The Knowing Way: Accessing a Direct Link to Universal Mind – An Interview with Gary Bonnell

What if your soul already has a direct link to the mind of the universe…and judgment is the only thing standing in the way?

Most of us spend years searching for meaning in books, in teachers, in quiet moments of reflection. Gary Bonnell found his at eight years old, in the aftermath of violence, when he left his body for the first time and discovered a world far beyond the one he had been born into.

In this conversation, Gary shares fifty years of wisdom gathered from the Akashic Records, the mystics of India and Japan, and a lifetime of experiences that defy easy explanation. That journey eventually took him to Japan, where he spent over thirty years as one of the country’s most beloved spiritual teachers, reaching so many hungry seekers that his books sold nearly half a million copies. He talks about the nature of the soul, the shift humanity is walking into right now, what the Akasha reveals about 2027, and why the secret to enlightenment may be simpler than anything you have ever tried.

Whether you are a lifelong seeker or simply someone who suspects there is more to life than meets the eye, this conversation will leave you thinking differently about who you are and what you are truly capable of.

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What do you sense is unfolding on our planet as you watch global events, especially as we move through 2026 and into 2027?

Gary Bonnell: That’s a big question. Human consciousness shifts roughly every 13,000 years. These shifts happen because we have an eternal soul, and it’s the soul that is impacted by energy coming from the center of creation. During these cycles, humanity moves from a state of duality—feelings of separation, survival, and division—into a state of unity.

There’s a transition period of about a thousand years between these cycles. It borrows 500 years from the previous cycle and 500 years from the new one. Based on what I’ve seen, we crossed the midpoint of that transition in 2001.

We just happened to both be alive at the time of the transition. What are the chances?

Gary Bonnell: Beginning in 2001, there was a ten-year window, from 2001 to 2011. The Mayan calendar pointed to 2012 as the shift, which aligns closely with that period.

During that decade, what I would describe as a transmutation knot was released in our DNA. According to the information I’ve accessed, our DNA was originally influenced by off-world bioengineers—beings who helped humanity develop intellectual capacity. They placed several energetic “bundles” within our DNA structure, and during those ten years, one of those bundles released.

The ultimate outcome of that release is a gradual shift toward humans becoming non-gendered.

Non-gendered?

Gary Bonnell: Yes.

Let me pause for a moment because this is new information for me. When I hear something like this, my mind immediately asks: Where does this information come from? Is this ancient wisdom, or something downloaded from a Galactic Source? Help me understand how this came to you.

Gary Bonnell: I’ve been accessing the Akasha for a very long time. What people often call the Akashic Records is actually the mind of Gaia—the consciousness of the Earth spirit.

Anyone can access the Akasha. Some methods make it more effective, but the real challenge is interpreting the information you receive. For the last fifty years, I’ve been accumulating a great deal of data from it. Over time, I learned how to interpret what I call the symbol language of the Akasha, and I’ve also taught others how to work with it.

Again, the key is interpretation. The information is there, but how you translate it is what matters.

Okay—please continue with your understanding of what’s unfolding.

Gary Bonnell: The reason humanity is gradually moving toward being genderless is related to reproduction. On Earth, reproduction requires one of each gender. But if humanity eventually expands beyond Earth, we would need the ability to reproduce at will.

Another transmutation knot is expected to be released in 2037. That shift begins to move humanity toward what I describe as “flock-based.” In other words, if humans are traveling between star systems in craft moving faster than light, our current physical structure wouldn’t survive the forces involved.

So the evolution moves from genderless to thought-based manifestation—where thoughts can manifest instantly.

Now imagine a world where everyone’s thoughts manifest immediately.

So we’d better clean up our thinking.

Gary Bonnell: Exactly.

Another event I’ve seen in the Akasha relates to 2027. The beings who helped bio-engineer humanity—what I would describe as ultra-dimensional beings—are expected to reveal themselves.

