In this bonus episode, we're giving you a window into one of Thom's recent retreats. 

You'll hear right away that the atmosphere with Thom is intimate, warm, and wonderfully jovial. 

On retreat, you get to explore subjects that go far beyond what we cover on the podcast, and you'll hear stories from Thom that you simply won't hear anywhere else. 

We would love for you to join us at Thom's only rounding retreat of 2026, in Sedona, May 21 to 25.

Please sit back and enjoy this taste test of the retreat experience, then find out how you can join us in person at thomknoles.com/sedona

Registration is now open for Thom’s only rounding retreat for 2026, in Sedona from May 21-25.

This is your one and only opportunity this year for deep rest, stress release and consciousness expansion through industrial-strength meditation, along with twice-daily knowledge sessions with Thom.

You’ll enjoy delicious retreat-friendly meals and the beauty and healing powers of the Red Rocks of Sedona. 

Register before February 28th and you’ll save $500 on your retreat fee. 

You can find out more at thomknoles.com/sedona.

In spiritual circles it’s very trendy to speak of “raising frequency” or accessing “higher vibrations,” but what if higher vibration isn’t mystical at all, but a precise description of physics at work?

In this episode, Thom explores how order, coherence, and peace naturally emerge when we reduce excitation, rather than seek to raise it.

Drawing on the laws of thermodynamics, Thom demystifies the subject and explains the fundamentals of sustainable change.

Episode Highlights

[00:45] Q – What Is “Higher Vibration”?
[01:16] A – Excitation and Thermodynamics
[03:46] Why You Can’t Force Peace
[06:29] Superfluid Helium Seeks Unboundedness
[08:45] Superconductivity in Simple Terms
[10:05] Meditation and Society
[13:41] The Meissner Effect

You can also watch this episode on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/8KUIB4Plifk

Useful Links

[email protected]  

https://thomknoles.com/

https://www.instagram.com/thethomknoles

https://www.facebook.com/thethomknoles

https://www.youtube.com/c/thomknoles

https://thomknoles.com/ask-thom-anything/

Registration is now open for Thom’s only rounding retreat for 2026, in Sedona from May 21-25.

This is your one and only opportunity this year for deep rest, stress release and consciousness expansion through industrial-strength meditation, along with twice-daily knowledge sessions with Thom.

You’ll enjoy delicious retreat-friendly meals and the beauty and healing powers of the Red Rocks of Sedona. 

Register before February 28th and you’ll save $500 on your retreat fee. 

You can find out more at thomknoles.com/sedona.

Productivity is often seen as the holy grail of business success. Though organizations obsess over productivity gains, often they miss the fact that these gains come with a hidden cost.

In this episode, Thom explores why healthy mission, creativity, and inner stillness are not distractions from productivity, but its deepest source.

When work feels meaningful, participation becomes voluntary, effort becomes effortless, and productivity takes care of itself.

Episode Highlights

00:45 Productivity is an Illusion

04:01 Making Participation Attractive

06:23 Great Output Comes from Healthy Process

10:17 The Four Aspects of Organizational Mission

14:15 Make Everybody a Believer of the Mission

18:48 The Role of Vedic Meditation in Organizational Productivity

23:02 Q: Are Corporate Missions Manipulative?

23:23 A: Use Your Discrimination Capability

25:07 Q: How do we reconcile ease with being productive?

25:23 A: Frictionless Flow Feels Effortless

26:03 Q: Can we trade off being productive for stillness?

26:46 A: Get corporate support or choose personal control

31:26 Q: How can we remove the pressure to feel productive in life?

32:01 A: I Get To...

You can also watch this episode on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/plvJKA1k_zk

Useful Links

[email protected]  

https://thomknoles.com/

https://www.instagram.com/thethomknoles

https://www.facebook.com/thethomknoles

https://www.youtube.com/c/thomknoles

https://thomknoles.com/ask-thom-anything/

Registration is now open for Thom’s only rounding retreat for 2026, in Sedona from May 21-25.

This is your one and only opportunity this year for deep rest, stress release and consciousness expansion through industrial-strength meditation, along with twice-daily knowledge sessions with Thom.

