We’re all familiar with the term evolution, but few of us spend time contemplating what that means and, perhaps more significantly, what our ‘role’ is when it comes to evolution.Evolution has been happening in a continuum, and will continue to shape the Universe forever, where then do we fit into the picture? How can we be an active participant?As Thom explains in this episode, evolution happens regardless of our awareness of it, and in spite of our attempts to control it. In fact the most active role we can play is to relinquish control and to enjoy the ride.Viva la evolution!Episode Highlights: [00:40] The Agenda of the Entire Universe [01:59] A Need to Become Conscious of Itself [03:09] The Genesis of Life [04:09] The Not Living Became Living [05:37] All the Laws of Nature in One Word [07:09] Complexity vs Complicated [09:02] An Evolutionary Life [10:44] Growing in the Direction of Cosmic Consciousness Useful Links: info@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/

In this episode Thom puts a fresh perspective on the phrase “Oh my God” and shows us how there is more to this term than meets the eye. Having given us a solid foundation to the subject in Part 1 and Part 2, Thom uses this episode to set us up for our own personal experience.He explains that while there are many commonalities of archetypes across cultures, each of us shapes our experiences of “god” based on our own personal model of the world.This even includes those that have the view that there is no such thing as a god or a deity.Importantly, he explains that our own experience will be based on our own observations rather than requiring faith of any sort. It’s a paradigm that will provide relief for those who have struggled to make doctrines fit their experience. In the final analysis, you get to choose your own adventure, and there’s no hurry to come to a conclusion one way or another.Episode highlights: [00:40] Experiencing the Celestial Layer[02:15] Sleeping, Dreaming, Waking [03:02] Turiya - The Fourth State [05:10] Colorfast Consciousness [06:43] Enlightenment Begins [09:29] Archetypes of Experience Emerge [11:32] God Consciousness [13:39] See No Evil [17:00] Observation Based vs Faith Based [18:44] A World of Beings [20:17] Normalizing Capability [22:29] Grades of Experience [23:57] Cultural Biases Constructing Deities [25:33] Lakshmi and Saraswati [27:37] Surya AKA Apollo [29:30] Universal and Undeniable Archetypes [31:10] Same Same But Different [32:42] Unity Consciousness [34:10] Sally From Kansas City [35:04] Ishwara - Supreme Being [36:03] Ishta Devata [37:51] Your Call to Action [38:33] That Dusty Old Podcast [39:56] The Pinnacle of Human Development [41:35] Choose Your Own Adventure [43:11] What Kind of Universe Do You Want? Useful Links: info@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/

There’s no shortage of options when it comes to choosing a meditation technique, let alone a teacher to learn from. Many don’t choose a teacher at all, and go the do-it-yourself route, perhaps with the help of an app, or an audio or video found online.While one can certainly receive some benefits from these approaches, Thom shares in this episode that the goal should be to get maximum impact from your meditations, rather than just ‘some’ impact.Thom explains the value of using an ancient technique, one that’s been proven for thousands of years and used by millions around the world.He also describes the rigorous process that aspiring Vedic Meditation teachers go through when learning from Thom. Apart from the thousands of hours of practical and learning experience gathered over a number of years, the trainee Initiator also has to prove they can meet and maintain the standard required by the Shankaracharya lineage that has passed down the technique over the years.Thom’s teacher’s teacher, Guru Dev, once famously said, “You deserve the best…” (see above for the full quote), and if you follow the advice Thom shares in this episode, you can be sure that’s what you’ll be getting.Episode Highlights: [00:40] Getting Maximum Impact [01:49] An Ancient Tradition [03:27] Step Beyond Thinking Entirely [04:57] Healthy Skepticism [06:19] Mood Making and Pretty Thoughts [07:21] Rigorous Prerequisites for Becoming a Vedic Meditation Teacher [09:20] Intensive Training for Vedic Meditation Teachers [10:29] Graduation as a Vedic Meditation Initiator [12:03] Effort Well Spent[13:17] The Promise of Self-Sufficiency Useful Links: info@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/