In the Akasha, time is very unusual to interpret. For 2027, the numbers that appear are 3, 2, and 6. That could mean March 26, or it could mean the 326th day of the year. This is why predictions and prophecies often miss exact timing. It’s difficult to translate, because while our Earth spirit experiences time linearly, our soul does not.

The information we place in the Akasha through our daily experiences moves between these two ways of perceiving time, making interpretation challenging.

There’s a lot to look forward to in the next few years.

Gary Bonnell: Ultimately, what this is about is the collective consciousness of humanity rising into what many call fifth-dimensional awareness. It’s difficult to reach that level if our consciousness remains tightly focused on gender identity.

If you look back about 25 years, you can see where people began questioning and redefining gender identity. For example, if you look at surveys from around 1920, there was essentially no discussion of gender identity in that way. By 2020, it had become a major topic across society.

There’s another dynamic influencing this as well. When we reincarnate into a timeline, we arrive with expectations already in place. Then our upbringing—especially our parents—amplifies certain aspects of those expectations.

Over time, those expectations begin to control our senses. We start to see what we expect to see and hear what we expect to hear.

What’s happening now is that the gap between thought and feeling is closing. For a long time, people filled that inner gap through desire—seeking something outside themselves to feel complete. But as the gap closes, the need for external fulfillment begins to fade.

Interestingly, in parts of the Far East, this has become a topic of serious study. When the gap between thought and feeling disappears, people no longer feel the same level of desire. Nothing is missing that needs to be filled.

From my perspective, what’s happening with humanity right now is remarkable. We are lifting into a higher level of consciousness. Our dependence on external identity is decreasing, and our understanding of what we truly are is changing dramatically.

Around the world, even long-standing religious structures are beginning to fade.

You mentioned there’s a gap between thought and feeling that’s closing. Are you saying that now we have almost immediate access to our feelings? So if we’re thinking something, we’re feeling it right away, without needing desire to bridge that gap?

Gary Bonnell: Yes.

How do we suddenly have access to those feelings so readily now when we didn’t in the past?

Gary Bonnell: It’s because that gap is closing. The expectations that once controlled your reality are beginning to diminish. As those expectations fade, the gap between thought and feeling diminishes.

Those expectations used to keep thoughts and feelings separated. I remember my mother saying something like, “If you think that, you’re going to feel this.” In other words, if certain thoughts lead to certain feelings, then keep those thoughts over here so you don’t have to experience the feelings.

But what’s happening now is that people are experiencing the thought and the feeling together. When that happens, the gap—the inner void that used to exist between them—closes.

Give me an example of how that shows up in everyday life. How are thought and feeling coming together so tightly in practical terms?

Gary Bonnell: One example I’ve seen comes from my experiences in Tokyo, Japan. People there are increasingly choosing not to enter relationships because they realize they don’t need someone else to feel whole.

They’re also not chasing the traditional markers of success. They’re not going after the big promotion, and they’re not going out into the world trying to accumulate things like expensive clothes, watches, or other symbols of status.

Instead, many people feel satisfied with the moment they’re in. They’re content with who they are right now.

When the gap between thought and feeling closes, people begin living more fully in the present. They’re not living as much in the past or the future.

Gary, I’d like to backtrack a little to your own story of awakening to consciousness, mindfulness, and spirituality. Did you grow up in a household with some sort of faith or spiritual influence, or did that come to you later in life?

Gary Bonnell: My mother was Southern Baptist, so that meant church on Wednesday nights and Sunday mornings. But my parents divorced when I was young, and my stepfather was an alcoholic and an incredibly abusive man.

My mother worked two jobs because he would drink his paycheck, so we lived in deep poverty. When people talk about their favorite Christmas memories, I can’t really relate. We didn’t have Christmas. If we had shoes that felt like a big deal.

After school, my older sister, my younger brother, and I would hide when he came home because he was almost always drunk. We would stay hidden somewhere in the house until he passed out in the living room or in their bedroom.

