Love is the power podcast

288. Serving what serves Love

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Bella Frances, Tom Compton, Freya Sandow) — Tue, 14 Apr 2026 13:12:40 +0000

This week’s episode begins with an invitation from Tom to try on the statement “I’m ready to devote my life to serving what serves Love.” Notice what comes up with that sentence. Is there a willingness? Or is there some sticky fear that still takes precedence? In a group setting, this episode is an exploration of what thoughts still hold us back from serving Love in our lives (thoughts that insist we, others and reality should all be doing something better, for example), and what it might be like to let them go.

287. Enjoying life now

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Tom Compton, Freya Sandow, Bella Frances) — Tue, 7 Apr 2026 13:00:00 +0000

Welcome back, Love Is The Power listeners! This week’s episode is a lively and profound group inquiry beginning with questioning the thoughts, “It’s serious,” and, “What I do matters.” From there, the line of inquiry brings to consciousness the need to be special, and Tom points out that eventually…the body dies. So with that awareness, he asks, what becomes important now? If your answer falls somewhere in the zone of “I just want to enjoy life now,” you’re going to love this episode. If your mind went somewhere else, feel free to bring it to this inquiry and experience the joy and power of the present moment.

286. Desire for a partner (re-release)

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Tom Compton, Freya Sandow, Bella Frances) — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 13:00:00 +0000

This week we're bringing you another old favourite episode from the vault (November 2021!) as the Love Is The Power retreat last week meant no new recordings. Enjoy! We'll see you next week with a brand new episode.

Have you ever considered that desire, lack, and fear might go together? For example, you believe something’s missing from your life (like a romantic relationship) and then you desire to fill that gap. Or, you desire to be with a partner and simultaneously fear rejection. Many of us have bought into the idea that the formula for bringing something into our experience is to identify lack and to desire what is evidently missing. But if lack and fear bookend desire, wouldn’t you rather choose a more effortless and natural way to live? Rather than playing the desire, fear, and lack game, what if you let people and relationships come and go as they may? Who would you be in this moment if you were completely free of desire?

285. The cost of careful living (re-release)

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Freya Sandow, Bella Frances, Tom Compton) — Tue, 24 Mar 2026 13:00:00 +0000

Hey Love Is The Power friends! This week we're coming to you with an old favourite episode from all the way back in 2020: The cost of careful living. When we know who and what we are is good, we want to see our blind spots. We stop living carefully and live more honestly. Which pretty much guarantees that someone will be offended. To the mind, the path of unconditional peace can look like silence or being a "doormat." But is it? Luckily, there is only one way to find out. Join in this inquiry with a situation from your own life, or just enjoy the shares from participants.

284. I should be more evolved!

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Freya Sandow, Bella Frances, Tom Compton) — Tue, 17 Mar 2026 13:00:00 +0000

This week’s episode explores an experience that’s probably familiar to a lot of people who practice self-inquiry or another spiritual practice. On any kind of ‘spiritual’ path, it’s easy to experience a lack – a desire for what you might call ‘enlightenment.’ We can hear about and understand the idea of oneness, that in reality nothing is separate, and want to know that for ourselves… sometimes to the point of causing a lot of stress in our day-to-day experience. What would it be like to drop that desire for a moment? Or to drop the idea that since we’ve done The Work so much, we should be okay with everything by now. If you can relate to any of these experiences of self-beratement in the name of ‘enlightenment,’ this episode is for you!

283. Freedom to be as you are

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Bella Frances, Tom Compton, Freya Sandow) — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 13:00:00 +0000

This week’s episode is a group inquiry into what it’s like when we believe we have to change something about ourselves. Whether it’s big (like an addiction or relationship pattern) or small (like a tendency to leave wet laundry in the washing machine), most of us tend to pick up this idea somewhere along the way in childhood that who we are, exactly the way we are isn’t enough or acceptable. What can go hand in hand with that belief is the belief that the people around us aren’t allowed to be the way they are either. And then we tend to throw in the whole world at that point and condemn it too. But if we get still, how does this thought actually affect us? What if we could let go of needing to change something about ourselves or anyone else for a moment? What would that be like? Join in this group inquiry and experience your answer for yourself.

282. Living self-inquiry

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Tom Compton, Bella Frances, Freya Sandow) — Tue, 3 Mar 2026 14:00:00 +0000

This week’s meditative contemplation begins with an invitation to notice what comes up internally in response to Byron Katie’s statement that just when you think it can’t get any better, it has to – it’s the law. You might notice the mind brings up every opposition possible. It seems so backwards, doesn’t it? On planet Earth we’re accustomed to thinking, “Well, it can always get worse,” and trying to prevent whatever that is. But could Katie be right? What if it really is the nature of the Universe that it can just get better and better, and as Tom puts it in this episode, when we struggle it’s because we’re attached to struggling? Sometimes when we question these long-held beliefs, a vague sense of lacking the authority to create our own reality through our powerful minds can surface. That’s why The Work is so powerful – you get to ask you what is true. Enjoy this beautiful flow of conversation and insight on living self-inquiry, led by Tom Compton as he begins another joyful lap around the sun.

281. I could take a wrong turn

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Freya Sandow, Bella Frances, Tom Compton) — Tue, 24 Feb 2026 14:00:00 +0000

This week’s episode is for anyone who has ever felt the paralysis of trying to make a decision while the thought “I could get it wrong” is playing on a loop in your mind. In this group inquiry, we’re looking at that thought; whether it’s actually true, how it affects us when we believe it, and who we would be without it. What if life isn’t constantly measuring us and judging every action or inaction? What if it’s like a car GPS that, when we miss an exit or take a ‘wrong’ turn, simply reroutes and shows us the fastest way from where we are to where we want to be? What if the condemning is all an inside job–and inside job we could simply let go of?

280. The light of awareness

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Freya Sandow, Tom Compton, Bella Frances) — Tue, 17 Feb 2026 14:00:00 +0000

This week’s episode is an inquiry into our concepts of time and space. We can be very devoted to our belief in time and space, to the point that we begin to see ourselves as dependent on it. The body may be subject to the rules of time and space, but is the body you? Or are you the awareness that the experience of the body is located in? That pure awareness, as Tom puts it, is the location for everything. An analogy for that pure awareness that we are is light; light has no texture, no substance. Objects can come into the light to be reflected and therefore experienced. We can often get caught up in identifying with the object being reflected in the light, but who we really are is the pure light – the pure awareness that has room for everything.

279. Wanting to be wanted

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Tom Compton, Freya Sandow, Bella Frances) — Tue, 10 Feb 2026 14:00:00 +0000

One beautiful aspect of working in a group setting like the Love Is The Power meditation calls is that one person’s brave and vulnerable share can create a whole ripple effect of profound awareness for everyone. That’s exactly what happens in this week’s episode when one inquirer’s childhood comes up to the surface and exposes the universal experience of wanting to be wanted. Whether by a parent, sibling, lover, boss, teacher, or anyone else the mind can come up with, that desire to be wanted is one that most of us can really struggle with. We all know that one specific way we imagine being wanted–how it would look and feel. In this episode Tom asks: Could you want yourself in exactly that way? If that feels hard to imagine, the invitation is to listen to this episode and follow along. Even if it feels easy to picture, this episode is rich with deep awareness for anyone wanting to step into a lighter experience of themselves.

278. Unpleasant smells & doubting our goodness

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Freya Sandow, Bella Frances, Tom Compton) — Tue, 3 Feb 2026 14:00:00 +0000

This week’s episode is a deep dive into the world of body odour–actually, better said: it’s a deep dive into the world of doubting our goodness. You may be asking yourself, What does that have to do with B.O.? Well, have you ever sat next to someone with what you might have experienced as an unpleasant smell? Some people in the Love Is The Power inquiry group have, and many experienced the awkwardness of either telling the person and having them be hurt or offended, or suffering silently in fear of offending. And as the meditation gets deeper, what surfaces is the fear that who and what we are (as in humanity) is not truly good, and how it can make us so afraid of ‘causing’ someone else’s hurt. So, the question remains: what do you do if you’re experiencing someone’s behaviour (or odour) unpleasant? Follow along with the group inquiry to find out for yourself.

277. Being unacceptable

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Bella Frances, Tom Compton, Freya Sandow) — Tue, 27 Jan 2026 14:00:00 +0000

When we find ourselves in a process of self-inquiry, the way that our perspective shifts is truly miraculous. We see things differently. The people in our lives, the situations we’re in, the resources we have, and most of all, ourselves. In this experience of seeing life differently, one of the fears that the mind will often bring up is the fear of going ‘crazy’ or losing our minds. (It’s actually quite a literal fear: the ego-mind is afraid to not exist, thus the terrifying images of what it must look like to “lose” it.) This week’s group inquiry centers on this fear while also looking at the sidebar fear of being proclaimed “unacceptable.” Who would we be without even these stories? As Katie says, there is nothing so dark that we cannot put it on paper, question it, and set ourselves free.

276. An honest yes or no

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Tom Compton, Bella Frances, Freya Sandow) — Tue, 20 Jan 2026 14:00:00 +0000

In this week’s episode, Tom begins with an invitation to notice what comes up internally with the sentence, “I’m ready to be honest about my yeses and nos.” As in, I’m ready to notice what my genuine responses are and live them. Often when we hold onto giving a dishonest yes, it comes from the idea that by doing that, we’re making ourselves show up as kind, caring people. But what does it actually create when we really look? Does it help us show up in a genuinely kind way? Or does it create a breeding ground for resentment and miscommunication? What might it be like to live from a place of real integrity? And could it be that an experience of real integrity could come from self-inquiry? Join in and follow along to find out!

275. I should be different'

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Bella Frances, Freya Sandow, Tom Compton) — Tue, 13 Jan 2026 14:00:00 +0000

This week’s inquiry is on the thought, “I should be different.” As Tom puts it, none of us, as children, receive unconditional love, and right away we make that mean something about ourselves. Thus begins the steady march of this belief in our minds. “I should be different…” But rarely do we slow down to question a thought like this and notice what it truly gives us. We think it gives us the change we’re looking for – the showing up differently. But how do you actually react? What really happens when you believe this thought? It could be that it’s nothing more than an obstruction of vision, causing us to miss the amazing experience of being human. Find out for yourself by joining in with your own work – and your own ‘I should…”

274. I don't have it

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Tom Compton, Freya Sandow, Bella Frances) — Tue, 6 Jan 2026 14:00:00 +0000

Happy New Year to all the Love Is The Power listeners! We’re kicking off 2026 with an episode for anyone who’s ever looked at someone else and had the thought, “They have something I don’t have.” For those who walk the path of being some kind of seeker, it can be especially enticing to believe this thought in relation to someone who appears to ‘have’ enlightenment. Katie herself says she doesn’t know anything about enlightenment – she just knows the difference between what hurts and what doesn’t. But that doesn’t stop the mind with this belief, which is why this week’s line of inquiry is so profound. Welcome back – let’s do The Work.

273. "Do better!"

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Tom Compton, Bella Frances, Freya Sandow) — Tue, 16 Dec 2025 14:00:00 +0000

In the world of the thought, “They could have done better,” we are not left with much compassion or ability to show up the way we’d (probably) like to in any given situation. That’s one of things participants noticed in this week’s inquiry facilitated by Tom, beginning with noticing someone who brings up a sense of unlovingness within. It doesn’t matter if we’re believing that the person in question who could have done better is someone else, a whole group of people, or ourselves. The result is the same. Stress. This week’s episode ends with an invitation from Tom into a turnaround for this thought: Just as an experiment, feel the opposite position – that no one, including myself, could ever have done better than we did. Listen to this week’s inquiry and join in to explore the world of this belief as well as experience your presence without it.

272. The Cosmic B*tch Slap

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Tom Compton) — Tue, 9 Dec 2025 14:00:00 +0000

What happens, how do you react when you believe the thought, “I know what is and isn’t possible in life"? What kind of life do you find yourself reading with this thought? What kind of Universe is it? Friendly or malicious? In this group meditation, participants question this belief among others and discover some profound things – including an ever-present fear of a ‘cosmic bitch slap.’ If you can relate, this week’s episode of Love Is The Power is for you.

271. Holding onto trauma

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Tom Compton) — Tue, 2 Dec 2025 14:00:00 +0000

On a podcast about self-inquiry, meditation, awakening and inner freedom, you don’t necessarily expect an episode about dogs – but here we are. This week, our furry friends are our teachers as one participant shares his frustrating situation: his city is threatening to crack down on unleashed dogs, but he wants his dog to be able to run.

This work is rewarding on its own, but the cherry on top of the inquiry cake is that another participant whose own dog was once attacked by an unleashed dog is on the group meditation call as well, and the conversation brings up trauma for her. Join in this atmosphere of easygoing, good-humoured healing that The Work can so easily create – especially if you identify as someone with trauma – and question with us: Is it true that you need to hold onto trauma?

270. I have to do something with my life

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Bella Frances, Freya Sandow, Tom Compton) — Tue, 25 Nov 2025 14:00:00 +0000

In last week’s episode, we looked at the tendency to hold things as problems. This week we’re adding to the exploration the tendency to believe “I have to do something with my life” and “There’s a destination I have to get to.”

Some key questions in this episode are:

Is it true in this moment that there’s a destination to get to? Or that we have to ‘do something’ with our lives or hold things as problems?
What kind of experience of life do we give ourselves by believing those thoughts?
What might an experience of life look like beyond these beliefs?

Happy inquiring!

269. Holding things as problems

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Tom Compton, Bella Frances, Freya Sandow) — Tue, 18 Nov 2025 14:00:00 +0000

This week the Love Is The Power inquiry group looks at the habit of holding things (situations, people, the state of the world) as a problem. It’s such an insidious habit, it tends to fly under the radar for most of us until we check in. But when we consciously look at a situation that we’d like to be different, it’s easy to see the belief, “I have to hold this as a problem." We might think that if we hold it as a problem we’ll fix it better or faster, and if we don’t then the situation won’t change at all. But what does this thought actually create in our lives? Does it help us show up the way we’d like to? Or does it give us a harvest of fear?

268. The $84,000 bathroom

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Freya T. Sandow, Bella Frances, Tom Compton) — Tue, 11 Nov 2025 14:00:00 +0000

This week, as Tom puts it, the trigger for self-realization could be a bathroom! In a playfully profound inquiry on money, the group questions the thought, “There is a right and wrong amount of money to have, and a right and wrong way to spend it.” One person’s share acts as a through-thread in the inquiry, pondering whether or not it’s wrong to want and pay for a bathroom renovation. It sure feels wrong when this is the thought running our financial lives. But, as Tom will often ask, is the feeling proof? Is the sense of wrongness surrounding the spending of money really proof that it is inherently wrong somehow? We noticed we don’t know for sure. What we do know is that we’ve seen a lot of people act like it’s true since we arrived on this planet. But what if they all learned to believe this story, just the same as we did? What would that mean about the nature of money? What if it’s nothing like we imagine it is?

267. The Jerk Police

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Bella Frances, Freya T. Sandow, Tom Compton) — Tue, 4 Nov 2025 14:00:00 +0000

Last week’s episode looked at the experience of innocence, and the belief that we, ourselves, are not that pure innocence. In this part two episode, we look at the fear that comes up when we aren’t believing that about ourselves or others. The fear of being a doormat. “Oh, if I just see everyone as innocent, I’ll just let them walk all over me.” Seems accurate enough, right? This position, though, gives us the role of constant self-preservation. When we’re afraid of being steamrolled, we have to approach life in a controlling, angry manner. Or as Tom puts it, we become the Jerk Police. We can’t just ask someone not to do something because that’s what we’d prefer, we have to make them wrong. We have to manipulate our perceived attackers – the jerks – with guilt or shame or anger. But what would life be like if we weren’t constantly giving ourselves this role? Pick a situation in your own life where someone is being a total jerk, and find out for yourself.

266. I'm not that innocent

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Bella Frances, Freya T. Sandow, Tom Compton) — Tue, 28 Oct 2025 13:00:00 +0000

Notice a time when you’ve experienced innocence. (Tip: dogs, cats, babies and little kids are a good touchstone for this kind of experience.) What did it bring up within you? In this group inquiry, participants become aware of a sense of openness, levity, and joy, as well as a sense of wanting to protect and care for that innocence. And then Tom asks this question: Is it true that you are not that innocent? Can you absolutely know you are not innocent in that exact way? What is your experience of the world when you believe this of yourself and the rest of humanity? After joining in this inquiry, you might notice the next time you have that experience (whether it’s one of guilt, blame, self-condemnation, or any withholding of love) it’s easier to just say, “Oops, I did it again. I believed I’m not that innocent.”

265. Opening to pain

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Tom Compton, Bella Frances, Freya Sandow) — Tue, 21 Oct 2025 13:00:00 +0000

This week Love Is The Power gives you an incredibly vulnerable, incredibly beautiful inquiry with a brave share. If you’ve ever experienced the frustration of chronic pain or illness of the body, you have probably experienced the devastating sense of hopelessness that can come with it. Holding space for that emotional pain, Tom initiates an exploration of the sensation of physical pain. Byron Katie says that all pain is imagined. That can be a hard one to get our heads around – especially when we’re in the midst of pain. But what if it’s true? What if who we really are is pure awareness that is itself unaffected by pain? What if the awareness that perceives the pain (whether the pain is physical or emotional) is who we really are? And what if that awareness is an experience of pure peace?

264. Is suffering necessary?

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Bella Frances, Tom Compton, Freya Sandow) — Tue, 14 Oct 2025 13:00:00 +0000

This week’s episode begins by asking the question: Can you absolutely know that it’s true that suffering is necessary? It’s an interesting question, because it seems like it must be true. If suffering wasn’t necessary, why would we experience it? It can be easy on the so-called spiritual path to wear suffering like a badge of honour, and it certainly is a powerful teacher. But does that make it necessary to hold onto? And furthermore, does believing that thought actually help us to get free? Or does it send us into an endless loop of discomfort followed by “dealing with it” or “working on ourselves”? Feel free to follow along with your own work as this line of questioning leads into some powerful sub-inquiries and contemplations. (Spoiler: concepts like “I have to deal with this dis-ease” and “I’m not deserving of love.”)

263. I needed something that wasn't there

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Freya Sandow, Bella Frances, Tom Compton) — Tue, 7 Oct 2025 13:00:00 +0000

This week’s inquiry begins with a look at a simple thought: “I need money.” Seems pretty straightforward. Pretty accurate. (Unless you’re a Buddhist monk.) But slowly this inquiry becomes a deep dive into the entire concept of need. “I need something that’s not here right now.” Tom takes it to the past, too, by inviting participants to look at a memory where we believe we needed something that wasn’t there. Whether that something was better care, shelter, food, water, painkillers, relief, kindness, or another of the abundant examples that come up in this group meditation, the questions are the same; Can you absolutely know it’s true? Follow along to find out for yourself.

262. Holding onto...(choose-your-own-concept)

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Tom Compton, Bella Frances, Freya Sandow) — Tue, 30 Sep 2025 13:00:00 +0000

Two weeks ago an episode of Love Is The Power was released where Tom led a group inquiry on the thought, “I need to hold onto the wrongs done to me and the wrongs I’ve done.” In this part II episode, we’re exploring some different concepts, emotions, and conditions we notice the tendency to hold onto.

Can you relate to holding onto being different/special/unique/separate? Or is a death grip on the sense of safety (yours or that of a friend/child/parent/partner) familiar? If your answer is yes, we invite you to follow along with the inquiries in this episode. If it’s a ‘no’ then feel free to notice where, within you, you experience a ‘holding on’ of some kind -- and then question it.

