Michael A. Singer

"The meditation teacher and tech entrepreneur whose book on inner freedom found an unlikely global audience via Oprah."

Michael A. Singer is an American author and spiritual teacher whose book "The Untethered Soul" has become one of the most widely read modern texts on meditation and inner freedom. After a period of intense personal spiritual exploration in the 1970s, Singer withdrew into meditation practice before eventually founding a yoga and meditation center in Florida and, separately, a successful software company. "The Untethered Soul," published in 2007, draws on Eastern spiritual traditions to argue that most people mistake the constant inner voice of the mind for their true self, and that lasting peace comes from learning to observe thoughts and emotions rather than being controlled by them—ideas that reached an even wider audience after Oprah Winfrey featured the book on her show.

1 book featured·Founder, Temple of the Universe meditation center·Featured on Oprah's Super Soul Sunday

Books by Michael A. Singer

Our in-depth summaries and reviews of his work

Key Ideas & Recurring Themes

You are not the voice in your head

Singer's central teaching: true growth begins with recognizing that you are the awareness listening to your thoughts, not the constant inner voice itself.

Inner freedom is self-given

Singer argues that only you can take away your own inner freedom or grant it to yourself—no external person or circumstance actually controls it.

Ask what part of you is disturbed, not what to do

When facing a disturbing problem, Singer suggests redirecting the question inward—toward which part of you is reacting—rather than immediately seeking an external solution.

Notable Quotes

"There is nothing more important to true growth than realizing that you are not the voice of the mind - you are the one who hears it."
— The Untethered Soul
"Only you can take inner freedom away from yourself, or give it to yourself. Nobody else can."
— The Untethered Soul
"When a problem is disturbing you, don't ask, "What should I do about it?" Ask, "What part of me is being disturbed by this?""
— The Untethered Soul

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Book Author Michael A. Singer