Join the New York Times bestselling author of The Untethered Soul, The Surrender Experiment, and Living Untethered for this free series of curated teaching sessions, recorded at his Temple of the Universe yoga and meditation center.
Michael A. Singer is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller The Untethered Soul, The Surrender Experiment, Living Untethered, and several popular Sounds True programs, including the Living from a Place of Surrender online course. In 1971, while pursuing his doctoral work in economics, he experienced a deep inner awakening and went into seclusion to focus on yoga and meditation. In 1975, he founded Temple of the Universe, a yoga and meditation center where people of any religion or set of beliefs can come together to experience inner peace. Through the years, he has made major contributions in the areas of business, the arts, education, health care, and environmental protection. Author photo © Timothy Davis
When you’re open, life feels beautiful and joyful; when you’re closed, everything seems wrong. This leaves you with two choices: find things that open you or find out how not to close. The first leads to a life of struggling with people, places, and things to match your preferences, while the second leads to the spiritual state of unconditional well-being. Make your choice.
© Sounds True Inc. Episodes: © 2025 Michael A. Singer. All Rights Reserved.
How are you doing these days? Exhausted? Heartbroken? Outraged? All of the above? In this era of uncertainty and instability, you may feel like your only choice is to forge ahead and just get through the week. If so, this podcast with two beloved Sounds True authors was created just for YOU. Here, Tami Simon speaks with Seane Corn and Lama Rod Owens to hear their personal insights for navigating our rapidly-changing world from a place of deep connection to our most important values, to the people who give us strength, and to those with whom we may feel hopelessly divided.
Take a deep listen as they share about: Grounding yourself and returning to inner stability; the ongoing integration that’s needed in the post-Pandemic world; trauma, control, surrender, and liberation; honoring the natural cycles of life; dismantling systems of oppression and ushering in the selves we want to become; the power of raw truth; the skillful navigation of our grief, heartbreak, and outrage; becoming a New Saint; holding oneself accountable and continuing to do both your inner and outer work; reclaiming hope; reconnecting to your community of beloveds; the bodhisattva tradition; activism today; showing up instead of giving up; self-elevation and self-validation; and more.
Note: This episode originally aired on Sounds True One, where these special episodes of Insights at the Edge are available to watch live on video and with exclusive access to Q&As with our guests. Learn more at join.soundstrue.com.
The central spiritual teaching is that we are not the mind but the awareness behind it. The personal mind, composed of impressions from past experiences, creates a false sense of self (ego) that causes suffering and distraction. Spiritual growth begins by recognizing this addiction to the personal mind and learning to lean away from its pull rather than engaging with or resisting its thoughts. This process allows divine energy (Shakti) to emerge and guide us deeper into the source of consciousness.
© Sounds True Inc. Episodes: © 2025 Michael A. Singer. All Rights Reserved.
Sarah Blondin is an author and spiritual teacher whose guided meditations have been enjoyed by thousands of people around the globe. She is also the founder, writer, videographer, and creator of the podcast Live Awake. In this week’s podcast, Tami Simon and Sarah discuss her new book, Heart Minded: How to Hold Yourself and Others in Love. Their conversation explores the profound shift from living “above the neck” to fully inhabiting our hearts, how we can transmute suffering and discomfort with the energy of our hearts, connecting to our inherent wisdom and compassion, and much more.
Christian Conte, PhD, is a mental health specialist and leading authority on anger management. With Sounds True, Christian has published Walking Through Anger: A New Design for Confronting Conflict in an Emotionally Charged World. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Tami Simon talks with Christian about his Yield Theory of emotional management, focusing on the process of “listen, validate, explore options.” Christian explains the events that led to his interest in anger management, as well as the origins of Yield Theory. He emphasizes the importance of meeting others where they are, giving them the opportunity to drain anger’s charge from their limbic system. Christian and Tami discuss why it’s necessary to cultivate humility and how Yield Theory might be applied to our currently divisive culture. Finally, they speak on “the cartoon world” that angry responses often create, as well as the importance of watching what we add to our minds.(63 minutes)
Pema Chödrön is an American-born Buddhist nun who currently resides at Gampo Abbey in Nova Scotia. Her many publications include How to Meditate, Getting Unstuck, and Fail, Fail Again, Fail Better. This special episode of Insights at the Edge—originally broadcast as part of the Living with Vulnerability online program—features a deeply heartfelt conversation between Pema and Tami Simon. Here they discuss why it can feel so hard to live with your innermost self open to the world. Pema emphasizes that choosing to be vulnerable brings a more genuine and fulfilling experience of your daily life. Finally, Tami and Pema talk about listening to the inherent lessons of your emotions and why acceptance of the moment will open you to ever-greater opportunities for joy and enrichment.(66 minutes)
Consciousness is the foundation of all meaning, because without awareness, nothing has significance. People mistakenly identify with their ego, which is simply a collection of thoughts and self-concepts they are aware of. This false identification leads to tremendous suffering. True spiritual enlightenment comes from recognizing that the self is not the ego but the pure awareness behind it.
