Does “opening the mind” through Vedic Meditation create a portal or opportunity for evil or satanic influences to enter the mind?This question is relatively easy to answer. In fact, in this episode Thom doesn’t even get to the second part of the question and spends a short time addressing the first part, the notion of Vedic Meditation opening the mind.While it’s certainly true that Vedic meditators are usually open-minded people, this is in the sense of being broad minded rather than having an exposed or vulnerable mind.Vedic Meditation actually has the opposite effect. It dissipates stress and reduces the likelihood of suggestibility and allows one to become more aligned with the laws of Nature, rather than being susceptible to anything opposing the laws of Nature. So if you’re feeling the need to build a ‘spiritual firewall’ for yourself, this is the episode for you.Episode Highlights: [00:48] An Open Mind About Vedic Meditation[02:08] One Becomes What One Sees[03:34] The Impact of Vedic Meditation[05:28] Meditators Need Not Be Concerned About the Biased ViewsUseful Linksinfo@thomknoles.com https://thomknoles.com/https://www.instagram.com/thethomknoles/https://www.facebook.com/thethomknoleshttps://www.youtube.com/c/thomknoles https://thomknoles.com/ask-thom-anything/

Few would argue that we often lack reverence in modern day-to-day living. Toasts are given and glasses are raised, often at the drop of a hat. Families might go for years without even sitting at the same table for a meal, let alone saying grace or giving thanks for a shared meal and loving company.One notable exception to this trend is the use of Puja when a student of Vedic Meditation receives their mantra. It’s a beautiful and important tradition that any committed teacher of Vedic Meditation takes seriously.In this episode, Thom explains the significance and purpose of Puja, and why we treat the process with the respect that it deserves, not just to honor the generations of masters that have kept the tradition alive, but also to honor the student, and to welcome them to what will likely be the most progressive step they will take in their evolution.Episode Highlights: [00:49] Touching On the State of Being[02:17] Puja - A Ceremony of Gratitude[03:58] The Troth of a Vedic Meditation Teacher[05:23] A Model of Ideal Teaching[06:45] “Initiation Day”[08:23] Face to Face, In Person[10:16] A Tradition of Knowledge[11:40] A Teacher in Good Standing[13:09] Learning Vedic Meditation The Hard Way[14:32] A Great Teacher Has StandardsUseful Linksinfo@thomknoles.com https://thomknoles.com/https://www.instagram.com/thethomknoles/https://www.facebook.com/thethomknoleshttps://www.youtube.com/c/thomknoles https://thomknoles.com/ask-thom-anything/

Few situations make us second guess ourselves more than those that we come across as parents or guardians of children.In this episode, Thom provides some guidance for parents who face some fairly typical situations, balancing the needs of their children with their own self care, as well as one parent facing a parent’s worst-case scenario, a child at risk of taking their own life.Rather than being prescriptive about what each parent ‘should do’ in relation to their child, this episode is a reminder that Vedic Meditation is ‘a tool in our parenting quiver’ that can put us in the best position to find our own answers and make the best decisions we can in any given situation.PS - If you haven’t listened to it already, you might also be interested in listening to Thom’s episode on Raising Conscious Children [https://thomknoles.com/podcast/raising-conscious-children/]. Episode Highlights: [00:45] Q- What is Your View on Sleeping With Our Children Vs. Teaching Them To Sleep On Their Own?[03:13] Children Want a Comforting Launch Pad To Put Them Into Sleep[04:22] Be a Spiritual Coach to Your Child[05:16] A Comforting Presence During the Phase Transition[06:13] Our Goal is Self-Sufficiency for Our Children[06:50] Create Those Memories You Would Like to Have[07:46] Your Number One Priority as a Parent[08:38] Relax and Be In the Present Moment With Our Child[09:31] Q - Can You Give Advice on Postpartum Meditation and the Effects on the Newborn?[09:52] Practice Meditation On a Catch-As-Catch-Can Basis[11:29] Your Child is Your New Spiritual Master[12:22] Don't Be Concerned About Meditating Too Much[13:05] Our Primary Spiritual Program[14:22] One of the Tools In Your Mothering Quiver[15:24] Mommy, I Think You Should Meditate[16:17] Give the Baby Everything You Can Give the Baby[16:50] Q - How Can I Create a Life of Joy While Living In Fear of Losing My Child?[17:04] Meditation is Your Coping Mechanism[18:49] Look After Yourself[20:15] Arjuna's Dilemma On the Battlefield[21:51] Developing A Resolute IntellectUseful Linksinfo@thomknoles.com https://thomknoles.com/https://www.instagram.com/thethomknoles/https://www.facebook.com/thethomknoleshttps://www.youtube.com/c/thomknoles https://thomknoles.com/ask-thom-anything/