We all know that goals are transient. They might bring us some short-term pleasure but the periods between the goals, the goals we actually get that is, are often peppered with consistent feelings of lack, frustration and disappointment.Despite knowing this, we still live lives where we’re mostly striving for, and only occasionally arriving at, a state of fulfillment. It’s a hamster wheel that’s kept billions of us busy through countless lifetimes.In this episode, Thom explains that we do this because we’ve got our achievement process backwards. He exposes the ‘fulfillment fallacy’ and gives us a practical method whereby fulfillment becomes an input into the process, rather than being a result of the process. So if you’re ready to get off the hamster wheel, this episode is just what you need.Episode Highlights: [00:40] Did I Make a Difference?[03:02] How Do You Get What (You Think) You Want?[04:49] Creativity and Action[06:51] Achievement… Then What?[08:12] What is the Source of Thought?[09:47] Thought Has Energy[11:22] Thought Has Measurable Energy[12:55] Thought Has Intelligence[14:24] Consciousness Has Thought[16:20] The Purpose of Thinking[18:02] Self-Generating Charm Through Vedic Meditation[19:36] Nothing Gets Better Than This[21:06] Being - Complete Fulfillment[22:38] AKA Samadhi[24:39] How Desperate Are You?[26:00] The Fulfillment Fallacy[27:41] Collateral Damage[29:02] What Needs to be Done?[30:36] Let It Go[31:55] An Evolutionary Agenda[33:46] Exporting Fulfillment[35:55] The Need of the Time[38:36] Stirring the Warm Bath[40:00] You Won’t Get Fulfillment From That[41:41] Scaling New Heights[42:56] Baseline Happiness First[44:12] Stop Seeking It Where It is Not[46:21] One Percent[47:52] An Ingenious Thing[49:36] Living the Outcome While Engaged in the ProcessUseful Links: info@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 tackles the “cancel culture” of today’s world, and empowers us to make ourselves useful if we find ourselves in a funk. He shows us how to let go of anxious attachment in relationships and puts PTSD in perspective, while giving us the tool to address it.If you’d like to have Thom answer a question on the podcast, you can submit your questions here.Episode Highlights: [00:40] Q - Please Comment on Our Culture’s Obsession with Manifestation[01:14] Charm - The Mechanism of Desire[04:30] Cosmic Management[06:52] Manifestation and Desire are Related and Simultaneous[07:56] Q - How Do You Know When to Leave a Relationship?[08:19] Surrendering Preferences[10:22] Self-Sufficiency[12:01] The Business of Creating Memories [12:11] Q - What’s Thom’s Take on Cancel Culture? [13:23] Our Source of Identity [16:10] Do People Like Me? [18:05] Lord Buddha Got 500 Likes [19:40] Q - What Do You Do When You Wake Up in an Inexplicable Funk?[20:11] Exposure to the Unboundedness[21:46] Expanding Our Event Horizon [23:10] It’s Not Personal [24:16] What Do I Have to Teach Today? [25:51] Exemplary Behavior [28:26] Q - How Do I Heal Anxious Attachment in Relationships? [29:14] A Big Bag of Fulfillment[30:18] Let Go of the Neediness [32:07] Be Relevant to the Need of the Times [33:31] Don’t be Overgenerous [34:36] Reciprocation and Sabotage [36:25] Back to Self-Sufficiency[38:00] Q - Does Vedic Meditation Alleviate PTSD?[38:15] Trauma is Ill-Defined[41:00] Trauma - Inaccurate Expectations[42:32] Vedic Meditation, Deep Rest, and Adaptation Energy[45:14] Reaction and RecoveryUseful Links: info@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/

