Love is the power podcast
270 episodes - English - Latest episode: 3 days ago -We bring to you the voice and perspective of Tom Compton, a Facilitator of "The Work." Using a method of self-inquiry developed by Byron Katie, this podcast explores the underlying thoughts and beliefs that lead to suffering—at the personal and collective level. Tom guides us through meditations and invites us to pierce the stress and drama that often prevent us from seeing ourselves (and our freedom) clearly.
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Episodes
196. Stressing about time
April 23, 2024 13:00 - 1 hour - 84.4 MB“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
April 16, 2024 13:00 - 1 hour - 93.4 MBIf 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...
194. I'm being treated unfairly
April 09, 2024 13:00 - 1 hour - 88.5 MBWhat 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...
193. Being dissatisfied
April 02, 2024 13:00 - 1 hour - 83.6 MBDo 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
March 26, 2024 13:00 - 1 hour - 65.1 MBThis 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
March 19, 2024 13:00 - 34 minutes - 31.9 MBJust 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
March 12, 2024 13:00 - 1 hour - 81.6 MBOn 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 invite...
189. When people are suffering
March 05, 2024 08:00 - 1 hour - 63.7 MBCould 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
February 27, 2024 14:00 - 30 minutes - 27.7 MBDo 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
February 20, 2024 14:00 - 1 hour - 68.8 MBWhen 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 g...
186. Happening to me vs. happening for me
February 13, 2024 14:00 - 1 hour - 55.8 MBWhat 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...
185. I'm missing something
February 06, 2024 14:00 - 1 hour - 80.9 MBCould 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?
December 19, 2023 14:00 - 1 hour - 83.6 MBMost 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 ...
183. Only untruth needs to be maintained
December 12, 2023 14:00 - 1 hour - 70.6 MBIs 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
December 05, 2023 14:00 - 39 minutes - 35.9 MBDoing ‘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 helpl...
181. Allowing vs. controlling
November 28, 2023 14:00 - 52 minutes - 47.6 MBWhile 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 n...
180. I have to keep it together
November 21, 2023 14:00 - 1 hour - 85 MBDo 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 ...
179. I need to control myself
November 14, 2023 14:00 - 1 hour - 93.2 MBWe 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 ...
178. On happiness
November 07, 2023 14:00 - 1 hour - 95.8 MBThe 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 everyt...
177. A new definition of perfection
October 31, 2023 13:00 - 1 hour - 59.5 MBCould 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 ...
176. Life is against me
October 24, 2023 13:00 - 1 hour - 80.7 MBSome 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 support...
175. That which is real
October 17, 2023 13:00 - 1 hour - 91.8 MBThis 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 eac...
174. I am not good
October 10, 2023 13:00 - 39 minutes - 35.8 MBIf 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 ...
173. Be the seeing
October 03, 2023 13:00 - 44 minutes - 40.8 MBCould 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 ult...
172. I'm a human - is that true?
September 26, 2023 13:00 - 1 hour - 92.7 MBThis 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 t...
171. Everyone is here to please me
September 19, 2023 13:00 - 1 hour - 83.6 MBAre 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?
September 12, 2023 13:00 - 42 minutes - 38.5 MBCould 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 r...
169. There's a limit to how good life can be
September 05, 2023 13:00 - 47 minutes - 43.6 MBWe’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 fro...
168. I've lost something
August 29, 2023 13:00 - 1 hour - 55.4 MBThis 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 som...
167. Wanting & It's just not for me
August 22, 2023 15:00 - 1 hour - 61.7 MBAre 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 nothi...
166. What is real about me?
August 15, 2023 13:00 - 27 minutes - 24.8 MBCould 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
August 08, 2023 13:00 - 1 hour - 87.2 MBOn 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...
164. FOMO
August 01, 2023 13:00 - 1 hour - 85.2 MBOh, 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
July 25, 2023 13:00 - 26 minutes - 24.1 MBWhat 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 ...
162. I am dependent on this body, is it true?
July 18, 2023 13:00 - 1 hour - 60.3 MBHow 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...
161. You need to be right about anything
July 11, 2023 13:00 - 1 hour - 72.6 MBNeeding 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 p...
160. You need to be afraid of doing it wrong
July 04, 2023 13:00 - 1 hour - 66.8 MBTom 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 wo...
159. I don't need to hold onto anything
June 27, 2023 13:00 - 28 minutes - 26.3 MBThis 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 ho...
158. I need to hold on
June 20, 2023 13:00 - 1 hour - 72.8 MBThis 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
June 13, 2023 13:00 - 1 hour - 80.4 MBMost 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 ...
156. Effort
June 06, 2023 13:00 - 1 hour - 73.2 MBEfforting 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 ef...
155. This isn't fair
May 30, 2023 13:00 - 54 minutes - 49.6 MBWhen 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 y...
154. Controlling one’s feelings
May 23, 2023 13:00 - 1 hour - 85.3 MBMany 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 harmon...
153. Life is serious. What's your proof?
May 16, 2023 13:00 - 1 hour - 67.6 MBIs 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
May 09, 2023 13:00 - 1 hour - 76.4 MBThis 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, accepta...
151. Destiny of the physical body
May 02, 2023 13:00 - 1 hour - 85.8 MBBecause 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 bod...
150. The part that wants to suffer
April 25, 2023 13:00 - 1 hour - 83.5 MBThis 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 curi...
149. I have to be realistic
April 18, 2023 13:00 - 41 minutes - 38.3 MBWanting 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...
148. I shouldn't feel this way
April 11, 2023 13:00 - 54 minutes - 49.9 MBIf 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 ...
147. The power of complete permission
April 04, 2023 13:00 - 1 hour - 78.5 MBByron 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 t...