Diamond Approach

Ep. 178 (Part 2 of 2) | In the ninth dialogue of the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, Hameed gives a fascinating account of how four distinctly different wisdom teachings came to him in succession, directly from true nature, embodied in the form of diamonds. “In the beginning, I didn’t know…what the hell were these? Is it my imagination?” Hameed laughs. But then his colleagues and students experienced the diamondness too. Like angels of revelation, each diamond vehicle brings a different type of wisdom: the first diamond vehicle, Guidance, brings clarity and initiated the practice of inquiry; the second embodies the wisdom that pleasure is what we are, bringing an understanding of pleasure from a spiritual perspective; the third diamond vehicle holds the wisdom of how to conduct our lives from a place of truth, and the fourth the wisdom of true knowledge—knowing by being—the knowing that is needed for awakening.

Not only do we hear marvelous stories of how the diamond-shaped wisdom messengers appeared to Hameed, but he also imparts a wonderfully comprehensive yet succinct rendering of the teachings they brought, and the conversation flows from embodying wisdom to embodying pleasure, the inward turn, and why bliss must be combined with emptiness for enlightenment to occur. Also, how to live a life of truth with the inner compass provided by the third diamond teaching, the pitfalls of the ego’s tendency to accommodate others, how being is inseparable from knowing, and lots more. A very full, warm, rich conversation, filled also with humor, sparkle, and delight. Recorded January 30, 2025.

Ep. 177 (Part 1 of 2) | In the ninth dialogue of the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, Hameed gives a fascinating account of how four distinctly different wisdom teachings came to him in succession, directly from true nature, embodied in the form of diamonds. “In the beginning, I didn’t know…what the hell were these? Is it my imagination?” Hameed laughs. But then his colleagues and students experienced the diamondness too. Like angels of revelation, each diamond vehicle brings a different type of wisdom: the first diamond vehicle, Guidance, brings clarity and initiated the practice of inquiry; the second embodies the wisdom that pleasure is what we are, bringing an understanding of pleasure from a spiritual perspective; the third diamond vehicle holds the wisdom of how to conduct our lives from a place of truth, and the fourth the wisdom of true knowledge—knowing by being—the knowing that is needed for awakening.

Not only do we hear marvelous stories of how the diamond-shaped wisdom messengers appeared to Hameed, but he also imparts a wonderfully comprehensive yet succinct rendering of the teachings they brought, and the conversation flows from embodying wisdom to embodying pleasure, the inward turn, and why bliss must be combined with emptiness for enlightenment to occur. Also, how to live a life of truth with the inner compass provided by the third diamond teaching, the pitfalls of the ego’s tendency to accommodate others, how being is inseparable from knowing, and lots more. A very full, warm, rich conversation, filled also with humor, sparkle, and delight. Recorded January 30, 2025.