant sciences (MSc) at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences in Vienna. Arvay examines the relationship between humans and nature, focusing on the health-promoting effects of contact with plants, animals, and landscapes. He also addresses a second range of topics that includes ecologically produced food along with the economics of large food conglomerates. Clemens G. Arvay has written numerous books, including his bestseller The Biophilia Effect. For more, please visitclemensarvay.com.
Buy your copy of The Healing Code of Nature at your favorite bookseller!
For many heart patients, stress is the elephant in the room – not only around the holidays, but all the time. When we discuss why they missed their goals for proper exercise, nutrition, abstinence from smoking, and proper sleep, stress is often the reason. Here are some stress-management tips taken from a series of lectures I’ve given – I share them with the hope that they help manage stresses in your life.
Adaptogens
When I talk to patients about stress, I begin by describing adaptogens, or herbs that appear useful in stabilizing physiology and improving anxiety and stress. I do this because so many of them are already using pills — typically benzodiazepines like Xanax and Ativan — and my goal is to get them off those prescription medications ASAP. Frankly, substituting one pill for another is something most patients accept faster than any other technique. I’ve had success in many patients using L-theanine 200 mg twice a day and ashwagandha 500 mg twice daily, usually together. Even elderly patients report they feel less stressed and more functional. Rhodiola is another adaptogen I like because it’s been studied in heart patients and shows benefits for their symptoms. I recommend 100 mg a day.
Breath-work
There are many styles of breath-work, but I find I can teach my patients the 4-7-8 breathing practice in the office in just a few minutes, and they use it right away. I refer them to an online video created for children, and ask them to practice this at home and use it in their daily routine:
Meditation
Teaching meditation is a longer process than the first two techniques, but has been shown to benefit heart patients and should be taught routinely. I ask them to study the Kirtan Kriya taught by Dr. Khalsa because it’s only 12 minutes and is supported by great research results at UCLA. When I tell them that they may slow aging and improve their memory while dealing with their stress, they’re eager to use it in their lives.
HeartMath
This is an online program using heart-centered breathing and positive emotions to restore balance between the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. It requires purchasing a cable that clips on the earlobe and connects to a smartphone, tablet or a PC. I recommend it to patients because it resembles a game, is easy to learn, and is supported by published scientific studies showing lower blood pressure, lower cortisol levels, improved memory, and better school performance.
Yoga
Different styles of yoga have been studied in a variety of serious stress disorders including cancer, post-trauma, and addictions, and has been found to be beneficial even when tested using rigorous scientific study design. Yoga can be adapted for the elderly using only a chair; it provides a sense of community, and offers some cardio benefit as well.
Massage
My patients ask me if massage is worthwhile, and when I tell them that medical benefits have been identified for this therapy, including blood pressure and stress reduction, they’re excited.
Will these six tips help offer something for everyone? Unfortunately, there are people who aren’t willing to try and stick with these practices, and others who have unrealistic expectations. There are other approaches to consider, including essential oils, music, exercise proper nutrition, hormonal balance, and improved GI tract function. I refer challenging patients to holistic psychiatrists and counselors.
I remind my patients of a story about a man speaking to a religious leader repeating over and over that he was frustrated with the stresses in life. The leader suggested they take a walk, and stopped in front of a cemetery. The man asked why they stopped there and the leader replied, “They are the only people who have no worries and stress, for the rest of us, we need to manage and work out the issues.”
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Dr. Kahn is a Clinical Professor of Medicine at Wayne State University School of Medicine and Director of Cardiac Wellness, Michigan Healthcare Professionals PC. He is a graduate Summa Cum Laude of the University of Michigan School of Medicine. He lectures widely on the cardiac benefits of vegan nutrition, mind body practices and heart attack prevention. He writes blogs for MindBodyGreen, OneGreenPlanet, Aloha.com, Forksoverknives.com, and for Readers Digest Magazine as the Holistic Heart Doc. His latest book, The Plant-Based Solution will be released in January 2018.
