• E94: Spiritual Freedom Is Simpler than You Think

    Michael Singer — July 13, 2025

    Life is fundamentally simple—we’re sitting on a tiny planet spinning through infinite space for a few years, and that’s it. We make it complicated by deciding how everything ...

  • The Michael Singer Podcast

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  • Insights At The Edge

    Tami Simon’s in-depth audio podcast interviews with leading spiritual teachers and luminaries. Listen in as they explore their latest challenges and breakthroughs - the leading edge of their work.

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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.

Meet Your Host Michael Singer

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

Most Recent

E82: Stop Leaving the Self: The Path to Unconditional ...

Most people must constantly manage their thoughts, emotions, and outer conditions to avoid discomfort. The deeper path through life is to realize that there is a place of great beauty and peace inside that transcends all outer turmoil. This is the seat of Self. Spiritual growth means learning how to become established in the Self by relaxing through all inner and outer disturbances, and returning to a state of absolute, unconditional well-being.

For more information, go to michaelsingerpodcast.com.

© Sounds True Inc. Episodes: © 2025 Michael A. Singer. All Rights Reserved.

 

E81: Expanding Beyond the Personal Mind

The mind is not inherently a problem—it becomes one when used to narrowly define reality based on our extremely limited personal experiences. This limited frame of reference leads to suffering, judgment, and a compulsive need to control life to match our preferences. Spiritual freedom comes from recognizing the vastness of existence, surrendering the egoic mind, and appreciating the miraculous nature of reality as it is.

For more information, go to michaelsingerpodcast.com.

© Sounds True Inc. Episodes: © 2025 Michael A. Singer. All Rights Reserved.

Zach Leary: Psychedelics in the 21st Century and How t...

He’s the son of Timothy Leary and one of today’s leading voices in the psychedelic renaissance of the 21st century. But Zach Leary’s journey hardly unfolded in the way you might expect. In this deeply informative and myth-busting podcast, Tami Simon speaks with Zach about his new book with Sounds True, Your Extraordinary Mind. 

With a “friend to friend” approach to discussing the amazing potential for the safe use of psychedelics, Tami and Zach converse about: carrying forward the legacy of the front-runners of psychedelic exploration, including icons like Terence McKenna, Humphry Osmond, Dr. John C. Lilly, and of course, Zach’s father Timothy and Richard Alpert (Ram Dass); acknowledging the mistakes of the past and dispelling the myths and misconceptions about psychedelics; bringing legitimacy to the use of psychedelics for healing and insight; a review of the major compounds and their sources (natural and manmade), such as MDMA, psilocybin mushrooms, ayahuasca, LSD, and ketamine; the importance of the 3 S’s: set, setting, and sustainability; turning insights into action; challenging experiences (instead of “bad trips”); Carl Jung and shadow work; using psychedelics to overcome our fear of death; Zach’s personal battle with addiction and how psychedelics supported his recovery; the nature of consciousness; psychedelics as humanity’s evolutionary partner; 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.

Customer Favorites

Microdosing Bravery

Kristen Lee, EdD, LICSW, is an award-winning behavioral science and leadership professor, clinician, researcher, activist, comedian, and the author of Reset, Mentalligence, and with Sounds True, her newest book, Worth the Risk. The host of Crackin’ Up, she has over two decades of clinical experience in mental health and twelve years of teaching and leadership roles in higher education, focusing on underserved populations. She leads the Behavior Science program at Northeastern University. 

In this podcast, Kristen Lee joins Sounds True founder Tami Simon to talk about how strategically “microdosing” risk can cultivate courage and resilience in the face of challenge and adversity. Kristen and Tami discuss: embodying a sense of gumption and spirit; bringing mental health out of the shadows; measuring our risks against our values; how risk can nurture resilience; the importance of safe relationships; finding the right balance between being on the edge and being safe; anxiety as a “frenemy,” and how self-acceptance and compassion support healing and change; microdosing bravery in our creative pursuits; freeing ourselves from the need for external validation; moving from being a spectator to an active changemaker in the world and looking for ways we can begin our own process of active contribution; confronting your biases and prejudices; the illusion of perfection; the cult of overachievement; the new psychological safety; and more.

Erica Ariel Fox: What if the Problem Is You? How to Wi...

Erica Ariel Fox is the author of the New York Times bestseller Winning from Within: A Breakthrough Method for Leading, Living, and Lasting Change. She is a negotiation lecturer at Harvard Law School and a senior advisor to Fortune 500 companies. Erica is a featured presenter in Sounds True’s Inner MBA program. In this podcast, she speaks with Tami Simon about her revolutionary approach to conflict resolution, how she defines “winning from within,” working with your “top team” of inner advisors, and much more. 