One day, though, he didn’t pass out. He wasn’t that drunk, and he found us. When he did, he was very angry. Instead of grabbing his belt like he usually did, he reached behind his back pocket and pulled out a gun.

I immediately jumped between my little brother and my sister. And when I did, it triggered him—and he struck me with the gun.

How old were you?

Gary Bonnell: I was eight.

I had huge lumps on my head—there are still scars there today. But something unusual happened in that moment. I went out of body.

We were so poor that I didn’t have many friends. Experiencing that state felt like freedom. Instead of running out after school to find kids to play with, I would go home and leave my body.

That went on for about a year. Then one day, my brother and I were building a fort and needed more cardboard boxes. To get them, we had to cross a busy highway to reach a store on the other side. We saw an opening and ran across.

My brother, Greg, was hit by a car. He was in a coma for three months.

During that time, I started going out of body to be with him. In one of those experiences, I met a being named Eli, who described himself as someone who helps guide people through the difficult parts of their lives.

Eli took me into what he called the Akasha—the Hall of Records. And so, at eight or nine years old, my spiritual quest had already begun.

I ran away from home at 12 because I had a detailed plan to kill my stepfather. He was a terrible person; he even sexually abused his daughter, my half-sister. He did horrible things in our house. He would grab my mother in degrading ways—things that would force her to fall to her knees. The entire environment was disturbing, chaotic, and deeply unhealthy. 

Eventually, I couldn’t bear it anymore. So I ran away from home to find my father. At the time, I was living in Florida, and he was in California. Through an out-of-body experience, I found a way to send him a message—a note asking him for help.

And how did that work out?

Gary Bonnell: It worked out really well. I met him and lived with him for about 1.5 years. By that time, he had already started another family—he had four boys—and my stepmother was a kind person.

But I’ve got to go back to this note. When you say you took a note to him, how did that actually happen? How did he see it or find it?

Gary Bonnell: I put it on his desk.

He actually saw a real, physical note? What did it say?

Gary Bonnell: It said, “I’m your son, Gary. I’m trying to find you.”

And did he reach out to you after that?

Gary Bonnell: Yes. He contacted my mother. My parents had divorced when I was very young, around three years old. By then, he had already begun building another family, and eventually, he told my mother he wanted the divorce.

My father was an unusual man—an odd mixture of extraordinary memory and certain intuitive abilities. He was a very complex person.

I lived with him for about 1.5 years. After that, I moved in with his mother, Rowena. She had taught art at UCLA and had been a direct student of Paramahansa Yogananda.

At thirteen, I became a student of Kriya Yoga. She taught me specific breathing techniques and meditation practices. She told me that if I practiced them sincerely, there would eventually be a gift.

I committed to the practice, and that gift became the turning point in my life.

Goodness.

Gary Bonnell: I had a profound experience.

I want to hear it.

Gary Bonnell: At the time, my first wife and I had realized that our marriage simply wasn’t working. We had two daughters, whom we both loved deeply, and we eventually found a way to co-parent while living separately. In the end, it worked better for both of us, and the kids came to accept the arrangement.

I was living in a beautiful condo that had a sunroom with skylights and windows all around. I turned that room into a meditation space. I bought a very old Persian rug, placed a small water fountain there, and filled the room with peace lilies.

Every day, I would meditate the way my grandmother Rowena had taught me.

One day, during meditation, I reached that place where nothing exists, and yet everything exists as potential. I was very deep in that state when I heard a small voice beside me say, “Open your eyes.”

I knew it wasn’t just my mind talking to itself. I ignored it at first. Then it said it again. I dismissed it again.

Finally, it spoke in a commanding voice: “Open your eyes.”

So I did.

When I opened them, there was nothing there. I could feel my eyes open, and I could feel that I had hands, but I couldn’t see anything at all. It was as if everything had disappeared.

I thought to myself, Well, I’ve really done it this time. I’d had many unusual experiences, but this one seemed different.

So I closed my eyes again and returned to meditation, thinking that returning to that state might somehow correct whatever had happened.