For more information, go to michaelsingerpodcast.com.
© Sounds True Inc. Episodes: © 2024 Michael A. Singer. All Rights Reserved.
Life is a spiritual journey where every experience serves as an opportunity for growth and evolution. The core of human suffering stems from attachment to the ego and resistance to the natural flow of life. By recognizing that we are not our egos but are instead the divine consciousness that is aware of the ego, we can transcend suffering and embrace inner peace. The ultimate purpose of life is spiritual liberation, achieved by letting go of resistance, aligning with reality, and embracing love and compassion in all circumstances.
For more information, go to michaelsingerpodcast.com.
© Sounds True Inc. Episodes: © 2024 Michael A. Singer. All Rights Reserved.
The mind, like the ocean, can be calm or disturbed, but the same consciousness is observing both states. Rather than trying to fix or overreact to a disturbed mind, one can learn to step back and observe the disturbance without feeding it. Ultimately, ceasing to thrash around in the disturbed mind allows the mental energies to settle down naturally. This process of letting go of the impulse to struggle leads to greater inner peace and spiritual growth over time.
For more information, go to michaelsingerpodcast.com.
© Sounds True Inc. Episodes: © 2024 Michael A. Singer. All Rights Reserved.
There are two fundamental truths that can help free you from the bondage of the ego. The first is your relationship to the vastness of the universe, and the other is how short your time is on this tiny planet. By acknowledging these truths, you can free yourself from the burden of personal preferences, opinions, and the mind’s fixation on past experiences. Embracing these deep truths leads you to a greater sense of perspective and a life of freedom that comes from releasing ego and harmonizing with Reality.
For more information, go to michaelsingerpodcast.com.
© Sounds True Inc. Episodes: © 2024 Michael A. Singer. All Rights Reserved.
In this talk, Michael explains that the mind need not be an obstacle to spiritual growth but can actually be a great tool when used properly. This involves realizing you are not your thoughts, any of your thoughts—rather, you are the awareness observing them. By remaining centered in this awareness, free from the pull of personal thoughts and emotions, one can experience great states of natural joy, love, and divinity.
For more information, go to michaelsingerpodcast.com.
© Sounds True Inc. Episodes: © 2024 Michael A. Singer. All Rights Reserved.
The mind can act as either a prison or a liberator, depending on how we use it. By holding on to uncomfortable past experiences, we trap ourselves in suffering. Expanding our thoughts beyond ourselves allows us to break free of the prison of mind. Through this process, we can liberate our consciousness, experience peace, and ultimately achieve enlightenment.
For more information, go to michaelsingerpodcast.com.
© Sounds True Inc. Episodes: © 2024 Michael A. Singer. All Rights Reserved.
There is a line—below this line you are being pulled down into your psyche and above it you are pulled up into the source of Self. You generally live below this line and identify with your thoughts and emotions. This leads to suffering and an ego-driven existence. True awakening comes from recognizing that you are not your body, thoughts, or past experiences but the consciousness that is aware of them. By letting go of ego-based attachments and conditioned responses, you can transcend suffering and experience inner peace, love, and true spiritual awakening.
For more information, go to michaelsingerpodcast.com.
© Sounds True Inc. Episodes: © 2025 Michael A. Singer. All Rights Reserved.
Nonduality is not an abstract philosophy but a practical spiritual path rooted in everyday life. The Universe is one unified system, but we can’t see it that way because we need certain parts to be certain ways. This is because we don’t feel whole within ourselves, so we differentiate the outside based on what we think will make us feel better or worse. Once we feel whole and at peace inside, everything is free to be as it is—one nondual reality.
For more information, go to michaelsingerpodcast.com.
© Sounds True Inc. Episodes: © 2025 Michael A. Singer. All Rights Reserved.
Spirituality is about realizing that all experiences, thoughts, and emotions are just objects that consciousness is aware of. It is awareness that gives meaning to the object, but we get fixated on the object itself. By learning to remain centered as the objects of consciousness pass before you, you can stop being pulled down into suffering and begin to rest naturally in your true seat of Self. Ultimately, when you surrender completely, your individual consciousness merges into Universal Consciousness, revealing a state of boundless peace and love.
© Sounds True Inc. Episodes: © 2025 Michael A. Singer. All Rights Reserved.