What is consciousness? Well, the ultimate answer to this question is, ‘everything,’ but, ironically, our ability to understand this depends on our own level of consciousness.In other words, our ability to truly understand what consciousness is, relies on consciousness itself and our experience of it. And by the time we get to the point where we actually understand the answer to the question, the question becomes irrelevant. The good news is, we have a simple technique at our disposal, Vedic Meditation, which gives us an experience of Pure Consciousness on a regular basis. And even though we may struggle to find the words to define what consciousness is, we at least have a reference point to develop our own understanding of what it truly is.Combine that reference point with Thom’s wisdom in this episode, and you’ll be well on the way to answering the question yourself. Bookmark this episode and come back to it on a regular basis, at least until you’ve answered the question for yourself.Episode Highlights: [00:45] The Fundamental Existential Truth of the Known Universe[01:32] The State of Three-In-One[03:51] What Relevance Would the Universe Have If Consciousness Didn't Exist?[05:38] Friday Night at UCLA[06:51] Expanding and Contracting Our Consciousness[07:38] Isolating Consciousness Through Vedic Meditation[09:06] Pure Consciousness in its Absolute Form[10:29] Repertoire of Capability[12:09] A Ridiculously Simple PropositionUseful Linksinfo@thomknoles.com https://thomknoles.com/https://www.instagram.com/thethomknoles/https://www.facebook.com/thethomknoleshttps://www.youtube.com/c/thomknoles https://thomknoles.com/ask-thom-anything/

None of us can imagine a world without love, but how many of us actually know what love truly is? Is it the romantic, idealized love that we see in story and song all around us, or is there something deeper, something ‘richer’ than what we’ve been ‘sold’ over the centuries.As you would expect, the Vedic worldview holds that there is something deeper and richer to love than that which the vast majority of us experience.Ironically, the thing that prevents us from experiencing true love for others, is the lack of Self love. Listen in as Thom explains the ‘mechanics’ of love and the Self-referral phenomenon that it is.Episode Highlights: [00:45] I Love Your Shoes[01:54] Let's Take Love Seriously[02:40] Existence is Made Relevant by Consciousness[04:15] Is-ness and Am-ness[06:07] A Response Proves Consciousness[07:38] Why Does the One Become Many?[09:35] Love is a Desirable State[10:48] The Love of Self for Itself[12:00] Sympathetic Vibration[13:44] Resonance[14:45] What Makes Love a Selective Phenomenon?[16:21] Self Recognizing The Self[17:39] I Love When You Are Like Me[19:03] Under the Same Roof[20:34] We Don't Want a Mirror Image of Ourself[21:59] Love is a Product of Relatability[23:42] State of Consciousness Explains Behaviors[25:12] Empathy - Experience What Other Person is Experiencing[26:19] I Reject the Person Because S/he is Unlike Me[28:09] Our Capacity to See the Bigger Picture[29:44] Have You Always Been Such a Gorgeous Being?[31:05] All Things Are Love in Potential[32:17] Transcendence Helps Us Discover Sympathetic Vibration[34:04] Consciousness Experiencing Consciousness[35:37] The State of Oneness[37:23] Step Beyond the Incessant Tendency to Think[38:49] The Reservoir of Infinite Creativity[40:24] Your Social Responsibility[41:55] A Disciplined Approach to the Release of Attention[43:00] What is the Mechanism for Love?[44:29] Unity Consciousness - The Highest Pinnacle of Human Development[46:21] When We Have Unity Consciousness, We're Living Love[48:06] Discover the Self With Non-Self With Vedic MeditationUseful Linksinfo@thomknoles.com https://thomknoles.com/https://www.instagram.com/thethomknoles/https://www.facebook.com/thethomknoleshttps://www.youtube.com/c/thomknoles https://thomknoles.com/ask-thom-anything/