The Full Spectrum of Awareness

Diana Winston is the director of Mindfulness Education at UCLA’s Mindful Awareness Research Center, where she developed the Mindful Awareness Practices (MAPS) curriculum. With Sounds True, Diana is the author of a new book, The Little Book of Being: Practices and Guidance for Uncovering Your Natural Awareness, and the creator of a new audio teaching series called Glimpses of Being: A Training Course in Expanding Mindful Awareness. In this experiential episode of Insights at the Edge, Diana introduces us to what she calls the “spectrum of awareness” through a series of guided practices. She talks to Tami Simon about the various ways we can access and experience awareness, from narrow and focused to effortless and spacious—states we are constantly moving between. They touch on ways to deepen and explore awareness through “glimpse practices” and discuss how we can work toward making natural awareness our default state. Finally, Diana explains why tapping into the full range of awareness can act as a good antidote for those feeling stuck or restless in their meditation practice.

Timeless Classics

Mirabai Starr: Caravan of No Despair

Mirabai Starr is an author and teacher best known for her well-regarded translations of Christian mystics such as Saint Teresa of Avila and Saint Francis of Assisi. Her most recent work with Sounds True is Caravan of No Despair: A Memoir of of Loss and Transformation. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Mirabai and Tami Simon talk about “the dark night of the soul” and how this intense experience is essential to the spiritual path. They also speak on the process of writing about grief and loss, and how such an act can spark a powerful personal metamorphosis. Finally, Mirabai shares a pair of potent excerpts from Caravan of No Despair. (65 minutes)

Caroline Myss: Healing Beyond Reason

Caroline Myss is an internationally renowned speaker, medical intuitive, mystic, and pioneer in the field of energy medicine. She is the author of five New York Times bestsellers, as well as the Sounds True audio learning programs Energy Anatomy, Sacred Contracts, and Your Creative Soul. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Tami Simon and Caroline discuss what it means to “heal beyond reason.” They speak on near-death experiences and the nature of the soul. Finally, Tami and Caroline talk about spiritual metamorphosis and the seven graces that can empower a person to live a richer, more authentic life. (56 minutes)

Snatam Kaur: By Thy Grace

Snatam Kaur is one of the most recognized voices in the world of devotional chant. Snatam is an American artist who was raised in the kundalini yoga tradition and schooled in kirtan meditation and Gurmukhi, the Sanskrit-based language of Sikh scriptures in northern India. She is the lead singer for the Celebrate Peace tours and has released eight records. In this episode, Tami Simon speaks with Snatam about her bottom line in terms of daily meditation practice, what has been her go-to mantra in life, and how motherhood keeps her ego in check. She also shares three excerpts from The Essential Snatam Kaur, the Sounds True compilation of her favorite sacred chants for healing. (76 minutes)

Most Recent

E58: Beyond the Illusion: Awakening to True Consciousn...

The findings of modern science and the deep spiritual teachings are moving closer and closer together. Our entire outside world is composed of tiny atoms that our senses blend together to create what we call reality. Advanced physics has found that these atoms emanate from wavelets in the omnipresent Quantum Field. Spirituality has always taught that reality is an illusion, a dance of Light.

Every day, your senses take in this illusion, and you build a false sense of self based on the experiences you’ve had. This is your ego, and it is the cause of all personal suffering. Behind it is the real you, the consciousness that is aware of your thoughts, emotions, and the outside world. The meaning of life is to transcend the illusion and return to the source of consciousness. This is Enlightenment.

For more information, go to michaelsingerpodcast.com.

© Sounds True Inc. Episodes: © 2025 Michael A. Singer. All Rights Reserved.

E57: Love Is Not Found, It’s Freed

Love is not something found outside but an internal energy that flows through your heart when you are open and unblocked. Your past personal experiences and emotional defenses create barriers that prevent you from feeling love continuously. The key to unconditional love is letting go of these blockages, embracing openness, and allowing life’s experiences—both positive and negative—to flow through without resistance. If you learn to do this, you will find that true love is not based on the conditions of people, events, or circumstances—it is about removing the blockages you have put in love’s way.

For more information, go to michaelsingerpodcast.com.

© Sounds True Inc. Episodes: © 2025 Michael A. Singer. All Rights Reserved.

E56: From Distraction to Enlightenment: The Path of Aw...

Consciousness is eternal, infinite, and the fundamental essence of life. You become lost by focusing your awareness on your thoughts, emotions, and outside experiences. This distracts you from your true nature. In the end, true spirituality lies in recognizing that you are not the sum of your experiences; you are the indwelling consciousness that had the experiences. By letting go of the false identification with your ego, you can reconnect with the universal consciousness and experience true freedom.

