Tom Thompson is not only an excellent teacher but an authentic American yogi, teaching a powerful synthesis of traditional techniques while maintaining the discipline of his own daily solid practice of meditation and yoga. The Awakened Heart Center, created by Tom and Bonnie Thompson, is a powerful place for personal transformation. The workshops I have taught there are tremendously enhanced by the energy and solid work they have invested in the center over the last 15 years. I love to teach there! — Layne Redmond, author, composer, teacher and musician

The Awakened Heart Center for Conscious Living is not a school for self-improvement or a spiritual pit stop for weary seekers. It’s a place where you can call off the search for whatever it is you think you’ve lost — your religion, your faith, your innocence, your peace of mind, your happiness — and discover what can’t be lost.

When I first came to TAHC to learn to meditate, Tom didn’t give me what I thought I wanted. He didn’t offer a set of rituals to replace the religion I had outgrown. He didn’t encourage me to seek out spiritual experiences that would make me feel special. Instead, Tom showed, clearly and with great compassion, that I needed nothing to be complete.

Tom doesn’t wear the costume of a holy man, nor does he put on the airs of a spiritual superior. But as a teacher of conscious living, he is unsurpassed. Tom welcomes everyone, just as they are. If you accept his invitation to come inside and have a look — really have a look, with open eyes and an innocent heart — you may be surprised to discover that you’re not what you think. You’re much less, and much more. All I can say, after three years of attending satsang with Tom, is that my head is empty but my heart is full. — Kelly Griffin

I’m not sure how my life would have turned out had I not found The Awakened Heart Center when I moved here in 1992. Until then, I had been looking for “surface” fixes to the confusion and misdirection in my life. Thanks to Tom and The Awakened Heart Center, I was able to turn my search inwards and begin to see the true miracle of everything around us. — Tom Scheve

The difficulty in writing a testimonial for Tom Thompson is how deeply personal my experiences with him have been. For me this isn’t a “sound bite.” Tom is a clear voice offering practical techniques for dealing with personal issues. And there is a silent weight to his compassion that has forever changed everything about me. — Ray Owen

My first experience with The Awakened Heart Center was different. I remember feeling as if everybody there was a little…strange. I now realize exactly why I felt this way. When a human being enters a place where there is complete freedom to just be, when a person first experiences the divine in others, it registers in a distinct, and in my case, untouched area of their being. That’s why it seemed strange to me. It was new and wonderful and real.

For the past ten years I have been involved with several very loving spiritual communities, but nowhere else have I experienced the complete freedom that I have known at The Awakened Heart Center.

Tom and Bonnie are more than gifted spiritual teachers; they have the unique ability to “accompany” other travelers. They help all who they come in contact with to realize that there is no place we need to go. There is nothing to be done, or added. There is only presence. Tom and Bonnie have helped me to see and experience this, and it has awakened me to a depth in my life that words cannot describe. They are also my dear friends. — C.E. Hardesty

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