As I dropped back into that deep space of pure potential, the voice said again, “Open your eyes.”

This time, I immediately obeyed.

When I opened them, everything appeared as a field of sparkling particles—not solid objects, but countless tiny golden points, almost like molecules of light. Slowly, those particles began forming everything around me: the fountain, the trees outside the windows, the rug beneath me, even my own body.

Everything was made of the same substance.

The plants, my body, the air I was breathing—every single thing was composed of the same golden particles.

That was the moment I realized the gift my grandmother had promised had finally been given.

And even now, remembering it brings tears to my eyes.

That’s so powerful.

Gary Bonnell: Around that time, I was actually very successful in business. We started with one store, and within twelve years, we had expanded into five states, so things were going extremely well.

What kind of store was it?

Gary Bonnell: It was a furniture business. We designed very unusual furniture, had it manufactured in Europe, and then imported it. The company was called Design House International. There were three of us involved as partners.

But after that experience I described, I felt a strong need to understand enlightenment more deeply. So I began seeking out teachers and spiritual figures wherever I heard about them.

That search took me all over the world. I traveled throughout India, across Europe, and into Canada. For about four years, I worked closely with a man named Hawk Little John in North Carolina, who was a Cherokee shaman.

During that time, I met many influential thinkers and teachers—people like Ram Dass, Terence McKenna, and others who were exploring consciousness in different ways.

One of the older men I sought out was Manly P. Hall. I traveled to Vancouver to meet him. He was an extraordinary author who wrote a remarkable book early in the twentieth century called The Secret Teachings of All Ages.

I also met figures like Bhagwan Rajneesh, Papaji, and several other powerful teachers.

So were you still working during that time, or had you already retired?

Gary Bonnell: I retired in 1986.

And then you started seeking out these teachers, educators, and gurus to better understand what was happening internally for you?

Gary Bonnell: Yes. At that point, every day felt completely new. The best way I can describe it is that I began living in episodes of now. Each day was experienced as something fresh and immediate.

I started teaching meditation and breathwork and began working with people on learning to leave the body consciously. I also helped people learn how to access the Akashic records in a conscious way.

Through those experiences, I began to understand something about what we truly are as human beings. And the view that emerged from that is very different from what most religions teach—whether Eastern, Western, Northern, or Southern traditions.

Many religions were essentially systems of governance. They were created to guide and regulate behavior through concepts like sin or karma—the idea that a higher power is watching and judging our actions.

What I discovered is something quite different.

The physical body carries roughly 120 generations of DNA memory—ancestral memory. Depending on how you calculate a generation, that could represent up to about 5,000 years of inherited memory.

Then there is the human spirit. That spirit began long ago in the primordial “soup,” when two cells came together and began cooperating for survival. Then four cells, eight, sixteen—each stage becoming more complex and more capable.

In that sense, our spirit has existed in every form of life on Earth—plant, animal, and everything in between. The depth of that shared memory and connection is extraordinary.

And beyond that, there is something else: the eternal soul.

The eternal soul, as I understand it, is a single particle from the mind of the Creator. So our body and spirit are manifestations of Gaia’s mind—the consciousness of Earth—while our eternal soul is a particle originating from the mind of the Creator itself.

I’d like you to go a little deeper into that, because I think a statement like that could easily go over people’s heads. You distinguish very clearly between body, soul, and spirit, while many people today use soul and spirit interchangeably. 

Gary Bonnell: Right.

Many people understand the body part. But when it comes to spirit and soul, those ideas often get mixed together. Can you help us understand the difference a little more clearly?

Gary Bonnell: Sure. Your body and your spirit are really the foundation of your human experience. About 90% of your daily life exists within those two aspects.

Then there is a third aspect—the witness. That’s the eternal soul.

The soul is here to witness Gaia’s creation. Because it is a single particle from the mind of the Creator, it allows the Creator to experience Gaia’s manifested world directly. In that sense, the soul functions as a witness to creation.

