The Surrender Experiment

Singer attempts to balance his dedication to inner freedom with his graduate school responsibilities. He teaches one economics class per semester, leading a mostly reclusive life. One day, he shows up to class shirtless after forgetting to dress fully post-yoga, but his students insist he proceed with the lecture. Despite feeling disengaged from academia, Singer receives an offer from Dr. Goffman, the department chair, who tells him the governor’s office has selected a prominent banker, Alan Robertson, to become president of a new community college. However, since Robertson lacks a Ph.D., they need a top student to tutor him. Despite overwhelming resistance from his inner voice, Singer remembers his commitment to surrendering to life’s flow. With reluctance, he agrees to take on this responsibility, solidifying his belief that he is no longer in charge of his life’s direction.

Singer shares his experience tutoring Alan Robertson, a successful banker turned college president, who needs help completing his PhD. Despite the contrast between their lives—Alan, a well-dressed executive, and Singer, a ponytailed yogi—an unexpected friendship blossoms. Singer’s practice of surrender extends to taking his own qualifying exams. He’s especially fearful of failing the public finance exam, a subject he hasn’t prepared for adequately. However, in deciding to surrender, Singer allows himself to face this fear, even going so far as to study by opening his textbook to random pages. Miraculously, the questions on the exam are based on the exact pages he had studied, confirming Singer’s belief in the power of letting go and trusting life’s flow. Ultimately, he passes all his exams and is recognized for his excellence, though he still grapples with feelings of humility.

As Singer reflects on the progress of his journey towards inner freedom, he feels something still holds him back. His desire to practice Kriya yoga leads him to ask for early initiation from the Self-Realization Fellowship—a request they deny. However, the same day, he receives an unexpected letter offering Kriya initiation from another organization—which he takes as a clear sign he needs to follow. Before leaving for this spiritual retreat, Alan Robertson requests that Singer teach part-time at the newly constructed Santa Fe Community College. Despite his deep reluctance, Singer surrenders to this path, recognizing that true surrender requires letting go of personal likes and dislikes, trusting life’s unfolding direction. Singer emphasizes that surrender is not about weakness, but rather strength and courage to follow the invisible flow of life.

Alan Robertson arranges a job interview for Singer at Santa Fe Community College. Despite his unconventional attire of jeans and sandals, Singer is offered a part-time teaching position. He agrees to teach a social science class, planning to rely entirely on inspiration when the time comes. Meanwhile, a woman named Sandy Boone wants to meditate on his property. Singer agrees despite his internal resistance, which leads to the formation of a Sunday meditation group that grows in size. Singer travels to a spiritual community in California, embracing silence and intensifying his practices. During his stay, he experiences a powerful, lucid dream where he ventures deep into a cave, following a light. Just as he reaches it, he encounters a metal grate, preventing him from climbing into the light. Without frustration, Singer accepts that he will “have to find another way” (70).

After his dream, Singer experiences a deep internal shift. Realizing that forcing discipline won’t lead to the freedom he seeks, he understands that his personal self, which he has previously suppressed, must be treated with compassion. He tells his inner self, “You can come out now,” triggering an overwhelming emotional release (72). He reflects on the Bhagavad Gita’s teaching that one must raise the self with Self, rather than trample it. Singer decides to embrace surrender over force, learning to channel his energies upward instead of suppressing them. After weeks of intense practice and reflection at the spiritual community, he returns to his home in Florida, ready to embrace solitude but with a new understanding that his journey requires both surrender and compassion for himself.

Singer returns home from his spiritual retreat to find Sandy and Bob building a house on his land without his permission. Initially upset, he chooses to surrender to life’s flow instead of reacting based on his preferences and helping them build the house, leading to a deeper spiritual practice in which he offers his work to a higher force. Meanwhile, he begins teaching at Santa Fe Community College, entering the classroom without prior preparation and delivering lectures guided by inspiration. His highly popular classes focus on universal truths across different fields and students crowd in to attend. This newfound role as a teacher further blurs the lines between Singer’s spiritual and worldly life. His surrender leads him to write his dissertation, which ultimately gets published.

An unexpected request from his neighbor Bob leads Singer to a life-changing experience. Bob asks Singer to visit Jerry, an inmate at a maximum-security prison, while he’s away. Despite initial resistance, Singer agrees and finds himself deeply moved by the visit and meditation with Jerry. Jerry, eager for more, invites other inmates to join, leading Singer to start a Buddhist meditation group within the prison. The prison setting brings Singer deeper spiritual experiences, and he finds his meditations more profound when shared with the inmates. Over time, the group expands, and Singer begins running similar sessions at another prison. What started as a small favor turns into a 30-year journey of service, helping incarcerated men find peace and spiritual growth. Through these acts of surrender, Singer learns that his path is not only about meditation but also about serving others.