Thom’s master, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, is responsible for millions of people around the world taking up the meditation technique we now refer to as Vedic Meditation, but which Maharishi originally referred to as ‘The Grace of Guru Deva.’What few people realise though, is that Maharishi never set out with a specific intention to share the technique with anyone, let alone share it with millions around the world.In this episode, Thom shares the origin story of the meditation technique that changed the world, a story that began with a one word thought, ‘Rameshwaram.’Episode Highlights: [00:45] Sitting on the Banks of the Ganges[01:45] At the Feet of Guru Deva[03:07] A Thought Appears[04:04] Maharishi Breaks His Silence[05:59] I Want to Get Rid of the Thought[07:36] Lots of Ignorance[08:17] Maharishi Went to Rameshwaram[09:43] A Tap on the Shoulder[12:05] The Grace of Guru Deva[14:05] Guru Parampara[15:03] It All Started With Charm[17:02] Radiate Life for All to EnjoyUseful Linksinfo@thomknoles.com https://thomknoles.com/https://www.instagram.com/thethomknoles/https://www.facebook.com/thethomknoleshttps://www.youtube.com/c/thomknoles https://thomknoles.com/ask-thom-anything/

The spotlight in this Ask Me Anything episode is on spiritual life…Is spiritual life compatible with earning money? (Spoiler alert: the answer is a resounding yes).Is the tradition of Vedic Meditation truly ancient? (Also yes).And what’s the relationship between Dharma and self expression? (No spoiler alert for this one).The underlying message in all of Thom’s answers in this episode, is the importance of Self referral. Too often we’re influenced by the thinking of others, whether they be those closest to us, or in the broader community, and this reduces our ability to both give and receive the fullest expression of life. By accessing the big S Self, through our twice-daily practice of Vedic Meditation, we can transcend the rules, the expectations and experiences of others and live an authentic, abundant and inspired life.Episode Highlights: [00:45] Q- How Can I Combine Spiritual Life with Earning Money?[00:58] An Obsolete Idea[02:22] The Risk of Invasion[04:19] The Monastic Tradition of Shukadeva[06:04] Householders as Rishis[07:25] Access to Maximum Creativity[08:53] A Life of 200%[09:37] Spirituality is Not Based on Suffering[10:47] Q- Does the Technique of Vedic Meditation Come From an Ancient Lineage?[11:20] The State of Consciousness of the Enquirer[12:23] One of the Greatest Masters That Ever Lived[13:20] Basing Our Lives on Direct Experience[14:07] Come to India and See for Yourself[15:09] Q- What is the Relationship Between Dharma and Self Expression?[15:23] Capital S, Self Expression[16:14] A Social ResponsibilityUseful Linksinfo@thomknoles.com https://thomknoles.com/https://www.instagram.com/thethomknoles/https://www.facebook.com/thethomknoleshttps://www.youtube.com/c/thomknoles https://thomknoles.com/ask-thom-anything/

Humans have a natural tendency to try to explain phenomena outside of our experience from within a limited understanding of the ways in which the world works. We’ll theorize about an event or situation to reassure ourselves that we know what’s going on, when in fact we may not.Vedic meditators sometimes find themselves on the receiving end of such behavior. Through regular practice of meditation, they don’t just transcend thinking, but they also transcend ‘normal’ responses to situations. They become less ‘reactive’ to situations that others might find stressful and are generally less affected by the ‘ups and downs’ of regular life.A non-meditator might witness this and try to rationalize it by labelling the meditator as ‘detached’ or even ‘dissociative’ when in fact there is something much more desirable going on. Thom explains this in more detail in this episode.Episode Highlights: [00:45] Q- Does Meditation Make People Detached or Dissociative?[01:02] Cosmic Consciousness - All-Inclusive Awareness[02:13] Non-Attached and Non-Involved[03:20] All I Am is a Body That's Dying[04:25] The Externalized Locus of Control[06:16] Freedom Without Bliss is Dangerous[07:26] What Does Freedom Mean?[08:16] The Capability of Growth at Speed[10:02] Who Will Bring the Greatest Amount of Social Change?[11:31] A Tendency Towards Greater Acceptability[12:56] Meditators Are Creating True Revolution[15:08] Standard Procedure for People With Psychopathological Conditions[16:43] People Who Can Create Maximum Change With Least ActionUseful Linksinfo@thomknoles.com https://thomknoles.com/https://www.instagram.com/thethomknoles/https://www.facebook.com/thethomknoleshttps://www.youtube.com/c/thomknoles https://thomknoles.com/ask-thom-anything/

