Book Report #191 - The Surrender Experiment

The Surrender Experiment: My Journey Into Life's Perfection by Michael A. Singer

I'm a fan of Singer's The Untethered Soul, so I was delighted to find his memoir on my shelf. We started with Singer, aka Mickey, in grad school for economics when he had an experience that led him to need to know how to quiet the voice in his head--the one that chatters incessantly that we all have. He started meditating heavily and ended up buying a five acre parcel in the woods where he could devote the bulk of his time to meditation.

It was there that he began the surrender experiment, which meant he would no longer be run by that voice in his head. Instead, he would go with the flow of life, no matter what it brought. He would no longer be ruled by his likes and dislikes.

This led to a series of events that Mickey could not have predicted in his wildest dreams: people kept coming to his land and eventually established a temple there, he taught meditation to prisoners for decades, he started a successful construction company, and he was responsible for a computer programming company that eventually was worth over a billion dollars. Plus, the five acre parcel morphed into 175 acres over the years, and the money from the businesses paid for it all.

Mickey kept his thesis prominent that all this was possible because he surrendered and went with the flow of the universe.

He even maintained this when his computer business went to hell and all the executives were indicted for kickbacks and fraud. It was a seven year ordeal, and after paying a penalty, Mickey was allowed to walk free. He said that the experience was further practice in surrender.

This is all a nice story wrapped up with a bow, so that makes me wonder a bit. There were two parts that especially had me confused. One was when his friend, the "spiritual master" Amrit Desai, was allowed to hide out at Mickey's property for three years after his scandal broke out. Mickey glossed over it as a mistake in Amrit's past. When I looked it up, it was a major transgression that Amrit had been actively doing for years. That broke some of the trust I had with Mickey.

The other part that made me uncomfortable was when Mickey quickly explained that paying the penalty for his case was no big deal and he didn't mind parting with the money. When I looked it up, he'd paid $2.5 million. It struck me that that deserved more than a casual remark in his book.

The one other thing that leaves me befuddled is that early in the book he says he married and had a daughter. Yet, we never hear about the daughter again, nor much about his wife. Why? I guess because we thought we'd be more interested in the trajectory of his career but for such a spiritual person, I find it odd that career seemed to come before family. I hope that's not the case and it was simply a misunderstanding.

General consensus: The main themes are helpful but I'm somewhat skeptical of the details of his life.

Book Review #13

Mother God by Sylvia Browne

When I started this book, I wanted to toss it aside and reach for another. The first chapter read like a bad statistic while Sylvia labored to prove the existence of the Mother God. I was glad when I moved on to the next and explored what it was that Sylvia claimed Mother God was capable of. My favorite chapter was the last which was a series of stories from various people about how Mother God had touched their lives.

Sylvia says that Mother God can help us with anything. She says since God--who has a male and a female side--is perfect, He/She never has negative emotions. Therefore, He/She will never get mad at you for asking too much or testing Him/Her. She says you have nothing to lose by praying and asking Him/Her for things. She recommends that you ask the female form Azna, because she is constantly around us while He is the unmoved mover and is holding us. She also recommends that you be specific as posssible, and to go ahead and ask for the moon.

I gave it a shot, and I'm still trying to figure it out. So far all I've really asked Her for is to take away physical pain, like stomachaches and sinus pressure. And since that stuff inevitably goes away anyway, it's hard to see in a scientific way whether She had a hand in it. I don't know if prayer gives me comfort because of the act itself or if there really is a greater force out there. I really want it to be the latter because it gives me the most peace, but even if it's not, I'll take anything that comforts me when I feel like I can't make it on my own (well, not anything, but you know what I mean).

Time to read cover to cover: 2 hours
General consensus: At a minimum, interesting to mull over.

Book Review #3

Secrets & Mysteries of the World by Sylvia Browne

Ever since Sylvia announced the existence of this book I’ve been on the waiting list at the library. It’s been over two months and I finally am the chosen one! My excitement lasted until I opened up the book. I was crestfallen at the font. The hardback 2005 version from Hay House includes a font that is a stumbling block for speed-readers. I don’t recognize it, could be Garamond. I realize that I did not set out to critique graphic artists but I mean come on! Give me Arial or Times New Roman over this mess any day.

I am a devoted Sylvia Browne fan. I read everything she puts to paper and try to catch her on Monel Williams as often as possible. She is by far my favorite psychic. That’s why it pains me to say that this book was a difficult read. This is the first time I’ve seen her go it alone (on the cover it says "Sylvia Browne" and stops there, usually she has a friend’s name following hers) and it was a struggle. She writes like she talks, and I’ve discovered that she interrupts herself a lot and likes to clue you in to her outline. I prefer writers to just go for it.

Also, her explanations or possibly more accurately, reflections on secrets and mysteries of the world left me with more questions than answers. I am going to make a copy of the table of contents and immerse myself in a research project. I do appreciate her introducing me to new mysteries. I’d never heard of the crystal skulls or the Leviathan (besides the philosophical treatise by Hobbes).

All of that aside, I am thrilled with the book, absolutely ecstatic! She blew my mind when it came to Jesus Christ. First of all, she said that Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons were actually worthwhile reads and furthermore she confirmed his theory on the Holy Grail. Then she went on to say (brace yourself) that Jesus didn’t die on the cross, instead he went on to live until he was 80 years old. He spent the end of his life in France with his wife Mary Magdelane and their children. I won't get started on his lost years, I'll just say wow, it all started coming together for me.

As always, Sylvia encourages you to take what you like and leave the rest. As a skeptic herself she asks you to research and come to conclusions by yourself. The two themes I saw emerge in the book were the existence of intelligent life beyond this planet that attempts to communicate with us and help us, and the re-emergence of Atlantis and Lemuria when the current polar tilt is complete. Keep an eye out for aliens and lost continents!

Length of time to read cover to cover: 16 hours
General consensus: Recommended for content and brain stimulation