261. I need to earn love

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Freya Sandow, Tom Compton, Bella Frances) — Tue, 23 Sep 2025 13:00:00 +0000

This week’s episode begins with a chance to look at one of those moments where we believe, “I shouldn’t have done that.” You know the one. It lies dormant and then pops into your mind as you’re trying to fall asleep and causes The Cringe. It shows up at the most inopportune times, saying, “Remember when you said/did that thing to that person all those years ago? Yeah, you shouldn’t have done that.” And in the questioning of that thought, what arises is a deeper belief in needing to earn love. Is it possible that when we cringe at our past selves (who were doing the best they could with what they had) it’s because we believe that those past actions disqualify us for an experience of love now? And is it really true that we need to earn love at all? Or are we using that story of being undeserving to stay justified in keeping a strong sense of identification and separation?

260. Holding onto the wrongs

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Bella Frances, Freya Sandow, Tom Compton) — Tue, 16 Sep 2025 13:00:00 +0000

This week’s meditation begins with noticing the tendency to hold on. It sharpens to a more specific inquiry: “I need to hold onto the wrongs done to me and the wrongs I’ve done to others.” Is that true? The group digs deeper beneath that enticing story that can just seem so factual, like common sense.

“Of course I need to hold on! Otherwise how will I make amends? Or get the apologies I deserve?”

But what is life like when we hold on to the wrongs we’ve done and had done to us? And even more fascinating – what would our experience be like if we didn’t believe we needed to? There’s a powerful shift that takes place with the questioning of these stories in this group. Feel free to join in on your own!

259. Unforgivable

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Freya Sandow, Tom Compton, Bella Frances) — Tue, 9 Sep 2025 13:00:00 +0000

This week’s deep inquiry begins with a simple invitation: to notice what arises within you when you allow yourself to consciously experience being open to any and all possibilities in life. In this group meditation, what comes up in response to Tom’s prompt is fear. It feels terrifying to open to all possibilities when those possibilities include things we think we very much would not like to experience; things we think we wouldn’t be able to handle.

Going back to last week’s episode theme, we are convinced that something truly terrible can happen. This episode expands on that conversation with the idea that we could do something unforgivable. Something beyond forgiveness. We could go somewhere that love cannot reach us.

But is that true? If it’s a friendly Universe, how could something we call ‘unforgivable’ be a good and beautiful thing? If you’re up for it, there’s a profound inquiry available this week – one that points to a profound experience of life waiting on the other side of unforgivable.

258. Something terrible can happen(?)

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Freya Sandow, Tom Compton, Bella Frances) — Tue, 2 Sep 2025 13:00:00 +0000

The mind wonders if there’s even any point in questioning a thought like, “Something terrible can happen.” It seems so obviously true. “Of course something terrible can happen! I could lose my job, my partner/child/parent/friend could die, I could get sick … and that’s not even counting all the terrible things already happening like wars and starvation.” Yes. That is true. All of those things could happen and are happening. But in this powerful inquiry on some sensitive subjects, Tom asks question two of The Work: “Can you absolutely know it’s true?” Can you absolutely, positively-for-sure know it’s true that something terrible can happen? Or could it be possible that the words of mystic St. Catherine of Siena are applicable to this story, that the absolute innocence of all within creation takes awhile to understand. Either way, we have the freedom to check in for ourselves and question painful stories. We have the freedom to notice whether believing this thought helps us show up in the world as truly helpful, happy beings – or not.

257. I need to be valued

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Freya Sandow, Tom Compton, Bella Frances) — Tue, 26 Aug 2025 13:00:00 +0000

This week’s episode explores the thought, “I need to be valued.” This thought can become so insidious with its underlying beliefs – for example, believing our support, our existence depends on being liked by others. There can be a laundry list of things we think we need to be valued for: our time, our presence, our various roles, and most often just … ourselves. But what happens when we believe this? What becomes of our sense of freedom? As Tom often puts it, does it give us a big, fat ‘Yes!’ to life? Or does this thought become a prison shackle that we try to accommodate by contorting ourselves in order to be valued by others, and resenting them when they don’t come through with that validation? If you’re somewhere on your own freedom journey, we invite you to join this conversation and facilitation guided by Tom.

256. I'm responsible for [insert chosen person]'s happiness

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Freya Sandow, Bella Frances, Tom Compton) — Tue, 19 Aug 2025 13:00:00 +0000

One of the main aspects of The Work is identifying a thought to question. Part of identifying it can be allowing ourselves to really feel it. So in preparation for this week’s episode, we invite you to look at the people surrounding you in life and really, deeply, as-best-you-can, feel the thought “I’m responsible for their happiness.” What does it feel like in the body? Is there someone in particular who especially triggers this belief most of us pick up so young? If you notice the thought feels constrictive and limiting and stressful, but also somehow like the “right” thing, well…you’re not alone. Follow along with your own inquiry into this thought, and notice what your experience might be like without it.

255. Holding onto wanting

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Tom Compton, Freya Sandow, Bella Frances) — Tue, 5 Aug 2025 13:00:00 +0000

In this week’s short but sweet episode, we look at wanting attention and the high that seems to come when we get it. Tom points out that the high is really just a moment of experiencing what it’s like to let go of the need for attention. Could it be that what we’re really seeking is the experience of letting go? Often Tom will ask, in response to different desires (“I want people to love/like me, I want to matter, I want security…”), what do you want that for? Usually the answer is some variant of peace, relaxing, letting go, feeling okay, just being, etc. If there’s something you notice you want in this moment, the invitation is to notice what you want it for. Maybe, like this episode’s guest, it isn’t finally getting that thing that will give you the experience you’re looking for. Maybe it’s the letting go of wanting.

254. I could screw it up

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Tom Compton, Freya Sandow, Bella Frances) — Tue, 29 Jul 2025 13:00:00 +0000

Join us this week as we inquire into the idea of screwing it up. For most of us, it was at a young age that we internalized the idea that we could make a mistake. Thus was born the fear of being a screw-up. But is that even a thing? Is screwing up even possible? Perhaps it is when we believe it is – or maybe not even then. But either way, we’re curious about what’s on the other side of this belief. What would it be like to step into the next moment of life without it?

253. Holding back

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Freya Sandow, Tom Compton, Bella Frances) — Tue, 22 Jul 2025 13:00:00 +0000

Beginning with a meditation on noticing where we hold back, morphing into a couple powerful solo back-and-forth inquiries, and morphing ultimately into a profound group popcorn-style session, this week’s episode dives into themes like wanting to be special and craving attention. In Tom’s usual style of deeper exploration, though, it also eventually uncovers the extremely intense fear of emotional and even physical pain. It traces that initial prompt of holding back to its real fears, and questions them all, leaving no stone unturned and not holding back in this episode of Love Is The Power, ironically titled: Holding Back.

252. I need my fear

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Tom Compton, Bella Frances, Freya Sandow) — Tue, 8 Jul 2025 13:00:00 +0000

Who’s ready to question a collection of some of our favourite fears? In this episode, Tom brings up the thought, “There are certain experiences I need to be afraid of.” What follows is a popcorn inquiry of a mish-mash of terrifying situations, including: being burned alive, drowning, being judged, being rejected, losing support, hurting other people, and many more. Choose your own adventure: Fear Edition. What the belief in fear boils down to, we notice, is just not wanting to suffer. But as Tom points out, would you consider being constantly terrified of an endless list of possibilities suffering? Is it really intelligent to hold onto suffering in the form of fear in order to avoid future suffering? If you’re getting the sense it might not be, join us in questioning the thought, “I need my fear.”

251. No one shows up for me

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Tom Compton, Freya Sandow, Bella Frances) — Tue, 1 Jul 2025 13:00:00 +0000

Can you think of something you wanted your parents to give you? Comfort, safety, honesty, love, consistency, a calm presence, equality, permission to be yourself… Something you wanted from them that, for whatever reason, they were unable to give. This week’s episode delves into what it’s like to be waiting to be given our heart’s desires from our parents. Whether we’re angry with them for how they treated us, or suspect that they were right and we were the problem, could it be time to take care of the little one inside who feels so abandoned? Could it be time to turn it around and give ourselves what we thought only our parents (or partners, children, and friends) could give us? Join in the group inquiry to notice for yourself.

250. I'm not beautiful (exquisitely & amazingly)

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Bella Frances, Tom Compton, Freya Sandow) — Tue, 24 Jun 2025 13:00:00 +0000

In this week’s episode we’re exploring the thought, “I am not beautiful.” Can you absolutely know that it’s true that who you are, what you are, is not beautiful? Do you? For many of us, life can become veiled in layers of this thought. Believing ourselves to be unbeautiful brings with it a feeling of being undeserving of good things, so we try to become the best. The best in our career, achievements, relationships, finances… and you know, everything else. But how much of the way we treat ourselves comes from an underlying sense of not being truly, exquisitely, amazingly beautiful in every way? Join the inquiry this week that explores what life is like believing this thought, and conversely, what life becomes without it.

249. I need to feel safe in the world

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Freya Sandow, Tom Compton, Bella Frances) — Tue, 17 Jun 2025 13:00:00 +0000

What is it like walking around all day, wanting safety and security from the world? That is this week’s exploration; looking into the true effect of living that way, as if the thought “I need safety in the world” is true. We notice not being able to relax (because that would be dumb and irresponsible), feeling irritable, and being hyper-vigilant all the time. On guard for any danger that might be around the corner. And one of the biggest effects we saw is how it becomes so important what other people think of us. We believe we need approval from other people so that we can have safety. But do we actually need either of those things from the world around us? Let’s check it out.

248. No mistakes in the universe

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Freya Sandow, Bella Frances, Tom Compton) — Tue, 10 Jun 2025 13:00:00 +0000

According to Byron Katie, the order of creation is this: think, feel, act, have. And as Tom points out in this episode, we think according to whatever concept we’re holding to be true. That thinking then becomes our feelings, and we act from the feelings, creating the life we’re living. So it stands to reason that if we’re not liking what we’re living, we could go back to the stressful concepts that direct our thinking and question them. This week’s stressful concept is a subtle conclusion that permeates most of our waking hours: So many things could go wrong. Join in and follow along in the inquiry to glimpse your own insights, or simply listen to the insights shared in this episode.

247. Striving for something better

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Tom Compton, Bella Frances, Freya Sandow) — Tue, 3 Jun 2025 13:00:00 +0000

Do you ever notice living with the thought, “There’s something better than this”? Something better than here, better than now, better than what I’m living… It can become like a white noise machine – on in the background until we forget what silence feels like or that it’s even running at all. In this episode, we explore that silence in the form of being without this thought. And there are some pretty beautiful findings in the experience. One way we notice reacting when we believe there’s something better than what we’re living, is we see mistakes everywhere. We blame our past selves for actions that we believe resulted in us being in a place we don’t want to be in now. But who would we be – even for a moment – without these concepts. How might we see our lives?

246. I have to keep it all going

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Bella Frances, Freya Sandow, Tom Compton) — Tue, 27 May 2025 13:00:00 +0000

This week’s inquiry begins by noticing all the movements of life. Relationships, jobs, houses, cars, kids, wellbeing … everyday stuff. Do you experience any resistance just hearing that list? If you do, we invite you to follow along with an inquiry on the likely cause of that stress: believing the thought, “I have to keep it all going.” Is it true? Can you absolutely know that it’s true? Does this thought bring peace or stress into your life? If it’s stressful, it might be worth a second look.

245. Insensitivity

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Tom Compton, Freya Sandow, Bella Frances) — Tue, 20 May 2025 13:00:00 +0000

This week’s episode holds space for one of the main fears that can come up when we’re experimenting with inquiry and getting free: the fear of being insensitive. As Tom points out, deep down nobody wants to be insensitive to the suffering that goes on in this world. And when we reach states of openness and freedom ourselves, sometimes the fear that shows up is hurting other people by not joining them in their misery. Through a vulnerable health-related share and an exploration into the possibility that everything – everything – works out in the best way possible, that sparks the conversation about how sensitivity fits into the equation of personal liberation, we invite you to join in on The Work.

Our habit of resistance

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Tom Compton, Freya Sandow, Bella Frances) — Tue, 13 May 2025 13:00:00 +0000

Do you notice within yourself a tendency to approach life from a place of resistance? Resistance to what you don’t want to experience, resistance to what appears to oppose you, or resistance in its other form: effort. Often we hold tightly to resistance as if it’s the only thing between us and utter disaster. Or just living an experience we don’t like. But could it be that our resistance is the only thing between us and relaxation? And that the only thing effort truly brings into our lives is stress? As Katie says, don’t believe it. Find out for yourself. Follow along in this week’s episode exploring our habit of resistance.

243. Earning the Sun

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Tom Compton, Freya Sandow, Bella Frances) — Tue, 6 May 2025 13:00:00 +0000

“If I receive, I owe something in return.” This thought is drilled into us from the very beginning with the teaching of “pleases” and “thank yous,” but is it true? It can be so easy to slip into the current of belief in this thought, because that’s the way the world seems to work. But might it work differently if we didn’t believe that receiving and owing go hand-in-hand? And more importantly, what is it like on a personal level believing that it’s true that we can’t receive without owing something in return? Could it be that nature doesn’t live by rules of owing and earning? Have any of us ever actually earned the incredible abundance of the sun? Or the devotion of the chair that holds us up? Maybe those are clues to the nature of life, and therefore the nature of us.

242. I want to be approved of

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Tom Compton, Freya Sandow, Bella Frances) — Tue, 29 Apr 2025 13:00:00 +0000

Byron Katie does not want people’s approval. She has no interest in manipulating people out of the way they see her. She wants them to think the way they think. According to Katie, that’s love. In this episode, Tom guides a meditation around noticing wanting approval. Noticing what it’s like living in the world of holding tightly to that desire, and noticing what it’s like being free of it. Could it be that it doesn’t matter what anyone is thinking about me? We invite you to follow along in this inquiry with situations in your own life where you notice attachment to being approved of.

241. Heart's desire

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Freya Sandow, Tom Compton, Bella Frances) — Tue, 22 Apr 2025 13:00:00 +0000

Often we can experience the fear that if we follow our heart’s desire, we will end up hurting people we love, or causing disasters, or being reckless, or any number of miserable outcomes. This week’s brave share is an inquiry into that fear. What if the people in your life already see you as reckless and irresponsible? What if you think you might be showing up that way too? In the world of obligation, permission and justification, it becomes impossible to see with clarity. If you’ve been there (or are there now) we invite you to follow along and undo some of that confusion, and come into an experience of total freedom.

240. I didn't sign up for this!

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Freya Sandow, Tom Compton, Bella Frances) — Tue, 8 Apr 2025 13:00:00 +0000

Do you ever have a situation show up in your life that feels less than ideal and think, “I didn’t sign up for this”? A partnership isn’t like the beautiful image we thought it would be, a child gets sick, a job isn’t what you hoped for, difficult communication arises. Or just this being human thing doesn’t feel like a choice you made freely. All the challenges feel like way too much. It’s impossible to rise to any occasion. It’s impossible to be really happy. Welcome to the world of the thought – “I didn’t sign up for this” – that this week’s episode takes a long hard look at. We invite you to follow along with whatever situation brings this belief up for you, and find out who you are without it. Could it possibly be true that we have signed up for everything we’ve ever experienced?

239. Experiencing being beautiful

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Tom Compton, Freya Sandow, Bella Frances) — Tue, 25 Mar 2025 13:00:00 +0000

In this inquiry on the thought, “who/what I am is not beautiful,” Tom says that when we discover our beauty it changes our relationship with everything. What’s it like in the world of seeing ourselves as unbeautiful creatures? How do we show up? How do we treat ourselves? These are the questions that arise in this beautiful inquiry, along with their profound answers. Could it be time to allow ourselves to consciously experience being beautiful?

238. The Oneness

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Bella Frances, Tom Compton, Freya Sandow) — Tue, 18 Mar 2025 13:00:00 +0000

This week’s episode looks at some words from awakened masters on the vanity of the Universe, of the God/Creator/Consciousness that uses existence to experience itself. It also looks at some of our reactions to those words. A common response to the idea that there is no separation, or as Katie puts it, that there is only One, can be a fear of loneliness. As if there only being One means it’s a cold, lonely existence. Hand-in-hand with that fear can be a fear of not being enough, that sense of inadequacy that seems often so integral to the human experience. Could it be that we are the Oneness expressing and enjoying itself? And could it be that the experience of that aloneness isn’t a lonely one after all?

237. The religion of right and wrong

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Bella Frances, Freya Sandow, Tom Compton) — Tue, 4 Mar 2025 14:00:00 +0000

Tom likes to say there’s two main religions on this planet: “There’s right and wrong,” and “If you get it wrong it’s serious.” This week’s episode focuses on the first of those commonly held beliefs and – through The Work – questions it. When we enter question 3 and look at how we react, what happens when we believe the thought, we’re done looking at whether it’s true or not. We are purely experiencing the effect of believing that it is true. So even if this thought has been drilled into you by parents/school/society/what have you, you have the freedom to look at your own experience and notice through the natural intelligence that shows up within us in inquiry what truly helps you show up the way you’d like to in life. Does the religion of right and wrong support you? If yes, you’re free to keep it. If it hurts in any way, you’re free to question it and follow along in this popcorn-style inquiry.

236. Do I really want to wake up?

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Freya Sandow, Tom Compton, Bella Frances) — Tue, 25 Feb 2025 14:00:00 +0000

If you’ve been on a spiritual path or a journey of personal freedom of some kind, you might have come across the question of separation. Are we separate? From each other? From anything? From all that is? You might have also experienced the fear of “waking up” and having all individuality, all sense of self dissolve. What we noticed in this inquiry was that type of fear being one reason we hold onto believing in ourselves as separate from the rest of life. But maybe it isn’t like that. As Tom often asks: Are you? Meaning are you aware? In this episode we invite you to come into your own experience of you and find out for yourself what’s true about this notion of separation.

235. You have to earn your keep

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Freya Sandow, Bella Frances, Tom Compton) — Tue, 18 Feb 2025 14:00:00 +0000

Have you ever believed the thought, “I have to earn my keep”? This week Tom guides a beautiful and bountiful inquiry into that thought, and all the ways we use it to keep ourselves from the natural abundance and beauty of life. It was so easy to begin believing as children that we are not worthy of all good things. But what kind of life do we create when we take that concept for truth? Could it be that life sees us differently? As Tom points out: the sun is free, the trees are free, the air is free… nature is always reflecting the abundant and beautiful nature of reality and who we are. In this group meditation we aim to reconnect with that awareness.

234. Self inquiry as social activism

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Freya Sandow, Tom Compton, Bella Frances) — Tue, 11 Feb 2025 14:00:00 +0000

There’s a lot going on in the world. Again. For many of us, the political landscape is where we get our work. Watching things that feel very far out of our control happen in ways we think they shouldn’t is infuriating. Take political “leaders” contributions to climate change or as an example. It can be incredibly difficult and terrifying to watch, as is bravely brought up in this week’s episode. One amongst many deep insights Tom shares in this time is that we reap what we sow, and if there’s fear behind a tree-planting project (e.g.) then we’re not planting trees; we’re planting fear. This is why self-inquiry is one of the greatest acts of social activism we can take: it takes care of the fear within us and cleans up our emotional world, a change reflected instantly in the world at large. If you’re feeling powerless, devastated, or downright outraged, this episode is for you. We hear you, and we invite you to follow along with your own work for social change.

233. The efforter and the comfort bubble

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Tom Compton, Freya Sandow, Bella Frances) — Tue, 4 Feb 2025 14:00:00 +0000

This week we’re looking at the tendency to identify with “The Efforter” as it relates to practical daily life. Unsurprisingly, identifying as The One Who Has To Make It All Happen can be a not-so-fun experience when we’re being pushed from our comfort zone by life’s twists and turns, especially when they’re to do with a job/work situation that affects our day-to-day experience. Tom walks us through an insightful share-turned-group-inquiry in this episode that leads to some powerful awareness and freedom when we’re willing to see the truth.

