The Vedic World View

The holiday season can be an emotional roller coaster for many. December celebrations can bring highs and lows, even for those who aren’t part of the Judeo-Christian community, but then New Year comes around, marking a line in the sand where we can start afresh. At least in theory, anyway. The reality is that most folks set themselves heightened expectations for the year, inevitably leading to frustration and disappointment within a pretty short time.Thom invites us in this episode to reevaluate our approach to New Years, looking at it from a more evolutionary perspective, setting ourselves up to be in sync with Nature’s expectations, rather than pushing against them. He gives us the opportunity to be active participants in the unfolding of the year ahead, rather than being reluctant victims, battling circumstances and struggling to keep ourselves afloat.Episode Highlights:[00:45] An Arbitrary Decision[03:00] More of the Same in 2024[04:58] The Five Fundamentals of Progress[06:00] Stability[09:28] Infinite Or

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[

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

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] W

Find out more about Thom's upcoming Rounding Retreat in Sedona in May 2024, https://thomknoles.com/sedonaThere’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 BeUseful Linksinfo@thomknoles.com https://thomknoles.com/https://www.instagram.com/thethomknoleshttps://www.facebook.com/thethomknoleshttps://www.you

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 m

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 BetterUseful Linksinfo@thomknoles.com https://thomknoles.com/https://www.instagram.com/thethomknoleshttps://www.facebook.com/thethomknoleshttps://www.youtube.com/c/thomkn

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

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 Contentedn

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

This special episode of The Vedic Worldview is a preview episode of Thom’s newly released course, Awakening Abundance.Though the wisdom has been around for millenia, the Vedic perspective on abundance will be fresh to most listeners. It bucks the trendy solutions of “wealth mindset,” “law of attraction,” “accumulation” and “leverage” and offers up a simpler, more fundamental approach to the subject. It’s an approach that’s within reach for all listeners.Thom’s course includes over six hours of lectures and Q&A sessions, recorded in front of a live audience.You can register for Awakening Abundance at https://thomknoles.com/abundance-course/.If you register before November 18, 2023, you will also be able to participate in an additional live online Q&A session with Thom, where you may even have your own question answered.Enjoy the preview. Episode Highlights:[01:08] Abundance = Knowledge[03:50] What Are You?[05:27] The Unified Field Behaves in a Particular Way[07:43] Abundance - Everything You Want, When

Anyone who has attended hatha yoga classes outside of India at some time has probably been invited by the teacher to begin or end the class with a group chant of the sound of Om. Or maybe they’ve experimented with the use of Om in a meditation practice.It can sound and feel beautiful, and when we hear it chanted by a group of monks it can have a deeply resonant effect on the body and the mind.But what most people don’t realize is that the sound of Om has a very specific intention, and it’s not an intention that most of us would want for ourselves.In this episode, Thom gives us reason to be more discriminate when it comes to making the sound of Om, as well as offering up a loophole, so to speak, that allows us to reference it without making the sound.  Episode Highlights:[00:45] What Is Om and Why Is It Important?[03:00] Pranava: The Secret Behind Om[05:16] Omkara: The Spiritual Layer of Om[08:05] Om and Its Impact on Daily Life[10:05] The Influence of Om[12:15] Financial Detachment and Om Chanting[14:03] Repl

Spiritual seekers can often be found experimenting with different techniques to “open their third eye” in the hope that it will give them insights they might not otherwise have, or at least to tick a box on their evolutionary progress score sheet.In fact the reference to it as a third eye can often lead people down the path of mood making, where they think they are literally seeing things with their third eye rather than imagining them.In this episode, Thom clarifies just what type of insights one might get from the third eye, and the factors that allow these insights to happen. It’s a down-to-earth explanation that reinforces the need to have a technique that reliably releases stress from the body.Episode Highlights:[00:45] The Third Eye - The Eye of Wisdom[03:12] Symbolism of the Third Eye[05:26] Soma[07:55] The Vedic View of Consciousness[10:06] The Flow of Consciousness: Soma [12:40] Stress Reduction and Soma Generation[15:03] Enhancing Awareness Through Soma Flow[17:08] Transformation Through Vedic Medit

If we look at the origin of the word “problem,” we see that it originally meant to “throw forward” for discussion. In mathematics, problem is still used in the same context, in that we find a solution to an equation, with the equation being the problem.In day-to-day life, though, problems are more than just propositions; they are actual issues that need to be solved rather than just propositions to ponder.Or are they? In this episode, Thom “throws forward” a new proposition for us to ponder, one that can practically and logically allow our problems to go away…Episode Highlights:[00:45] The Solution to All Problems[02:57] Problem Solving[05:32] Solutions in Less Excited States[07:31] Darkness Is Beautiful[09:33] Problem Is Actually a Consciousness State[11:48] Archimedes and Problem Resolution[14:06] See Obstacles as Opportunities[16:16] Evolution of Solutions[18:17] There's a Problem[20:24] There's No Problem[22:28] The Pathway to Solution[24:33] Get Knowledge of the Knower[26:39] Practice Vedic Meditation an