Vedic Meditation teachers are often asked if the practice is a religious practice. Its ancient roots and the reverence that we sometimes approach it with can have the appearance of being religious, but this is largely due to misunderstandings of what the word religion actually means.In short, the practice of Vedic Meditation doesn’t require any belief. It works for believers and non-believers alike and doesn’t favor one over the other. Practitioners of all religions practice the technique every day, as do practitioners of no religion, all with equal efficacy.Listen in as Thom explains the true meaning of religion and why Vedic Meditation transcends religious difference, while at the same time enhancing whatever religious understanding you may or may not have. Episode Highlights: [00:40] The True Meaning of Religion[02:15] “I’m not religious, I’m spiritual.”[03:35] No Commandments[04:33] Compatibility With Religion and Atheism[06:00] A Better UnderstandingUseful Links: info@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/

While most of us like to think of ourselves as ‘likeable’, we don’t always see others in the same way. Though we may have many similarities, our differences often stand in the way of having an amicable relationship.When our differences are too extreme, then feelings of enmity can evolve and, even without trying we can have an ‘enemy’ on our hands. This doesn’t necessarily mean we are at war with them, just noticing our differences enough to put a barrier between us.There is an alternative. One where we follow our natural human tendency to want to relate and simply do away with enmity altogether. Our Vedic Meditation practice helps us with this as it takes us to our ultimate form of sameness, the Unified Field, where there is no difference to be found.Listen in or read the transcript below and become part of the solution.Episode Highlights:[00:40] The Easiest Thing on Earth[01:35] Ignoring the Laws of Quantum Mechanics[02:38] The Beginning of Difference[03:38] “Out There”[04:40] “I Wouldn’t Behave That Way”[06:02] Enemies as Part of Our Storyline[07:09] Enemies Match Our Expectations[08:21] You Can’t Kill an Enemy[09:37] You Can’t Even Vaporize Them[11:10] Uncreating of Enmity[12:25] A Grumpy Bus Conductor[13:50] Spreaders of Happiness[15:09] A Ripple Effect[16:22] Reunification[17:28] Relatability is the Enemy of Enmity[18:44] It’s Natural to Want to Relate[19:53] Interested in Sameness[21:29] Unifying Access to Knowledge[22:21] Sibling Rivalry Has Always Been a Thing[23:08] A Better, Transcendental Parental Model[24:21] The Weapon of Speech[25:20] Arranging Truths to Awaken Shared Experience[26:18] We Cannot Afford a Third World War[27:12] Green Forests Have Green Trees[28:15] 1% Critical Mass of Meditators[29:51] A Turning Point[31:06] Prepare in the Darkness to Celebrate the Dawn[33:01] We Need to Step Into Our Power of Wisdom [34:00] People Behaving Desperately[35:03] The Behaviour of Happy People[36:29] Playing the Role of the Offended One[37:59] Utter Indifference to Negativity[38:46] I Accept Your Consciousness State[40:01] This is What Goes On[40:58] Dogs Bark, Elephants Walk[42:24] Elephantine Consciousness[43:32] Cosmic Consciousness and the Cascades of Cause and Effect[44:40] Royal Invincible Grace[46:16] Making Enmity RedundantUseful Links: info@thomknoles.com https://thomknoles.com/https://www.instagram.com/thethomknoles/https://www.facebook.com/thethomknoleshttps://www.youtube.com/c/thomknoles 