You’ll enjoy delicious retreat-friendly meals and the beauty and healing powers of the Red Rocks of Sedona. 

Register before February 28th and you’ll save $500 on your retreat fee. 

You can find out more at thomknoles.com/sedona.

Delayed gratification is often touted as one of the secrets to a fulfilling life. 

The famous marshmallow experiment concluded that children who were able to delay the reward of a marshmallow for a larger reward of more marshmallows had better outcomes later in life.

But is this really the case? Are we actually better off favoring long-term good over short-term pleasure?

In this episode, Thom explains that this is more than just a philosophical question, it’s actually a question that has implications for evolution of the species.

And the answer might surprise you…

Episode Highlights

00:45 It's All About Knowledge

03:26 Evolution is Not a Straight Line

07:41 We Have to Have a Blend

12:07 There's No Such Thing as Perfection in the Relative World

14:19 Disruption Causes Adaptation to Occur

17:46 Q: What can you tell us about freeze reactivity?

17:58 A: Catatonia is the Extreme

20:38 Practice Vedic Meditation to Remove Irrelevant Neurochemistry

You can also watch this episode on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/B3a7BvY50Tw

Useful Links

[email protected]  

https://thomknoles.com/

https://www.instagram.com/thethomknoles

https://www.facebook.com/thethomknoles

https://www.youtube.com/c/thomknoles

https://thomknoles.com/ask-thom-anything/

Registration is now open for Thom’s only rounding retreat for 2026, in Sedona from May 21-25.

This is your one and only opportunity this year for deep rest, stress release and consciousness expansion through industrial-strength meditation, along with twice-daily knowledge sessions with Thom.

You’ll enjoy delicious retreat-friendly meals and the beauty and healing powers of the Red Rocks of Sedona. 

Register before February 28th and you’ll save $500 on your retreat fee. 

You can find out more at thomknoles.com/sedona.

Consciousness is spoken of in many different ways and contexts. Usually when we speak of consciousness, we know the meaning that’s being conveyed. But what exactly is consciousness?

It’s both a philosophical and scientific question at the same time. 

In this episode, Thom cuts through the philosophy to give us a pragmatic answer to the question. It’s an answer that lets us get on with the business of being conscious with ever-increasing capacity. 

Episode Highlights

00:45 Consciousness is That Which Makes Existence Relevant 

04:15 Is-ness, Am-ness, I-ness, My-ness 

07:38 Repertoires of Consciousness 

11:24 Everything is a Response to Observation 

14:57 Maximizing Capability 

19:49 Q: Where was the one thing before it became many? 

20:04 A: Everywhereness Inside of It 

23:36 Once Upon a Time 

26:26 The Variety that Creates Storyline 

29:17 Lesha Avidya: The Faint Remains of Ignorance 

32:09 A Blend of Ignorance and Consciousness 

34:42 Q - Is more consciousness better? 

35:13 A: The Animal Kingdom is More Violent Than the Human Kingdom 

37:32 Content vs Context 

42:15 The Ability of Enlightenment

You can also watch this episode on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/Hj3SxekBMOM

Useful Links

[email protected]  

https://thomknoles.com/

https://www.instagram.com/thethomknoles

https://www.facebook.com/thethomknoles

https://www.youtube.com/c/thomknoles

https://thomknoles.com/ask-thom-anything/

Registration is now open for Thom’s only rounding retreat for 2026, in Sedona from May 21-25.

This is your one and only opportunity this year for deep rest, stress release and consciousness expansion through industrial-strength meditation, along with twice-daily knowledge sessions with Thom.

You’ll enjoy delicious retreat-friendly meals and the beauty and healing powers of the Red Rocks of Sedona. 

Register before February 28th and you’ll save $500 on your retreat fee. 

You can find out more at thomknoles.com/sedona.

How do children really experience their parents’ separation? In this episode, Thom explores why children are often far more adaptive to a family separation than adults assume, and how they unconsciously mirror the emotional state of their parents. 