Surrender can feel like a risky word. Many of us hear it and think of losing control or giving up. Yet the deeper spiritual traditions point to something very different. Surrender is not about becoming passive. It is about releasing the inner tension that keeps us locked in struggle. In our conversation with Michael Singer, surrender becomes a practical path. It is a way of meeting life as it unfolds, without adding layers of resistance, fear, or mental commentary. This shift changes how we experience challenges, relationships, and even our own thoughts.
Since 1985, we have been dedicated to sharing the living wisdom of spiritual teachers in their own voices. What began as one woman with a tape recorder has grown into a multimedia publishing home for transformative teachings from some of the most respected spiritual visionaries of our time. Our mission has always been to wake up the world by preserving and sharing authentic spiritual transmission, and our conversations with Michael Singer continue that commitment.
Here, we discuss Michael Singer on surrender and how letting go of spirituality opens the door to spiritual surrender and lasting inner freedom.
Key Takeaways:
Surrender Defined: Michael Singer frames surrender as releasing inner resistance rather than withdrawing from life.
Letting Go Spirituality: The practice of allowing emotions and thoughts to pass opens the path to lasting inner freedom.
Practical Application: Spiritual surrender can be practiced daily through awareness, relaxation, and nonattachment to outcomes.
Michael Singer Surrender: A Conversation on Letting Go
What does it mean to surrender?
In our conversation, Michael Singer reframes surrender as the release of inner resistance. Life unfolds on its own. Suffering arises when we fight what is already happening.
In The Untethered Soul, Singer points to a simple practice: notice the tightening in the mind and relax. Let thoughts and emotions pass without building an identity around them.
This is the essence of Michael Singer’s surrender. Not withdrawal. Not suppression. A willingness to stop arguing with reality.
Since 1985, we have preserved the living wisdom of spiritual teachers in their own unscripted voice. In this exchange, Singer reminds us that surrender does not stop action. It softens the struggle behind it.
And in that softening, a deeper inner freedom begins to appear.
What Spiritual Surrender Really Means
Spiritual surrender is not resignation. It is a shift in how we meet our inner experience. In our conversation, Michael Singer describes it as releasing resistance to what is already happening.
Releasing Inner Resistance
Surrender begins the moment we notice ourselves tightening. A plan changes. An emotion rises. The mind reacts.
Instead of contracting, we relax. We allow thoughts and feelings to pass without building a story around them. Action may still follow, but it comes from clarity rather than fear.
Allowing Life to Unfold
Spiritual surrender is trusting the movement of life. Everything changes. Thoughts shift. Circumstances evolve.
When we stop insisting that reality match our preferences, we soften. In that softening, inner freedom becomes possible.
Letting Go Spirituality and the Courage to Release Control
Letting go spirituality asks for courage. It challenges the part of us that wants certainty, approval, and control.
Releasing the Need to Control Outcomes
Michael Singer speaks directly to the habit of managing life from fear. We try to secure results, shape opinions, and avoid discomfort. This constant effort creates tension.
Letting go does not mean we stop caring about outcomes. It means we stop clinging to them. We give our best effort, then release the inner demand that things unfold a certain way.
In that release, energy returns. The mind quiets. We are no longer bracing against what might happen.
Letting Go as a Daily Practice
Singer emphasizes that surrender is not a single decision. It is a moment-to-moment practice.
Each time frustration arises, we can notice it and soften. Each time fear surfaces, we can allow it without building an identity around it. This steady willingness becomes the path itself.
Through letting go of spirituality, surrender becomes less abstract and more embodied. It is lived in conversations, responsibilities, and ordinary moments. And over time, that practice opens the door to lasting inner freedom.
The Untethered Soul and the Journey Toward Inner Freedom
In our dialogue, Michael Singer’s teaching in The Untethered Soul comes alive as a direct path to inner freedom. The central insight is simple: you are not the voice in your head. You are the awareness that hears it.
Stepping Back from the Mind
Much of our suffering comes from identifying with every thought and emotion. The mind comments, judges, and predicts. We assume it is who we are.
