Vedic Worldview

Time, Dark Matter, Surrendering vs Passive Dec 24, 2023

Show notes

It’s another Q&A episode, this time with a common thread of perception running through each of the questions and answers.

Thom tackles the question of time; specifically, how we can control our perception of time and how we can slow it down like it used to feel as children.

He explores the mystery of dark matter from the Vedic perspective, and how it relates to how we live our daily lives.

He also provides clarity on the distinction between surrender and passivity and why we need to know the difference so we can meet the need of the time.

Episode Highlights:

[00:45] Q - Can We Slow Down Time?

[00:53] A - Happier Time Passes More Quickly

[01:43] A Wonderful Co-Incidence

[03:20] Blessed Solitude to Slow Down Time

[05:13] Witness the Five Senses

[06:40] Access the Ability to Slow Down Time

[07:53] Q- What Is the Impact of Euclid's Launch on Dark Matter, the Universe, and Life?

[08:13] A - Reinterpreting Darkness and Light in the Universe

[09:51] Limitations of Human Perception in the Universe

[11:22] Dark Matter Mystery

[13:13] Dark Matter as a Return to the Unmanifest Field

[15:43] Q- What Is the Difference Between Surrendering and Passive Behavior in Life?

[16:06] A - Surrender But Don't Be Passive

[17:54] When Nature Says Go

Useful Links

info@thomknoles.com

The Relationship Between Manifestation and Charm Dec 17, 2023

Show notes

Manifestation has become somewhat of a buzzword in the past 20 years or so. The promise of having your desires met easily and effortlessly is a compelling proposition.

So much so that often a disproportionate effort is put into a supposed “process” of manifestation, affirmations, visualizations, and so on, than is put into doing the thing that might be required for the manifestation to occur.

Thom sets the record straight in this episode, looking at manifestation through the lens of “charm,” a specific mechanism of desire that we can use as a compass of sorts, but which doesn’t leave us at risk of the disappointment of unmet expectations.

If you'd like to learn more about the subject of charm, we invite you to take Thom's popular course, The Art of Following Charm. This course will help you to overcome indecisiveness and to understand the nature of your intuition and desires.

You can find out more at thomknoles.com/charm. That's thomknoles.com/charm

Episode Highlights:

[00:45] Stop Manifesting What You Don't Want

[02:31] Desire in the Manifestation Process

[04:12] Desire and Fulfillment

[06:04] Unified Field of Consciousness and Evolution

[08:31] Preferences and Charm

[10:15] "I, Me, Mine"

[12:14] Manifest that S#!^

[14:21] Who is This "I"?

[16:17] Charm, Meditation, and Evolution

[17:59] The Alchemy of Change

Useful Links

info@thomknoles.com

Self-Referral Happiness vs Object-Referral Happiness Dec 10, 2023

Show notes

What makes you happy? Most people could come up with a long list of answers to this question.

Ironically, it’s all the things that make us happy that make us unhappy as well; either because we have them but the happiness wears off, or we find out there’s something/someone else that we might like better, or we have them but lose them, or we find that they don’t make us as happy as we thought they would…

It’s a never-ending cycle of whack-a-mole that leaves most people with short periods of happiness, with longer periods of frustration, disappointment, and “wanting” in between.

In this episode, Thom offers up an alternative approach to happiness, one that’s infinitely more reliable and which allows us to enjoy the delights and variety of life without leaving us at the mercy of external circumstances.

Episode Highlights:

[00:45] Two Kinds of Happiness

[02:43] Man's Ever-changing Happiness in the Upanishad

[04:45] Object-referral Happiness

[06:59] The Challenge of Being Happy

[09:03] Control Freaks of Happiness

[10:48] When Happiness Becomes a Obsession

[12:46] Self-referral Happiness

[15:07] Where Thoughts Come From

[17:33] Energy in Thoughts

[19:42] Making Sense of Our Thoughts

[21:28] Finding Calm Through Vedic Meditation

[23:31] The Magic of Repeating Sounds in Meditation

[25:57] The Joy of Vedic Meditation

[28:03] Going Beyond Ordinary Happiness

[30:31] Making Inner Happiness Your Foundation

[32:45] Balancing Inner and Outer Happiness

[34:53] Liberation from Chasing Happiness

Useful Links

info@thomknoles.com

Mindset Minus Mind Games Dec 03, 2023

Show notes

There’s no end of affirmations, guided meditations, and other positive thinking tools that we can use to master our mindset.

But are these necessary? And do they even work?

As is often the case, Thom bucks the trend in this episode, giving us cause to think twice about using mind games to keep us on the path to success. He proposes a more elegant approach, one that’s aligned with the Vedic worldview and one with a higher likelihood of success.

Episode Highlights:

[00:45] "All things are well if our minds be so."

[02:36] The Cart in Front of the Horse

[03:54] Capability Comes First

[05:30] What if? What if? What if?