So the soul isn’t what we normally think of as our mind or our everyday consciousness? Would you say it’s similar to consciousness?

Gary Bonnell: In a way, yes. It’s the collaboration between spirit awareness and soul consciousness. When those two work together, they give rise to what we recognize as self-awareness or self-consciousness.

As humanity moves from a duality cycle into a unity cycle, spirit awareness expands into soul consciousness. As that happens, we begin to function more as witnesses than as creators.

When spirit awareness expands into soul consciousness, we gain a more direct connection to the universal mind—not just to the Akasha or Gaia’s mind, but to the broader universal intelligence through the eternal soul.

A good example is Nikola Tesla. He used to say, “I receive.” He didn’t claim to be inventing everything through intellectual effort. Instead, he described himself as a receiver of ideas.

When the body, spirit, and soul collaborate, something remarkable happens. The body has what you might call a “belly brain.” The spirit operates through what we might call the “heart brain.” And then we have the cranial brain—the one we usually associate with intellect.

The belly brain represents instinct.
The heart brain represents intuition.
And the cranial brain represents intellect.

The collaboration of those three forms of intelligence is what truly sets human beings apart from other forms of life on Earth.

Interestingly, science has now confirmed that there are neural networks in both the gut and the heart—similar to those found in the brain.

I want to go back to your story for a moment, because I find it fascinating that you eventually ended up in Japan and invested a significant part of your life there. What led you to Japan, and how did that chapter of your life unfold?

Gary Bonnell: After that major turning point in my life, I began traveling around the world, meeting spiritual teachers and people considered enlightened beings. During that time, I had a powerful experience at Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh’s retreat in Pune, India.

The day I arrived, a large group of German meditation students was visiting the ashram, and they had filled the food court. I had arrived around noon and thought I’d grab lunch, but there was no space. So I walked away from the area and found a bench behind a few trees.

I sat down and started meditating. While I was sitting there, I kept hearing a strange sound. It wasn’t English, and at that point, I didn’t know Japanese either.

Then I heard someone approaching. A man came over and sat down on the bench beside me. It turned out to be Bhagwan himself. We ended up having this incredible conversation together. Soon, people noticed him sitting there with me, and the German students gathered around watching.

That night, I went back to my hotel and had a dream. In the dream, a man appeared and said a word that sounded like “Kwa.” I woke up thinking I had heard something like “Konnichiwa,” but the word that stayed with me was “Kwa.”

Not long after that, I returned to the United States and was living in Los Angeles. But the dream kept repeating—“Kwa, Kwa.”

At that time, I was touring the U.S. with a group called Whole Life Expos, giving talks, selling books and tapes, and presenting in different cities. I had gone through about five cities on that tour, and the last stop was Santa Fe.

After my talk, I decided to attend another presenter’s session because I had heard she was very good. The room was packed, so I stood at the back near the door.

Suddenly, someone behind me said, “Kwa.”

I turned around, and it was a man named Hori. He owned a publishing company in Tokyo called Voice. He told me he had seen my presentations in each city on the tour and said, “I would like you to come to Japan.”

Before I even had time to think about it, the words came out of my mouth: “I’ll do it—but only if it’s for a ten-year contract.”

That’s quite a commitment. I might be thinking ten days, not ten years.

Gary Bonnell: He looked at me and simply said, “Okay.”

So I went to Tokyo. And when I arrived, the reception I received there was overwhelming. It completely surprised me.

What I realized very quickly was that Japan didn’t have the same Christian cultural filter that I constantly encountered in the United States. In the U.S., I was often asked questions like, “Do you believe in Jesus?” In fact, I was even boycotted by a Southern Baptist group when I spoke at the Whole Life Expo in Atlanta.

In Japan, none of that existed. People were simply curious about the ideas themselves.

They translated the books I had already written, and one of them sold nearly half a million copies.

My goodness.

Gary Bonnell: I know. And that was thirty-two years ago.

