What does it mean to awaken, and how do you ground that awakening in everyday life? In this deeply personal and thought-provoking conversation, Alex Thomas shares his journey of spiritual transformation, from an unexpected awakening on a routine drive home to integrating ancient wisdom into the challenges of modern fatherhood, business, and relationships. With honesty, humor and raw insight, he reflects on duty, being of service to life and love as the ultimate teacher, the surprising power of mantra and meditation, and the struggles of staying present in a world that constantly pulls us away from ourselves. This episode is an invitation to explore not just spiritual realization, but how to live it; fully, practically and with an open heart.
Chapters:
00:00:00 - Introduction to Alex Thomas and His Journey
00:02:03 - The Spiritual Awakening Experience
00:06:04 - Navigating Life as a Father and Businessman
00:10:06 - Exploring Spiritual Texts and Their Impact
00:14:01 - The Role of Duty and Devotion in Parenting
00:18:04 - The Influence of the Bhagavad Gita
00:22:12 - Integrating Knowledge and Practice in Spirituality
00:26:02 - The Challenge of Individualism in Modern Society
00:30:06 - Finding Meaning and Purpose in Service
00:33:54 - Daily Practices and Living with Intention
00:37:52 - Striving for Integrity and Love
00:39:32 - The Challenge of Long-Term Relationships
00:41:25 - The Nature of Love and Self-Realization
00:43:46 - Bridging Spirituality and Duty
00:47:32 - The Impact of Modern Life on Love
00:50:30 - Navigating Parenting and Community
00:52:54 - The Role of Meditation and Spiritual Practices
00:56:48 - Finding Grounding in Relationships
01:01:52 - Connecting Generations and Ancestry
01:09:51 - The Transformative Power of Meditation
01:11:43 - Cultural Myths and Their Relevance Today
01:17:11 - Awakening Human Potential
01:20:34 - Grounding Spiritual Awakening in Daily Life
01:23:42 - The Journey of Non-Judgment and Love
01:27:50 - The Importance of Practice in Spiritual Growth
01:39:03 - Love as the Essence of Existence
Following my conversation with Alex, I want to share an excerpt from his book, Man in Motion – A Suburban Tech Guy’s Journey into Love and Wisdom. It’s filled with insights and revelations, an ode to life on this earth, and above all, the divine feminine power.
What makes Alex’s awakening story so special is its complete lack of pretension. His grounded, approachable yet poetic language is a gift. He explores the vast reaches of the universe while keeping the warmth of a friend from just around the corner. With unfiltered honesty and sincerity, he shares his struggles, including the moments when life felt unbearable and burdened by disappointment. And then he finds his way back to the source of all sweetness, and shows us how we can, too.
His book is a modern travel guide through life’s trials and exhilarating revelations, written by a nomad of the heart, someone who has faced down a few dragons, wandered mystical landscapes, and navigated the oh-so-bewildering-and-heart-stirring terrain of relationships. And he does it all with humor and an unwavering love for life and our shared humanity.
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“We have all but destroyed the churches and the temples, robbed ourselves of the profound beauty of shared worship. That’s nobody’s fault. But we have an opportunity to correct it: only we, the truly free people of the 21st century, can make our world one of veneration and beauty. It is for us to celebrate the births and mourn the deaths together. For us to rejoice at the fall harvest and weep at the first spring flower. It is for us to rebuild the temples and sacred places, to share our worship—not of God, but of the unfolding beauty of creation. The profound beauty of us. Of me and of you. What is this story you are writing; this love you are seeking? What is this beauty you are creating? Your fears and anxieties are plain; I share them. Your connection to the divine might take a different path, but all streams come from the same source. The path away from the source, however… your path? Mystery.
Existence and consciousness are hard work. The duality of life—joy and suffering, confusion and enlightenment, love and loss, triumph and tragedy—none of this is for the weak. Your first act of conscious will, to leave the ultimate peace of the lotus flower, to venture into this world, paying the price of admission and forgetting your most basic awesome nature, why did you do that?
You are the profound central mystery that sages throughout the span of time and across cultures have been celebrating. The temples, the traditions, the dances, the chants, the ancient scriptures, the sacred fires and plant brew - they are for you. It was always you.”
- Alex Thomas
Further inspiration on the Bhagavad Gita and Ram Dass and Khalil Gibran on Love.
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