[06:54] Faking it 'Til You Make it

[08:13] Releasing Stress via Vedic Meditation

[10:42] Freshly Liberated from Stress

[12:18] Stolen Truths

[13:43] Be the Be

Useful Links

info@thomknoles.com

Soma - The Fluid Dynamics of Consciousness Nov 26, 2023

Show notes

There’s no shortage of options for people “researching” chemical shortcuts to spiritual experiences.

While psychedelic drugs such as LSD, or hallucinogens such as ayahuasca, frequently have enough of an impact to arouse curiosity and experimentation, they don’t offer reliable, repeatable experiences, let alone still allow one to function reliably in day-to-day life.

This is because they are mistaking biochemistry as being a cause of spiritual experiences rather than an effect of spiritual experience. As Thom frequently reminds us, consciousness, conceives, governs, constructs and prints out the body, not the other way around.

In this episode Thom describes the function and origin of Soma, the ultimate celestial biochemical.

Importantly, Thom makes the distinction between it being an effect of consciousness, rather than a cause of spiritual experiences.

He lays out the simple steps we can take to switch on our own Soma plant, and to enable spiritual experiences far more profound than those offered by artificial means, while still remaining relevant to those around us.

Episode Highlights:

[00:45] The Vedas

[02:54] Soma Mandala

[05:23] What Does Soma Do?

[07:11] Overcoming Mistaken Identity with Soma

[09:25] Soma's Influence on Cosmic and God Consciousness

[11:38] Soma and Sensory Perception

[13:35] Soma's Path to Unity Consciousness

[15:34] Soma's Stress-Relieving Powers

Useful Links

info@thomknoles.com

How to Have Thanksgiving Every Day Nov 19, 2023

Show notes

One of the traps for the human intellect is to take much of life for granted.

Though we have special occasions peppered throughout the year, the days, weeks and months in between often don’t have the same shine as the special occasions.

Given that ‘normal’ days are greater in number, it makes sense for us to consider ways in which we can make gratitude an everyday occurrence.

In this episode, as we approach the Thanksgiving holiday in the USA, Thom invites us to cultivate a daily sense of awe and wonder to turn every day into a special occasion.

Episode Highlights:

[00:45] Thanksgiving Tradition

[02:59] Turn Gratitude into a Daily Habit with Meditation

[04:36] Morning Awakening to Gratitude

[06:28] Blessings of Our Planet

[08:14] Life on Earth: A Journey Worth Celebrating

[09:43] Finding Joy in Everyday Moments

[11:49] Our Role in Making the World Better

Useful Links

info@thomknoles.com

Progressive Change, Perspective, and the Past Nov 12, 2023

Show notes

One of the biggest struggles people have is in coming to terms with apparent problems, whether they be current problems, or problems from the past.

While we might be able to grasp the concept of evolution or progressive change intellectually, when the experience becomes uncomfortable it becomes more difficult to rationalize.

In this episode, Thom answers questions from listeners seeking resolution to problems that seem too big to be solved, or that have gone beyond the time when something can be done.

It’s a reminder that perspective isn’t just an intellectual process, and that it’s a byproduct of consciousness.

Episode Highlights:

[00:45] Q - Why do Things Seem to be Getting Worse?

[00:55] A - Battle of Bedtime and Entertainment

[02:40] Evolution and Corrections

[04:40] Meditation Broaden Our Awareness

[06:59] Mother is at Home

[09:09] Change is Not Optional

[11:53] Embrace the Change

[13:51] Q - How do we Handle Grief about the Changing Climate?

[14:06] A - Human Adaptation Throughout History

[15:48] Infrastructure and Global Warming

[17:33] Be Active

[19:41] Embrace Adaptation and Innovation

[21:43] Q - Can it Be Useful to Revisit the Past?

[22:07] A - Time Is a Contiguous Continuum

[24:16] Have Proper Perspective

[24:46] Embrace Future Perspective

Useful Links

info@thomknoles.com

Sankalpa - A Fresh Perspective on Bucket Lists Nov 05, 2023

Show notes

Desire is one of the most demonized characteristics of human behavior. Some schools of thought argue that desire is the cause of all our suffering, and that the path to enlightenment is to become detached from them.

Thom sets the record straight in this episode, using the concept of Sankalpa to clarify both the function and importance of desire, and giving us a primer on how to ensure our desires remain relevant to our evolution and aligned with Nature’s intention.

And if you want to take the subject further, you might also like to explore Thom’s online course, The Art of Charm - https://thomknoles.com/charm-course/. This course is open to all graduates of a qualified Vedic Meditation course.