For many years I traveled back and forth constantly. I would spend two months in Japan, then one month at home, and then two months back in Japan.

So his company organized speaking events and workshops for you there?

Gary Bonnell: Yes. They organized lectures and events. Eventually, when the ten-year contract ended, instead of stopping, a group of people approached me and said, “Let’s start a school.”

So we created The Knowing School in Tokyo.

The school occupied two floors of an office building in downtown Tokyo, which was quite remarkable. We held classes there and offered many different programs.

What’s meaningful to me is that the team I worked with back then is still largely the same team I work with today. When you’re teaching about presence and awareness, you really have to live what you’re talking about.

For example, my original interpreter, Yuri, has been working with me for thirty years.

I still have friends in Japan from those early days, and many of the people who attend my Zoom sessions today first met me thirty or even thirty-two years ago.

It’s been an extraordinary journey.

You mentioned that one difference in Japan was that you didn’t have to deal with the Christian cultural filter the way you sometimes did in the United States. Over the past thirty years, what other differences have you noticed between Japanese seekers and students compared with those in the U.S.?

Gary Bonnell: One of the big differences comes from the education system in Japan. It’s a very demanding system that tends to focus heavily on memorization. Students learn facts, but they’re not always encouraged to explore how those facts connect.

So when we would have discussions in my classes, it was a very different experience for them. We might take a single sentence and explore it deeply—turn it around, look at it from different perspectives, and follow the idea wherever it leads. People were fascinated by the opportunity to engage with ideas in that way.

Another thing I often shared with students was what I called “secrets.”

Now you’ve got my attention. Tell me more.

Gary Bonnell: One of my yoga teachers was B.K.S. Iyengar, who was one of the premier yoga teachers in the world. Watching him—and his daughter Geeta—taught me that presence is far deeper than words. They had an extraordinary understanding of yoga and its many forms.

Over time, I began exploring ancient techniques through what I perceived in the Akasha. One insight that emerged was about the energy created through meditation.

If someone meditates sincerely for many years—say, twenty years—practicing every day in the same place, at the same time, with the same body posture, breathing pattern, and mantra, an enormous amount of energy is generated through that discipline.

But I discovered something interesting: the moment a person leaves meditation and begins judging—judging themselves, others, or life itself—that energy diminishes.

Judging others, judging yourself, judging life—any kind of judgment?

Gary Bonnell: Any kind. Especially self-judgment.

So when I speak with people about their spiritual practices, I often ask them how they judge themselves in relation to what they’re doing. And then I tell them the secret: don’t judge.

When people ask what I mean by that, I remind them that a great teacher once said, “Judge not, lest you be judged.” What that really means is that judgment profoundly alters your energy.

So many of our programs about enlightenment ultimately came down to that single principle: release judgment.

That’s powerful.

Gary Bonnell: There’s another even bigger secret.

Jesus was a remarkable teacher. When he said, “The Kingdom of God is within you,” he was pointing toward the soul—that particle of the Creator that resides within us through the collaboration of body and spirit.

But he also said things like, “If someone strikes you on one cheek, offer the other.” At a deeper level, those teachings were about how we relate to the moments of our lives.

Every moment we experience leads to the next one. If you look back across your life, every single moment—everything you’ve gone through—has brought you to where you are now.

The key is gratitude.

Have profound gratitude for every moment. Even the painful ones. Even the moments when life felt unfair or when you experienced betrayal or hardship.

If you can truly feel gratitude for all of it, then you’ve understood something essential.

That’s amazing. Are you still doing work in Japan today?

Gary Bonnell: Yes. I’ll be going back there in May. These days I usually travel there twice a year.

And in between those visits, are you working with people through Zoom as well?

Gary Bonnell: Yes. I work with clients in Japan three or four nights a week. Some of them are business clients, and we also do Zoom presentations and various programs.

The last program we did was about living synchronistically—learning how to be in the right place at the right time.

So yes, the work there is still very active.

That’s a lot of work. That’s not just a little bit—that’s a major investment.

