Today we’d like to introduce you to Bear Thomas.
Hi Bear, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Bear Thomas – Founder, Co-Founder & Executive Publisher of Awakened Souls Media
People often ask me how a former professional rugby player became a Medium, Shamanic Healer, Spiritual Life Coach and, ultimately, the founder of an international media platform dedicated to consciousness, wellbeing and human potential.
The honest answer is that none of it was planned.
Life rarely unfolds according to the plans we make. More often, it unfolds according to the lessons we are willing to learn.
When I look back over my life now, I no longer see isolated moments of joy, pain, success or adversity. I see a continuous thread running through every chapter, quietly preparing me for the next. Time has taught me that our experiences do one of two things. If we choose to close our eyes to them, they begin to define us. If we have the courage to look directly at them with honesty, humility and an open heart, they begin to refine us.
That simple understanding has become one of the guiding principles of my life.
I was born and raised in the United Kingdom, although ‘raised’ has always felt like an unusual word to use when reflecting upon my childhood. My earliest years were shaped far more by survival than by security.
I grew up in an abusive household where violence and instability formed part of everyday life. My mother worked as a prostitute, and my siblings and I were exposed to circumstances that no child should ever have to experience. One particular event, when I was eight years old, would leave an imprint that remained with me for decades and quietly influenced the questions I would spend much of my adult life trying to answer.
I don’t share these experiences in search of sympathy, nor do I allow them to become my identity. They are simply the truth of where my journey began.
For many years I wondered why life had unfolded the way it had. Eventually I realised I had been asking the wrong question.
Instead of asking, ‘Why did this happen to me?’ I began asking, ‘What is this trying to teach me?’
That single shift in perspective changed everything.
By the age of fifteen I had left home.
Like many young people leaving difficult circumstances, I possessed little more than determination and a quiet belief that life had to contain something greater than the world I had known. I didn’t know what that future looked like, only that I refused to allow my past to become its architect.
Sport became the first doorway through which I began rebuilding my life.
Rugby gave me something I had never truly experienced before: structure, discipline and accountability. It taught me that growth is rarely comfortable, that commitment matters more than talent and that resilience is built one difficult decision at a time. Eventually I achieved my ambition of becoming a professional rugby player, an experience that broadened my horizons and introduced me to opportunities I could never have imagined as a child.
Yet throughout those years another journey was unfolding quietly beneath the surface.
Despite everything I had experienced, or perhaps because of it, I found myself endlessly fascinated by people.
Why do human beings hurt one another?
Why do some individuals repeat cycles of violence while others dedicate their lives to breaking them?
How much of who we become is shaped by our earliest experiences?
Can healing alter the trajectory of an entire life?
These questions were never merely academic.
They were deeply personal.
They became the reason I chose to study for a Bachelor of Science with Honours in Criminology and Psychology.
I wasn’t searching simply for a qualification.
I was searching for understanding.
I wanted to explore the relationship between childhood experience, trauma, behaviour, criminality and rehabilitation. I wanted to understand whether society sometimes places too much emphasis upon punishment while overlooking the profound influence that unresolved childhood experiences can have upon the adults we become.
The more I studied, the more I realised that human behaviour is rarely simple.
Whilst every individual remains accountable for their own choices, our lives are often shaped by experiences that began long before we possessed the maturity to understand them.
That academic journey answered many questions.
It also introduced many more.
Alongside those studies I continued exploring another part of my life that had quietly existed since childhood.
From an early age I experienced an intuitive awareness that I struggled to explain. Rather than dismissing it, I approached it with the same curiosity I had brought to my university studies.
Over time I trained as an accredited Medium, Shamanic Healer, Spiritual Life Coach and Reiki Master Teacher through the Centre of Excellence.
To some people, psychology and spirituality appear to exist at opposite ends of the spectrum.
To me, they have always been asking exactly the same questions.
How do we heal?
How do we transcend suffering without denying it?
How do we transform pain into wisdom?
How do we remember who we truly are beneath the stories life has written upon us?
Life would eventually invite me to answer those questions through experience rather than study.
In 2022, at the age of forty-seven, I suffered two strokes.
The second changed my life completely.
Everything stopped.
The future I had imagined disappeared overnight, replaced by uncertainty, vulnerability and the slow, humbling process of beginning again.
Recovery demanded something I had never truly mastered.
Stillness.
For perhaps the first time in my life I could no longer overcome challenges simply by pushing harder.
