Thomas Davis IV is a contemplative artist based in Los Angeles who explores the connections between the principles of the dharma, Christian mysticism, jazz ethics, poetry, art, storytelling, and science for a multi-disciplinary exploration of who we are and what is possible for us. Thomas self-identifies as a contemplative artist, which allows for a consistent and fluid commitment to personal authenticity and for the exploration of voicing one’s emerging ideas, concepts, and individual expressions of personal and collective liberation.
Thomas’s immersion into the dharma began ten years ago at the East Bay Meditation Center in Oakland, California, and was preceded by over ten years of service as a lay minister and teacher at the Olivet Missionary Baptist Church in Oakland. He is currently a Mentor in The Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program and has been the core teacher for InsightLA’s BIPOC Sangha for the past three years. Thomas is founder of Avant-Dharma, which is the present expression of his cumulative years of practice and service (avant-dharma.com). He offers personal mentoring sessions as well as workshops and residential retreats for a further immersion into one’s own practice.