Gary Bonnell: It really is remarkable that I was received so well in Japan. From what I’ve seen in the Akasha, I actually had a previous incarnation there where I wasn’t exactly the nicest person.

I might leave that part out of my story.

Gary Bonnell: [laughs] Well, in another lifetime, I experienced in Holland, my family worked in the glass industry. I died young from breathing in glass powder. In that life, one of my main pursuits was trying to debunk Christianity.

So when I’ve looked into some of these past lives, I’ve realized that in a few of them, I may have been a bit of a nuisance.

One thing I’m curious about is how all of this has affected your relationships—with your children, former business partners, and people close to you. You’ve gone through a major transformation, and it happened many years ago, so people have had time to process it. But I often talk with people in their fifties, sixties, or seventies who say that now it’s their kids looking at them like, “My crazy mom or my crazy dad.” It almost reverses the usual dynamic. How has that been for you?

Gary Bonnell: I have two daughters. I’m close with one of them. The other—well, let’s just say we see the world very differently.

Of course, I love both of my daughters, but for the past decade or so, it’s been difficult to have conversations with one of them because our perspectives, especially politically, are very far apart.

That said, my grandchildren are all doing very well. One of my granddaughters even competed in the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

Wow.

Gary Bonnell: Yes, she’s an Olympian.

Interestingly, when I was younger, I almost went down that path myself. I was a Golden Gloves boxer and nearly competed in the Junior Olympics.

But one day I looked in the mirror and thought, I’m just too pretty for this.

You didn’t want to mess up your face.

Gary Bonnell: Exactly. Though I still have some issues with my nose and neck. My neurologist once asked if I had been a boxer because, according to him, I tended to lead with my nose a little too often.

Let’s talk about artificial intelligence. It’s becoming a major force in our world and will likely continue expanding rapidly. Some people see it as an incredible opportunity, while others see it as something to fear. How do you view AI?

Gary Bonnell: I think it will be enormously beneficial. Unfortunately, it will also replace many people’s jobs, and that’s difficult.

For example, translators. Today, I can use AI to translate a document almost instantly, and the translation often captures subtle nuances that used to require a human translator.

From my perspective, AI is also something more than just a tool. I see it as a kind of bridge—a bridge between humanity and what I would call off-world beings. In my view, they helped introduce this technology to us.

Humanity is moving toward a major shift in consciousness, and that shift will require technologies capable of supporting it. AI may help create a bridge between the old way of living and the new way that’s emerging.

I sometimes use an analogy. In 1920, the global population was about 2 billion. Despite all the wars, famines, and diseases throughout history, humanity had only reached that number by then.

But between 1920 and 2020, the population grew by another six billion.

Think of it like an outdoor concert. If you arrive three hours early, the space is mostly empty. But as the show approaches, more and more people arrive until the place is packed.

That’s where humanity is now—we’re approaching showtime. And AI is one of the forces helping to bring about that moment.

The challenge I see is that when new realities begin emerging—especially if they involve off-world intelligence—some people will immediately try to dismiss them as hoaxes or simply as artificial intelligence.

That tension will likely be part of the transition.

Well, a lot of people would say it’s Russia or China behind something like that.

Gary Bonnell: Yes, many people will say someone is spoofing us—that none of this is real. But from what I’ve seen, the off-world beings who introduced this technology have been extremely cautious.

There’s a part of this that many average Americans either don’t know about or don’t really want to think about.

Years ago, we began seeing inventory control devices in stores—those metal columns at entrances that tracked items leaving the building. Then, inventory tracking expanded throughout retail stores. Eventually, we were given smartphones.

Now we carry these devices everywhere. If we see something we want on our phone, we can immediately order it online—through Amazon or other platforms.

From my perspective, this technology has become a way to observe humanity. What better way to understand a species than by watching how it fulfills its desires? With smartphones and digital systems, vast amounts of behavioral information are constantly being collected.