Instead, I had to surrender.
Ironically, it was within that surrender that I experienced the greatest clarity of my life.
As I reflected upon everything that had gone before, every chapter suddenly connected.
The childhood that had taught compassion.
The rugby career that had taught discipline.
The university studies that had taught understanding.
The healing journey that had taught presence.
The strokes that taught gratitude.
None of them had been separate journeys.
They had all been preparing me for one purpose.
That purpose became Awakened Souls.
Together with my wife, my soulmate and my greatest blessing, Inanna, we founded what would become Awakened Souls Magazine, and later Awakened Souls Media.
It was never simply about publishing magazines.
It was about creating a home for conversations that too often remain separated.
Science alongside spirituality.
Medicine alongside ancient wisdom.
Psychology alongside lived experience.
Human performance alongside inner healing.
Above all, it was about reminding people that love, wisdom and truth are not abstract ideals. They are practical principles capable of transforming both individual lives and the wider world.
Today Awakened Souls reaches readers in more than sixty countries and has become a global media ecosystem connecting extraordinary individuals from every corner of the world.
Yet despite everything we have achieved, I still believe our greatest work is not measured in readership, partnerships or publications.
It is measured in the quiet moments when someone reads a story, hears an interview or attends a conversation and begins to believe that perhaps their own life, too, can become something greater than the pain from which it began.
When I reflect upon my own journey today, I no longer see an abused child, a professional athlete, a university graduate, a healer or even a founder.
I simply see a man who eventually realised that every experience, no matter how difficult, had arrived carrying a lesson.
Some lessons broke me.
Others rebuilt me.
All of them refined me.
That, more than anything else, is the story behind Awakened Souls.
It is also the story of my life.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The greatest challenges in my life have never been the events themselves. They have been the choices that followed them.
Growing up in an abusive environment meant I encountered fear, instability and experiences that no child should have to navigate. Leaving home at fifteen forced me to become independent long before I was emotionally ready. Rather than allowing those experiences to harden me, I became fascinated by why people behave the way they do. That search for understanding eventually led me to complete a Bachelor of Science with Honours in Criminology and Psychology, where I immersed myself in the study of human behaviour, trauma and rehabilitation. I wanted to understand whether our earliest experiences influence the adults we become, and whether healing can alter that trajectory.
Another challenge has been resisting the temptation to allow achievement to become my identity. Becoming a professional rugby player taught me discipline, resilience and commitment, but it also taught me that success alone does not necessarily bring fulfilment. It left me searching for a deeper understanding of purpose, which ultimately led me into years of studying healing, spirituality and consciousness alongside psychology. My journey as an accredited Medium, Shamanic Healer, Spiritual Life Coach and Reiki Master Teacher has always been driven by the same question that first inspired my academic studies: how do human beings truly heal?
Without question, the greatest physical challenge came in 2022 when I suffered two strokes at the age of forty-seven. The second stroke changed every aspect of my life. It stripped away certainty and forced me to rebuild from the ground up. For someone who had always believed that determination alone could overcome almost anything, I learnt that there are moments in life when strength is found not in pushing harder, but in becoming still enough to listen.
I had to learn to walk again. The irony was being admitted on the Phoenix ward. Which see know the Phoenix is rising from the ashes as a rebirth.
Building Awakened Souls has brought its own challenges. My wife, Inanna, and I have built the entire platform ourselves, often while travelling internationally, overcoming health challenges and navigating the realities of creating an independent media organisation without the backing of large investors or corporations. Every issue, every interview and every partnership has been built through persistence, belief and an unwavering commitment to the vision.
Looking back, I no longer see challenges as obstacles placed in my way. I see them as invitations to grow. Every difficult chapter asked the same question: Will this experience define you, or will it refine you? That distinction has become one of the guiding philosophies of my life.
Today, I don’t believe resilience is something we are born with. I believe it is cultivated through adversity, reflection and the willingness to transform pain into purpose. Every challenge I have faced has ultimately reinforced the same truth: our circumstances may shape us, but they never have to become the limits of who we are capable of becoming.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I have always believed that knowledge has little value if it remains confined to the people who already possess it. My work has therefore become less about building a magazine and more about building bridges between worlds that too often remain separated.
Together with my wife, Inanna, I founded Awakened Souls Media as an independent global platform dedicated to exploring consciousness, wellbeing and human potential. What began as a magazine has evolved into an ecosystem comprising international publications, educational workshops, guided meditations, interviews, documentaries, live events and a growing global community united by a shared desire to better understand what it truly means to be human.