You’ll need a pen and paper, and zero distractions, for this episode, which is nothing less than a masterclass in evolution. Delivered in front of a live audience, at the Pace Gallery in New York City in 2021, Thom explains what an ‘agent of progressive change’ is, and why it’s incumbent on us to step up to the plate and take on that role for ourselves.More than just a call to arms, it’s a practical ‘workshop’ covering the five fundamental elements of being an agent of progressive change.  If you truly want to accelerate your personal evolution, next to a twice-daily practice of Vedic Meditation, you’d be hard pressed to find a quicker route than this.Episode Highlights: [00:45] Survival is a Result of Thriving[02:20] We Live Inside of a Consciousness State that We've Created[03:35] Five Elements of Progressive Change[05:00] Stability[06:29] Ananda - A Supremely-Contented State[08:29] Not Enslaved by Outside Phenomena[09:18] Adaptation Energy[10:32] Circumstantial Happiness[11:41] "In Order to Have Disappointment, You Need to Have an Appointment"[12:55] Premature Cognitive Commitments[14:09] 100,000 Stress Triggers[15:15] Meditation Resets Our Expectations[16:20] Integration[17:48] Evolve[18:50] The Cognitive Revolution[20:20] The Capacity to Witness Oneself Thinking[21:05] The Storage of Accumulated Stress is Eating Up 98% of Our Brain's Computing Power[22:21] Purification[23:51] Letting Go of Things With Ease[25:39] Challenging Assumptions[26:59] Non-Symbiotic Parasites[28:12] 5 - Willingness to Grow[29:40] We Are Doing Dated Things Already[30:41] Every Part of Your Body is Constantly Being Replaced[32:09] Consciousness Becomes Body Chemistry[33:27] Capacity for Progressive Change[34:29] Question[34:37] Every Particle in the Universe Comes Out From a Non-Changing Field[36:01] The Self Moving Inside the Self[36:48] The Colorless Sap[38:21] Q- Are There Practical Ways Other Than Meditation to Let Go Of Useless Habits?[39:38] Maharishi's Mud on Your Hands Analogy[40:49] Why Therapy Works So Well[41:58] The Advantageous Position of Knowing[42:38] Q- How Can Destructive Forces Like Genocide Be Evolutionary?[43:17] All Bodies End Up Dying[44:56] We All Move in the Direction of Recognition of Unity[46:44] Unity Points[48:00] You're Loving You[49:26] The Need for Less-Sophisticated States[50:32] The Average Age of Cambodia in the 1980s was 17 Years[51:20] The Need for Longevity[52:41] Self-Referential AwarenessUseful Linksinfo@thomknoles.com https://thomknoles.com/https://www.instagram.com/thethomknoles/https://www.facebook.com/thethomknoleshttps://www.youtube.com/c/thomknoles https://thomknoles.com/ask-thom-anything/

With alcohol being so prevalent in society, it takes more than one episode of the podcast to cover questions on the subject adequately. In this episode, Thom explores the question of being able to replicate the effects of alcohol ‘naturally,’ and explains the difference between alcohol and drugs or spirit medicine in this regard.He discusses references in Vedic texts to alcohol, and how to distinguish between actual references to alcohol and metaphorical references to the effects of ‘Soma’ in the body.Lastly, the role of Vedic Meditation in helping someone attain sobriety is covered from two different angles. Whether alcohol is part of your life or not, this episode will give you a deeper understanding of mechanics for why alcohol has become a part the lives of so many.Episode Highlights:[00:45] Q- How Can You Replicate the Effects of Alcohol Naturally?[01:31] Understanding the Pathway of Alcohol [03:19] Alcohol Destroys Brain Functioning[04:16] Selective Poisoning of the Brain[05:17] Inhibitions Can Be Good[06:54] What Meditation Does For Us in Contrast to Inhibition[08:04] Strengthening the Good Inhibitions[09:02] Q- Can You Discuss the Mention of Alcohol in Ancient Indian Texts and Modern Culture?[09:18] Soma- The Cocktail of All the Bliss Chemicals[11:04] The Unsustainable vs the Sustainable[13:12] Q- Is it Common for People Struggling With Imbibing to Take to Vedic Meditation Enthusiastically?[13:39] Imbibers Are Brave People[15:28] "There Has to Be Something More Than This"[16:43] Turiya - The Fourth Consciousness State[18:25] Godhead - Where Individuality Meetis Universality[20:01] An Imbiber is a Seeker[21:09] Q- What's the Spiritual Explanation for the Worse Experience in the Early Days of Sobriety[21:26] People Experience Different Feelings While Becoming Sober[23:19] The Process of Diminishing Returns[25:09] Habituation to Our Former Devotion[26:57] Monkey Traps[28:24] Addiction Makes You Lose Your Freedom[29:39] Your Problems Are Forgotten[30:54] Letting Go Through Vedic Meditation[31:45] A Pleasure Greater Than Any AddictionUseful Linksinfo@thomknoles.com https://thomknoles.com/https://www.instagram.com/thethomknoles/https://www.facebook.com/thethomknoleshttps://www.youtube.com/c/thomknoles https://thomknoles.com/ask-thom-anything/