Drawing on the Vedic worldview, Thom explains why change is evolutionary, why staying together “for the children” can be harmful, and how honoring the other parent protects a child’s sense of self. A compassionate and clarifying perspective for any parent navigating relationship change.

You can also watch this episode on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/YRsKT1togKw

Episode Highlights

[00:45] Children Tend to be Peacekeepers

[03:28] Involve a Third Party for the Child to Speak With

[07:01] Protecting Children's Emotions

[09:26] Don't Stay Together “For the Children”

[12:57] Change is Evolutionary

[15:18] Avoid Speaking Ill of Each Other

[18:00] Honor the Other Parent

Useful Links

[email protected]  

https://thomknoles.com/

https://www.instagram.com/thethomknoles

https://www.facebook.com/thethomknoles

https://www.youtube.com/c/thomknoles

https://thomknoles.com/ask-thom-anything/

Registration is now open for Thom’s only rounding retreat for 2026, in Sedona from May 21-25.

This is your one and only opportunity this year for deep rest, stress release and consciousness expansion through industrial-strength meditation, along with twice-daily knowledge sessions with Thom.

You’ll enjoy delicious retreat-friendly meals and the beauty and healing powers of the Red Rocks of Sedona. 

Register before February 28th and you’ll save $500 on your retreat fee. 

You can find out more at thomknoles.com/sedona.

Are events in life symbolic, or are they simply expressive moments within a vast, intelligent universe? 

We humans love to make meaning of things, especially unusual events or mysterious dreams. Are we justified in doing so, or are we possibly distracting ourselves from what’s really going on around us?

Once again, Thom offers a profound reframing of symbolism, dreaming, and the role of unbounded awareness in everyday life.

You can also watch this episode in two parts on YouTube, here https://youtu.be/ExUj9fmAeVU and here https://youtu.be/gkEwft6ST-0. 

Episode Highlights
[00:45] Q - To what extent is everything symbolic?

[01:18] A - Coincidences Are a Continuum of Reality

[06:24] What You See Is What You Get

[08:29] Assembly Theory and Abiogenesis

[12:08] Leftover Star Stuff Arguing About the Dishes

[15:32] Q - What Is the Vedic Perspective on Dreams and Dreaming?

[15:46] A - Dreams Aren't Dreams

[18:44] A Disjointed Story

[22:17] Nighttime Cognitions

[25:39] Remembering Is Overrated

[29:14] Crossing Thresholds of Unboundedness

[32:11] Vedic Meditators Lose the Need to Dream

Useful Links

[email protected]  

https://thomknoles.com/

https://www.instagram.com/thethomknoles

https://www.facebook.com/thethomknoles

https://www.youtube.com/c/thomknoles

https://thomknoles.com/ask-thom-anything/

Registration is now open for Thom’s only rounding retreat for 2026, in Sedona from May 21-25.

This is your one and only opportunity this year for deep rest, stress release and consciousness expansion through industrial-strength meditation, along with twice-daily knowledge sessions with Thom.

You’ll enjoy delicious retreat-friendly meals and the beauty and healing powers of the Red Rocks of Sedona. 

Register before February 28th and you’ll save $500 on your retreat fee. 

You can find out more at thomknoles.com/sedona.

One of the biggest causes of suffering in our lives is the fact that nothing lasts forever. It’s not only true that all good things must come to an end, but all things must come to an end. 

In this episode, Thom reminds us that Nature has the final say on what is, and what no longer is relevant in the natural process of evolution. Rather than resisting Nature’s timing, our suffering is reduced or eliminated if we embrace Nature’s timing.

Once again, Vedic meditators have a natural edge in putting this into practice. 

Listen to the full episode to explore the complete teaching, or watch it on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/99fcBENajAs

Episode Highlights

00:45 Evolve

03:58 You Are a Production

06:03 A Universe That Wants a Story

07:48 Constant Atomic Exchange

11:26 Identifying Irrelevancy Through Vedic Meditation

14:14 Constant Relevance Refreshment

17:15 The Dangers of the Ever-Repeating Known

20:19 Disruption and Relevance

23:13 Letting Go of Rigid Attachment

25:45 Contextualizing Pain

30:34 Welcome to the Solution to All Problems

Useful Links

[email protected]  

https://thomknoles.com/

https://www.instagram.com/thethomknoles

https://www.facebook.com/thethomknoles

https://www.youtube.com/c/thomknoles

https://thomknoles.com/ask-thom-anything/

Registration is now open for Thom’s only rounding retreat for 2026, in Sedona from May 21-25.