One of the features of modern life that sets us apart from our ancestors is our focus on the shape, form and function of our bodies, or “looking good,” so to speak. Though many of us give little thought to the subject, some are obsessed with how we present ourselves physically, and most of us are somewhere in between. It would be fair to say, though, that we’re probably much more “body-centric” than our grandparents or earlier generations were. So is such behavior evolutionary or does it slow us down and keep us at the superficial level of life?In this episode, a listener poses a question to Thom about the compatibility of body-based goals with our evolution, and whether they hold us back or not. As is often the case, Thom makes the distinction between cause and effect, and gives us clear instructions on where to focus our efforts. Episode Highlights:[00:58] What's Beyond the Body?[02:46] Overcoming Odds for Enlightenment: Ashtavakra and Helen Keller[04:11] Magnificent Creatures[07:00] Tat Wale Baba[08:18] Ja

Carrying a child, giving birth and raising a baby places a huge burden on mothers, physically and emotionally. Each mother’s experience is unique and there is no reliable user guide showing how to navigate this transformational stage of life.And while everyone concerned hopes for the mother to have a joyful experience, for many that’s not the case. Though it’s only received medical recognition in recent decades, postpartum depression, (aka postnatal depression) has been a part of the motherhood journey for millenia.In this episode Thom explores the Vedic perspective on postpartum depression, highlighting the fact that it’s much more common than we might think, and inviting us to take a compassionate position, even to the point of reframing our relationships with our own mothers.Episode Highlights[00:47] The Magnificent Gift of Motherhood[03:04] The Needy Sound of a Baby[05:36] A Peaceful Pregnancy: The Ayurveda Way[08:03] Ayurvedic Herbs for New Mothers[10:08] Walking in Mom's Shoes[11:58] Vedic Meditation fo

All of us are familiar with the feeling of being stressed, or the results of accumulating stress in the body, but, how many of us actually know the mechanics of this process?We know we can feel frustrated, annoyed, angry, fearful, sad, anxious, and so on, but where do these feelings come from, and why do we all react differently to them?Thom takes a deep dive into the subject today, looking at the mechanics of stress, how we feel it, where it goes, what happens when we have too much of it, and, most importantly, what we can do to remove it.Episode Highlights:[00:45] The Nature of Stress[02:39] Adaptation Energy[05:33] Depeleting the Adaptation Energy Account[07:34] Stress Response: Fight or Flight[10:08] Effects of Stress on Skin[11:48] Hydration and Stress[13:20] Digestive System and Stress Effects[14:43] Tunnel Vision[16:23] Dramatic Reactions[17:30] The Memory of Stress Reactions[19:55] Universality of Stress Reactivity[21:39] Accumulation of Stress Memories[23:24] Stored Stress and Faded Memories[24:51] T

It’s Q&A time once again. In this episode Thom helps out a listener who doesn’t know why it might be important for her spouse to learn Vedic Meditation. Thom includes the possibility that it might in fact not be important for him to learnHe discusses the distinction between apathy and non-attachment, and the very simple yet distinct indicator that tells us which we might be experiencing. And he considers a hypothetical scenario where all of humanity becomes enlightened. More specifically, he discusses where the supply of souls seeking enlightenment comes from. Needless to say, we won’t be running out of souls any time soon…Episode Highlights:[00:45] Q - Is it Important for My Spouse to Learn Vedic Meditation?[01:48] A - The Importance of Personal Inspiration[03:31] Even Rocks Melt[00:05:38] A Little Bit Silly[06:53] Leveraging Role Models - Arthur Ashe's Example[09:29] Winning Over a Resistant Husband[11:20] Q - What Is the Difference Between Apathy and Non-Attachment?[11:35] A - Apathy as a General Condi

Our beliefs play a fundamental role in how we engage in life. What we learn in our early years becomes our guide as to the actions that we choose to take or not take in our lives.For the most part these beliefs serve us well. They help us to live in harmony with our surroundings and our community, but are there points where we must set aside our beliefs for the higher good?Most of us find ourselves from time to time, much like Arjuna on the battlefield with Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita, in situations where our “duty” is at odds with our beliefs.In this episode, Thom lays out a plan of action not too dissimilar from Krishna’s response to Arjuna, a plan that we can all put into practice easily on the battlefield of life.Episode Highlights:[00:45] Virtuous Behavior[03:30] Dynamic Nature of Ethical Principles[04:49] Awakening Consciousness Through Meditation[07:01] Living Dharma: Aligning with Intentionality[09:31] Reinterpreting Dharma: Beyond Roles and Professions[11:14] Journey of Self-Discovery: From Virtues

Synchronicity has become a buzzword in the past 20 years. The notion that things can go your way and everything becomes seemingly effortless is considered a sign of evolutionary progress. Some might even say it’s a form of spiritual favoritism.But is evolution necessarily easy? In particular, does charm always lead us down an easy path?Thom gives us a short discourse on the matter, inviting us to enjoy the ride that we sometimes find ourselves on when Vedic Meditators follow charm.Episode Highlights:[00:45] The Path of Least Resistance[04:25] Unsustainable Formulae[06:05] A Higher Level of Function[08:15] Embracing the Sensations of Change[11:13] The Sensations of Evolution[12:37] The Art of Following CharmUseful Linksinfo@thomknoles.com https://thomknoles.com/https://www.instagram.com/thethomknoleshttps://www.facebook.com/thethomknoleshttps://www.youtube.com/c/thomknoleshttps://thomknoles.com/ask-thom-anything/