232. For no reason

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Tom Compton, Bella Frances, Freya Sandow) — Tue, 28 Jan 2025 14:00:00 +0000

This week’s episode took a turn from an exploration about money to the concept, “I need a reason to…” (fill in the blank). It took that turn for no apparent reason, although we think it did make for a pretty sweet episode. Tune in now to inquire into the assumption that everything we do needs a good reason behind it. A good reason to have the goals we have, a good reason to follow through on them, a good reason to say no, a good reason to say yes… Is any of that true? (You get to ask YOU.)

231. I got in trouble

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Tom Compton, Bella Frances, Freya Sandow) — Tue, 21 Jan 2025 14:00:00 +0000

This week’s episode centers around the feeling many of us experience as the worst possible fate: getting in trouble. Have you ever, as a kid or a grown-up, experienced someone being upset with you? Can you find the drop in the pit of your stomach when you believe that their anger means you’ve gotten ‘in trouble?’ Some people’s response to this thought is to yell back, some run away at the first chance, while others go numb and end up feeling like they abandoned themselves. Can you relate to these? What other reactions do you notice to the thought? And what might you notice if you didn’t believe it? Pick a moment where you feel like you got in trouble and follow along in this real-world situation inquiry.

230. Trusting myself and life

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Tom Compton, Freya Sandow, Bella Frances) — Tue, 14 Jan 2025 14:00:00 +0000

This week’s episode is on trusting. Whether it’s distrust in ourselves or in life, how do we react when we believe either one can’t be trusted? Could it be that one belief is not so different from the other? As Tom puts it, at some point we got convinced that we can’t trust ourselves and that we need threats of negative consequences in order to live intelligently. Is that true? Follow along with your own experience or simply listen and soak in the fresh-air feeling of inquiry.

229. I could lose support

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Bella Frances, Freya Sandow, Tom Compton) — Tue, 7 Jan 2025 14:00:00 +0000

Welcome back and happy new year! This week we’re looking at the ups and downs (mostly downs) of believing the thought “I could lose support.” This might be something you’ll relate to if your holidays consisted of either: A) relaxation and a sense of permission to just be that you now feel slipping away as the world spins back into its usual belief in “the grind” or B) a rushed, overwhelming time of feeling like everyone’s enjoyment depended on you. Both experiences can be the results of believing it’s true that you could lose support, so together let’s dp the work and find out if you ever truly can.

228. More 'me' time

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Tom Compton, Bella Frances, Freya Sandow) — Tue, 17 Dec 2024 14:00:00 +0000

This week we’re looking at the concept of “me time.” The coveted, elusive space that exists just for us, without obligations, roles, and responsibilities weighing us down. But could it be that “me time” is actually just a thought? A thought that, when we believe it, gives us a strong sense of being misused, undervalued, underappreciated and overworked? As Tom points out, it’s a world of poverty we live in when we believe we have to carve out and protect our personal time. What if it’s all my time? Would that make it easier to give an honest “Yes” and “No” to invitations? We invite you to follow along in this inquiry if it’s an honest yes for you.

227. Opposing & holding on

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Tom Compton, Bella Frances, Freya Sandow) — Tue, 10 Dec 2024 14:00:00 +0000

This week’s episode is exploring the two halves of holding on. Specifically, holding onto opposing what we would not like to experience in life, and also holding onto what we would. What kind of creation do we live in when that’s the belief we’re operating from? Life becomes a tug-of-war of grasping and clutching at what we want, and resisting everything we want to avoid. Enjoy this week’s group meditation as we notice what it’s like to live these thoughts, and what possibilities lie beyond them.

226. A wonderful life

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Freya Sandow, Bella Frances, Tom Compton) — Tue, 3 Dec 2024 14:00:00 +0000

This week Tom posed the question, “Can you absolutely know it’s true that you are undeserving of a happy, wonderful life?” In the ensuing meditation, he also points out the possibility that our current individual lives and their events (whether we happen to be enjoying them or not) are exactly within our comfort zone, which is dictated by our sense of worthiness. It’s when the vast majority of people believed the Earth is flat. It didn’t make it true, but it did make the entire world feel limited and scary. It did make those who believed it live as if it were true. Perhaps we do the same thing when we think we know what we’re worthy of – we give ourselves false limitations. Do you notice this in your own life? Follow along as we inquire into the concept of worthiness.

225. That's out-of-control!

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Tom Compton, Bella Frances, Freya Sandow) — Tue, 26 Nov 2024 14:00:00 +0000

Love Is The Power listeners, join us this week for a powerful inquiry of a fearful mind. Tom guides a brave, beautiful share through The Work on the thought, “I can’t trust life with the outcome of this situation.” If you can relate to ever feeling afraid (of loss of time, money, agency, freedom, or anything else), this week’s episode is for you!

224. Staying alive

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Tom Compton, Freya Sandow, Bella Frances) — Tue, 19 Nov 2024 14:00:00 +0000

This week we’re looking at the thought, “I have to survive.” To the mind, this is a concept that would be unthinkable to question. Of course we have to survive! But we’re meeting that seeming certainty with an “Is it true?” As Katie says, everything is questionable. Even things that feel so obvious, like needing to stay alive. How do you react? What happens when you believe that?

223. Our beautiful nature (pt. 2)

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Freya Sandow, Tom Compton, Bella Frances) — Tue, 12 Nov 2024 14:00:00 +0000

In this short but sweet part II from last week’s episode, the “our true nature is not beautiful” inquiry is expanding to hold, “I am not beautiful.” In a world obsessed with physical beauty, this thought is so painful for those of us who believe it. Enjoy this precious, brave exploration of that concept, and find out if it’s really true.

222. Our beautiful nature (pt. 1)

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Bella Frances, Freya Sandow, Tom Compton) — Tue, 5 Nov 2024 14:00:00 +0000

This week’s episode is an inquiry into the nature of humans. Is it true that who we are, deep down, is not beautiful? Even ugly? Do you notice a part of you that has that sneaking suspicion? Join us as we look at people, in all their ways of being, and see for yourself the true nature of humanity.

221. The saga of the chipped chair

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Tom Compton, Bella Frances, Freya Sandow) — Tue, 29 Oct 2024 13:00:00 +0000

This week’s episode is a hilariously relatable vignette of how we can sometimes be in such a great place, letting go off all sorts of large-scale problems in the world, feeling very accomplished in our practice of meditation or inquiry or whatever peace-creating habit is our favorite…and then it all comes crashing down because of one tiny thing that isn’t how we want it to be. A chip in a chair that’s not supposed to be there, for example. How do you react when you believe the thought, “I have to hold on to how wrong this is”? Whatever the ‘this’ may be. Listen in on the inquiry and follow along with your own version of the chipped chair for some pretty amazing insights.

220. Win-win!

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Tom Compton, Bella Frances, Freya Sandow) — Tue, 22 Oct 2024 13:00:00 +0000

Can anyone relate to being afraid of being selfish? Accidentally hurting someone because you dared to explore what genuinely feels good to you? In this week’s episode, we look at the world of the concept, “What’s good for me will be bad for someone else,” that comes from a deeper belief in a win-lose world. (As in, if someone’s winning, or experiencing something good for them, someone else must be losing and experiencing something that’s bad for them.) What might happen if we give ourselves full permission to explore what feels good to us? Could it be just as good for the rest of the universe?

219. Working on 'wrong'

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Tom Compton, Bella Frances, Freya Sandow) — Tue, 15 Oct 2024 13:00:00 +0000

This week’s episode is a continuation of the conversation that started last week about needing other people to show up differently. As Tom points out, when we make something wrong, we automatically go to work on it, whatever it is. When other people show up a certain way that we declare “wrong,” we work on it by arguing with them (even internally). But we also declare things we notice about ourselves wrong. And we work on them too. We even declare our thinking that someone else has wronged us… um, wrong. Could it be that life is not actually about what Tom refers to as one of the “main religions” of the world – right and wrong?

218. I need them to be different

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Freya Sandow, Bella Frances, Tom Compton) — Tue, 8 Oct 2024 13:00:00 +0000

Is there someone in your life you notice unlovingness towards? This week’s episode is an open-minded conversation and mediation on the experience of withholding love from the people we feel need to be different for the sake of our happiness. What’s it like being dependent on what someone else does or doesn’t do? As Tom puts it, everyone on the planet is fighting a righteous war. Everyone is on the side of right, as in all actions feel justified to the doer in some way. Could this be true? If it is, might the intelligent response be an openness to the world exactly as it is?

217. Turnarounds & life as a race

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Tom Compton, Bella Frances, Freya Sandow) — Tue, 1 Oct 2024 13:00:00 +0000

This week’s episode takes a look at the stories we have about stories. Sometimes, in its precious eagerness to ‘get it right’ the mind jumps ahead and asks, “Isn’t the turnaround just another story?” And sometimes we believe that and become obsessed with what Byron Katie calls pretending ourselves beyond our own evolution. We assume that we should be constantly living in the blissed-out, meditative, formless perfection that we so often get to experience in question four of The Work. But in this episode we explore that idea and its accompanying implication, “Life is a race.”

216. You need to keep yourself alive?

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Tom Compton, Freya Sandow, Bella Frances) — Tue, 24 Sep 2024 13:00:00 +0000

This week’s episode is an inquiry into the thought, “I need to keep myself alive.” Something that’s easy to believe, and something we react to in small and large ways. From obsessively feeding the body to attempting to protect ourselves from emotions like disappointment or fear (ironically by living in constant pre-emptive fear), we’re unearthing what the life experience is like when we assume keeping ourselves alive is just part of the job description in this life. This entrenched belief can come from a fear of not existing, and cause us to hold on for dear life to a “who I am,” but could it be that it’s enough to just notice ~that~ we are? And where might that experience lead?

215. I can do 'me' wrong

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Tom Compton, Bella Frances, Freya Sandow) — Tue, 17 Sep 2024 13:00:00 +0000

This week we’re exploring the thought, “I could do or be Me wrong.” What happens when we believe this? Does it give rise to self-condemnation, worry, and defence? A sense of having to constantly prove that I’m not doing ‘me’ wrong? It could be that this belief is a major player in a lot of scary stories we tell about ourselves. And what is it like without this thought? What do you notice as you follow along?

214. What a waste

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Freya Sandow, Tom Compton, Bella Frances) — Tue, 10 Sep 2024 13:00:00 +0000

In this week’s episode, we revisit a group inquiry into the thought, “I can waste…[fill in the blank].” It’s a popular belief held by most of us in one way or another. We believe we can waste time, energy, money, food, resources and a litany of other things, but as Tom puts it: what if the nature of the Universe is limitless? Meaning “wasting” could be a non-issue. Sound like a fantasy? Let’s find out.

213. I get to ask me?

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Tom Compton, Bella Frances, Freya Sandow) — Tue, 20 Aug 2024 13:00:00 +0000

This week Tom leads a simple yet powerful exploration: What are some of the stressful stories you tell about yourself? “I’m not good enough.” “I don’t fit in.” “I’m just an anxious person.” “I’m too much, too intense.” And why not open it up to life? “Life is too difficult.” “Life is out to get me.” “Life is short (and therefore I can get it wrong).” How can we believe these stories without experiencing ourselves as limited and defective, and life as cruel and punishing? As Tom puts it, “Notice how perfectly you live whatever you’re believing.” What kind of world might we experience if we’re open to new ways of seeing ourselves and life?

212. To-Not-Do Lists and To-Do Lists

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Bella Frances, Freya Sandow, Tom Compton) — Tue, 13 Aug 2024 13:00:00 +0000

Have you ever noticed living in a perpetual state of “no”? Pushing against what we don’t want, declaring we never want this, that or the other to happen… Sometimes we hang onto this belief out of fear that if we let go, everything we aren’t interested in experiencing will rush into our lives right away. This week, we’re having a good look at our To-Not-Do lists and seeing if we really need them to run our lives. And because open means open, we also look at the idea of certain desires or goals being “unspiritual” and the idea that we must get to a place of perfect peace about all life circumstances in order to make a change. Could it be that there are no limitations whatsoever in reality?

211. Life is a competition

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Tom Compton, Bella Frances, Freya Sandow) — Tue, 6 Aug 2024 13:00:00 +0000

In an exploration of what Tom calls “feeling the burn” – the sensation of embarrassment at a memory that disrupts our self-importance – what comes up is a beautiful inquiry into the treasured story “I am a loser.” While there is so much pain and self-condemnation in believing that, there is also a significant payout of never having to compete. Join in from wherever you are on the popcorn-style inquiry that ensues as we free ourselves of the notion that life is a competition.

210. I need to hold onto something

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Tom Compton, Bella Frances, Freya Sandow) — Tue, 30 Jul 2024 13:00:00 +0000

How do you react when you believe that you have to hold onto something—anything? Does it bring peace or stress into your life? In this episode, we’re exploring the mind’s tendency to want to hold onto things. We’re looking at what we think we’re holding onto (a happy life, health, harmony, joy) versus what we really hold onto (fear, scarcity, anxiousness) with this belief. We hold onto this holding on in relation to the future, but when does that future actually arrive? When do we stop forgoing peace now in favor of an imaginary peaceful ‘someday’? Might it be that when we allow the letting go, we allow ourselves to open to the flow of a magical, limitless universe? Let’s find out.

209. How to welcome welcoming

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Bella Frances, Tom Compton, Freya Sandow) — Tue, 23 Jul 2024 13:00:00 +0000

This week we’re looking at not just accepting reality exactly as it is, but welcoming it wholeheartedly. A common argument of the mind against this peaceful way of being is “But if I love everything as it is, I won’t ever be motivated to make a change!” This is especially convincing when looking at the wider scope of the world and all its events. Dive into this meditation on the sense of dependence on anything external (the government, the body, success, relationships, food, approval, etc) for our sense of safety and wellbeing. We have lots of data from experimenting with resistance. What’s welcoming like?

208. The Myth of Death

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Tom Compton, Bella Frances, Freya Sandow) — Tue, 16 Jul 2024 13:00:00 +0000

In the world of gaining and losing, one of the main things we hold tightly to is the health of the physical body. We believe it’s something we can lose if we have it, or something we can strive for if we don’t. Either way, this belief creates an intense experience of fear and not-okayness. One of the sub-questions in The Work is “What physical sensations arise when you believe that thought?” In this week’s exploration of what Tom calls “The Myth of Death,” we’re exploring the possibility that health might have nothing to do with the physical body, and everything to do with what we think.

207. The world of opposites

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Freya Sandow, Tom Compton, Bella Frances) — Tue, 9 Jul 2024 13:00:00 +0000

Come with us into an exploration of the world of opposites. Tom guides an inquiry on what it’s like believing in the dualities that present themselves as real guiding stars (unacceptable-acceptable, success-failure, fair-unfair, competent-incompetent). These concepts hold hands and skip together through our experience, often without our realizing they are concepts. This week, we’re having a good look at various opposites and seeing who we might be without them.

205. Separation & limitation

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Tom Compton, Freya Sandow, Bella Frances) — Tue, 2 Jul 2024 13:00:00 +0000

This week we’re looking into the taken-for-reality story of separation. It’s a concept most of us have readily accepted as just the way it is, but what might it look like from the perspective of the Don’t-Know Mind? Does the story of separation as we believe it create peace or stress in our experience? Are we even allowed to question something that seems so obviously true? It just might be that we are, and it just might be that without this story we get to experience the love and harmony we’re looking for.

204. The End of Permission Slips

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Bella Frances, Freya Sandow, Tom Compton) — Tue, 25 Jun 2024 13:00:00 +0000

Last week we explored the illusory past and experimented with being free of identifying with it. In this part II, we’re questioning the fear response that, according to Tom, often shows up when we get close to the truth of who we are. In this episode, fear comes up around needing permission to live the way we’d like to live. Could it be that, in reality, we don’t need anyone’s permission? We notice that with this thought we experience varying shades of misery, limitation and resentment. We notice without it there’s openness and peace. Tom asks, “Could that be enough information?” When we’re our own permission slip, we get to decide for ourselves.

203. Are you an image?

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Tom Compton, Bella Frances, Freya Sandow) — Tue, 18 Jun 2024 13:00:00 +0000

What is life like from the vantage point of the past? When we hold onto and identify with the past images we call memories, we unknowingly lose touch with reality here, now. This week’s episode is an experiment with freeing ourselves from the illusion of a past, and it’s a profound one. We are fearlessly looking at the nature of memories, stories, thoughts, images and feelings and asking: Is that me?

202. Dutifully disturbed

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Freya Sandow, Bella Frances, Tom Compton) — Tue, 11 Jun 2024 13:00:00 +0000

This week we’re exploring the desire for, and the fear of, allowing what is. On the one hand, we want to be peaceful, open human beings. On the other, we are afraid of what will happen if we truly relax and let go of the need to be disturbed as a path to creating change. We hold onto our unhappiness to prove our goodness. Many of us learned to hold the suspicion that we are secretly uncaring, insensitive beings, and we resist allowing ourselves to relax and be at peace out of fear that we’ll find out for sure that’s who we are. In this episode, we meet that resistance with Tom’s favorite response: “I’m open, let’s see if that’s true.”

201. That shouldn't have happened

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Bella Frances, Tom Compton, Freya Sandow) — Tue, 4 Jun 2024 13:00:00 +0000

We can all find within us where we believe something shouldn’t have happened. Someone shouldn’t have gotten sick, someone shouldn’t have treated us the way they did, the list goes on… This week’s inquiry takes a look at what happens to our life experience when we take for absolute fact the belief that something shouldn’t have happened, and explores the peaceful empowerment that shows up without this story. It might be that it’s not only enough, but one of the most powerful acts of peace to end the inner war with reality, here and now. We wonder, can freedom be that simple? The invitation here is to follow along and find out.

200. The concepts that block our freedom

Tue, 28 May 2024 13:00:00 +0000

In this week’s episode we are invited to give ourselves, every person, and the entire world the freedom to be as we and they are. We invite you to follow along and use examples from your own life as you hear the group participants share and explore their own stressful concepts related to this invitation. ‘The Work’ as meditation is a living practice — all that is needed is an open mind and a willingness to discover what is true for yourself.

199. The only one here

Tue, 21 May 2024 13:00:00 +0000

In this week’s episode we are invited to question the story: “I am separate from everyone and everything else.” We invite you to follow along and use examples from your own life as you hear the group participants share and explore their own stressful concepts related to this belief. ‘The Work’ as meditation is a living practice — all that is needed is an open mind and a willingness to discover what is true for yourself.

198. Obligation and Owing

Tue, 14 May 2024 13:00:00 +0000

This week’s episode focuses on the story: “If I receive something, I have to give something back.” We invite you to follow along and use examples from your own life as you hear the group participants share and explore their own stressful concepts and stories. ‘The Work’ as meditation is a living practice — all that is needed is an open mind and a willingness to discover for yourself what is true.

197. Nothing needs to be done and you can't mess it up

Tue, 7 May 2024 13:00:00 +0000

When we’re living out a painful story it can look and feel so real that it doesn’t even seem like a story anymore. Which is why “The Work” self-inquiry process is so practical and helpful. It stops us in our tracks and invites us to notice what self-imposed limitations we’ve added to the mysterious, ever-present flow of life. Our nature is perfect and unlimited in its creativity — all we have to do is tell a story and the unlimited nature that we are fleshes it out so spectacularly. What story are you living?

196. Stressing about time

Tue, 23 Apr 2024 13:00:00 +0000

“There’s not enough time,” “there’s too much to do,” “you won’t get another chance — you’ve blown it.” These are just some of the many stressful stories we tell about the non-existent past and future we call ‘time.’ This week’s powerful group meditation utilizes ‘The Work’ to question the concept of time and all of the stressful impacts that go along with it. Can you absolutely know that there is such a thing as time? What’s your proof?