The spiritual journey is not about chasing external goals but about realizing that these pursuits only mask a deeper truth—we are not okay inside and driven by deep-seated fears and needs. Spirituality begins when we recognize that this comes from storing unresolved experiences inside that block our natural energy flow. Liberation is not about controlling life to achieve more but about learning to let go of these blockages during everyday life. Over time, this leads to a state of unconditional well-being culminating in unity with divine consciousness.
© Sounds True Inc. Episodes: © 2025 Michael A. Singer. All Rights Reserved.
You are not your thoughts, emotions, or experiences—you are the conscious awareness behind them. Identifying with these inner phenomena creates a disturbed inner world that you mistakenly try to fix with the outside world. Spiritual growth involves changing your relationship with your mind and emotions by releasing their past stored blockages and rediscovering the stillness, clarity, and joy of your true nature.
For more information, go to michaelsingerpodcast.com.
© Sounds True Inc. Episodes: © 2025 Michael A. Singer. All Rights Reserved.
Human beings walk around with a fishbowl over their head full of thoughts about themselves. Instead of naturally processing outside experiences as they come in, we trap the ones we can’t handle inside this bowl. These stored impressions distort our perception and generate endless preferences about what should or shouldn’t be happening. True spirituality is about letting each experience pass through fully processed—whether joyful or painful—without clinging. When no longer distracted by these stored impressions, one enters a state of openness, equanimity, and ecstatic unity with all of creation.
© Sounds True Inc. Episodes: © 2025 Michael A. Singer. All Rights Reserved.
The belief that your inner state is fundamentally not okay, and you must spend most of your life struggling to be okay, is the cause of great suffering. Eventually, you will come to realize that it is only because you stored unresolved past experiences inside your heart and mind that you don’t feel a natural flow of great joy within. These stored blockages get triggered repeatedly, creating mental and emotional turmoil. Real spiritual growth comes through recognizing this pattern and learning to release these inner blockages rather than resisting or suppressing them.
For more information, go to michaelsingerpodcast.com.
© Sounds True Inc. Episodes: © 2025 Michael A. Singer. All Rights Reserved.
The true meaning of Mother’s Day is to celebrate the idea of unconditional love—a love that does not judge or withhold. Most humans misunderstand this because the mind judges everything, creating inner resistance and leading to closure of the heart. Spiritual growth is the process of learning how to stop judging by understanding the root of judgment: past experiences stored in the personal mind that we couldn’t handle. By consistently relaxing through these blockages, instead of resisting their release, they will dissolve naturally, allowing the spiritual energy to rise. This culminates in the realization that God is love, and our own consciousness is that same ocean of love.
For more information, go to michaelsingerpodcast.com.
© Sounds True Inc. Episodes: © 2025 Michael A. Singer. All Rights Reserved.
You are not your thoughts, emotions, or experiences—you are the conscious awareness behind them. Identifying with these inner phenomena creates a disturbed inner world that you mistakenly try to fix with the outside world. Spiritual growth involves changing your relationship with your mind and emotions by releasing their past stored blockages and rediscovering the stillness, clarity, and joy of your true nature.
For more information, go to michaelsingerpodcast.com.
© Sounds True Inc. Episodes: © 2025 Michael A. Singer. All Rights Reserved.
Spiritual growth begins not by seeking higher states, but by fully recognizing how we built the ego out of thoughts from our past and are now identified with it. Our resultant preferences and suppressed past experiences make us suffer and constrict our awareness to ourselves. True liberation comes not by spiritualizing the ego, but by relaxing behind it and allowing reality to pass through while remaining centered in our true nature as consciousness.
For more information, go to michaelsingerpodcast.com.
© Sounds True Inc. Episodes: © 2025 Michael A. Singer. All Rights Reserved.
Nonduality is not an abstract philosophy but a practical spiritual path rooted in everyday life. The Universe is one unified system, but we can’t see it that way because we need certain parts to be certain ways. This is because we don’t feel whole within ourselves, so we differentiate the outside based on what we think will make us feel better or worse. Once we feel whole and at peace inside, everything is free to be as it is—one nondual reality.
For more information, go to michaelsingerpodcast.com.
© Sounds True Inc. Episodes: © 2025 Michael A. Singer. All Rights Reserved.
Resistance is the inner act of opposing what is, and it is the root cause of all suffering. Whether you are resisting emotions, thoughts, or life events, it is this opposition—not the events themselves—that causes disturbance. Spiritual freedom comes through a deep state of nonresistance: allowing reality to pass through you without blocking it. Once you reach this state, you are truly ready to interact with life instead of reacting to it.
For more information, go to michaelsingerpodcast.com.
© Sounds True Inc. Episodes: © 2025 Michael A. Singer. All Rights Reserved.
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