Michael A. Singer, born on May 6, 1947, in New Rochelle, New York, is an American author, spiritual teacher, and former software developer renowned for his contributions to spirituality and personal development. He earned a bachelor’s degree in business in 1969 and a master’s degree in economics in 1971 from the University of Florida. During his doctoral studies, Singer experienced a spiritual awakening that led him to withdraw from academia to focus on meditation and yoga. In 1975, he founded the Temple of the Universe, a yoga and meditation center in Alachua, Florida, open to individuals of all beliefs seeking inner peace.

Professionally, Singer co-founded Medical Manager in 1981, a company that developed software to assist medical practitioners in managing patient records and billing. The company went public in 1997 and was acquired by WebMD in 2002 for approximately $5 billion. Despite his significant role in the corporate world, Singer’s spiritual practice remained central to his life, deeply influencing his approach to leadership and business. His unexpected entanglement in a federal investigation later in life became a pivotal moment in his journey, pushing him further into the practice of surrender and acceptance—an experience he recounts in detail in The Surrender Experiment.