Interview: Tom Davidson-Marx of Aloha Sangha

Tom Davidson-Marx is the co-founder of Aloha Sangha, a secular meditation group based out of Honolulu, Hawaii.

In this conversation he shares journey through Buddhism, from his first meditation retreat to becoming a monk in Sri Lanka, and his later experiences balancing spirituality with everyday life. He shares profound insights on meditation practices from intensive practice, the challenges faced, and the benefits of integrating spiritual teachings into a balanced life.

Tom also touches on his eclectic approach to teaching meditation and the establishment of Aloha Sangha, a non-traditional meditation group focused on love and compassion. This conversation provides a deep dive into the practical and philosophical aspects of Buddhism for lay and experienced individuals.

Connect with Tom @ AlohaSangha.com

Time Stamps:

00:31 Introduction and Retirement Reflections01:15 First Meditation Retreat Experience06:43 Life Journey and Early Influences08:08 Discovering Buddhism and First 10-Day Retreat10:35 Becoming a Monk in Sri Lanka18:24 Deep Dive into Meditation Practices24:55 The Bliss and Challenges of Meditation33:32 The Ultimate Goal: Nirvana and Liberation42:43 Simple Steps to Achieve Bliss in Meditation43:11 Analyzing the Self: Deconstructing the Notion of Self44:10 Meditation for Beginners: Awareness and Intention44:51 The Evolution of Meditation Practices46:32 The Dark Night of the Soul: Understanding and Coping51:08 Grounding Techniques in Meditation01:06:36 The Importance of Balance in Life and Meditation01:13:29 Future Plans and Non Dual Spiritual Reflections

Quotes of Interest

On The Purpose

So the whole point of Buddhism is to become a better person such that you actually give back and are compassionate and help other people. That's the goal.

On Meditation

  Meditation is something that needs to be done with a lot of care and a lot of understanding of what is actually happening….you can't just like ignore everything and think meditation is going to answer all your questions, all that, you know, be the answer to all your problems or concerns or whatever.

On Mental Colonization

  you start to notice how much mental energy was bound up with, fruitless ruminations over the past and equally fruitless preoccupations with the future…. the notion starts to form that what we're taking as the feedback loop from our mind , what we're evaluating and what we're judging and what we're comparing, is only a very small part of our of our mind, and it's the part, unfortunately, that has colonized the rest of it.

On the Non Dual

 Noticing the non dual nature of that, and to me the non dual nature means I don't really have to go outside of my own personal experience to have profound experiences, because it's already profound right now, right here, right now, it's already done, like, we've already crossed the finish line, there's nothing, something that we think we need to do is extra.

Transcript @ Leafbox.com

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