For more information, go to michaelsingerpodcast.com.

© Sounds True Inc. Episodes: © 2025 Michael A. Singer. All Rights Reserved.

E55: From Psychology to Spirituality: Transcending the...

Psychology focuses on understanding and managing the mind’s learned patterns, emotional struggles, and conditioned behaviors. Spirituality is about transcending these mental and emotional constructs to center on the consciousness which is aware of them. From this seat of witness consciousness, you can actually watch the mind create a false concept of self that is based on your past experiences. This false self leads to suffering unless the world matches how you think it should be. True spirituality involves realizing yourself as the conscious observer and learning to embrace life’s experiences as a gift from Creation. You can learn to free yourself from suffering and achieve a state of peace, love, and self-realization.

For more information, go to michaelsingerpodcast.com.

© Sounds True Inc. Episodes: © 2025 Michael A. Singer. All Rights Reserved.

E54: The Sacred Time Between Birth and Death

Your life is the fleeting moments between your birth and death. During this time, true fulfillment does not come from external achievements but from an internal state of unconditional joy and love. Because we condition our happiness on outside circumstances, it often leads to suffering, attachment, and endless striving for some satisfaction. By letting go of stored past disturbances that have blocked your natural well-being, you can unlock a state of unconditional happiness and appreciate each moment as it unfolds.

For more information, go to michaelsingerpodcast.com.

© Sounds True Inc. Episodes: © 2025 Michael A. Singer. All Rights Reserved.

E53: From Chaos to Clarity: Unleashing the Power of Mi...

The mind is a powerful tool that is crucial for both spiritual growth and living everyday life. However, when you are drowning in the chaos of your thoughts and emotions, there is the need for distance and objectivity. If you allow your mind to cling to the effect of disturbing past experiences, you will distort the reality happening now and perpetuate suffering. The solution lies in deep acceptance and openness to embracing life’s experiences as they come, without resistance or judgment.

For more information, go to michaelsingerpodcast.com.

© Sounds True Inc. Episodes: © 2025 Michael A. Singer. All Rights Reserved.

Listener Favorites

E27: The Stages of Spiritual Awakening

The stages of spiritual growth involve moving from attachment to past experiences and preferences to a more open state of appreciation and acceptance. Initially, attachment to past pains and desires creates a self-concept, or “ego,” which drives much of one’s feelings and actions. True spiritual growth requires accepting and serving reality as it unfolds. This gradually leads to a profound sense of unity with the divine, beyond personal suffering and ego.

For more information, go to michaelsingerpodcast.com.

© Sounds True Inc. Episodes: © 2024 Michael A. Singer. All Rights Reserved.

E45: Learning to Channel Lower Energies

All of life’s experiences are manifestations of energy at one level or another. By viewing challenges as energy, you can learn to channel them in a constructive manner. To do this, you must practice allowing uncomfortable energies to flow instead of suppressing or resisting them. Through methods like mindfulness, meditation, and conscious self-reflection, you can release past energy blockages and stop creating new ones. Ultimately, this process leads to spiritual growth, inner peace, and the ability to live passionately and positively in the present moment.

For more information, go to michaelsingerpodcast.com.

© Sounds True Inc. Episodes: © 2025 Michael A. Singer. All Rights Reserved.

 

E11: Transforming the Lower Self into Spiritual Libera...

True spiritual maturity is not about seeking momentary highs but about dealing with the lows that inhibit one’s spiritual ascent. The real obstacles to spiritual fulfillment come in the form of emotional blockages and self-imposed personal limitations. By focusing on letting go of these internal tethers, we can naturally rise to higher states of consciousness without forcing the process.

For more information, go to michaelsingerpodcast.com.

© Sounds True Inc. Episodes: © 2024 Michael A. Singer. All Rights Reserved.

E9: Embracing Life as Your Teacher

The meaning of life is to experience divine ecstasy. How? By allowing consciousness to flow through all experiences without resistance. The problem is that we often get lost in our preferences, attachments, and aversions, which creates a false sense of self and leads to suffering. True spiritual growth involves letting go of past psychological blockages by facing life’s challenges without inner resistance. This means learning to use every moment as an opportunity for purification and self-realization—in essence, to use life as your guru.

For more information, go to michaelsingerpodcast.com.

© Sounds True Inc. Episodes: © 2024 Michael A. Singer. All Rights Reserved.

 

E41: Transcendence: Living Fully with Peace and Openne...

Transcendence is the state of fully experiencing life while maintaining inner peace, regardless of circumstances. It is not detachment or avoidance of life but rather embracing all moments as they unfold without resistance or preference. This openness enables a state of joy and inner harmony, transforming preferences and fears into acceptance and love. Ultimately, transcendence aligns you with universal consciousness, allowing life to flow freely within and through you.