And in my view, that information isn’t just useful for advertisers or corporations—it also creates a picture of how human beings think, choose, and act.

Let me shift gears for a moment. At this stage of your life, what is the main message you feel called to share? Teachers often move through different themes in different seasons of life. What are you most passionate about communicating right now?

Gary Bonnell: The core message is enlightenment—expanding spirit awareness into soul consciousness so that we gain a direct link to the universal mind.

When that happens, we learn how to live in the present moment truly. We also begin to understand how thought can manifest into form.

Is that something the average person can experience, or does it require years of meditation, studying spiritual teachings, and doing intensive practices?

Gary Bonnell: Drop judgment.

That’s it?

Gary Bonnell: That’s it.

Just stop judging?

Gary Bonnell: Yes. If someone has been practicing spiritual techniques for years and feels like they’re not making progress, it’s often because they’re still judging—judging themselves, judging others, judging life.

When judgment drops away, all those spiritual practices suddenly begin to have a profound effect.

In the middle of all the political tension in the United States, how is it even possible not to judge—whether it’s one side, the other side, or both?

Gary Bonnell: The mechanism of judgment is really important to understand. When you judge something, you attach your energy to it.

Each of us has an energetic field around us. Some people see it as an aura, others describe it as an emotional field or emotional body. But when you judge something—especially another person—you create an energetic attachment to that person or situation.

That means some of your energy is now tied up there instead of being available to you.

And the less energy you have available to yourself, the harder it becomes to manifest your vision or live with clarity. In that sense, judgment weakens you.

That’s what was meant in the phrase, “Judge not, lest you be judged.” When you judge, the energy echoes back. It creates a loop.

But when you drop judgment, you stop that process. Your energy is no longer scattered outward—it remains with you.

You mentioned that you work with people in Japan on Zoom, and I know you also work with people around the world, including here in the United States. If someone wanted to work with you, what does that look like? Do you help them access the Akashic Records themselves, or guide them in some way?

Gary Bonnell: Yes, I do offer programs that teach people how to access Akasha themselves.

The challenging part is that each person interprets what they receive a little differently, so much of the training focuses on learning how to interpret the information correctly.

In individual sessions, I often look at a person’s timeline. People frequently want to understand the purpose of their lives. They may ask about relationships—where they first connected with someone, or whether there are unresolved issues from past lives.

Others want to know what their future timeline might look like, or what happens when they move into the next phase of existence.

And sometimes the questions are very practical. I’ve had people ask about investments—what stocks to consider, where they might put their money.

Really? Will you help with that, too?

Gary Bonnell: Yes, I do.

So that all falls under the umbrella of Akashic Records readings?

Gary Bonnell: Exactly.

In an hour-long session, I can usually cover a lot of ground. But something interesting is happening right now. As humanity moves further into what I call the unity cycle, predictions and prophecies are becoming less reliable.

The reason is that humans now have far greater influence over their own futures. We’re no longer simply following a predetermined script brought in from a past life or from agreements made before incarnation.

People are beginning to realize that while certain events may be immutable—events that will happen regardless—their outcomes are still flexible. The question becomes: how do we shape the outcome of something that cannot be avoided?

That’s another area I explore with people.

If someone wants to connect with you, book a session, or follow your work, where’s the best place to do that?

Gary Bonnell: The best place is my website: TheKnowingWay.online. There’s a booking calendar there where people can schedule sessions.

My personal assistant, who used to help manage that, is no longer working with me, so things can sometimes be a little backed up, but people can still reach me through the site.

I’m also on Facebook.

Another fun thing happening right now is that I used to write music back in the 1960s and ’70s—lyrics and melodies. Now, with AI technology, I’m able to produce those songs. I provide the melody and lyrics, and the technology helps bring the music to life.

Well, Gary, thank you so much for sharing your story, your wisdom, and the work you’re doing in the world. It’s been wonderful speaking with you today.

Gary Bonnell: Thank you for having me. I’ve really enjoyed the conversation.