195. Welcome the unloving in you

Tue, 16 Apr 2024 13:00:00 +0000

If you ever find yourself wondering why there is so much violence on the planet — and can’t identify your part in it — this episode is the support you’ve been looking for! We all have our circumstances where we are willing to use force and resistance in the name of ‘justice’ or ‘the common good.’ This week you are invited to turn inward and notice where you justify your unlovingness. Could it be that we’re all preaching to give love and peace a chance, yet none of us believe that it actually works?

194. I'm being treated unfairly

Tue, 9 Apr 2024 13:00:00 +0000

What is your relationship to your own negative reactions? Do you criticize yourself like a harsh parent? Or perhaps you fight against others and the world? Do you try to justify and defend your case? Or do you simply stuff the negative feelings down until you implode? Whatever your go-to strategy might be, it doesn’t take long to see that none of these are effective for the long lasting change we all desire. If you’re looking for a new way to be with yourself in tricky moments that is wildly effective, this week’s episode is for you.

193. Being dissatisfied

Tue, 2 Apr 2024 13:00:00 +0000

Do we really need to be dissatisfied with people, situations, and circumstances for them to improve? Or could it be that dissatisfaction can only breed more dissatisfaction? This week we circle back to the mistaken belief that if I’m satisfied with everything the way it is - things won’t change for the better. Follow along as we challenge an ineffective framework for positive change

192. An inquiry into victimhood

Tue, 26 Mar 2024 13:00:00 +0000

This week we bring the four questions to the topic of victimhood. We invite you to follow along as best you can with your own related experience. When there is an opening, engaging in ‘The Work’ can serve as a powerful invitation out of suffering and into freedom. However, ‘The Work’ has no agenda about what we discover. It just supports us to look for ourselves, if and when we’re ready.

191. Who am I? Meditation

Tue, 19 Mar 2024 13:00:00 +0000

Just like a tree is choicelessly and effortlessly a tree — there are qualities of who and what we are that are effortless and choiceless. This week’s meditation invites us to notice what can often go unnoticed about the truth of who we really are. Open, allowing, room for everything just the way it is. Could it be these are descriptions of who and what we are?

190. If you don’t suffer, it doesn’t count

Tue, 12 Mar 2024 13:00:00 +0000

On the path of self-discovery, there are a lot of stories we hear that glorify suffering. It’s as if the things that come easy can't be trusted. But do you know for sure that suffering is a requirement for self-realization? That it can’t come from love, enthusiasm and interest in the truth -- it has to come from suffering. When something comes naturally, is it true that it ‘doesn’t really count?’ Or could it be that the only thing that’s missing is our allowing it to be. This week Tom invites us to let our lives work out beautifully. Could it be that simple?

189. When people are suffering

Tue, 5 Mar 2024 08:00:00 +0000

Could it be that suffering is an inherent part of the human experience and one of our many freedoms? Rather than a flaw in the design that needs to be fixed or something you need to feel bad for. While we can never know for sure what suffering is and why it’s here, we can always know how we show up when we’re thinking and believing it. Join us as we explore all things suffering, challenge inherited conditioning, and consider how to best meet suffering in ourselves and with others.

188. It's wrong to be happy when others are not

Tue, 27 Feb 2024 14:00:00 +0000

Do you allow yourself to be peaceful and happy even when it appears other people are suffering? Or have you put other people’s experience between you and your happiness? Cultural programming tells us that it’s insensitive, uncaring, and selfish to go straight for our own peace and happiness. But is it true? Does adding our suffering to someone else’s suffering actually help the situation?

187. I have to pay for it

Tue, 20 Feb 2024 14:00:00 +0000

When we notice, question, and meet our stories with understanding, we say ‘yes’ to life. The deep relaxation, ease, and openness that occurs when this happens can feel ‘too good to be true,’ because we’ve been taught that struggle, suffering, and difficulty is what is real in life and easy, effortless, joy-for-no-reason living is just a woo-woo fairytale. This week we confront the possibility that Life/God is taking care of every detail and that we don’t have to pay for all that we’ve been given. Perhaps, it’s all here for us to let go of so we can enjoy the ride. Could that be true?

186. Happening to me vs. happening for me

Tue, 13 Feb 2024 14:00:00 +0000

What if living Life is like following a route in google maps? You have unlimited attempts to get to where you’re going and no matter which direction you take the navigation system knows exactly where you are and directs you from there. When you make a ‘wrong turn,’ the navigator doesn’t criticize, condemn, shame, or blame you — it just reroutes you. It doesn’t even care if you get ‘there’ or not. It has no agenda, no requirements, no rules, and no demands of you. It’s just an unconditionally present, endlessly friendly, helpful, patient, and creative navigator, guiding you along the path called ‘my life.’

185. I'm missing something

Tue, 6 Feb 2024 14:00:00 +0000

Could it be that everything we need to meet the next moment is here now? Imagine meeting every moment from the perspective that “nothing is missing.” Quite different from our habitual mental vantage point — there is definitely something missing. This week’s inquiry is quite a relieving one! If you allow it to be. Grace is happening all of the time, but it never forces us to receive it.

184. An effective approach to positive change?

Tue, 19 Dec 2023 14:00:00 +0000

Most of us can relate to wanting the best for ourselves, for others, for the world. But how can we be certain of what that ‘best thing’ is? And then if we do feel clear about it - what is actually effective for bringing about that positive change we’re wanting? This week we look at the primary human strategies: resistance, force and control and then consider the turn around: accepting Life exactly as it is. Could it be that accepting Life fully is not only a more peaceful path, but the most effective and reliable one available to us?

183. Only untruth needs to be maintained

Tue, 12 Dec 2023 14:00:00 +0000

Is it possible to be separate from Life? Or is there only one reality? Often we experience ourselves as “in here” and the world is “out there.” But what does our direct experience show us? When we experience ourselves as separate from the intelligence of the universe, we call certain things natural and interpret other things as unnatural. But what if it is all an act of God? Join us, for a deep inquiry into the nature of reality, truth, and our attempt to find peace within it.

182. Wanting the best for the ones we love

Tue, 5 Dec 2023 14:00:00 +0000

Doing ‘The Work’ is not just an inquiry process to discover what’s true — it is an uncovering of the most effective ways to meet Life in all of its expressions. This week’s episode explores how we show up in a moment of crisis. What is the most supportive stance to take when someone we love is going through something challenging? What do we do when there is nothing left to do? Is it possible that wanting the best for someone is enough? Follow along for a heartfelt exploration of divine helplessness that brings us into contact with the unlimited, sensitive, intelligent power of love.

181. Allowing vs. controlling

Tue, 28 Nov 2023 14:00:00 +0000

While there’s no way to know if everything happens for a reason — what we can know is that things don’t need a reason in order to happen. Perhaps, ‘reasons’ are just a story we tell to make ourselves feel like we have some sense of what’s going on here on planet earth. When in reality, we have absolutely no idea. This week we explore what happens when we consciously open up to Life being completely out of our control and meet the mystery of the universe with a willingness to say yes, while not knowing what we’re saying yes to. If you find yourself willing to find out if the universe is indeed friendly and if goodness is the real nature of life, then this is the episode for you!

180. I have to keep it together

Tue, 21 Nov 2023 14:00:00 +0000

Do we really have to hold it all together? So many of us walk around with the pressure to contain, maintain, manage life without ever stopping to inquire about whether we actually have that power in the first place. When believing this story, we have to imagine a future where something terrible happens if we don’t keep it all going. Yet, the nature of this reality is that everything comes to pass not to stay which puts us in an impossible position. As Byron Katie says, when we fight against reality we will lose — 100% of the time. Yet, when we notice what we’re believing on top of reality and question it — we begin to trust and flow with the great mystery of life.

179. I need to control myself

Tue, 14 Nov 2023 14:00:00 +0000

We have the mistaken understanding that if we give ourselves the freedom to be as we are — especially when we’re feeling or desiring something ‘negative’ — that we will have to act out on it. But is that actually how it works? Giving ourselves full permission to be is like giving ourselves unlimited space and allowance to be, which Tom proposes are two qualities of love. Could it be that who we are responds to love and that all of the good things we want for ourselves, others, and the world have a much better chance of emerging from freedom rather than force and control?

178. On happiness

Tue, 7 Nov 2023 14:00:00 +0000

The promise of happiness is one of the greatest ‘motivators’ we hold for ourselves, our children, our partnerships, the world. But where does happiness actually come from and what is its nature? Is it actually sourced from relationships, objects, jobs, money, experiences going a certain way? Or is it possible that happiness is not dependent on anyone or anything? Could it be that happiness is primary to who we are — a natural state of being? This week’s episode invites you to put down everything you’ve been taught about happiness and everything you think you know about it, so you can open up to experience what’s true about happiness, for yourself.

177. A new definition of perfection

Tue, 31 Oct 2023 13:00:00 +0000

Could it be that everything that happens within you and without you is unfolding in utter perfection? If you’re suffering, you’re suffering perfectly. If you’re pushing yourself, you’re pushing yourself perfectly. If there’s war, it’s warring perfectly. When there are no shoulds, no shouldn’ts, no wanting it to be different; when nothing is held up in comparison to anything else — the glimmer of perfection begins to shine through all things. Follow along and discover what happens as we open up to a radical new definition of perfection.

176. Life is against me

Tue, 24 Oct 2023 13:00:00 +0000

Some beliefs are so subtle that when we first inquire into them we may have a hard time relating. We may think, ‘I don’t have that going on in my world,’ only to discover that it is impacting us in a much greater way than we had anticipated. This is exactly what happened for a majority of participants in this week’s episode. Group inquiry is: awareness alchemy. With each individual’s reflection we are reminded of experiences of our own or invited to see something in a new way, which supports us to drop deeper and deeper into the effortless, ever-present state of awareness. Which as Vernon Howard aptly says, “Is the cure, the only cure.”

175. That which is real

Tue, 17 Oct 2023 13:00:00 +0000

This week’s episode invites you to let in that you don’t know for sure that you are separate from everything that exists. If what you are has no beginning or end and who you are is not dependent on a body, or your name, or the events of your life; then couldn’t it be true that the reality of YOU is not separate from the reality of ALL? Up is always hanging out with down, good is always hanging out with bad - seemingly opposing realities appear separate and yet are completely dependent on each other. Where could these separate realities exist except within the one infinite space that holds it all? Join us, as we do our best to get in touch with that which is real and open to the possibility that who we are is not separate from that which is ever-present and unchanging.

174. I am not good

Tue, 10 Oct 2023 13:00:00 +0000

If you are a regular listener of this podcast then it’s likely you are open to the possibility that who-and-what-you-are is good. It’s also quite possible that after a glimmer of this truth, the insight has become a wish or a hope rather than an embodied knowing. This is what Byron Katie refers to as, “Living beyond our evolution.” It happens when we mentally relate to a truth but haven’t actually realized it for ourselves yet. This week Tom highlights one of the most insidious beliefs that can manifest in this way: thinking that we are good and living as if we are not. Join us as we drop another layer deeper into our own understanding of what is true about our essential nature.

173. Be the seeing

Tue, 3 Oct 2023 13:00:00 +0000

Could it be that our habit of making a loss, a sickness, an accident - ‘wrong,’ ‘bad,’ or a ‘tragedy’ - goes hand-in-hand with our habit of identifying? When we see ourselves as someone, going somewhere, doing something we have no choice but to focus on whatever legitimizes our identity and we’re blocked from appreciating the inevitable goodness that accompanies all happenings. Yet, when we allow ourselves to simply be that-which-perceives, we begin to see how everything that recedes is ultimately making way for something more full, more true, more beautiful, to come through. This week’s episode invites us to keep it simple and possibly discover a sweeter life than we could have ever believed it to be.

172. I'm a human - is that true?

Tue, 26 Sep 2023 13:00:00 +0000

This week’s meditation is an inquiry into being human. What is our actual experience when it comes to being alive and knowing that we’re here? Tom guides us into a powerful examination of the most common assumptions related to the underlying belief in separation and body dependence. Through exploring the nature of images, thoughts, sensations, and feelings as they relate to our direct experience, this guided meditation gets us in touch with the ever-present, effortless, limitless awareness that rests beyond it all.

171. Everyone is here to please me

Tue, 19 Sep 2023 13:00:00 +0000

Are you living as if the world is here to please you? Look at your children, your partner, your family, even strangers - is it really their life purpose to please you? Follow along for a humbling investigation filled with relatable examples, laughter, and powerful insights into the utter ridiculousness of pleasing and being pleased. Join us as we take inventory, question, and turn this story around for the love of freedom and discovery of the truth of who we are.

170. Am I ever not safe?

Tue, 12 Sep 2023 13:00:00 +0000

Could it be that lack of safety is just a sensation in the body? And that in reality, there’s never been a moment where we weren’t safe? Even in the midst of great emotional and physical pain, is it possible that we are still safe? So often we hold onto painful stories and images of the past as protection from possible future pain, but what does that habit actually do to us? This week’s episode challenges the most common narratives about how to keep yourself safe. Could it be that openness rather than ‘holding on’ is the most intelligent and supportive stance we can take as we meet the ever-mysterious, unfolding of life?

169. There's a limit to how good life can be

Tue, 5 Sep 2023 13:00:00 +0000

We’ve been convinced that lack and fear and desire is what causes life to improve - but all it does is cause misery, with a few breaks. (Granted, those breaks can be quite ecstatic depending on the depth of the misery!) Imagine allowing yourself to genuinely want what is, to love what is in every single moment. Could it be that everything you see as a problem has only one cause: the lack of love? This week’s meditation invites us to try out ‘loving’ the world instead of wanting something from it. Together, we open up to the possibility that there is no limit to the goodness of life and that loving what is, is our only job along the way.

168. I've lost something

Tue, 29 Aug 2023 13:00:00 +0000

This week’s episode focuses on the concept of loss - loss of resources, the body, one’s potential, a loved one. Yet, when we’re fully present, without holding on to past and future, what is it that we actually have to lose? Could it be that what we call loss is ultimately a habitual way of delineating the ever-changing moment of reality? Follow along as we use the four questions and turnarounds to explore new perspectives and discover what might be more true about . It’s possible to lose something, is that true?

167. Wanting & It's just not for me

Tue, 22 Aug 2023 15:00:00 +0000

Are there things you would like to experience, yet secretly believe are just ‘not for you?’ A type of lifestyle, the way your body looks, acknowledgement from others etc. This week’s episode meanders through our wanting, the proof we hold onto, the stories we tell, and the habits we engage with to make sense of who we are, where we’re going, and what we believe we want and need in order to be happy. Could it be that in the end we are always getting what we want and ultimately, there is nothing to “get?”

166. What is real about me?

Tue, 15 Aug 2023 13:00:00 +0000

Could it be that what we truly are is not dependent on anything? Not a body, not the breath, not a thought. What if even time and space are not required in order for conscious awareness to be? Join us for a deep contemplation into what is most ‘real’ about who and what we are. Could it be that everything in existence is dependent on this conscious awareness that we are - not the other way around?

165. I should be useful

Tue, 8 Aug 2023 13:00:00 +0000

On a conscious or unconscious level, most of us come to believe some version of this message: there is a point to everything and it’s all very important and serious so we better not mess it up. Enjoying our unique participation in the great, spontaneous, unfolding of Life is hard to do when we believe that we need to be someone, going somewhere, doing something useful. This week we invite you to put down the old habits of holding on and efforting and resisting to uncover the effortless being that you are and the possibility that Life is less of a journey towards an end destination and more like a beautiful dance.

164. FOMO

Tue, 1 Aug 2023 13:00:00 +0000

Oh, the fear of missing out - a story we can all relate to! But did you know what it actually costs to believe this stressful story? Follow along for a very powerful investigation into a story that can create perpetual inner disharmony, as in, we’re never in 100% agreement with what we’re doing, what we’re focused on, our decisions. Instead, there’s always a doubt, a conflict, a lack. Who would you be without the story that you can miss out?

163. How to have a big-fat-yes to life

Tue, 25 Jul 2023 13:00:00 +0000

What do we do when there’s something our conscious mind wants to experience and it’s not happening in our world? It’s easy to turn inward and feel guilt and shame about it or to turn outward and resent the circumstances of our Life. Yet, neither strategy seems to help us obtain the thing it is that we’d like to experience. This week Tom guides a participant through a new set of options. Follow along for a beautiful example of how the power of unconditional welcoming and open-hearted inquiry can transform our cringes and resistances to what we want into ‘big-fat-yeses’ to our one wild and precious Life.

162. I am dependent on this body, is it true?

Tue, 18 Jul 2023 13:00:00 +0000

How do you know that you’re dependent on a body? If sensations, images, and feelings come and go - how could you possibly be dependent on something that changes constantly? Do you experience yourself coming and going every time a new sensation arrives or disappears? Or is it more true that you are what those sensations appear to, appear within? This week’s episode dives into what we hold onto as absolute proof that we’re separate - our physical bodies. We invite you to bring an open mind and heart and see where this investigation takes you when you’re willing to not-know.

161. You need to be right about anything

Tue, 11 Jul 2023 13:00:00 +0000

Needing to be “right” can feel like a life or death event. Yet the truth is, we’d need to see the way every moment of eternity was going to play out in order to know for sure that something was truly “right” or “wrong.” Right? What does it do to our world when we believe we need to attain something we can’t ever know in the ultimate sense? Turns out there’s a lot of stressful impacts tied up in this one. Follow along for an episode that is jam-packed with powerful shares from the group and playful articulations from Tom. All in service to waking up to the truth of who you are and to the possibility that the world might be a lot friendlier when you let go of this highly overrated habit.

160. You need to be afraid of doing it wrong

Tue, 4 Jul 2023 13:00:00 +0000

Tom likes to say, the greatest religion on the planet is the story that you can do it wrong and it’s serious. Can you relate? Have you noticed how often you give off and receive this message - both explicitly and implicitly? As one group participant framed it, this belief seems to serve as a navigation system for moving through the world. Which is why it is so powerful to examine what we actually get when we believe this story. Do we really need to fear doing it wrong to live well in this world? Who are you without this story? Follow along and see for yourself whether this belief is really serving you and your heart’s desire.

*Wednesday meditation-goers, the weekly meditations with Tom will be paused for the month of July. We will resume at our regular time (5pm ET) on August 2nd.

159. I don't need to hold onto anything

Tue, 27 Jun 2023 13:00:00 +0000

This week we continue with the theme of ‘holding on’ by considering that we don’t need to hold onto anything. What happens when you allow yourself to be completely uninterested in holding on to anything - including your sense of self? Do you actually disappear or evaporate into an infinite black abyss when you stop holding onto your images, feelings, and sensations? Or is there something else waiting for you there? Join us as we let in the truth and allow ourselves to completely let go of holding on.

158. I need to hold on

Tue, 20 Jun 2023 13:00:00 +0000

This week’s meditation zeros in on the painful habit of ‘holding on.’ Whether it’s holding onto the body, the past, our reputation, being liked, preparing for the future, or even staying in the moment - do we actually need to hold on to any of these things? Follow along for a popcorn-style, self-inquiry practice and receive the benefits of contemplating a belief in a group container. As Byron Katie puts it, “I don’t let go of concepts - I question them. Then they let go of me.”

157. The fear of missing out

Tue, 13 Jun 2023 13:00:00 +0000

Most of us have experienced the pain, stress, and anger that comes from believing we can’t get what we want. Some of us experience it regularly, if not, most moments of every day. In this world of missing out, Life is against us and no amount of prepping or ‘doing it right’ will secure the fruition of our deepest desires and dreams. Somehow we came out the ‘unlucky one’ and it is our destiny to be left out from the goodness of life. Can you relate? If you’ve ever suffered from FOMO, this is the episode for you! We invite you to follow along with your own examples and allow your mind and heart to open to new possibilities when it comes to getting what you want.