Episode Highlights:

[00:45] Sangha Kalpa

[03:14] Misconceptions About Sankalpa

[05:06] The Origin of Desire in Vedic Philosophy

[07:13] Buddhism vs. Vedic Worldview on Desire

[08:59] Desire and Suffering in Buddha's Teachings

[11:12] Authorship of Desire

[13:27] Ruchika: The Element of Charm

[15:59] Fulfillment as Inner Contentedness

[18:29] Charm - Nature's Compass for Desires

[21:11] Desires Over Time: The Sankalpa Accumulation

[23:13] Transcending Unfulfilled Desires

[25:49] Embracing Fresh Desires and Letting Go of the Old

[28:22] How Meditation Refreshes Your Desires

[30:20] Old vs. New Desires

[32:26] Explore the Charm Course

Useful Links

info@thomknoles.com

The Simple Science of Happiness: Be Here Nowra Public Talk Oct 29, 2023

Show notes

In June 2023, Thom was the guest of honor at a talk in Nowra, South of Sydney in Australia, on the subject, The Simple Science of Happiness.

The host of the talk was Barron Hanson, a Nowra local and a Vedic Meditation Initiator (teacher) who has created Be Here Nowra, a community happiness project committed to increasing the number of meditators in the town and researching the benefits arising.

This episode is a recording from that event, including a discussion between Thom and Barron, and Q&A with the audience.

To find out more about Be Here Nowra you can visit their website at https://www.beherenowra.com/ or on Instagram @beherenowra.

Episode Highlights:

[06:02] Be Here Nowra: The Birth of a Transformational Idea

[08:11] From Sydney to Goulburn: Freedom Behind Bars

[09:38] Journey to Nowra: Nature, Art, and Indigenous Wisdom

[11:31] Q- What is Happiness?

[11:41] The Harmony of Inner Potential and External Demands

[12:44] Q-How Does Happiness Affect the Body on a Neurophysiological Level?

[12:53] The Ever-Changing Human Body

[14:28] Thoughts and Body Chemistry

[16:10] Q-How Does Collective Consciousness Relate to Individual Health?

[16:30] The Science of Collective Consciousness

[18:33] Impact of Meditation on the Collective Consciousness

[20:46] Q-What Changes Can We Expect If 1% of a Population Start Meditating?

[21:14] Measuring the Impact: Crime Rates and Meditation

[22:51] More People Meditating, How Bad Can That Be?

[24:21] Q-What Role Family and Community Play in Happiness?

[25:23] The Tribal Roots of Human Social Behavior

[26:50] Shared Experience: How We Define Our Sense of Self and Others

[28:22] Q-How Can Parents Be Happy When Their Children Are Sad?

[28:42] An Ideal Parent

[30:10] Meditation in Parenthood

[31:53] What Truly Makes a Family

[33:20] Q- What Role Does Sadness Play in Happiness?

[33:39] Contrast

[35:45] Q- What Are the Two Types of Happiness?

[36:00] Object Referral Happiness: When Events Define Emotions

[37:23] Baseline Happiness: Finding Inner Certainty

[39:05] Embrace Baseline Inner Contentedness: The Foundation for Happiness

[39:56] Q-How Does Meditation Give Us Baseline Happiness?

[40:01] Meditation and the Exploration of Mind's Bubbles

[41:47] Awakening Baseline Happiness through Meditation

[43:57] Q- Why Doesn't Everyone Choose Happiness If It's So Simple?

[44:04] The Discoveries From Tooth Brushing to Meditation

[45:26] Meditation as Hygiene: Cleansing the Stress of Everyday Life

[47:15] Maharishi's Wisdom: It's Not About Happiness, It's About Normalcy

[47:57] Q-Are Modern City Dwellers More Stressed Than People from 200 Years Ago?

[48:12] Stress in the Modern World: Is It Really on the Rise?

[50:14] Q-What Role Social Media Is Playing in the Current Global Happiness?

[50:23] The Reality of Social Media

[52:30] Q-What Role Does Love Play in Our Happiness?

[53:03] Stress and Missed Opportunities for Love

[54:26] The Link Between Love and Happiness

[56:09] Q-How to Build a Meditation-Focused Community?

[56:33] Community Meditation: A Worthwhile Experiment

[57:51] Q - Why Vedic Meditation Over Other Techniques or Apps?

[58:04] It's Effortless

[01:01:16] Q - Does the Number of Thoughts Decrease with Baseline Happiness?

[01:03:59] Q - Can Growth Overshadow the Objective?

[01:05:07] Knowing When Enough is Enough

[01:08:39] Q - How Can Vedic Meditation Help Us Discern Truth?

[01:09:19] Reducing Suggestibility

[01:12:12] Q - How Can Vedic Meditation Shift Repetitive Thought Patterns?

[01:12:32] Removing the Stress

[01:17:17] Q - Can Happiness and High Consciousness Coexist?

[01:17:26] Everything's Dying

[01:20:37] Q - How Can We Support Young People?

[01:21:12] What's Your True Identity?

[01:24:40] Jai Guru Deva

Useful Links

info@thomknoles.com