In June 2023, Thom was the guest of honor at a talk in Nowra, South of Sydney in Australia, on the subject, The Simple Science of Happiness.The host of the talk was Barron Hanson, a Nowra local and a Vedic Meditation Initiator (teacher) who has created Be Here Nowra, a community happiness project committed to increasing the number of meditators in the town and researching the benefits arising.This episode is a recording from that event, including a discussion between Thom and Barron, and Q&A with the audience.To find out more about Be Here Nowra you can visit their website at https://www.beherenowra.com/ or on Instagram @beherenowra. Episode Highlights:[06:02] Be Here Nowra: The Birth of a Transformational Idea[08:11] From Sydney to Goulburn: Freedom Behind Bars[09:38] Journey to Nowra: Nature, Art, and Indigenous Wisdom[11:31] Q- What is Happiness?[11:41] The Harmony of Inner Potential and External Demands[12:44] Q-How Does Happiness Affect the Body on a Neurophysiological Level?[12:53] The Ever-Changing Human Body[14:28] Thoughts and Body Chemistry[16:10] Q-How Does Collective Consciousness Relate to Individual Health?[16:30] The Science of Collective Consciousness[18:33] Impact of Meditation on the Collective Consciousness[20:46] Q-What Changes Can We Expect If 1% of a Population Start Meditating?[21:14] Measuring the Impact: Crime Rates and Meditation[22:51] More People Meditating, How Bad Can That Be?[24:21] Q-What Role Family and Community Play in Happiness?[25:23] The Tribal Roots of Human Social Behavior[26:50] Shared Experience: How We Define Our Sense of Self and Others[28:22] Q-How Can Parents Be Happy When Their Children Are Sad?[28:42] An Ideal Parent[30:10] Meditation in Parenthood[31:53] What Truly Makes a Family[33:20] Q- What Role Does Sadness Play in Happiness?[33:39] Contrast[35:45] Q- What Are the Two Types of Happiness?[36:00] Object Referral Happiness: When Events Define Emotions[37:23] Baseline Happiness: Finding Inner Certainty[39:05] Embrace Baseline Inner Contentedness: The Foundation for Happiness[39:56] Q-How Does Meditation Give Us Baseline Happiness?[40:01] Meditation and the Exploration of Mind's Bubbles[41:47] Awakening Baseline Happiness through Meditation[43:57] Q- Why Doesn't Everyone Choose Happiness If It's So Simple?[44:04] The Discoveries From Tooth Brushing to Meditation[45:26] Meditation as Hygiene: Cleansing the Stress of Everyday Life[47:15] Maharishi's Wisdom: It's Not About Happiness, It's About Normalcy[47:57] Q-Are Modern City Dwellers More Stressed Than People from 200 Years Ago?[48:12] Stress in the Modern World: Is It Really on the Rise?[50:14] Q-What Role Social Media Is Playing in the Current Global Happiness?[50:23] The Reality of Social Media[52:30] Q-What Role Does Love Play in Our Happiness?[53:03] Stress and Missed Opportunities for Love[54:26] The Link Between Love and Happiness[56:09] Q-How to Build a Meditation-Focused Community?[56:33] Community Meditation: A Worthwhile Experiment[57:51] Q - Why Vedic Meditation Over Other Techniques or Apps?[58:04] It's Effortless[01:01:16] Q - Does the Number of Thoughts Decrease with Baseline Happiness?[01:03:59] Q - Can Growth Overshadow the Objective?[01:05:07] Knowing When Enough is Enough[01:08:39] Q - How Can Vedic Meditation Help Us Discern Truth?[01:09:19] Reducing Suggestibility[01:12:12] Q - How Can Vedic Meditation Shift Repetitive Thought Patterns?[01:12:32] Removing the Stress[01:17:17] Q - Can Happiness and High Consciousness Coexist?[01:17:26] Everything's Dying[01:20:37] Q - How Can We Support Young People?[01:21:12] What's Your True Identity?[01:24:40] Jai Guru DevaUseful Linksinfo@thomknoles.com https://thomknoles.com/https://www.instagram.com/thethomknoleshttps://www.facebook.com/thethomknoleshttps://www.youtube.com/c/thomknoleshttps://thomknoles.com/ask-thom-anything/