156. Effort

Tue, 6 Jun 2023 13:00:00 +0000

Efforting is needed to do whatever you’d like to do or be whatever you’d like to be or experience whatever you’d like to experience. Is that true? Most of us superimpose onto our experience that ‘effort is needed’ and as long as we believe that we need it - that is how we’ll experience doing whatever we’re doing. This week’s episode invites us to contemplate the truth of this commonly held belief and notice all of the effects this belief has on our life. Who are you without the story that effort is needed? Could it be that every single thing that happens, happens effortlessly? Including the awareness that you are.

155. This isn't fair

Tue, 30 May 2023 13:00:00 +0000

When we consider ‘Reality’ or what is actually happening in each moment, could it be we are always getting exactly what we want? While we may not like or prefer the circumstances of a situation we are in, the truth remains: no one has the power to override reality. What we do have is the freedom to make choices within that reality and that is exactly the power that this week’s episode taps us into. Discover what is available when you open up to ‘what is’ rather than the imagination of what you wish life ‘could be.’ Join us as we shift out of victimhood into limitless possibilities and freedom from an unfair life.

154. Controlling one’s feelings

Tue, 23 May 2023 13:00:00 +0000

Many innocently assume that control is what allows for productive interactions with one’s self and others. But is that true when we look at our experience? Are your feelings or anyone else’s feelings something that need to be controlled? Or could it be that the habit of changing, resisting, and controlling feelings is what generates the suffering we try so hard to avoid? This week’s episode is for those who have experimented long enough with force and resistance as a path to peace and harmony and are ready for something new. Could it be that allowing and liberating feelings is not only a much kinder and loving approach, but a significantly wiser and more intelligent way to live?

153. Life is serious. What's your proof?

Tue, 16 May 2023 13:00:00 +0000

Is Life inherently serious? Or is that just a story we tell about Life? Perhaps, we can’t ever know for sure. But what we can know for sure is that this belief does not give us a big-fat-YES to Life! And that is a pretty big clue that the story is not working for us. Are you ready to question one of the most cherished beliefs on the planet? Join us for a group meditation, inquiry, and deep invitations into a completely new way of living and loving, free from the story ‘it’s serious.’

152. Familial guilt and rules about love

Tue, 9 May 2023 13:00:00 +0000

This week’s episode goes beautifully with Ram Dass’s famous quote, “If you think you’re enlightened - go spend a week with your family.” The enormous stockpile of calcified habits, roles, rules and responsibilities that come up when we are around the key figures of our childhood are ripe with opportunity for self-discovery and freedom. Follow along, as participants provide heartfelt and deeply relatable examples of familial dynamics and experience for yourself what the power of love, acceptance, and permission can do for your inner and outer world.

151. Destiny of the physical body

Tue, 2 May 2023 13:00:00 +0000

Because the body can experience pain and be damaged, that means you’re not safe right now. Is that true?

Notice what it’s like to live with the story, “I don’t ever want to experience the body being damaged,” when it’s very clear that in the world of bodies that is a possibility. This week we take a look at our obsession with physical safety and body integrity as a path to peace and happiness. Of course we would all agree that it is not our preference to experience pain or damage to the body - but notice the toll it takes on living a full, dynamic, and joyful life. Could it be that the safest and most enjoyable path through this life in a physical body, is being willing for it to experience anything and everything? Only one way to find out!

150. The part that wants to suffer

Tue, 25 Apr 2023 13:00:00 +0000

This week Tom invites us to consider the habit of imaging the past and future as a way to hurt ourselves. Could it be there is a part of you that wants to suffer? What happens when you welcome that part and all of the thoughts and sensations that go along with it? Often we hold on to suffering in order to prove a story, such as: I’m right, I was wronged, I’m not safe, or I’m missing something vital. Ultimately, it is an innocent attempt to protect the hurt ones inside. When we bring our curiosity and understanding to each of these hurts we can begin to free our inner world and let go of the dynamics that perpetuate suffering.

149. I have to be realistic

Tue, 18 Apr 2023 13:00:00 +0000

Wanting what you want is no easy feat in a society that orients towards being practical and responsible. It’s as if the realm of imagination and creativity is sanctioned to childhood and even there, stands on shaky ground. Yet, it only takes a contemplation of the birthing process or a glance up at the night sky to see that this reality is far from realistic. When we take a step back and release our assumptions, life is nothing short of miraculous! Who would you be without the story you need to be realistic? Is there even such a thing?

148. I shouldn't feel this way

Tue, 11 Apr 2023 13:00:00 +0000

If you’ve ever had an aha! moment while doing ‘The Work’ then you know just how transformative this practice can be. But what happens when the questions aren’t working and you find yourself more jumbled up than you were when you started? This week’s episode is a heartfelt demonstration of how to meet those tender moments by allowing ourselves to be exactly as we are. Self-allowance is one of the most radical tools out there and this group meditation demonstrates just how all-encompassing it can be. If inquiry is actually “love in motion,” then it cannot leave anyone or anything out. Could it be that includes you?

147. The power of complete permission

Tue, 4 Apr 2023 13:00:00 +0000

Byron Katie’s hallmark phrase, ‘Loving what is’ can come off as an exceptionally radical invitation. Especially, when in the midst of a challenging or undesirable moment. If you’re like most adult beings on this planet, you’ve received a lifetime of conditioning to ‘resist what is’ as a path to peace, joy, and happiness. So how could it possibly be that welcoming and allowing are actual, practical solutions for dealing with the challenges we face in our daily lives? This week we invite you to drop all of your preconceived notions about what works and what doesn’t and experiment with your own living examples. Join us, as we explore what actually happens when we give ourselves full permission to be exactly as we are - no matter what.

146. Everything is seen

Tue, 28 Mar 2023 13:00:00 +0000

Could it be there is one ever-present, awake, awareness that sees everything? Perhaps, the reason we’re always imagining ourselves being watched by others is because intuitively we know that everything about us is seen. Notice how you perceive the nature of this ever-present awareness in your life. If you are like many participants in this week’s group meditation, the one awareness is likened to a judgemental, critical authority, constantly looking for perfection and pointing out all flaws. No wonder our lives can feel so full of nervousness and a sense of constant pressure. This week’s episode invites you to put your mental assumptions aside and experience directly the awareness that sees it all. Could it be that no one is condemning you, except for you? And that in reality, you are always okay just the way you are?

145. Doing it wrong

Tue, 21 Mar 2023 13:00:00 +0000

It’s amazing how many stories put us into prevention-mode rather than ‘yes-to-life’ mode. We can get more oriented towards making sure ‘bad’ things don’t happen to us than actually showing up to enjoy our lives. Even when we start to see clearly that believed stories are the true source of our suffering; it can still feel completely radical to consider living without them. This week’s episode brings inquiry to what Tom likes to call ‘the favorite religion on the planet’: you can do it wrong and you can be punished. Join us, as we question this highly cherished story and consider who and what we would be without it.

144. Rebel, obey, or trust yourself (Costa Rican edition)

Tue, 14 Mar 2023 13:00:00 +0000

*** This audio is for the adventurous listener. Coming in hot from Costa Rica.

What happens when a value isn’t formed from freedom? It becomes a chore, a demand, a requirement. Even if we resonate with the ethical code or spiritual teaching behind a value - without freedom, it will never be experienced as one’s own embodied truth. Most of us have become experts at memorizing and imitating the ‘right’ ways to live and be in the world. But could it be that a thorough exploration of the nature of our awareness is all we need to harmoniously participate with life? If you’re ready for an alternative approach to living your goodness, this week’s episode is for you. Instead of staying caught between obeying and rebelling against a list of inherited demands and requirements, join us for a deep-dive into utter self-responsibility and the ultimate act of freedom: self-trust.

143. The true cause of our hurt

Tue, 7 Mar 2023 14:00:00 +0000

Are other people’s actions the cause of our hurt? Or is it possible that our thinking is the root cause of all suffering? Whether it be receiving confronting feedback from a friend or watching a romantic partner run off into the sunset with someone else; this week’s episode demonstrates how inquiry can support us to live through any experience with an open heart of gratitude. When we get clear about the cause of our suffering, we don’t have to brace against other people’s words and actions any longer. Instead, we can courageously face each moment and genuinely love whatever happens. We can finally relax and enjoy the ride!

142. I need to have something to offer

Tue, 28 Feb 2023 14:00:00 +0000

Through inquiry we notice that there is a striking difference between what we hold on to a thought ‘for’ and what the thought actually ‘gives’ us. Once we see this discrepancy, we can decide what we’re actually interested in experiencing and drop the stories that aren’t supporting us with that interest. Sometimes simply seeing how we show up to life when we’re believing a thought can be all it takes to be done with a story forever. Regardless of how it happens for you, the work is an experiential practice. You’re invited to follow along with your own life examples and see for yourself whether this thought or any thought is actually working for you. As Tom says, “don’t take my word for it.”

141. I can't be happy under these circumstances

Tue, 21 Feb 2023 14:00:00 +0000

If you had the choice to be unconditionally happy or to try and make Life happen the way you want it to go - which would you choose? We are taught to expect that happiness comes from getting what we want. But is that actually how it works? Could it be that we are the happiness we seek? And that who and what we are is good under any circumstance? This week’s episode is a popcorn style investigation into our desire for, and more importantly, our resistance to being happy right now. “I can’t be happy under these circumstances.” Is that really true?

140. Is noticing enough?

Tue, 14 Feb 2023 14:00:00 +0000

Many of us walk around with a persistent story and compulsion that we have to ‘do something.’ But is it actually true? What happens when you open up to the possibility that your job is done once you’ve noticed your experience? Could it be that simple? Could it be that noticing anything and everything is enough? Tom proposes that another name for noticing is ‘waking up’ and that that-which-notices is already free. If you find yourself interested in stepping off of the ‘I-need-to-do-something’ hamster wheel, then do your best to follow along as we experiment with allowing ‘noticing’ to be enough.

139. Looking in the mirror

Tue, 7 Feb 2023 14:00:00 +0000

Tom often describes Reality as ‘utter allowance’ - yet that is not how many of us would describe our day-to-day experience. Imagine standing in front of a mirror completely exposed. In reality, all of you is welcome. Are you aware of what it is that you have a hard time allowing to be? When following the path of inquiry, we often discover decisions made long ago and strategies implemented to keep us safe. This week’s episode explores what happens when we let in the possibility that we are all of it and begin to see clearly that all of it is allowed.

138. Everything just is

Tue, 31 Jan 2023 14:00:00 +0000

Notice how in our actual experience nothing is separate. There are no borders and there are no boundaries. There is no outer world and inner world. There is only one, ever present, uninterrupted, impenetrable experiencing. The mind is always looking for an edge, a distinction, a justification to declare what is allowed and not allowed. What is right and what is wrong. What needs to happen, what needs to go away. This week, Tom invites us to let go of this habit and allow it all to blur together as it is. When we see clearly that it’s all allowed, it’s kind of like a ‘game over’ for the mind or a ‘checkmate.’ With nothing to figure out and nothing to do, we can finally rest, relax, and enjoy the ride.

137. A wonderful life is not for me

Tue, 24 Jan 2023 14:00:00 +0000

Let’s propose that believing our stressful thinking mirrors the results of putting our hand in a flame. When we do it - it burns, when we believe something untrue- it hurts. Now just because fire can burn us doesn’t mean we’ve stopped using it altogether. It is an incredibly helpful tool. We just acknowledge its potential for destruction and stop engaging with it in ways that can hurt us. What if the same applies with our thinking? What happens when we get very clear about the source of our suffering and stop engaging? Could it be that the path to living a wonderful life has less to do with what we acquire and obtain and so much more to do with a clear understanding of and disengagement from the thinking that leads to our suffering?

136. Resistance to doing

Tue, 17 Jan 2023 14:00:00 +0000

‘The Work’ is an incredible tool that can be utilized anytime we feel resistance to Life. The four questions and the turnarounds can be just as effective for focusing on a small moment of tension in our day-to-day life as they can be with a long standing pattern that has been with us since childhood. How? Because every step of ‘The Work’ requires awareness. If you are interested in looking within for the root of your suffering and your freedom, then we invite you to follow along as this week’s participant dives deep into one of his greatest resistance activators - doing chores.

135. Nothing required of you

Tue, 10 Jan 2023 14:00:00 +0000

So often we ask, ‘why am I here?’ from a place of frustration. But notice what happens when we genuinely contemplate this question. Could it be that there is nothing required of you? Nothing to do, nowhere to go, and no one to be? This week Tom leads a guided meditation into the possibility that there is absolutely nothing required of you to be here. Who are you and what is your presence like without the story that there are rules, demands, and requirements for your existence?

134. On parental control

Tue, 20 Dec 2022 14:00:00 +0000

The nature of the universe is utter allowance for everything and everyone. How can that be? Haven’t we proven we should not be free. Haven’t we demonstrated that we (as a human race) need some serious control measures put in place? And yet, reality keeps chugging along saying, “Nope, everyone is free and everyone is allowed to be as they are.” Could it be that Life knows something we don’t? Could it be that everyone has what it takes to navigate their own unique journey on this planet? Even the young people? Join us, for a Mother’s powerful investigation into themes of trust and control and the different worlds we create when we come from fear or we come from love.

133. The cost of being 'cool'

Tue, 13 Dec 2022 14:00:00 +0000

Notice what happens to your freedom and joy when you believe you need to be superior to others. Are you actually getting what you imagined being ‘better than’ would bring you? This week’s episode explores the price we pay when we make managing our image more important than the experience of the beingness that we are. Follow along using your own prized labels and discover who you are without the story that you need to manage the narrative around you.

132. Be reasonable

Tue, 6 Dec 2022 14:00:00 +0000

As children, we intuit the limitlessness of the universe and meet each phenomenon with humility and wonder. Our minds are open to all possibilities, not yet hardened by the “knowing” that comes with growing up. Luckily, it only takes a few moments to disrupt the arrogance of the ‘I-know’ mind and this week’s episode provides ample opportunities to do so. Through inquiry we examine whether or not ‘being reasonable’ supports us to live and experience in the way we truly want to. If every human body will eventually return to the earth - what kind of life and experiences are you interested in having while you’re here?

131. The comings and goings of relationships

Tue, 29 Nov 2022 14:00:00 +0000

Do you know for sure that the movement of people coming and going from your life means something about you? What about your movement in and out of other people’s worlds? Although the mind loves to explain why these things happen the way they do, when we engage in self-inquiry we start to see how very little there is that we can know for sure about why things are the way they are. This week’s episode is an intimate sharing on how to work with the comings and goings of friendships, to welcome our blackhole-like need for reassurance, and to experience directly the freedom we all exist within. Who would you be if you knew that the movement of people in and out of your world were impersonal cosmic events?

130. I wanted to achieve more

Tue, 22 Nov 2022 14:00:00 +0000

Who are you when you believe you need to prove yourself through your accomplishments? What happens to your world when you look to the past and believe that you wanted to achieve more than you did? These are some of the simple and powerful questions explored in this week’s episode as we examine the stressful and relentless story of ‘achievement.’ Follow along for a powerful popcorn-style inquiry and allow yourself to open up to the freedom that is instantly available when you realize perhaps, you’ve achieved exactly what you wanted to all along.

129. Is our happiness dependent on anything?

Tue, 15 Nov 2022 14:00:00 +0000

In this week’s episode, a participant works her stories around being single and the idea that a partnership is her ticket to a happy, fulfilled life. Most of us have something that we’ve decided, once obtained, will be the source of our happiness too. Money, fame, success, partnership etc. Whatever the object of your desire, follow along as we explore the true source of the pain of not getting what we want - which isn’t in not having it but in the meaning we’ve attached to its absence. Using inquiry we encounter new ways of working through the ‘life-or-death’ pressure that can come when we believe our happiness is dependent on something ‘outside’ of the experience of who and what we are. Could it be that our happiness is not dependent on any thing?

128. I need an explanation

Tue, 8 Nov 2022 14:00:00 +0000

Are you putting your life on hold believing you need to know why something happened the way it did? Notice how in reality you don’t actually need to know why anyone shows up the way they do or why anything happens the way it happens, in order to do all of the things that provide you with a deeply satisfying life. Do you need an explanation about why you’re alive in order to just sit here? No. What about an answer to the meaning of life in order to gaze up at the night sky? Nope. Who would you be without the story that you need a reason or an explanation from anyone or for anything?

127. The only presence there is

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Freya Sandow, Bella, Tom Compton, Caroline Corcoran) — Tue, 1 Nov 2022 13:00:00 +0000

The only presence that you actually know through experience is - your own. It is the only thing that doesn’t come and go unlike all perceptions which have a beginning and an end. Notice how the qualities of this presence are welcoming, allowing, and as Tom puts it: “a 100% yes to everything that appears.” So what happens when we shift our focus away from the objects, people, and situations that eventually will come to pass and relax into the unmoving, unchanged presence of awareness that we are? Join us, as we get in touch with the experience of being alone, at home, in and of ourselves without projecting a future. Perhaps, yours, is the only heart that has the possibility of never abandoning you.

126. Wanting it to be different

Tue, 25 Oct 2022 13:00:00 +0000

We often imagine how good it will feel when something changes and miss how it actually feels to want something to be different than it is. Everything we hold onto, we hold onto for a good reason because we think it’s going to help. But the more you can be aware of the actual effect of holding onto wanting something to be different, the easier it becomes to let go. It’s like, “Oh! I’m holding onto the experience of running into a brick wall.” That’s what I actually get by wanting something to be different. Join us, for a popcorn style meditation on the extremely popular - yet highly painful habit of wanting things to be different. What do you actually get when you want something to be different?

125. It's all too much

Tue, 18 Oct 2022 13:00:00 +0000

Sometimes life can feel like too much. And maybe it is - just not for the reasons our mind holds onto. What if the experience we call ‘too much’ is actually what happens when the belief that we need things to go a certain way, bumps up against the truth of the the way things are? That makes sense! It’s absolutely ‘too much’ to believe we need control of our life’s agenda, when reality is constantly proving otherwise. This week’s episode brings helpful and effective ways to work with the anger and the fear that can show up when life doesn’t go the way we want it to. Perhaps, there is actually a good reason you have no idea where you’re going - maybe you haven’t been given the travel itinerary because this life is meant to be a wonderful adventure.

124. Let peace begin with me

Tue, 11 Oct 2022 13:00:00 +0000

Are you tired of waiting for the world to [ insert desired behavior ] so you can finally experience peace? Do you like putting your experience of peace in everyone else’s hands? Notice what happens when you need other people, life, circumstances to be different than they are. What does that do to your presence? To your ability to experience peace, joy, and love right now? If you’re interested in a different experiment, try out the turnaround “I need me to …” and then see what options become available. When we bring our demands back home to us, a whole new set of possibilities can emerge. Perhaps, peace is not having everything the way you want - it’s who and what you are when you welcome everyone and everything just the way it is (including you).

123. Trusting the universe with everything

Tue, 4 Oct 2022 13:00:00 +0000

Could it be that the story, ‘I can’t trust life’ is a primary cause of war and violence on the planet? And that every time you believe this thought, you become a participant? You might not be plotting a military invasion but you are at war with reality. And any time we are at war with what is, we have no choice but to try and control it. Which means bigger and bigger ways of forcing - of violence. What would it be like to set down your huge list of what should and should not be happening and let the universe take care of every detail?

