THE DIAMOND APPROACH

The Diamond Approach is a path of wisdom, an approach to the investigation of Reality and a method of working on oneself that leads to human maturity and liberation. It is a spiritual teaching, a method of connecting with our spiritual nature and bringing it into our life. The Diamond Approach represents a new paradigm in human/spiritual knowledge and understanding. It is not a synthesis of existing knowledge, but rather a new, more integrated understanding of the entire human psyche – ego, personality, soul – and the psyche’s relationship with its fundamental nature. - A.H.Almaas

Like other spiritual traditions, the Diamond Approach is a path of self realization, and includes traditional spiritual practices such as teachings and meditations. What’s different is that the foundational practice is a very specific form of self inquiry, which becomes the vehicle for gradual, systematic self realization that is always governed by our unique personal history, capabilities and needs.

Thus the journey of the unfolding of our soul is supported by ongoing open-ended inquiry into our personal experience. We inquire into whatever arises in our experience of the moment, be it an emotion, a sensation, a thought, a belief or a memory, working with presence, sincerity, attuned awareness and compassion, without judgement or goal. This inquiry lovingly embraces all levels of the self; body, mind, emotions and spirit. Nothing in our experience of ourselves is left out, and we find that ultimately every part of the personality comes to be included in the process.

Rather than fight against the personality's barriers to self realization, the Diamond Approach invites us to understand them from a radical perspective, not merely as barriers but as doorways. They are both locks and keys. For example, anger is not just a shallow substitute for real strength; experienced and understood deeply, it opens into the expansion, capacity, strength and aliveness of our Essence, or True Nature. In this kind of way, the Diamond Approach is unique in its precise understanding of the ego’s barriers to each particular quality of Essence, and in its methods of working with these barriers to reveal our hidden True Nature.

This process of inquiry naturally and gradually activates the various unconscious psychological barriers to self-realization that are unique to each of us. Over time, as these barriers are made fully conscious, and become more and more transparent to us, we start to live more deeply from Essence. We come to understand that our Essence is not just a uniform Presence, but has many distinct aspects, like the facets of a diamond. Some of the aspects we can come to know are Joy, Love, Will, Compassion, Peace, Clarity, Intelligence, and Strength. As we live more and more from Essence, we are increasingly able to access these qualities, and we find that our everyday lives are imbued with the flow and harmony of their presence.

We find that our love for the Truth of our own experience is the guide for our journey of self liberation.