Singer invites us to step back. Notice the voice. Observe the reaction. In that moment of awareness, space opens. We are no longer trapped inside the narrative.
This shift loosens the grip of habitual patterns and reveals a deeper steadiness beneath mental activity.
Inner Freedom as a Natural State
Inner freedom is not something we create. It is uncovered when we stop clinging to thoughts and resisting emotions.
As we practice surrender, the inner world begins to flow more freely. Experiences arise and pass without leaving residue. There is less buildup, less tension.
The journey described in The Untethered Soul is not about becoming someone new. It is about untethering from what we are not. Through spiritual surrender, that freedom becomes tangible and lived.
Why We Resist Spiritual Surrender
If surrender brings peace, why do we resist it? In our conversation, Michael Singer points to several deeply conditioned patterns that make spiritual surrender feel uncomfortable at first.
We equate surrender with weakness. The mind assumes that relaxing means losing control or falling behind.
We are attached to our preferences. We want life to unfold according to our expectations, and we struggle when it does not.
We identify with our thoughts. When the mind reacts, we believe the reaction defines us.
We fear uncomfortable emotions. Instead of allowing sadness, anger, or fear to move through, we tighten against them.
We believe control creates safety. Letting go feels uncertain, even when control itself has been exhausting.
Singer reminds us that this resistance is natural. The mind is designed to protect and predict. Yet the very effort to control life is what limits inner freedom. When we begin to see resistance clearly, surrender becomes less threatening and more practical.
How Michael Singer Describes Inner Freedom
Michael Singer describes inner freedom as something uncovered rather than achieved. Beneath the mind’s constant commentary is a steady awareness that is already free.
Freedom begins when we stop identifying with every thought and emotion. The mind reacts, judges, and anticipates, but we are the awareness behind it. That shift creates space.
These insights are shared more fully in the Michael Singer Podcast, where he returns to a core truth: you are not the voice in your head.
Inner freedom does not remove life’s challenges. It changes how we experience them. As surrender deepens, reactions soften, clarity increases, and a quiet steadiness emerges.
Practicing Letting Go in Everyday Life
Spiritual surrender becomes real in ordinary moments. It is practiced in conversations, at work, in traffic, and in the quiet space of our own thoughts.
Michael Singer encourages a simple approach. When discomfort arises, notice it. Instead of suppressing it or acting it out, relax around it. Let the sensation move through without feeding it with a story. This is letting go in action.
In daily life, this might look like releasing the need to be right in an argument. It might mean allowing anxiety to pass before making a decision. It may involve noticing the urge to control a situation and consciously softening that impulse.
Over time, practicing letting go spirituality shifts how we experience challenges. Situations still arise, but they do not take root in the same way. We recover more quickly. We carry less. And gradually, inner freedom becomes less theoretical and more lived.
Living the Teachings of Michael Singer on Surrender
To live the teachings of Michael Singer’s surrender is to make peace with the present moment again and again. Surrender is not a single breakthrough but a steady willingness to release resistance as it appears.
The emphasis is practical. Notice the contraction. Relax. Let go.
Living this way means allowing success without clinging to it and failure without defining yourself by it. Praise and criticism can pass without tightening around either.
Over time, surrender matures into trust. Not blind belief, but direct experience that life can move without constant interference from the mind. As this deepens, letting go of spirituality becomes natural, and inner freedom feels steady and present.
Final Thoughts
Michael Singer teaches that surrender is the release of inner resistance. It is not withdrawing from life, but softening our grip on how we think it should unfold.
Letting go of spirituality invites us to notice tension and allow it to pass. As we stop clinging to thoughts, expectations, and outcomes, inner freedom naturally emerges.
Mature spiritual surrender is simple and steady. We relax. We allow. And in that openness, life moves with greater clarity and ease.
Frequently Asked Questions About Michael Singer on Surrender
What is Michael Singer’s definition of surrender?
Michael Singer defines surrender as the willingness to stop resisting the flow of life. It is an inner practice of allowing experiences to arise without trying to control or suppress them.