122. I can't get no satisfaction

Tue, 27 Sep 2022 13:00:00 +0000

Is it possible to allow yourself to be satisfied with every aspect of your life? If you could be completely satisfied with everything the way it is right now, would you? In this week’s episode, Tom invites us to look at the habit of being dissatisfied with ourselves, our partners, our ‘situation’ around money, where we live, our hobbies etc. It might seem like holding on to dissatisfaction is helpful in getting you what you want - but is it? Is dissatisfaction actually the grand motivator we make it out to be? Or does it just lead to more stress and suffering? Perhaps, it is actually the experience of satisfaction, of following your interests, and feeling your freedom that are most supportive in the attaining of your heart’s desires. If you’re not thrilled with your results from the ‘I’m not satisfied’ experiment - this is the episode for you.

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

For more information about the Love is the power weekly meditation call - visit theworkwithtom.com

121. You don’t need a reason

Tue, 20 Sep 2022 13:00:00 +0000

Could it be that we don’t need a reason to want what we want and do what we do? Though most of us are habituated to provide justifications and explanations for ourselves, this week’s episode highlights the underlying freedom of reality: we don’t need a reason. Join us, as we experiment with trusting what we want, honoring our yeses and nos, and acknowledging our unlimited freedom to change our mind. What is your presence like without the story that you need a reason?

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

For more information about the Love is the power weekly meditation call visit theworkwithtom.com

120. You have to pay for your past

Tue, 6 Sep 2022 13:00:00 +0000

In this week’s episode, we take a look at all of the past experiences we label as ‘shouldn’t have happened.’ Notice, that when we hold onto the past like this, we don’t allow it to be what it is: which is - over. We are blocked from receiving the grace of this brand new moment and experiencing the friendly qualities of the universe. Letting it be over can feel like ‘cheating’ or can just seem ‘wrong’ because as Tom puts it, ‘everyone knows you have to pay for your past.’ But do you? This week, we open up to the possibility that letting go of the past could be as simple as allowing it to be done. You ever, ever, ever have to pay for your past, is that true?

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

For more information about the Love is the power weekly meditation call - visit: theworkwithtom.com

119. Wrong place, wrong time, wrong thing

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Bella, Freya Sandow, Tom Compton, Caroline Corcoran) — Tue, 30 Aug 2022 13:00:00 +0000

This week’s episode dives head first into what Tom calls, ‘the greatest religion on the planet’ - the story of right and wrong. Is it possible to die at the wrong time? Is it possible to make a mistake? Is it possible to miss an opportunity? When we come from an ego perspective, we think, ‘if I don’t believe something is wrong, I won’t act to change the world.’ But is that really true? Do we actually need to judge life with shoulds and shouldn’ts, in order to effectively care for ourselves and each other? This may be why so many people are afraid of peace and the truth of who we are. Because who we are doesn’t oppose reality.

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

For more information about the Love is the power weekly meditation call visit: theworkwithtom.com

118. Is anything in life against me?

Tue, 23 Aug 2022 13:00:00 +0000

By now, we’ve all heard the phrase, “It’s not happening to you, it’s happening for you.” But hoping something is true is quite different than seeing and experiencing the truth for yourself. One is flimsy in the heat of the moment, the other is an unshakeable ground to stand upon. When things don’t go the way we had planned, when life isn’t happening as we believe it ‘should,’ it’s easy to slip into a ’life-is-against-me’ mentality. So, bring your examples, collect your proof, and follow along as we consider the impact of this painful story. The invitation this week is to leave everything you “know” behind and enter with a sincere heart and genuine curiosity. Perhaps, there is nothing in life that is against you.

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

For more information about the Love is the power weekly meditation call - visit theworkwithtom.com

117. Do you ever need your resistance?

Tue, 16 Aug 2022 13:00:00 +0000

In this week's episode, Tom invites us to notice the habit of identifying with the sensation we call, 'resistance.' Resistance tends to consist of an image, sensation, and story, and is what Tom refers to as 'the imaginary doer that we put our name on.' Could it be that this habit is actually completely unnecessary to live a happy and effective life? Is it possible that there is no situation in which we need our resistance? Join us, for this week's living experiment where we turn our resistance around and consciously allow things to be exactly the way they are.

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

For more information about the Love is the power weekly meditation call - visit theworkwithtom.com

116. I need recognition

Tue, 9 Aug 2022 13:00:00 +0000

This week we work with the universal belief of every ego: 'I need recognition.' As participants share their personal examples, Tom highlights the insidious nature of this stressful story and helps to expose all of the meaning we've attached to it. Could it be that striving for recognition is not actually about the recognition? Join us, as we apply each step of 'The Work' to discover the truth for ourselves - popcorn-style, among friends.

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

For more information about the Love is the power weekly meditation call - visit theworkwithtom.com

115. Why are we here?

Tue, 2 Aug 2022 13:00:00 +0000

This week’s episode explores what can seem to be unanswerable questions regarding the nature of reality. Why are we here? What is the purpose of this life? Taking these questions out of the head and into the heart, Tom proposes a way to choose your own north star, to get in touch with what you are interested in, and to take the courageous leap of finding out what is true through your own direct experience. Perhaps, the only thing we’ve really got to lose is our suffering. Let the experimentation begin!

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

For more information about the Love is the power weekly meditation call - visit theworkwithtom.com

114. Choosing our experience

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 13:00:00 +0000

This week's episode supports us to welcome our wanting of negative experience. Could it be that the position of opposing is actually wanting the thing you're opposing? For example: being taken advantage. Notice how resisting being taken advantage of creates a subtle wanting to be taken advantage of. Much like the #6 on the judge-your-neighbor worksheet, when we release our resistance to something we return to the free, open, spacious awareness that we are. From here we are in allowance of every 'happening' while simultaneously completely about what we are and are not interested in.

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

For more information about the Love is the power weekly meditation call - visit theworkwithtom.com

113. The waking dream

Tue, 19 Jul 2022 13:00:00 +0000

The experience of waking up from a nightmare seems effortless and obvious. Our eyes open and we see that it was just a dream even if there are lingering feelings and reactions moving through our body/mind. Could it be that this is exactly what happens when we question a story and see that it is not true? As Tom puts it, efforting comes from thinking, from the thought-identified self, from the mind. Whereas realization comes from that which is already free - and it's effortless. Join us, as we experience what it is to wake up to the truth of who we are.

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

For group meditation details visit: theworkwithtom.com

112. A privileged life

Tue, 12 Jul 2022 13:00:00 +0000

When looking out at the state of the world, it is not uncommon to get stuck asking, "why?" Why do certain people experience abundance while others do not? Why are some living privileged lives while others appear to endlessly struggle? Rather than relaxing into the goodness of the moment we're in, we become contracted, stressed, and guilty. We think, "how could I possibly relax when there are people suffering in the world?" This week's episode takes a deep and sincere look at privilege, victimhood, and the possibility of love for no reason. Could it be that you don't have to deserve a good life?

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

For group meditation details visit: theworkwithtom.com

111. I Need to speak up for myself

Tue, 5 Jul 2022 14:40:00 +0000

In its essence, The Work is quite simple: take a stressful thought through the four questions and then turn it around. Sometimes the trickiest part is identifying which thoughts cause us stress. It turns out that many of our stressful stories are embedded into culturally accepted narratives that we've been conditioned to believe are "right," "helpful," and even "good for us." It is not uncommon after taking a belief through the four questions, to discover that the thought is not only not as helpful as we initially expected but more-so creates the opposite of what we are wanting to experience. This week's episode is a perfect example of one of those unassuming beliefs. Follow along and see for yourself whether this seemingly "good" thought is working for you or against you.

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

For more information about group meditations please visit theworkwithtom.com

110. The only problem there is

Tue, 28 Jun 2022 13:00:00 +0000

In this week's episode, Tom makes a radical proposition: Could it be that everything you experience as "a problem" really boils down to one problem? The experience of a lack of love. Follow along as participants share their own powerful examples and we dive deep into the nature of reality, love, and freedom. Remember you never, ever have to love, accept, or welcome anyone or anything. These meditations are invitations for self-inquiry and you are unconditionally welcome to participate or not.

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

For more information about group meditations visit: theworkwithtom.com

109. You know what's possible and not possible

Tue, 21 Jun 2022 13:00:00 +0000

You know what's possible and what's not possible in this existence. Is that true? Join us for a popcorn-style group inquiry around this concept led by Tom.

If you're interested in joining the live meditation call - please visit theworkwithtom.com for more information.

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

108. On Safety

Tue, 14 Jun 2022 13:00:00 +0000

This week, Tom guides us through an exploration of the effortlessness of it all. Follow along and notice for yourself just how effortlessly your thoughts, feelings, and sensations appear and disappear. Are you really the doer? Or could it be that you just - are aware - with zero effort? Following the meditation, we hear from two participants surrounding the topic of safety and what safety is dependent on, or not. We come to see that while it's hard to know what makes us safe, what we can know for sure is that whenever our safety is dependent on someone being different or seeing things differently, it completely disconnects us from the love that we are. And that always hurts. Thank you to all who share their worlds and question their stories so we can learn and grow together. Happy listening!

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

107. There isn't a place for me

Tue, 7 Jun 2022 13:00:00 +0000

When we identify and follow an uncomfortable sensation in the body, it often reveals a painful story we've been holding onto. As we welcome the accompanying feeling that goes along with it, we can then begin to ask ourselves what we've made this mean. With time we start to see how it is not the event itself that causes us pain but the conclusions we've made about the event. This week a participant explores her story, "there isn't a place for me here." With Tom's loving guidance, she begins to open up to the possibility that not only does she have a place - but that her place here may be unconditional.

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer | Could it be that it's time? by Andreas Henze, vocals by Eleni, Laeticia, Leeanne, Andreas

106. The love that allows

Tue, 31 May 2022 13:00:00 +0000

With every identity comes hundreds of rules - what's allowed and what's not allowed. Notice that when we let these unconscious belief systems run the show, our experience of life becomes very constricted and limited. How then do we reconnect to our childlike happiness? To our liberation and freedom? Perhaps, it is by noticing this simple truth: that in reality - everything is allowed. As you open to this possibility, you may begin to see that everything which has been suppressed is actually coming up to be met with love. And in doing so, we leave the invisible shackles of identity behind to live life from the wisdom of the utterly-allowing-beingness that we truly are.

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

105. Resistance as proof

Tue, 24 May 2022 13:00:00 +0000

One way to work with the resistance you experience is to ask yourself, "what story does this prove?" Often times we hold onto our resistance even when the situation is over because it's holding up a cherished story. Can you sense that at some point in the past you made a decision about the way things are and now every time you experience resistance it serves as proof that your conclusion is true? In this week's episode, several participants' share real-life examples of resistance and are guided to notice how it is working for them - or not. As Tom suggests, it could be that once we believe a story life will line up perfectly with it until we consciously decide that we are no longer interested. Are you ready to be done with the resistance-as-proof-game?

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

104. Proving your goodness

Tue, 17 May 2022 13:00:00 +0000

In this week's episode, a participant explores the difference between the image of goodness and the 'real thing.' With Tom's guidance, she considers the possibility that her self-hating behavior actually wants to accomplish something good and opens to the gift in having her unloving behavior out and exposed. This deep and powerful inquiry shines a light on how to work with the parts of ourselves that can be hard to forgive and realigns us to the unshakeable goodness that we are.

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

103. The many flavours of resistance

Tue, 10 May 2022 13:00:00 +0000

We could say that a common unconscious habit on this planet is to identify with our perceptions rather than our presence. Everything becomes a struggle, an effort to avoid the bad and bring in the good. However, when we look at our feelings, sensations, and images through the lens of inquiry we start to notice the possibility of just how effortless it all may be. Is physical pain actually a burden to the awareness that notices it? Are the possible bad things that could happen in the future a true threat to the presence of awareness of this moment? In this week’s episode, Tom invites us to notice how much of our experience is accompanied by the habit of efforting and resisting what is — or what our mind imagines could be — and invites us to rest as the unmoving presence of awareness that we actually are.

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

For more information about the Love is the power weekly meditation call - visit theworkwithtom.com

102. Welcome back

Tue, 3 May 2022 19:00:00 +0000

Welcome back to Season II of Love is the power. In this week's episode we introduce the team and recount the origin story of the Love is the power podcast. Tom reflects about his life before and after he discovered "The Work" of Byron Katie and shares many of the powerful insights and understandings he gathered along the way.

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

For more information about the Love is the power weekly meditation call - visit theworkwithtom.com

101. Message from Tom

Tue, 22 Feb 2022 14:00:00 +0000

Thank you to everyone who has participated in our group meditation calls and to all who have been tuning in to listen each week! Join us on March 15th, 2022 for the start of Love is the Power Season II.

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

100. The Work maintenance plan

Tue, 15 Feb 2022 14:00:00 +0000

Are you curious about how to maintain a Work meditation practice in your daily life? Tom suggests setting aside 15 minutes in the morning to explore one aspect of The Work. For instance, you can start by noticing some moment where you had a negative reaction. Use this opportunity to get curious about and meet the negativity without the agenda of getting rid of it. Simply discover all of the beliefs that go with the negative reaction. The next day, try spending 15 minutes with the “Is it true?” and “Do I know for sure that it is true?” questions. Bring your reactions and beliefs into conscious awareness to ultimately allow them to dissolve. Over time, you will become more and more conscious of who you already are—that is, who you are without your stressful beliefs and stories. If it means experiencing life from the perspective of the “living turnarounds”—where there’s room for everything, nothing has to change, and you love and trust yourself no matter what—the time investment is really worth it.

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

99. The unresolved one

Tue, 8 Feb 2022 14:00:00 +0000

Notice your response to receiving critical feedback from another. Do you feel compelled to tell the person that they’ve hurt you? Do you find the urge to apologize and reach a resolution? Whatever your tendency, we all know how painful it can be to be judged by another—especially when we make it mean we’re a bad person! In this week’s episode, Tom helps a meditation participant welcome the precious part of her that’s identified with her “badness." The one who desperately seeks to find a safe space to relate to others. Through inquiry, we are invited to open to the possibility that all spaces are safe when we directly experience the unconditional love that we are. It could be that no resolutions are needed when we live as who and what we are without a story.

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

98. The anxious one

Tue, 1 Feb 2022 14:00:00 +0000

Most of us can relate to the fear of being “found out” that this week’s meditation participant speaks to. Whether it be imposter syndrome, social anxiety, or a general sense of insecurity around others, many of us have been conditioned to believe we need to prove our worthiness in order to belong. This is, unsurprisingly, quite a stressful way to experience life. If you have grown accustomed to pushing away your fears in hopes that doing so will change you for the better, this episode is for you! Join us in finding a kinder way to be with the "anxious one," and open to the possibility that if you’re not seeing the changes in behavior you desire, it could be that life has another gift in mind for you: the experience of unconditional love.

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

97. The hurt one

Tue, 25 Jan 2022 14:00:00 +0000

Could it be that you—not your parents, children, or any other person or entity—are responsible for your suffering? Quite a radical proposition. In this week's meditation, we explore this notion through the lens of the commonly-held beliefs "I should be appreciated" and "it was all a waste." Many of us can likely relate to the desire to be acknowledged for the sacrifices we make for others—especially when those efforts are a genuine attempt to correct the disappointments of our own childhood. Moreover, we likely know the pain that comes when we do not achieve our desired results. Rather than depending on a person or situation outside of ourselves, Tom invites us to exercise our welcoming presence as a path to peace and resolution. By no longer keeping that "hurt inner child" separate and by allowing her to merge with who we are, we may begin to see that it is our own love and appreciation we've been searching for.

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

96. New Year meditation - Part II

Tue, 18 Jan 2022 14:00:00 +0000

Our Weekly Meditation Group tries on the New Year Meditation as guided by Tom. Tune in to hear folks share their New Year's wishes and also explore what shows up as resistance. To join us for our weekly sessions, please find Zoom and meeting details on Tom's website!

http://www.theworkwithtom.com/group-meditations.html

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

95. New Year meditation

Tue, 11 Jan 2022 14:00:00 +0000

What would you like to experience in 2022? This week, Tom leads a meditation session that allows us to get in touch with what we'd like for the new year and what might be in the way. To follow along, take a few moments to write down your new year's wishes. Then, say your statement out loud with either the words "I allow," "I’m open," or "I’m ready" as a preface. For example, "I’m open to experiencing more ease, effortlessness, and fun this year." Finally, allow your mind to offer up the reasons why this is not possible. Perhaps you need to know how this could be, or there's not enough time, or the very nature of life is hard, or you're not worthy. Whatever the mind presents, gently go through the Four Questions of The Work or simply welcome each reason until there's nothing left to fear or resist. Happy New Year, everyone.

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

94. Filterless experiencing

Tue, 4 Jan 2022 14:00:00 +0000

This week, Tom guides us in a meditation that explores pure, "filterless" experiencing. Settle in by allowing yourself to completely trust the chair and floor that supports the body. As you relax into your seat and surroundings, simply experience whatever is appearing, without knowing what it is or what it's for. If the mind demands for attention, be completely uninterested in whatever it might be saying, just for a few moments. What do you experience when you're not placing thinking, labels, names, stories—all the knowings of the mind—between you and whatever it is you're perceiving? Do you sense the intimacy of the uninterpreted moment?

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

93. The sense of separation

Tue, 28 Dec 2021 14:00:00 +0000

Holding onto a sense of separation from others and life itself can be quite a demanding task. While we may not initially be aware of the energy we exert to keep this story and experience of separation alive, this week's meditation shines a light on how that energy can unravel all by itself. As this "unraveling" occurs, there is nothing for us to do with or about it. There is no need to make sense of the sensations in the body or the thoughts and images that appear in the mind. In fact, we don't even need to discern whether or not separation is real to live a fun, loving, and connected life. Who would you be if you didn't have to make sense of everything and if you knew you couldn't get it wrong?

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

92. A short, sweet holiday invitation

Tue, 21 Dec 2021 14:00:00 +0000

This holiday season, Tom invites you to practice consciously welcoming all of the different parts of yourself that show up as negative reactions around the family. It's an opportunity to try on the living turn-around "I allow myself to be exactly the way I am." Family gatherings can be used as a time for self-realization or reparenting, for no matter how sweet or beautiful our family of origin experience was, there is always some lack of love that was experienced. This week, experiment with noticing your negativity and bringing unconditional love to however you're showing up. As the saying goes, if you're free of negative reactions around your family, you've gone pretty deep into your freedom. Happy experimenting and Happy Holidays!

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

91. Are feelings proof?

Tue, 14 Dec 2021 14:00:00 +0000

Once we examine our thinking, we notice how often the mind uses feelings to "prove" our stressful stories are true. But are feelings solid evidence of what’s true in reality? Often, we become so accustomed to the meanings associated with feelings and sensations created in the body that things “feel true” even when we can see they are not. This week’s episode helps us move beyond feelings while simultaneously welcoming them all. It could be that like the sky during a wild hurricane, the presence of awareness that we are welcomes everything and remains unshakable through it all.

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

90. The love you are

Tue, 7 Dec 2021 14:00:00 +0000

Could it be that our presence of awareness shares in the fundamental qualities of love? Utter allowance, openness, room for everything just the way it is; perhaps these phrases are descriptions of who we are. In this meditation, Tom invites us to contemplate and experience our oneness with and as love. As Katie puts it, "Who you are is not an option. You are love, and it hurts to believe you are other than who you are, to live any story less than love."

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

89. Allowing stillness

Tue, 30 Nov 2021 14:00:00 +0000

After a stressful event occurs in our lives, becoming consciously aware of the fact that the experience is now over can be a radical relief. This week’s meditation invites us to consider allowing our past—the images you see and the sensations you feel—to not just be over, but to not mean anything at all. Who are you without your stressful stories of the past? Whatever the long-held, long-cherished narrative might be, allowing it to dissolve can be simple. Our whole past—our history and memories—can collapse in an instant. It may just be a matter of no longer being interested in what the mind presents. Whatever the mind's activity, can you allow yourself to relax in stillness?

