The Surrender Experiment

Singer reflects on the organic and almost miraculous growth of Personalized Programming, a company built not through conventional business plans but through surrendering to life’s flow. Operating from the woods of Alachua, Florida on Temple grounds, the company lacks the typical attributes of a successful business—such as experienced professionals or strategic growth planning. Yet, despite this, The Medical Manager becomes a major success, earning millions in royalties and catching the attention of significant players in the medical industry.

In 1985, Singer receives an unexpected call from a vice president of Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield, one of the largest insurance providers in the country. Empire wants to drop their own software and market The Medical Manager under a private label. Soon, other Blue Cross Blue Shield organizations, including New Jersey, South Carolina, Georgia, and more, follow suit, offering The Medical Manager to doctors across multiple states.

By the mid-1980s, Personalized Programming has grown to about a dozen employees, most of them programmers, generating millions of dollars in revenue. As demand for The Medical Manager grows, Singer navigates the corporate world, learning how to operate on a larger scale while maintaining his trust in life’s flow. As Singer reflects: “One thing I saw again and again on this ride with life was that the right person would show up at just the right time”—a pattern he believes to be a manifestation of life’s perfection (153).

Paul Dobbins, a technical expert from a lab equipment company, visits Alachua to meet the development team. Despite Systems Plus’s concerns about presenting a professional image, Paul turns out to be a devoted follower of Yogananda, deeply resonating with the spiritual atmosphere at the Temple. Paul extends his visit, eventually asking Singer if he can stay and work for him. Months later, when Paul’s company is sold, he resigns and joins Personalized Programming, where his expertise proves invaluable. Paul helps the company establish electronic connections with major national laboratories, a critical feature that contributes to The Medical Manager's success. Singer reflects on how Paul's arrival, like many others, feels like a “gift from the universe,” noting that 20 years later, Paul still works with the company, living near the Temple with his family.

Singer shares how the ever-expanding Temple property and his growing business, Personalized Programming, bring him face-to-face with new challenges and opportunities for surrender. Singer describes serene morning meditations at the Temple, where the quietude of nature helps him maintain balance even as his responsibilities grow. Running a large software company while managing the Temple requires maintaining inner peace, especially as external demands become overwhelming.

One December morning in 1988, Singer discovers bulldozers clearing the trees on the neighboring property, threatening the beauty and tranquility of the Temple’s surroundings. Concerned, he reaches out to the property owner, Wilbur, to negotiate a way to save the forest. Though Wilbur initially refuses to sell the land, Singer offers to lease it at a higher rate than the revenue that planting pines would generate. This lease not only preserves the forest but eventually ties together the entire northern boundary of the Temple’s land—85 acres.

This experience reinforces Singer’s belief in surrendering to life’s flow. “Something that started out looking totally disastrous ha[s] ended up with a positive result” (157), Singer observes, illustrating how storms in life often bring about transformation.

In another instance, during a business trip to Boston, Singer embarks on a quest to find a vegetarian meal. After getting lost multiple times, he finally stumbles upon a small restaurant in Harvard Square offering brown rice and vegetables. This mundane moment turns into a deeply spiritual encounter when the man behind the counter recognizes Singer from 16 years prior. Singer had picked him up while hitchhiking and introduced him to Yogananda’s teachings, which had a profound impact on the man’s life. This serendipitous reunion, culminating with the man’s tearful gratitude, leaves Singer reflecting on how life’s events are always “much bigger than that” and filled with a deeper significance (160).