As Executive Publisher, my role extends far beyond editing articles. I research emerging developments in neuroscience, psychology, longevity, biohacking, trauma, spirituality and human performance, whilst also seeking out the extraordinary individuals whose work is genuinely advancing these fields. Every edition is intentionally curated to create conversations between disciplines that are often viewed as separate. We regularly bring together medical doctors, neuroscientists, psychologists, indigenous wisdom keepers, filmmakers, elite athletes, healers and pioneers in human optimisation, allowing readers to explore multiple perspectives rather than a single narrative.
Perhaps my greatest passion lies in asking questions. My background in Criminology and Psychology taught me to examine human behaviour critically, whilst my work in healing and consciousness encouraged me to explore dimensions of the human experience that science is only beginning to understand. Rather than viewing these perspectives as contradictory, I have always believed they complement one another. The future of human wellbeing will not be found through science alone, nor spirituality alone, but through meaningful dialogue between both.
One of the achievements I am most proud of is that Awakened Souls has remained completely independent. Every edition has been built by Inanna and me, driven not by investors or large publishing houses, but by a shared vision. Today our work reaches readers in more than sixty countries, and we have had the privilege of collaborating with internationally respected doctors, scientists, filmmakers, authors, biohackers and wisdom keepers, whilst also producing exclusive publications for global events including the Cannes and Venice Film Festivals.
What I believe sets my work apart is that I have no interest in creating division between ideas. Modern society often asks people to choose between science or spirituality, psychology or intuition, medicine or ancient wisdom. My own life has shown me that truth is rarely found within extremes. It is often discovered through curiosity, humility and a willingness to listen to perspectives different from our own.
Ultimately, I don’t see myself simply as a publisher. I see myself as a student of humanity. Every interview, every article and every conversation is another opportunity to understand people more deeply and to create a platform where others may do the same.
If Awakened Souls has become recognised for anything, I hope it is for creating a space where love, wisdom and truth are not merely words on a page, but principles that encourage meaningful dialogue, personal growth and a more compassionate understanding of ourselves and one another.
Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
I’ve always believed that wisdom rarely comes from one source. My own journey has taught me to explore ideas from psychology, neuroscience, philosophy, spirituality, medicine and lived experience rather than limiting myself to a single discipline.
Some of the books that have influenced my thinking over the years include The Biology of Belief by Dr Bruce Lipton, Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself by Dr Joe Dispenza, Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl, The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz, The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle and The Law of Attraction by Esther and Jerry Hicks. I also continue to revisit works exploring trauma, psychology, consciousness and the relationship between mind, body and human behaviour.
Beyond books, I learn just as much from conversations. One of the greatest privileges of founding Awakened Souls Media is that many of the people who once inspired me have since become collaborators, contributors and friends. I’ve had the opportunity to spend time learning from and interviewing remarkable individuals including Dr Patrick Porter of BrainTap, whose work in brain fitness and neuroplasticity has been pioneering; Garry Lineham and the Human Garage team, whose work exploring fascia and the body’s innate intelligence has challenged conventional thinking; Dan Metcalfe of Born SuperHuman, whose understanding of human optimisation and resilience continues to inspire; Lawrence Ellyard, whose work in consciousness and spiritual philosophy has been deeply influential; and the teams behind CODE Health and IICT, who continue to bridge science, education and holistic wellbeing.
In truth, however, my greatest source of learning has become curiosity itself. I don’t read simply to confirm what I already believe. I read to challenge my assumptions, expand my understanding and remain open to new perspectives. Whether those insights come from neuroscience, psychology, ancient wisdom, spirituality or medicine matters far less than whether they help us understand ourselves and one another more deeply.
If there is one philosophy that guides my learning, it is this: truth is rarely found by defending a single viewpoint. It emerges when we are humble enough to listen, courageous enough to question and wise enough to recognise that every genuine teacher, regardless of discipline, holds another piece of the larger picture.
Pricing:
- $15 per month for full Membership to our community on Skool. This gives a library of full digital magazines, workshops, mediations, live Q&A sessions, ebooks and course the newly formed and growing global community Link to join: https://www.skool.com/awakenedsouls-global-community/about?ref=7c45df798c094376a2be9616bdc10970
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.awakenedsouls.earth
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- Other: https://www.skool.com/awakenedsouls-global-community/about?ref=7c45df798c094376a2be9616bdc10970
