82: DTN Podcast | Jim Alstott Ep. 82 | He Drowned and Woke Up at the Bottom of the Pool | Thayne Martin

He drowned in his own pool, woke up on the bottom under a full moon, and came back with an equation for happiness. For years, Thayne Martin looked like a man who had it all figured out: six-time President's Club, top 10% nationwide, a career built on breaking sales records. Underneath it he was carrying a secret from childhood, abuse that began when he was a boy in Phoenix, and a stack of diagnoses that included dissociative identity disorder, bipolar I and complex PTSD. He tells us how he hid it, how it surfaced in a board meeting, and the woman who never gave up on him. Then, on August 13, 2023, alone in the pool late at night, he had a seizure and drowned. It was his second near-death experience. He woke up at the bottom of the pool, calm, an atheist with no idea how to get out, until a voice said: move your head. What came back with him became ELAH, the Equation of Life and Abundant Happiness: addition, subtraction, multiplication and division applied to your emotional life, plus "net neutral," the "gratitude cocktail," and why he says fear is a direction, not a stop sign. And stay for the Playlist Round: ZZ Top, Propaganda, Above & Beyond, Donna Summer with the Phoenix Symphony, and the song that carried a little boy over the rainbow. This conversation includes Thayne's account of childhood sexual abuse, addiction and suicide attempts. If it brings something up for you, in the US you can call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Thayne shares his own experience; nothing here is medical advice. KEY TOPICS Hiding childhood trauma behind a high-performing career · Dissociative identity disorder, without the Hollywood myth · Two near-death experiences by drowning · Leaving the victim story behind · ELAH: the Equation of Life and Abundant Happiness · Net positive, net negative and net neutral · Experiential gratitude and the "gratitude cocktail" · The principle of abundance · Music as vibration SOUND BITES "I'm not a victim. I was never a victim. None of us are." "I woke up at the bottom of the pool. That's where I woke up." "Happiness in life comes when we're authentic, a hundred percent who we are without filters." "Fear is a sign and a direction. Fear just says I can learn something here." "There's only one thing on the other side. It's love." CHAPTERS 00:00 Intro 01:36 Phoenix, age five, and the secret he carried 03:42 "I'm not a victim. I was never a victim." 05:24 Every diagnosis was a coping mechanism 05:55 Seven pillboxes a day, and then zero 06:17 August 13, 2023: alone in the pool at night 07:02 Waking up at the bottom of the pool under a full moon 08:09 An atheist comes back with a "download" 10:02 "Move your head": the breath that got him out 12:28 Six-time President's Club: what the man on stage believed 14:40 The gap between the facade and the true self 17:05 A life of success, and a secret underneath it 18:19 The best liar in the world 20:40 Gratitude and unconditional love as neuroscience 21:56 Every sunrise since September 2024 22:26 Experiential gratitude and the "gratitude cocktail" 25:18 Which diagnosis explained the most 28:11 The board meeting that ended his career 28:45 A love story: the woman who never gave up 29:54 What he wishes someone had said 31:38 Net positive, net negative, and living in net neutral 34:37 Two near-death experiences: what the first one showed him 37:55 The first thing he did when he came back 39:18 Love as the power that operates everything 40:48 Why we remember what we feel 41:59 What happened to the men responsible 43:24 A lawsuit, scholarships, and a donation-based program 44:24 ELAH: why math is the language of the universe 45:44 Add and subtract: balancing to neutral 46:49 Multiply and divide: the principle of abundance 48:59 From growing up scarce to giving it away 50:09 Letting go of ego, and a love that never punishes 51:34 Fifty years at the piano: everything is vibration 54:21 What he still gets wrong about his own equation 55:12 Vasopressin, oxytocin and dopamine 58:48 Playlist Round: "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" 59:53 Road trips: Mom's 70s records, and disco 1:00:37 Senior year: ZZ Top's Eliminator 1:01:17 College: Propaganda's A Secret Wish 1:03:01 Pump-up: his "Shift" playlist and Above & Beyond 1:04:30 Guilty pleasure: Donna Summer and the Phoenix Symphony 1:05:04 The song written for him: "Blue Sky Action" 1:05:48 All-time favorite: why the rainbow 1:06:46 Thank-yous, where to find Thayne, and we drop the needle RESOURCES MENTIONED Above & Beyond, "Gratitude" and "Blue Sky Action" Propaganda, A Secret Wish ZZ Top, Eliminator Donna Summer "Over the Rainbow" from The Wizard of Oz CONNECT WITH THAYNE MARTIN It's Pure Love / ELAH: https://www.itspurelove.com Instagram: @itspureloveofficial TODAY'S PLAYLIST https://open.spotify.com/playlist/089P25t56cNoqYmagZ8yuR FROM YOUR HOST Mentioned in this episode or just want to go deeper? 📖 Did I Just Have a Spiritual Awakening, or Was It Something I Ate? https://a.co/d/020nrzCH 🌐 jimalstott.com https://www.jimalstott.com 🎙️ dtnpodcast.com https://www.dtnpodcast.com If this episode found you at the right moment, the best thank-you is simple: like, comment, and subscribe so you never miss what's next. #DropTheNeedle #ThayneMartin #NearDeathExperience #Gratitude #UnconditionalLove #SpiritualAwakening #Healing #ELAH