The Simple Science of Happiness: Be Here Nowra Public Talk

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

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