This is your one and only opportunity this year for deep rest, stress release and consciousness expansion through industrial-strength meditation, along with twice-daily knowledge sessions with Thom.

You’ll enjoy delicious retreat-friendly meals and the beauty and healing powers of the Red Rocks of Sedona. 

Register before February 28th and you’ll save $500 on your retreat fee. 

You can find out more at thomknoles.com/sedona.

In this episode, Thom shares the inspiration and urgency behind the creation of the recently launched Vyasanand Foundation. He explains why preserving the purity of Vedic Meditation, while making it accessible at scale, is essential for meeting the demands of our time. 

Thom outlines the foundation’s twin priorities of teacher scholarships and scientific research, and reflects on Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s vision of multiplying enlightened leadership for future generations.

If you’d like to contribute to the Vyasanand Foundation, please visit the website for details on how you can do so: https://www.vyasanandfoundation.org/ 

Episode Highlights

[01:28] The Inspiration Behind the Vyasanand Foundation

[03:22] Why Now?

[06:47] Meeting the Demands of the Time

[14:51] What Would the World Look Like if More People Practiced Vedic Meditation?

[19:57] What Will Vyasanand Foundation Funds Be Used For?

[23:47] Multiplying Maharishi

[28:13] Big, Important, Urgent

[30:57] Gratitude

Useful Links

[email protected]  

https://thomknoles.com/

https://www.instagram.com/thethomknoles

https://www.facebook.com/thethomknoles

https://www.youtube.com/c/thomknoles

https://thomknoles.com/ask-thom-anything/

Registration is now open for Thom’s only rounding retreat for 2026, in Sedona from May 21-25.

This is your one and only opportunity this year for deep rest, stress release and consciousness expansion through industrial-strength meditation, along with twice-daily knowledge sessions with Thom.

You’ll enjoy delicious retreat-friendly meals and the beauty and healing powers of the Red Rocks of Sedona. 

Register before February 28th and you’ll save $500 on your retreat fee. 

You can find out more at thomknoles.com/sedona.

Is it possible to escape the cycle of desire that keeps us bound? In this episode, Thom explores the subtle mechanics of kaṛma and the paradox of fulfillment, blending ancient wisdom with contemporary dilemmas. 

Move beyond the myth of desire-free enlightenment and discover the true role desires play in moving us, often mysteriously, right where we need to be. 

Prepare to step into a new understanding of fulfillment, agency, and the playful nature of wants.

Episode Highlights

[00:45] Kaṛma: Action that Binds
[03:30] The Danger Zone
[06:44] Kṛiya: Action that Doesn’t Bind
[09:33] The Power of a Pink Shirt
[13:13] A Literal Bucket List
[15:48] The Desirability of a Desire-free State
[18:42] Q - Does attachment to the desire for enlightenment keep you bound?
[18:50] A - The Hypnosis of Social Conditioning
[21:37] Enlightenment’s an Acquisition
[24:38] Desires Just Move Me Around

Useful Links

[email protected] 

https://thomknoles.com/

https://www.instagram.com/thethomknoles

https://www.facebook.com/thethomknoles

https://www.youtube.com/c/thomknoles

https://thomknoles.com/ask-thom-anything/

Registration is now open for Thom’s only rounding retreat for 2026, in Sedona from May 21-25.

This is your one and only opportunity this year for deep rest, stress release and consciousness expansion through industrial-strength meditation, along with twice-daily knowledge sessions with Thom.

You’ll enjoy delicious retreat-friendly meals and the beauty and healing powers of the Red Rocks of Sedona. 

Register before February 28th and you’ll save $500 on your retreat fee. 

You can find out more at thomknoles.com/sedona.