Comments on: Interview with Larry Melton, Spiritual Teacher

By: Tom Stine

Tom Stine — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 17:23:56 +0000

@Duff Hey, glad you liked the interview. Larry is a very cool guy, to say the least. You are quite correct: peace leads to peace.

And I agree: shorter podcasts. I should have made this one a 3 parter. I’m learning the “secret” that people have short attention spans, myself included. Next one will be done in 2-3 parts.

By: Duff

Duff — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 02:04:24 +0000

p.s. I would love to get these podcasts in smaller lengths, perhaps cutting up a longer interview into multiple parts. Around 20-30 minutes is best for me.

By: Duff

Duff — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 02:03:26 +0000

Oooooh, I love the idea of the mind as the tool for awakening.

And thanks for covering the idea of ego-bashing that runs so prevalent in spiritual circles. Only peace leads to peace, only love to love.

By: Duff

Duff — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 01:49:05 +0000

Fantastic interview, Tom! And thanks also to Larry. A very compelling first-person account of spiritual experience, something I always enjoy hearing. Reminds me of Buddhist Geeks, the podcast my friends Ryan and Vince started that got me excited about podcasting.

I can’t wait to listen to more of your podcasts.

By: Tom Stine

Tom Stine — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 23:23:58 +0000

@Gregory I agree completely. It is the most ordinary thing.

By: gregorylent

gregorylent — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 21:06:47 +0000

the hardest thing, and the most necessary, don’t dramatize this awakening thing. not even a bit

By: Raymond Chua

Raymond Chua — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 03:59:54 +0000

Thank you for the interview Tom.

I’ll now transfer it to my ipod so that I can hear it over and over again.

By: Davidya

Davidya — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 02:43:45 +0000

well – my blog is pretty un-Zen that way. But then, I’m amused by obscure symbolism. (laughs)

By: Tom Stine

Tom Stine — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 01:02:29 +0000

@Takuin & Davidya Thanks for the compliments. I really like the change, too. Since this is a spiritual blog, I had to “zen” it up a bit. Surely you’ve noticed that “zen” is a requirement in blogs these days, especially in the title. I loved MonkMojo’s comments a while back on the videos I did. He kept saying “I want my ZenTV!”

By: Davidya

Davidya — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 00:54:14 +0000

Agreed Takuin. I was debating about messaging Tom offline about it. Nice and clean and clear.

Curious we associate ‘eastern’ with ‘spiritual’ though.

By: Takuin Minamoto

Takuin Minamoto — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 00:49:08 +0000

Sorry to be off topic, but nice new header image Tom!

By: Tom Stine

Tom Stine — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 00:28:20 +0000

@Davidya One thing to keep in mind is how Adya (and perhaps Larry) defines ego. He will often refer to it as a “movement of mind” or simply just a thought. Same with “me.” So, in that context, ego doesn’t end as thought doesn’t end. But we no longer belief we are those thoughts. And the movement of mind decreases dramatically.

By: Davidya

Davidya — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 23:02:51 +0000

I find it fascinating to hear different people’s stories of their process. Thank you for a great one.

Interesting comments about the ego not dying but rather simply we loose identification with it. I thought about this a little and see that he is using the word a little differently. I would agree that we loose identification with the identity as “me”, but that identification is what many call the ego and in that sense the ego dies. But the individual does not, it simply takes on a lesser role. Another one of those terminology use variants.

Some of things he said I don’t entirely agree with but it’s obvious that he is speaking honestly from his experience. And he does lay out awakening clearly. After awakening, some may find other approaches valuable, as we’ve discussed here elsewhere.

Thanks again for an insightful interview.

By: Tom Stine

Tom Stine — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 01:15:58 +0000

@Corinne Now you know why I wanted to feature Larry for an interview. You do know truth when you hear it. I knew it when I first talked with him. It is a real joy. Glad you spent the afternoon listening to us.

By: Corinne Edwards

Corinne Edwards — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 21:03:57 +0000

Spent the afternoon with you and Larry.

This is a long interview but the first time I have heard a spiritual teacher speak about awakening in a simple, logical, transparent way. It was an incredible and beautiful experience.

Take some time to listen – or Tom will send you the transcript from his blog. There is no guru or hype here. Just truth. You know it when you hear it.

By: Tom Stine

Tom Stine — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 00:13:04 +0000

@Takuin Yeah, Larry is a really great person to know. I thoroughly enjoyed our conversation. And, as you can guess, I’m planning on making interviews and podcasts a regular part of the blog. At first, I’m thinking once per month. We shall see. Glad you enjoyed the interview.

By: Takuin

Takuin — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 00:07:44 +0000

Very nice interview, Tom. Larry seems like a nice, down to earth, let’s go bowling kind of guy. I enjoyed it.

It would be nice to have these interviews as a regular part of the blog. I enjoy the listening.

Takuin