How does Michael Singer’s surrender differ from passive acceptance?
Surrender does not mean tolerating harmful situations or avoiding responsibility. It refers to releasing inner resistance while still taking appropriate action in the outer world.
Is surrender a religious concept in Michael Singer’s teaching?
Singer presents surrender as a universal spiritual principle rather than a religious doctrine. It can be practiced by anyone, regardless of belief system.
How is surrender connected to emotional healing?
By allowing emotions to surface and pass naturally, rather than repressing them, surrender supports emotional processing and long-term resilience.
Can surrender improve relationships?
Yes. When we release the need to control others or prove ourselves right, communication becomes more open and less reactive.
Does surrender mean giving up goals?
Surrender does not require abandoning goals. It shifts the attachment to outcomes, allowing effort without the anxiety of forcing results.
How does surrender affect decision-making?
When the mind is not clouded by fear or resistance, decisions tend to arise from clarity and steadiness rather than urgency.
What role does awareness play in spiritual surrender?
Awareness is central. Surrender begins with noticing inner tension. That recognition creates space to relax instead of reacting automatically.
Is surrender something that happens instantly?
For some, there may be moments of profound release. More often, surrender develops gradually through consistent practice.
How can someone begin practicing surrender today?
Start by observing moments of contraction throughout the day. When tension appears, pause, breathe, and soften your internal response before acting.
Michelle Cassandra Johnson is an author, activist, spiritual teacher, racial equity consultant, and intuitive healer. She is the author of six books, including Skill in Action and Finding Refuge. Amy Burtaine is a leadership coach and racial equity trainer. With Robin DiAngelo, she is the coauthor of The Facilitator’s Guide for White Affinity Groups. For more, visit https://www.michellecjohnson.com/wisdom-of-the-hive.
Lodro Rinzler is an author and renowned meditation teacher who has led trainings at Google, Harvard, and the White House. His many books include The Buddha Walks into a Bar and How to Love Yourself. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Tami Simon and Lodro discuss the Shambhala tradition of Buddhism that Lodro teaches in—specifically, its goal of creating an enlightened society. They speak on how to truly cultivate kindness and what it takes to be a mindful leader during difficult times. Lodro comments on what he calls “The Four Exhilarations” and “The Four Dignities,” and in a culmination of the discussion, explains his overarching mission in teaching meditation to the world. (62 minutes)
Tami Simon speaks with Gary Kraftsow, a pioneer in the transmission of yoga for health, healing, and personal transformation for more than 30 years. Gary is a teacher of the viniyoga methodology and founder of the Maui School of Yoga Therapy. He is the author of the book Yoga for Wellness, and with Sounds True has released four training DVDs, including Viniyoga Therapy for Anxiety and Viniyoga Therapy for the Upper Back, Neck and Shoulders. In this interview, Tami speaks with Gary about his work in research on yoga’s health benefits, his understanding of the true purpose of yoga, and how that purpose might become a focus for the practice of yoga in the modern world. (53 minutes)
Tami Simon speaks with Dr. Srikumar S. Rao, who received his PhD in marketing from Columbia University, and teaches the immensely popular and pioneering course “Creativity and Personal Mastery” at the London Business School , and the Haas School of Business at the University of California at Berkeley. He is the author of Happiness at Work and the Sounds True audio-learning program The Personal Mastery Program: Discovering Passion and Purpose in Your Life and Work. Dr. Rao discusses passion and purpose, particularly in the workplace, and what makes for lasting fulfillment in life. (57 minutes)
A Nature Meditation for Better Focus
Born in 1980, Clemens G. Arvay is an Austrian engineer and biologist. He studied landscape ecology (BSc) at Graz University and applied plant sciences (MSc) at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences in Vienna. Arvay examines the relationship between humans and nature, focusing on the health-promoting effects of contact with plants, animals, and landscapes. He also addresses a second range of topics that includes ecologically produced food along with the economics of large food conglomerates. Clemens G. Arvay has written numerous books, including his bestseller The Biophilia Effect. For more, please visit clemensarvay.com.
