Michael Alan Singer

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Michael Alan Singer (or Michael A. Singer; born 6 May 1947) is an American author, journalist, motivational speaker, and former software developer.^[1][2] Two of his books, The Untethered Soul (2007) and The Surrender Experiment (2015), were New York Times bestsellers.^[3][4] Singer graduated from the University of Florida in 1971 with a master's degree in economics, and while attending university, Singer had a spiritual awakening and went into seclusion to focus on meditation and yoga.^[5] This experience inspired him to establish the Temple of the Universe in 1975, a meditation center open to men and women of all beliefs and religions who seek inner peace.^[6][7]

Singer is also involved in the medical software industry.^[8][9] He helped form the Medical Manager Corporation, which marketed software that helped medical practitioners to digitize their medical records.^[10] In 2000, Medical Manager was recognized by the Smithsonian Institution for its achievements in information technology.^[2][11] Later that year, Medical Manager became a subsidiary of WebMD, in an acquisition valued at roughly $5 billion.^[12] Singer continued his work in physician software strategies at WebMD, where he remained as executive VP, physician software strategies, and head of research and development and chief software architect of WebMD Practice Services.^[13] He resigned from WebMD in 2005 and focused on writing.^[14][15]

Publications[]

Singer has written four books, and all of them belong to the genre of religion and spirituality.

The Search for Truth (1974)[]

The Search for Truth (1974) is Singer's first book, which was written long before he became famous as a writer.^[16] According to Singer's account, this book was written as a request from his mentor in his university, as the latter insisted the former to “turn in something for him to read” after the young Singer refused to do a doctoral dissertation.^[17]

Three Essays on Universal Law (1975)[]

Three Essays on Universal Law (1975) is Singer's second book which continues along the theme of his previous book.^[18]

The Untethered Soul (2007)[]

The Untethered Soul (2007) is Singer's first New York Times bestseller.^[3] It is a collection of lectures which cover topics on yoga, philosophy, the concept of self, the meaning of life, and the theory of mind.^[19][20] The book caught the attention of talk show host Oprah Winfrey, with whom Singer later gave his first televised interview.^[21]

The Surrender Experiment (2015)[]

The Surrender Experiment (2015) is Singer's second bestselling book.^[4] In the autobiography, Singer describes his journey of how he became interested in meditation, how he started the Temple of the Universe and the Medical Manager Corporation, among other things.^[22][23] Singer mixes his life story with teachings of his philosophy, and the central theme of the book is his attempts at "surrendering yourself to life itself", and not letting his personal ego intervene with the flow of life.^[24][25] He identifies The Three Pillars of Zen (1965) by Philip Kapleau and Autobiography of a Yogi (1946) by Paramahansa Yogananda as his influences, naming them responsible for starting his lifelong exploration of Zen and spirituality.^[26]

Securities fraud scandal[]

During his time at WebMD, Singer was prosecuted by the Department of Justice along with other members of Medical Manager's top management staff for securities fraud.^[9][27] Six executives of Medical Manager pleaded guilty to their roles in the scheme.^[28] The charges against Singer were eventually dropped.^[8] On January 11, 2010, Singer entered into a deferred prosecution agreement and forfeited $2.5 million in settlements.^[10][28] Singer claims he was being framed by another top executive, who invented the fraud story in order to "work a deal" with the FBI to reduce his own punishment, though these claims are unverified.^[29]

References[]