For more information, go to michaelsingerpodcast.com.

© Sounds True Inc. Episodes: © 2025 Michael A. Singer. All Rights Reserved.

E34: The Stairway to Heaven: A Guide to Spiritual Grow...

Spiritual experiences are inspiring but very different from the permanent state of spiritual realization. Momentary highs are temporary because, afterward, our consciousness is still lost in our thoughts, emotions, and learned preferences, which continue to drive our reactions and struggles in life. Deep growth begins by realizing you are not your thoughts or emotions but the observer of them. The everyday commitment to inner work that releases past emotional blockages, fears, and preferences is how you climb the permanent stairway to heaven. The ultimate goal is transcending the ego and experiencing the eternal oneness of your existence.

For more information, go to michaelsingerpodcast.com.

© Sounds True Inc. Episodes: © 2024 Michael A. Singer. All Rights Reserved.

Timeless Classics

E42: Why We Suffer: A Spiritual Perspective on Problem...

Why do people experience so many problems in life? If you look objectively, you will see that problems arise because we have deeply ingrained preferences about how life should unfold. These manifest as desires and fears that are rooted in our unresolved experiences from the past. True freedom and joy can only be achieved by letting go of this stored negativity and embracing life as it unfolds. Ultimately, fulfillment comes not from controlling external circumstances but from inner alignment and openness to life’s flow. 

For more information, go to michaelsingerpodcast.com.

© Sounds True Inc. Episodes: © 2025 Michael A. Singer. All Rights Reserved.

E43: Life as a Teacher: Lessons in Acceptance and Clar...

Acceptance and surrender are key spiritual principles that focus on embracing reality as it is and using it to let go of inner resistance and turmoil. Seen in this light, life’s challenges are not problems; they are opportunities for growth and spiritual evolution. For example, karma is not a punishment but a learning tool encouraging you to evolve consciously. By practicing acceptance and surrender, individuals can achieve clarity and respond to situations thoughtfully, which fosters great spiritual growth.

For more information, go to michaelsingerpodcast.com.

© Sounds True Inc. Episodes: © 2025 Michael A. Singer. All Rights Reserved.

E44: Living Life Beyond Fear and Desire

Life can be lived at varying levels, though most people are trapped in the cycles of seeking desires and avoiding fears. The key to deeper living lies in addressing internal blockages and embracing life’s unfolding with acceptance. This frees you to connect with the natural flow of inner energy, or Shakti, which results in a profound sense of love, joy, and unity with existence.

For more information, go to michaelsingerpodcast.com.

© Sounds True Inc. Episodes: © 2025 Michael A. Singer. All Rights Reserved.

E45: Learning to Channel Lower Energies

All of life’s experiences are manifestations of energy at one level or another. By viewing challenges as energy, you can learn to channel them in a constructive manner. To do this, you must practice allowing uncomfortable energies to flow instead of suppressing or resisting them. Through methods like mindfulness, meditation, and conscious self-reflection, you can release past energy blockages and stop creating new ones. Ultimately, this process leads to spiritual growth, inner peace, and the ability to live passionately and positively in the present moment.

For more information, go to michaelsingerpodcast.com.

© Sounds True Inc. Episodes: © 2025 Michael A. Singer. All Rights Reserved.

 

E46: From Attachment to Liberation: Redefining Life...

Society is focused on setting external goals for career, relationships, and wealth, but this does not always lead to satisfaction. True well-being arises from working through internal disturbances rather than avoiding them through external compensation. This is achieved by letting go of past emotional blockages and being open to the richness of life’s experiences, both positive and challenging. Ultimately, this path leads to a deeper state of consciousness and liberation, fostering joy and harmony both within yourself and in your relationships with others.

For more information, go to michaelsingerpodcast.com.

© Sounds True Inc. Episodes: © 2025 Michael A. Singer. All Rights Reserved.

E47: Unraveling the Ego: Returning to Pure Awareness

Consciousness is the fundamental essence of your being, distinct from the physical and psychological objects it is conscious of. But your conscious awareness gets so distracted by external objects, thoughts, and emotions, that it becomes identified with them. This identification forms the ego, the false sense of “I.” The spiritual path involves letting go of distractions and false identifications in order to remain in the true “seat of self,” a state of pure awareness and joy. The ultimate realization is reconnecting with the source of consciousness, leading to unity with the divine and a life of peace and ecstasy.

For more information, go to michaelsingerpodcast.com.

© Sounds True Inc. Episodes: © 2025 Michael A. Singer. All Rights Reserved.

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