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

88. Rules, preferences, & freedom

Tue, 23 Nov 2021 14:00:00 +0000

Have you ever had a big life-learning moment and then decided you "never want to show up that way again?" Perhaps, you saw your ego/controller self in a situation and noticed you were not interested in living that way any longer. While these insights can be life-changing, they can also create a fear of falling back into old patterns. Thus, in an attempt to honor our learnings, we unconsciously place rules for ourselves that manifest as stuckness, confusion, and distrust of ourselves in the moment. While the rule may have come from a genuine insight and understanding, it is not necessarily the authentic choice for every moment. In this week's episode, we explore the subtle difference between living from fear and control versus living from space and freedom.

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

87. Making it happen

Tue, 16 Nov 2021 14:00:00 +0000

You may have heard Byron Katie talk about the three types of business: your business, my business, and God’s business. This week’s episode dives deeply into this notion and asks whether anything at all is actually "your business." In other words, do you make any of your thoughts, feelings, decisions, or experiences happen? Notice the response that arises within you: Whether you embrace or reject this question, did you will that response to happen or did it just appear? As you explore and unravel the fears, beliefs, and conclusions you’re holding onto around control, you may just get in touch with how all business is ultimately God’s business. That is, as Ralph Waldo Emerson puts it, how “our painful labors are unnecessary” and that “only in our easy, simple, spontaneous action are we strong.” Tom would call this having a “yes” to life.

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

86. The basics of experiencing

Tue, 9 Nov 2021 14:00:00 +0000

Consider the possibility that there is no wrong experience, but just experiencing. When we cease to make an effort to redirect, control, or interfere with the natural flow of life, we allow the world to be just the way it is. As Tom likes to say, this is both a quality of love and of who we are without a story: We effortlessly allow all things to be as they are, even our perceptions of ourselves or the “I” we believed ourselves to be. Join us for a short, sweet, and poignant meditation that invites us to merge our experience of who we really are with the nature of reality. By doing so, you actually become the friendly universe you’ve been looking for. You’re it.

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

85. Desire for a partner

Tue, 2 Nov 2021 13:00:00 +0000

Have you ever considered that desire, lack, and fear might go together? For example, you believe something’s missing from your life - like a romantic relationship - and then you desire to fill that gap. Or, you desire to be with a partner and simultaneously fear rejection. Many of us have bought into the idea that the formula for bringing something into our experience is to identify lack and to desire what is evidently missing. But if lack and fear bookend desire, wouldn’t you rather choose a more effortless and natural way to live? Rather than playing the desire, fear, and lack game, what if you let people and relationships come and go as they may? Who would you be in this moment if you were completely free of desire?

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

84. I'm responsible for other people's feelings

Tue, 26 Oct 2021 13:00:00 +0000

Open up to the possibility that there is no one in the entire universe who is dependent on you for their happiness, joy, or wholeness. Does this trigger fear and discomfort or come as a welcomed relief? In this week's episode, Tom helps us navigate the push and pull that comes with wanting to be needed by others - we love the importance it brings until we are the reason for someone else's pain and suffering. When we open up to the possibility that everyone is responsible for their own experience, we come to realize that we may not be as significant as we were conditioned to believe. Could it be that, in reality, no one needs us, we don't need anyone either, and that that is a good thing? As an experiment, you're invited to live today as if it's true. Try it out just to see how life responds.

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

83. Conscious welcoming

Tue, 19 Oct 2021 13:00:00 +0000

When we experience negative emotions, our habit is to resist. We do The Work, or whatever other practice we have in our toolkit, to get rid of our stressful stories and beliefs. But, what if we welcomed them instead? In this episode, Tom proposes a new way to meet our inner disturbances—that is, through conscious welcoming. This is likely a foreign concept for many of us. It may be challenging to even begin to approach. If that is the case, try picturing the negative image-story as a child. Then, welcome the precious child, with no agenda to change or fix it. There’s nothing to do here but purely welcome.

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

82. Fighting with reality

Tue, 12 Oct 2021 13:00:00 +0000

Most of us would agree that our relaxed, trusting self is the most effective self we can bring to any moment — past, present, or future. Yet many of us have been so fed up, hurt, and let down by life that we are anything but relaxed and trusting. In this week’s episode, with the support of three powerful shares, Tom uses the principles of The Work and invites us to consider what we would need to be true about life to have a big fat “YES” to it.

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

81. How to prevent bad things from happening

Tue, 5 Oct 2021 13:00:00 +0000

How do we live a life conducive to genuine peace and happiness when bad things have happened and can happen again? Most of us are all too familiar with this routine: We experience some kind of loss or pain, and then we resist the future based on our fear of the past repeating itself. Over time, we learn to trust the fearful images and stories the mind presents as being real rather than acknowledge them for what they are—images and stories about a past event or an unrealized future. This week's episode shines a light on a new, potentially radical, way to negotiate fear. That is, by simply opening up to it as it is. The moment we’re open to what we fear, we can consciously free ourselves of the mind's tyranny. So, whatever your imagination presents, are you willing to meet it?

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

80. No need to hide

Tue, 28 Sep 2021 13:00:00 +0000

Whether it be a character defect or a shameful part of your history, how do you react when you believe you need to hide some part of who you are? You may discover that the fear of being found out leads to constant preoccupation and hypervigilance. You are left contorting yourself into an “acceptable” mold, and you feel little trust for others and the world. This week’s episode invites us to look at the foundation of this fear-reaction and its reliance on imagination versus simply living with intelligence and the wisdom of our experience. Could it be that common sense is peaceful and being smart or safe doesn’t actually require fear?

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

79. I should have been there

Tue, 21 Sep 2021 13:00:00 +0000

When contending with loss of any kind, we may naturally feel regret. We ask ourselves what we could have done differently, how we could have been better or more available than we were to have prevented the loss. Upon further probing, we may see that the guilt we feel likely stems from a core belief that we have to prove that what (or who) we've lost is important to us. This week's episode invites us to explore whether this is true. As we observe who we become when we believe this thought, perhaps we can get in touch with how violent it is to have to prove that we love something or someone: It leads to fear, force, self-punishment, and greater distance from that which we love.

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

78. I cannot trust my impressions and impulses

Tue, 14 Sep 2021 13:00:00 +0000

This week, we look at the story “I cannot trust my impressions and impulses.” In this unfriendly universe, life becomes punitive and fearful. We desperately search for the rule book and become terrified of “getting it wrong.” But even if our impressions have been wrong in the past, could it still somehow be good for us to trust them? Perhaps, there are no mistakes in the universe — even when everything seems to have gone awry. Join us as we examine the world of not trusting ourselves and open up to the opposite perspective that we can completely trust our impressions and impulses. Which world would you rather live in? The choice is yours.

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

77. Receiving a "no"

Tue, 7 Sep 2021 13:00:00 +0000

Why is it so hard to give and receive no’s? Oftentimes it’s because we take them very personally. We put meaning onto the no’s, concluding that we’re not good enough, not worthy, or undeserving. This episode invites us to explore whether or not all the no’s we’ve received throughout our experience indeed prove these painful conclusions. We investigate the related belief that our support in this existence depends on proving that we’re good enough, and we meditate on how that view shapes our work, our relationships, and ourselves. Instead of living in a world where we must prove our worth, perhaps we can open up to a friendlier universe where the no’s we receive are not personal at all, but rather cosmic events.

Use offer code LOVEISTHEPOWER at childishchocolates.com to receive a free box of chocolate truffles with your first order.

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

76. The false self

Tue, 31 Aug 2021 13:00:00 +0000

Notice the tendency to imagine the body as being the "experiencer." Most of us are so committed to this imagination that we believe ourselves to be the body, or at least dependent on the body. But does experience require a medium? Does awareness need the body, space, stories, or concepts to be? Rather than being the experiencer, perhaps the body is just one more thing in the room to be experienced. Perhaps awareness experiences everything directly without any filter.

Use offer code LOVEISTHEPOWER at childishchocolates.com to receive a free box of chocolate truffles with your first order.

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

75. Getting something for nothing

Tue, 24 Aug 2021 13:00:00 +0000

Today, our conversation launches from the premise that the central banking system reflects the human tendency to want to "get something for nothing." But whether we're talking about an economic, political, or cultural apparatus, it's likely that we've all noticed or experienced some form of inequity. What we may not have recognized, though, is that everyone has the potential to liberate themselves from unfair, unjust systems. (For example, Tom posits that crypto is indicative of the truth that we can be free in a corrupt financial system.) Moreover, it could be that we are just as, if not more, efficient in acting to address inequity from a peaceful place rather than an outraged or offended one. This is because, as long as we're battling for or against anything, we are believing that war works and peace doesn't. Perhaps all of the control and violence on this earth is a real push for us to go all the way to find unconditional peace and positivity.

Use offer code LOVEISTHEPOWER at childishchocolates.com to receive a free box of chocolate truffles with your first order.

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

74. I'm ready to be free of all desires

Tue, 17 Aug 2021 13:00:00 +0000

A commonly-held belief around desire is that, without it, we wouldn’t experience the beauty that life has to offer. In fact, we might not do anything at all, let alone seek the company of a loved one or the sight of a breathtaking sunset. According to Tom, this is why everyone is terrified of peace: because we believe that a peaceful existence is non-existence. In other words, would we even get off the couch without desire’s call? This week’s episode invites us to consider whether desire is a requirement for, or the cause of, experiencing anything at all. Perhaps the relief we feel when we fulfill a desire is actually the relief that comes from being free of desire.

Use offer code LOVEISTHEPOWER at childishchocolates.com to receive a free box of chocolate truffles with your first order.

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

73. Shine with the joy of understanding

Tue, 10 Aug 2021 13:00:00 +0000

If you are like many of us, you have probably doubted your own goodness. You have probably lived many days believing that you are not good, not beautiful, not love. You also likely have some, maybe even ample, evidence to substantiate these doubts. Perhaps you are too angry to be good, too exhausted to be beautiful, or too bitter to be love. Whatever your story, allow it to share its life. Then thank it, and let it fade away. Now, ask yourself if it could be time for a brand new experiment—one where you live each day as if it were true that you are good, beautiful, love. We are not insisting or demanding that it be true. We’re just inviting you to do your best to live as if it is.

Use offer code LOVEISTHEPOWER at childishchocolates.com to receive a free box of chocolate truffles with your first order.

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

72. The story of seriousness

Tue, 3 Aug 2021 13:00:00 +0000

When the body is in pain or the mind in chaos, does the experience also have to be serious? Instead of just being what it is—painful, chaotic—does it also have to mean that you’re in trouble, that you’re a terrible person, that you don’t deserve anything good? It could be that the story of seriousness only magnifies our suffering: It focuses our energy on the things that are wrong. So, do you actually need the “it’s serious” story to recognize how unpleasant and uncomfortable an experience is? And who would you be without the story? Join in today’s episode to access the expressive, fearless, and innocent self that may exist beneath the cherished story of seriousness.

Use offer code LOVEISTHEPOWER at childishchocolates.com to receive a free box of chocolate truffles with your first order.

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

71. Mirror as metaphor

Tue, 27 Jul 2021 13:00:00 +0000

What does the imagery of the mirror point to in terms of who and what we truly are? The mirror is an instant, effortless, unconditional “yes” to whatever appears and disappears. Like the awareness that we are, the mirror says “yes” equally to an image of beautiful nature or an image of war. That is, it reflects both without agenda or judgment. The body-mind may make commentary on or choose to condemn the violence that the mirror reflects, but all of that is just another happening in the mirror. Remember, you are not the mirror. Nor are you a separate self that peers into the mirror, taking sides for or against what appears. Could it be then that you are the one awareness: open; accepting; free of stories, violence, desire, and even the body? Just one being living as the universe.

Use offer code LOVEISTHEPOWER at childishchocolates.com to receive a free box of chocolate truffles with your first order.

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

70. Everything is witnessed

Tue, 20 Jul 2021 13:00:00 +0000

Could it be everything that happens on this planet is witnessed? As in, no one ever gets away with anything? Upon first consideration, this may appear to be wishful thinking. But what are the alternatives? Just notice what it's like to live in a world where life is unfair and people can get away with things. Perhaps you feel angry, immobilized, or like you need to hold onto a grudge forever. This story tasks you with the lousy job of punishing people and, in case you didn't notice, the hours are long and the pay is horrible. As best you can, allow yourself to give up this job and be free of the story. Maybe we always get another chance to live love - when, in our confusion, we lived a story less than that.

Use offer code LOVEISTHEPOWER at childishchocolates.com to receive a free box of chocolate truffles with your first order.

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

Just the way it is

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Caroline Corcoran) — Fri, 16 Jul 2021 13:00:00 +0000

Just the way it is | Caroline Corcoran

69. It's always the same "I"

Tue, 13 Jul 2021 13:00:00 +0000

Allow yourself, for a few moments, to be bored with the perceptions of thinking—with images, stories, feelings, and the perceptions of the world. Notice that when you allow yourself to be bored, you naturally begin to rest as the being that you are. The being that is undisturbed, imperturbable, and untouchable. If you doubt this is true, look to the body, emotions, and experiences for proof. What you call “I” has been there through health and sickness, happiness and anger, good times and bad times. No matter what the content of experience, your sense of “I” remains the same. This episode invites you to contemplate your life’s circumstances from the “I” that has never changed. How would you go about your day if you knew nothing could affect you? Could it be time to simply put your bags down and rest?

Use offer code LOVEISTHEPOWER at childishchocolates.com to receive a free box of chocolate truffles with your first order.

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

68. Radiant beings of light and love

Tue, 6 Jul 2021 13:00:00 +0000

For a moment, experience yourself as the light that illuminates all experience. Can you allow everything to be just the way it is, without judgements, requirements, or demands that it be different? According to Tom, complete and utter unconditional allowance is one of the qualities of love—and of us. Even if you fear freedom, are living by rules, or carry the trauma of depression in your body, can you allow yourself to experience this radiant being of light and love that you are? No matter what you’ve experienced, no matter how you show up, maybe it's time to love and trust yourself no matter what.

Use offer code LOVEISTHEPOWER at childishchocolates.com to receive a free box of chocolate truffles with your first order.

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

67. What if there were no victims?

Tue, 29 Jun 2021 13:00:00 +0000

It’s not a popular thing to say and it may not even be true, but could it be that there are no victims in the world? The good news is that we don’t have to know for sure to see how the belief affects us. What is your presence like when you believe there are victims? Do you feel that all is hopeless and yet you must do something about the situation? Who are you without the belief? Do you feel more light, more respectful, or like you can ask anyone for anything, without being afraid? Rather than trying to figure out whether or not there are victims, this inquiry is an exercise in gathering information about our inner experience when we hold onto concepts; it is about gathering awareness.

Use offer code LOVEISTHEPOWER at childishchocolates.com to receive a free box of chocolate truffles with your first order.

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

66. Childhood conditioning

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Tom Compton, Caroline Corcoran, Dorry Guerra) — Tue, 22 Jun 2021 13:00:00 +0000

This week, we welcome our friend, Freya Sandow, who has been behind the scenes of the podcast for some time now.

Whether you are parenting children or re-parenting your inner-child, recognizing the patterns of old conditioning can be a helpful exercise. Like so many of us, you may have been taught the religion of right and wrong, or you may have been disciplined by the threat of punishment and the promise of reward. Whatever your upbringing, this episode invites you to liberate yourself from internalized violence. Once you've become aware of the mind’s scare tactics, will you choose to fear freedom or embrace it?

Use offer code LOVEISTHEPOWER at childishchocolates.com to receive a free box of chocolate truffles with your first order.

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

65. I want it just the way it is

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Dorry Guerra, Caroline Corcoran, Tom Compton) — Tue, 15 Jun 2021 13:00:00 +0000

“I want things to be different than the way they are.” Is that true? We’ve long experimented with wanting things to be different as a path to a better, fuller, more peaceful life, but have we ever stopped to question how that’s been working for us? This week’s meditation invites us to see why we might be compelled to hold onto this ineffective tendency or tactic. Perhaps holding on allows us to feel anger or demonstrate that we care. Perhaps it defends us against having to let something “ugly” in, whether that’s fear or the fact that we’re not doing a single thing to make things “better.” What happens when we try on the experience “I want things to be exactly as they are?” It may feel like sanity, a sane mind. It may be the kindest, most peaceful way to live.

Use offer code LOVEISTHEPOWER at childishchocolates.com to receive a free box of chocolate truffles with your first order.

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

64. The respectful way to do cancer

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Tom Compton, Dorry Guerra, Caroline Corcoran) — Tue, 8 Jun 2021 13:00:00 +0000

When you receive alarming news, such as a diagnosis for yourself or a loved one, do you notice your mind scaring you with worst-case scenario thoughts, feelings, and images? What about suffering? Does your mind make up rules such as “it would be insensitive and uncaring for you not to suffer through this experience?” Luckily, the mind is using the same old tricks it always uses, and you can be done with allowing it to terrorize you in the only moment there is—this one. This week's episode invites us to be open to whatever the mind is presenting, not because we’re interested in experiencing the worst-case scenarios but because we’re interested in being open. The moment we are open to the mind’s punches, there is nothing for the mind to hit. And the moment we let go of the mind's rules, we can experience any situation—including a cancer diagnosis—exactly the way we'd like to.

Use offer code LOVEISTHEPOWER at childishchocolates.com to receive a free box of chocolate truffles with your first order.

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

63. On rules and justifications

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Caroline Corcoran, Tom Compton, Dorry Guerra) — Tue, 1 Jun 2021 13:00:00 +0000

Is it true, in reality, that there are rules for how you have to show up in the world? Imagine going about living your life exactly the way you want, without giving anyone a good reason as to why. Many of us have bought into the story that we need to follow the world’s rules and justify our every move, but is that really true? This week's episode invites us to see our dependency on other people's permission so we can open up to the truth: that we are free to live life as we’d like. It could be that there are no rules and that we don’t have to justify how we live to anyone, not even ourselves.

Use offer code LOVEISTHEPOWER at childishchocolates.com to receive a free box of chocolate truffles with your first order.

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

62. Spiritual bypassing

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Caroline Corcoran, Dorry Guerra, Tom Compton) — Tue, 25 May 2021 13:00:00 +0000

Spiritual bypassing is the tendency to use spiritual principles or practices to avoid facing unresolved issues. Sometimes this tendency—whether in ourselves or others—gives rise to another tendency: that of taking on the role of the spiritual bypass police. As Tom puts it, "this is a terrible job," for we often lose our peace and lose sight of the truth that people are free to use spiritual concepts however they wish. Instead of policing, what happens when we join with reality in utterly allowing all things to be just the way they are?

Use offer code LOVEISTHEPOWER at childishchocolates.com to receive a free box of chocolate truffles with your first order.

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

61. Freedom, not fantasy

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Caroline Corcoran, Dorry Guerra, Tom Compton) — Tue, 18 May 2021 13:00:00 +0000

One of the big confusions on this planet is that my freedom interferes with yours. We assume that freedom is in relation to bodies, the desires of the mind, or other aspects of the phenomenal world. But what if our freedom is actually in relation to "what is?" None of us are free to turn the "what is" of each moment into our personal fantasy, but we are all free to deal with that "what is" in whatever way we want. We can relate to, address, change, fix, enhance, deny, or accept reality in any given moment. And in that way, we are always free.

Use offer code LOVEISTHEPOWER at childishchocolates.com to receive a free box of chocolate truffles with your first order.

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

60. Not a manifestation exercise

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Caroline Corcoran, Dorry Guerra, Tom Compton) — Tue, 11 May 2021 13:00:00 +0000

Is there a relationship, career milestone, or personal goal you would like to experience? Yet also some kind of internal—and perhaps subconscious—tension in the way of your meeting that experience? This is the power of an unquestioned story. Without examination, a stressful belief can result in our not being entirely open to the experience we claim to want. If you feel ready to be honest with yourself, consider the exercise in this week's episode. It is not for manifesting a specific outcome but rather becoming conscious of the blocks that may be in your way.

