It has really been a pleasure to work with the people at Harpo Productions. Positive energy is so important in this world, and it radiates from Oprah and everyone around her. When we were taping for the upcoming interview, I got to spend a fair amount of time talking to many of the production staff.

I was pleased to see that they had read The Untethered Soul and gotten a lot from the book. Our discussions always seemed to come down to "Are there some concise tips for everyday life that would accelerate spiritual growth and awakening?" To augment my discussions with Oprah during the "Super Soul Sunday" interview, I thought I'd share my 12-Step Guide to Spiritual Awakening.

- Michael Singer

1. Realize that you are in there.
You must first come to realize that you are in there. From deep inside, you are experiencing this world. You are experiencing your physical body, your thoughts and your emotions. You are conscious and you are experiencing what it is like to be human.

2. Realize that you are not okay in there.
Look to see what's going on inside. If you want to understand why you've done everything you have ever done, if you want to see what's really going on, just observe your mind and emotions—just experi­ence your inner state. If you objectively look, you will see that you are never completely at peace. You will see that you are not okay in there.

3. Realize that you're always trying to be okay. At any point when you look at the state of your inner being, you will see that something is bothering you. You will then notice that this causes urges, drives and impulses to do something about it. You will find yourself constantly trying to either get something or avoid something. All of this is done in an attempt to be okay.

4. Realize that your mind has taken on the job of figuring out how everything needs to be for you to be okay. If you watch, you will see that your mind is always telling you what you should and should not do, what others should and should not do, and how things should and should not be. All of this is the mind's attempt to first create a conceptual model of what would make you okay, and then try to get the outside world to match it.

Get the next 8 steps in Michael's 12-Step Guide to Spiritual Awakening

Then, watch Oprah and Michael's complete interview Sunday at 11 a.m. ET/PT.

They're words of wisdom that will take you on a journey beyond yourself. Read these thoughts from Michael Singer, author of The Untethered Soul, then watch Oprah's interview with Michael at 11 a.m. ET/PT this Sunday.

Click here to read all 11 inspiring quotes!

Author Michael Singer says we all only have to make one choice in life—the decision to be truly happy. Read an excerpt of Michael's book, The Untethered Soul, to find out how to put yourself on the path to the life you want to live. Then, watch Oprah and Michael's complete interview Sunday at 11 a.m. ET/PT.

Chapter 15: The Path of Unconditional Happiness

The highest spiritual path is life itself. If you know how to live daily life, it all becomes a liberating experience. But first you have to approach life properly, or it can be very confusing. To begin with, you have to realize that you really only have one choice in this life, and it’s not about your career, whom you want to marry, or whether you want to seek God. People tend to burden themselves with so many choices. But, in the end, you can throw it all away and just make one basic, underlying decision: Do you want to be happy, or do you not want to be happy? It’s really that simple. Once you make that choice, your path through life becomes totally clear.

Most people don’t dare give themselves that choice because they think it’s not under their control. Someone might say, “Well, of course I want to be happy, but my wife left me.” In other words, they want to be happy, but not if their wife leaves them. But that wasn’t the question. The question was, very simply, “Do you want to be happy or not?” If you keep it that simple, you will see that it really is under your control. It’s just that you have a deep-seated set of preferences that gets in the way.

Let’s say you’ve been lost and without food for days, and you finally find your way to a house. You can hardly make it to the doorstep, but you manage to pull yourself up and knock on the door. Somebody opens the door, looks at you and says, “Oh my God! You poor thing! Do you want something to eat? What would you like?” Now the truth is, you really don’t care what they give you. You don’t even want to think about it. You just utter the word “food.” And because you really mean it when you say you need food, it no longer has anything to do with your mental preferences. The same goes for the question about happiness. The question is simply “Do you want to be happy?” If the answer is really yes, then say it without qualifying it. After all, what the question really means is “Do you want to be happy from this point forward for the rest of your life, regardless of what happens?”

Read more of The Untethered Soul

In a "Super Soul Sunday" encore, Michael Singer, author of The Untethered Soul, sits down for his first-ever television interview to discuss his journey to inner peace and how we can all find spiritual freedom. Watch a preview!