As you might expect, Thom is never short of a few words to say on the subject of God, gods and goddesses. He held a ten-day retreat on the subject several years ago and, more recently, published Part One of a three-part podcast series on the subject. If you haven’t listened to that episode yet, we invite you to start there as it lays the foundation for this episode, Part Two of the series.In this episode Thom explores the seven states of consciousness and how they impact our experience and perception of God, gods and goddesses. He explains how shared experience evolves through the different levels, culminating in the ultimate shared experience of all, Unity Consciousness.Thom reminds us that our experience of God is a personal experience having nothing to do with faith or belief and everything to do with our perception.As with Part One, you’ll probably want to listen to this several times over to really let the message sink in. Episode Highlights: [00:54] Your Experience is Your Own Consciousness State [02:01] Celestial Layers of Creation [03:31] Seeing the World in Animate Terms [05:38] Sleep State of Consciousness [06:29] Dreaming State of Consciousness [07:42] The Advantage of Paralysis While Dreaming [08:50] Nil Shared Experience [10:29] Waking State of Consciousness[12:17] Relative States of Consciousness [13:37] Deprivation of Consciousness [14:56] Sleep Deprivation [16:57] Sleep Training [19:27] Turiya - The Fourth State of Consciousness[21:01] The Absolute [22:19] Samadhi [23:17] A Decrease in Suffering [24:59] Nitya Samadhi [26:34] AKA Cosmic Consciousness (26:34)[27:36] God Consciousness, Unity Consciousness [29:26] Ishwara – Supreme Being Personalized [29:45] There is Only One Thing [31:50] Different Worlds From Different Consciousness States [33:28] No-thing-ness  [35:37] What is the Action? [36:13] Creation, Maintenance, and Destruction [37:43] Knowledge of the Laws of Nature [38:38] A Mindless Wild Goose Chase [39:43] Awakening a Field of Bliss [40:35] Subjective Means of Gaining Knowledge[42:11] Knowledge of the Knower Useful Links: info@thomknoles.com https://thomknoles.com/https://www.instagram.com/thethomknoles/https://www.facebook.com/thethomknoleshttps://www.youtube.com/c/thomknoles 

The “hustle” culture of modern life has put extra emphasis on the pursuit of goals and attaining them through ever increasing busyness and unrelenting productivity.While goal setting is not a problem, per se, Thom explains that the level of importance people place on them can be problematic.The challenge lies in the notion of, “I’ll be happy when…” This is a false premise. The thought that something outside of us might bring us happiness is a recipe for disillusionment and a misguided search for external fulfilment.A better approach might be, “I’ll be happy, then…” or’ “I’ll be happy, and…” Rather than making happiness an outcome of a goal, make it an input into a goal.Episode Highlights: [00:43] The Relevance of Goal Setting[02:05] The Problem With Goal Setting[03:03] I Am an Exporter of Happiness[04:03] Rigid Attachment is a Bad Habit[05:08] A Trifecta of Ideals[06:36] Find Fulfillment FirstUseful Links: info@thomknoles.com https://thomknoles.com/https://www.instagram.com/thethomknoles/https://www.facebook.com/thethomknoleshttps://www.youtube.com/c/thomknoles 

Outside of India, the word yoga has come to mean various forms of dynamic exercises that test your flexibility and strength. Yoga is in fact much more than just these physical exercises, which are more correctly referred to as asanas. And believe it or not, asanas weren’t created to make us look good in lycra! Asanas were first created to help prepare the body for meditation and union with the Absolute.In this episode, Thom explains how asanas, pranayama and Vedic Meditation are used in combination, also called ‘rounding,’ to give us ‘industrial-strength meditation’ and to accelerate the benefits we get from ‘standard’ meditation.He talks about the importance of proper instruction and supervision so we can truly let go and, if necessary, have the support we need if deep stresses are released.If you haven’t already, talk to your local Vedic Meditation Initiator about learning rounding and attending a rounding retreat so you can enjoy some industrial-strength meditation yourself. And if you are fortunate enough to be able to travel to Sedona, Arizona, sign up to our mailing list so you can be among the first to know when Thom holds his next rounding retreat there.Episode Highlights: [00:00] Asana, Pranayama, Vedic Meditation[02:01] Releasing Stress[03:30] Proper Instruction Needed[04:15] Round and Round and Round[05:35] Industrial-Strength Meditation[07:12] In the Same Room[08:11] Don’t Try This at Home[09:32] Heightened Consciousness States[10:40] The Going Home ProgramUseful Links: info@thomknoles.com https://thomknoles.com/https://www.instagram.com/thethomknoles/https://www.facebook.com/thethomknoleshttps://www.youtube.com/c/thomknoles