Use offer code LOVEISTHEPOWER at childishchocolates.com to receive a free box of chocolate truffles with your first order.

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

59. Everything is given

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Caroline Corcoran, Dorry Guerra, Tom Compton) — Tue, 4 May 2021 13:00:00 +0000

Could it be the belief "I need to make a decision" is ultimately a story of lack? For to need anything implies that something is inherently missing. What if no decision ever needs to be made? What if instead, we simply need to see where we are and go from there? Overwhelm, confusion, the sensation of "efforting" - perhaps they are not required to receive the effortless, choiceless truth of this moment.

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

58. It matters what people think of me

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Caroline Corcoran, Dorry Guerra, Tom Compton) — Tue, 27 Apr 2021 13:00:00 +0000

Most of us operate under the assumption that in order for good things to happen, we need people to think good of us. But is that really true? What about when dinner ends up on the table even though Mom is disappointed? Or when a friend shows up even after a big fight? Perhaps we don't need to manage how others see and experience us. Perhaps we simply do the best we can and that is enough. Who would you be without the story "it matters what people think of me?"

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

57. Still haven't found what I'm looking for

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Dorry Guerra, Tom Compton, Caroline Corcoran) — Tue, 20 Apr 2021 13:00:00 +0000

Intuitively, we understand that all things come to pass. Yet this recognition fades to the background when the thrill of finding a special someone or something is on the horizon. Can you absolutely know that something is missing in your life? Who would you be without that story? Join us as we consciously welcome our entire history of disappointment and consider letting go of everything - including hope.

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

56. I need to know why

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Caroline Corcoran, Tom Compton, Dorry Guerra) — Tue, 13 Apr 2021 13:00:00 +0000

Could it be you don't need to know why anything happens? Including why the world is the way it is and why you are the way you are? What if things just happen because they do and the best possible thing is always what's happening? In this episode, you're invited to leave who you imagine yourself to be behind to experience the truth of who and what you are.

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

55. Being the love you are

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Dorry Guerra, Tom Compton, Caroline Corcoran) — Tue, 6 Apr 2021 13:00:00 +0000

One of the mind's many habits is imaging the body as a container. Yet, could it be more true that the beingness that we are is the space within which the body dwells and not the reverse? This week's episode approaches how to work with images, sensations, and feelings of the body as they appear and disappear. Especially when they seem to be "in the way" of experiencing our unconditionally welcoming nature. Could it be time to let go of all concepts and images and directly experience the love that you are?

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

54. Agreements are made to be broken

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Dorry Guerra, Tom Compton, Caroline Corcoran) — Tue, 30 Mar 2021 13:00:00 +0000

Could it be that any time our safety is dependent on someone keeping their word—even ourselves keeping our own word—we move into a master-slave relationship? It can be terrifying to live the freedom that we are and acknowledge that freedom in others too. This week's episode is a deep-dive into all things agreements, dependency, and control. Who would we be without the story that we have to do anything? Perhaps we don't need the threat of violence to be a decent human being.

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

53. Victimhood

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Dorry Guerra, Caroline Corcoran, Tom Compton) — Tue, 23 Mar 2021 13:00:00 +0000

It can be startling to recognize that there are things we like about the stories that lead to our suffering. Being important, feeling justified, or simply having something to do can be enough of an incentive to hold on to the pain of the past or of an imagined future. In this week's episode, we take a look at some of our favorite victim stories and get honest about the payoffs and the costs.

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

52. Living rule-free

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Tom Compton, Caroline Corcoran, Dorry Guerra) — Tue, 16 Mar 2021 11:00:00 +0000

The Work helps us see just how insidious the tricks of the mind can be. Seemingly “positive” beliefs can turn out to be as stressful and destructive as the obviously negative ones. Even healthy images of how we think life should look, when compared against reality, can end up causing suffering rather than the positive change we are hoping for. In this week’s episode, we call the mind’s bluff and open up to living a rule-free life.

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

51. My goodness doesn't depend on being seen

podcastthetom@gmail.com (tom compton, dorry guerra, caroline corcoran) — Tue, 9 Mar 2021 19:15:17 +0000

Another way to look at our stressful thinking is as unconscious experiments with the truth. As Tom puts it, once we make the stressful thoughts conscious, we can assess whether or not their effects are working for us. In other words, we can see if our experiments lead us to trust or doubt the goodness that we are. In this episode, we explore the commonly held story “I need my goodness to be seen in order to show up fully as I am.” Join us in opening up to the truth, trying out the living turnaround, and being done with dependence on approval. Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

50. I'm ready to love and trust myself completely

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Dorry Guerra, Tom Compton, Caroline Corcoran) — Tue, 2 Mar 2021 14:00:00 +0000

Is it time yet? To love and trust yourself no matter what? This episode begins with a short guided meditation from Tom and ends with a sweet exploration on love. Whether you're in a romantic relationship or not, could it be that love happens all by itself? And that you don't need a partner to be at peace right now?

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

49. Direct experience

Tue, 23 Feb 2021 14:00:00 +0000

Could it be that the only thing we know for sure is our direct experience and the rest is just a theory? Our direct experience is what helps us answer question one and two of The Work: "Is it true?" and "Can you absolutely know it's true?" In this episode, we look at identification, concept, and the meanings we put onto our personal experience that move us away from directly experiencing what is true in this moment. As we loosen up our identification with feelings, thoughts, images, and concepts, everything is free to come and go. As we drop the story that "it means something about me," we are finally free to be.

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

48. Not just another pretty face

Tue, 16 Feb 2021 14:00:00 +0000

"I don't ever want to experience physical pain, the body becoming unattractive, or the death of myself and loved ones." … Can you relate? This week's group meditation takes an interactive look at the saying, "what you resist persists." Or as Tom puts it, what it's like to live life with the soundtrack "I'm not open to that" playing in the background. When we hold onto this position, we're actually in constant relationship with what we don't want. So what happens when we are open and willing for all of it to happen? It could be that's who we are and what freedom is.

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

47. Reality is utter allowance

Tue, 9 Feb 2021 14:00:00 +0000

There are endless sayings and quotes that speak to the power of acceptance. But what about when it comes to the things that we don't want in this world? To the mind, total acceptance gets all too close to condoning. And most of us are completely clear that we don't condone things like discrimination, poverty, or violence. How can we utterly allow and welcome all things as they are? Is the utter allowance of reality a stamp of approval from God? Join us as we look at "I don't want it to be this way" and discover for yourself if there is a kinder, more intelligent way to create the positive change you desire.

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

46. I can do wrong

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Caroline Corcoran, Tom Compton, Dorry Guerra) — Tue, 2 Feb 2021 14:00:00 +0000

When we believe we can do wrong, living by a set of rules not only makes sense, but is critical to our well-being and safety. We accept the limits to our freedom that the rules impose and rarely stop to question whether we need the rules or not. This week's group meditation investigates one of the most convincing arguments for adhering to rules: You're a "you" who can do wrong.

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

45. I'm ready to meet beings of love

Tue, 26 Jan 2021 14:00:00 +0000

Byron Katie has been known to describe herself as "no one going nowhere doing nothing." In this episode, we get a taste of what she may have meant. Do we really need "you" and "I" in this moment? Join us for a letting go of identity and a possible alien encounter. You just never know where you're going, and perhaps you don't need to hold onto anything to enjoy the ride.

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

44. Nothing to do

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Caroline Corcoran, Dorry Guerra, Tom Compton) — Tue, 19 Jan 2021 14:00:00 +0000

In the midst of perceived chaos, the mind employs strategies to regain a sense of control. But did it ever have control to begin with? By meditating on "I don't know" and "there is nothing to do," we can see that "having room for everything" is not a state we achieve but a description of who we are. When we stop participating in violence as a strategy for peace, we join in the symphony of life and connect to all things.

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

43. Kicked out of love

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Tom Compton) — Tue, 12 Jan 2021 14:00:00 +0000

Is it possible to be kicked out of love? Tom proposes that being 'kicked out' is a fear that most people have: It's anticipating the loss of support or believing that we are unloveable. What do you hide away or hold onto - for fear of being found out and kicked out? Join us for two powerful investigations into this story and the experience of who we are without it.

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

42. New year resolutions: Tom style

Tue, 5 Jan 2021 14:00:00 +0000

Happy New Year! What would you like to experience this coming year? And what are you ready to be "done with?" In this episode, Tom supports group participants to get in touch their hearts' desires and to call the mind's bluff on everything it says is "in the way." We invite you to bring your own pen and paper and follow along for this simple yet impactful guided meditation.

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

41. Not enough

Tue, 29 Dec 2020 14:00:00 +0000

The Work can be applied to our most extreme hurts or to simple daily stressors. Through the steps of inquiry, we can begin to see the profound truths of life hidden beneath painful stories. Join us as Tom unravels two common beliefs: “There's not enough time" and "I need to know." Could it be we never need to know anything before we know it and we've always been enough just the way we are?

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

40. The need to please

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Tom Compton, Dorry Guerra, Caroline Corcoran) — Tue, 22 Dec 2020 14:00:00 +0000

Could it be that approval is a stressful game we learn to play early in life? Who would you be and how would you live without the need to please? In this episode, Tom supports a meditation participant to explore her fears around disapproval and invites us all to experiment with being "done" with the approval/disapproval game.

39. It's all a dream

Tue, 15 Dec 2020 14:00:00 +0000

What do the mystics mean when they say, "Life is but a dream?" Or as Byron Katie puts it, "Life is your perception of it?" Could it be that we've been habituated to see the outer world as 'more real' than that which is perceiving it? And that the realest thing around is the being-ness that we are? Join us for an experiential investigation into the is-ness of all things—the kindness of the intelligence that directs everything.

Until Love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

38. Winning and losing

Tue, 8 Dec 2020 14:00:00 +0000

The Work helps us identify what we're believing, question it, and see who we are with and without the story. This can be helpful because some beliefs are so familiar that they run completely unnoticed. This week, we use the power of self-inquiry to take a closer look at the widely-held stressful story of 'winning and losing.'

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

37. The let down

Tue, 1 Dec 2020 14:00:00 +0000

One of the major benefits of The Work is the recognition that our thinking - and not the situation itself - causes us stress. From here, we can begin to practice what Tom calls being “not interested,” allowing stressful stories to fall away as we experience who and what we are without them. Join us for an active investigation into the commonly held stressful story that it’s possible to let ourselves and other people down.

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

36. I'm responsible for...

Tue, 24 Nov 2020 14:00:00 +0000

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

35. I'm not good enough

Tue, 17 Nov 2020 14:00:00 +0000

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

Veronica, this month's 1:1 session winner, works with a relatable fear: being rejected in romantic relationship. With Tom's support, she explores some of the underlying meanings being put on the possibility that "he might not feel the same way I do." By identifying a painful decision made long ago and exploring being "not interested" in it now, Veronica opens up to the beauty of what she feels for this man and to loving beyond all fearful limits.

34. I need to make sense of life

Tue, 10 Nov 2020 14:00:00 +0000

Until Love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

In this week's episode, our meditation group investigates a few stories that get in the way of trusting the Love that we are. We look at cause and effect, the impact of "me", and the conditioning that dissuades us from trusting our actual experience. Could it be that everything we need to know is here now? And that love is ultimately movement - for no reason.

33. No mistakes: Election edition

Tue, 3 Nov 2020 14:00:00 +0000

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

Couples workshop

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Tom Compton) — Mon, 2 Nov 2020 14:00:00 +0000

We are excited to announce a couples-only weekend immersion, facilitated by Tom Compton, into the principles of The Work of Byron Katie. This retreat is ideal for beginners as well as more advanced practitioners of The Work and is intended to support couples with the everyday learning-and-growing opportunities that partnership provides. Please visit theworkwithtom.com or carolinecorcoran.org/workshops to learn more & register today!

32. No freedom, no love

Tue, 27 Oct 2020 13:00:00 +0000

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

In this episode, we get into the commonly held belief 'it matters what people think of me.' Tom shares a few key moments from his personal journey with this stressful story, and Caroline and Dorry unpack closed hearts and unhelpful decisions made long ago. Could it be that we all have the right to be? And that when we have the freedom to be who we are, we are easily and effortlessly what we are? Which is: love.

Until love is satisfied

Sun, 25 Oct 2020 19:00:00 +0000

Arranged and performed by David Balakrishnan

https://turtleislandquartet.com/member/david-balakrishnan/

31. On being with money

Tue, 20 Oct 2020 13:00:00 +0000

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

Could it be there's no "right" way to be with money? In this episode, Dorry shares some stressful stories around not using money in a "smart" way—in a way that promises a safe and secure future. Tom points to how "smart" or "not smart" might be irrelevant and invites us to consciously open up to not knowing how it’s all going to work out in the world of money, business, and the future.

30. It's very serious

Tue, 13 Oct 2020 13:00:00 +0000

Until Love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

Being a human is serious business. Can you absolutely know this is true? Tom invites us to examine our ability to interpret each moment, specifically when it comes to things being serious. Join us in letting in "don't know for sure" and opening up to the uninterpreted moment—where love arises.

29. Making it personal

Tue, 6 Oct 2020 13:00:00 +0000

As Tom likes to say, once you've been doing The Work for a bit, you start to notice that there are no 'big' or 'small' stressful stories. Even the most insignificant moment can be charged with the most painful meaning. Rare is it, however, that you have the opportunity to do inquiry with the person you're projecting onto! Join us, as Dorry and Caroline share an old favorite, 'you don't like me,' received and facilitated by Tom.

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

28. Have it your way

Tue, 29 Sep 2020 13:00:02 +0000

Could it be that my will and God's will are the same? And that no effort is required for that will to unfold? Join us as we call the mind's bluff, experiment with letting go of holding on for dear life, and open up to being—one being, one body. Another exquisite group meditation recording with a few magical surprises along the way.

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Violin by David Balakrishnan | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

27. Motives & agendas

Tue, 22 Sep 2020 13:00:01 +0000

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

26. Helplessly being

Tue, 15 Sep 2020 13:00:01 +0000

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

25. The openness you are

Tue, 8 Sep 2020 13:00:26 +0000

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

24. Relationship: Letting it be easy

Tue, 1 Sep 2020 13:00:24 +0000

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

23. I need people to like me

Tue, 25 Aug 2020 13:00:05 +0000

Until Love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

22. Love is at the heart of everything

Tue, 18 Aug 2020 13:00:19 +0000

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

21. Letting in "I don't know"

Tue, 11 Aug 2020 13:00:21 +0000

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

20. Holding on

Tue, 4 Aug 2020 13:00:18 +0000

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

19. The cost of careful living

Tue, 28 Jul 2020 13:00:34 +0000

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

18. The first act of war

Tue, 21 Jul 2020 13:00:03 +0000

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

17. Could there be some luck involved?

Tue, 14 Jul 2020 13:00:13 +0000

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

16. If I'm not free to be an advice-giving b*tch, I'm not free

Tue, 7 Jul 2020 13:00:18 +0000

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

15. Being seen (as I want to be)

Tue, 30 Jun 2020 13:00:22 +0000

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

14. Are we separate?

Tue, 23 Jun 2020 13:00:03 +0000

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

13. Good for nothing

Tue, 16 Jun 2020 13:00:03 +0000

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

12. I'm not free to be

Tue, 9 Jun 2020 15:20:53 +0000

Until Love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

11. Being good company

Tue, 2 Jun 2020 13:00:12 +0000

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran | Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

10. Letting the heart break with love

Tue, 26 May 2020 13:00:10 +0000

Until Love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran

Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

9. I am: that which experiences

Tue, 19 May 2020 13:00:21 +0000

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran

Music by Jimmy Stofer

8. I could make the wrong decision

Tue, 12 May 2020 13:00:09 +0000

Song by Caroline Corcoran

Music by Jimmy Stofer

Until love is satisfied

podcastthetom@gmail.com (Caroline Corcoran) — Tue, 5 May 2020 23:30:12 +0000

Original written and performed by Caroline Corcoran

7. You can't do Love

Tue, 5 May 2020 14:23:55 +0000

Until love is satisfied by Caroline Corcoran

Awakening by Jimmy Stofer

6. A healing program for rude people

Tue, 28 Apr 2020 13:00:05 +0000

Music by Jimmy Stofer

5. No thingness

Tue, 21 Apr 2020 07:00:29 +0000

Music by Jimmy Stofer

4. We think because we can

Tue, 14 Apr 2020 07:00:12 +0000

Music by Jimmy Stofer.

3. Bring on the cringe

Tue, 7 Apr 2020 13:00:10 +0000

Meet : The cringe. An inner twinge that let's you know when one of your self-images, concepts, or cherished identities has been compromised. In this episode, Caroline's podcast-cringe leads the crew into an investigation of humility and freedom. As Tom puts it, "If I'm not free to be inarticulate, I'm not free."

0:00 Podcast Intro
0:45 Episode Intro
5:46 Conversation with Tom
32:14 Thomas Merton Quote: “In Humility is The Greatest Freedom.
48:24 Vernon Howard Quote on The False Self
54:27 Anthony de Mello Quote on How “Freedom” is Another Word for “Love”
1:02:00 Podcast Disclaimer

2. There's room for everything

Tue, 31 Mar 2020 06:49:53 +0000

In this weeks episode we'll sit in on a live group experience facilitated by Tom. Grab your own pen and paper and join us as we get in touch with the space that has room for everything and question some of the identities we defend and protect.

00:00:00 - 00:00:17 Podcast Intro
00:00:18 - 00:01:38 Episode Intro
00:01:39 - 00:33:09 Group Meditation Led by Tom: There's Room for Everything
00:033:10 - 00:38:06 Invitation to Open Eyes and Notice Physical Reality/The Body: No Thoughts are Required to Experience, to Be, to Move, to Do This Thing We Call Being Human
00:038:07 - 00:38:50 Facilitation of Dialogue & Group Sharing (Invitation for Feedback)
00:38:51 - 00:39:05 First Participant Shares
00:39:06 - 00:40:10 Tom Responds to First Participant
00:40:11 - 00:44:47 Second Participant Shares & Tom Responds
00:44:48 - 00:45:55 Third Participant Shares & Tom Responds
00:45:56 - 00:52:37 Fourth Participant Shares & Tom Responds
00:52:38 - 01:05:00 Fifth Participant Asks Questions & Tom Responds
01:05:01 - 01:10:26 Writing Exercise: What I Don't/Do Want People to Think of Me Is...
01:10:27 - 01:17:01 Sixth Participant Shares & Tom Responds
01:17:02 - 01:21:39 Seventh Participant Shares & Tom Responds
01:21:40 - 01:25:57 Eighth Participant Shares & Tom Responds
01:25:58 - 01:30:09 Tom Reads Excerpt from Vernon Howard's The Mystic Path to Cosmic Power & Explains our Beautifully Free, Natural Selves ("Nothing is more positive [than noticing negativities within ourselves]. Never forget, awareness of negativity is the cure, the only cure [for] the negativity...Observe the dark features, but do not say 'I' to them. This is a gigantic secret that you must explore thoroughly. The time will come when you can observe anger or anguish within you as being entirely separate from your natural self. You are then beautifully free." -Vernon Howard)
01:30:10 - 01:38:24 Ninth Participant Shares & Tom Responds
01:38:25 - 01:47:57 Working "The Work" on Belief that "What People Think of You is Vital to Your Well Being" (Dissolving the story.)
01:47:58 - 01:48:44 Podcast Outro & Disclaimer
Info about group experiences can be found www.theworkwithtom.com

1. The hosts and our hopes

Tue, 31 Mar 2020 06:20:16 +0000

Theme song by Jimmy Stofer