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Podcast Episodes
A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series (Dialogue 5, Part 1) – Boundless Potentials: Opening to the Endless Creativity of Our Being and the Universe
Ep. 158 (Part 1 of 2) | In the 5th dialogue of the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, spiritual teacher and author Hameed Ali discusses the dynamic, ever changing, infinitely creative nature of the universe, and explains that our individual souls are in some sense a microcosm of this energy, with endless potentials and possibilities. We can experience creative dynamism, Hameed says, as “a sense of infinite energy, pulsing and throbbing, where we see the whole universe in continual emergence, every moment new.” Although the soul has boundless potential, we tend to take the limited approach that what we already know is the extent of things; the key to loosening the limits we place upon ourselves is to practice inquiry and remain open to all directions of possibilities. Each individual experiences the dynamism in a different way and expresses the potentiality of reality in a different way, says Hameed. When we are in touch with our true nature, we share in the creativity of the divine.
In this conversation, Hameed also talks about death: how we can be curious about it, how it is the ultimate in finality, one more possibility of reality, and that he doesn’t presume to know it, only that true nature is the source of time and does not die. Life can be experienced like a fountain rather than a flowing river, Hameed relates. And the more our ego structures are released, the more we can open to its beautiful array of endless possibilities. Another profoundly intriguing, subtly humorous, and absolutely enlightening conversation with Hameed Ali. Recorded October 10, 2024.
Sean Esbjörn-Hargens (Part 3) – The Boundless Riches of Nonduality: Understanding Nondual Experiences Across Traditions and Over Time
Ep. 157 (Part 3 of 3) | Integral polymath Sean Esbjörn-Hargens is the first comparative scholar to undertake exploring and differentiating the myriad varieties of nonduality. A longtime spiritual practitioner within several nondual traditions, Sean wanted to find out how we can understand the relationship between reality, consciousness, and practice. When he delved into an analysis of different traditions’ experience of nonduality, Sean was surprised and excited by what he found: 40 distinct nondual traditions, ancient and new, from both East and West, fascinating in their differences, their similarities, their uniqueness, and their depth. Sean’s hope is that his comparative study of nondual traditions will open the door to a global, cross-tradition dialogue that will supersede centuries of misunderstanding and conflict among people arguing that their realization is the only correct and/or best interpretation of reality.
Enthusiasm and excitement flow throughout the conversation as Sean reveals the provocative patterns he uncovered in nonduality’s history, like the mysterious flourishing of nondual traditions for a 300-year period starting in the 11th century. He covers specific distinctions he has mapped: the primary polarities across traditions (goal, path, context, practices), the different qualities that are emphasized (emptiness + omnipresence, emptiness + bliss, and more), and the six possible subject/object orientations of the traditions. Informed by A. H. Almaas’ awareness that there is no endpoint to spiritual realizations and Ken Wilber concluding that nonduality evolves (nonduality = emptiness + view; emptiness doesn’t change, but view does), along with his own findings of ever deepening and broadening nondual realizations, Sean wonders, “What will our nondual traditions look like in a thousand years? In two thousand years?” And, “What are some of the nondual seeds from other traditions that we are not watering?” Hang on to your hats for a thoroughly enjoyable and eye opening ride through a goldmine of information about the many faces of our nondual traditions. Recorded September 12, 2024.
Sean Esbjörn-Hargens (Part 2) – The Boundless Riches of Nonduality: Understanding Nondual Experiences Across Traditions and Over Time
Ep. 156 (Part 2 of 3) | Integral polymath Sean Esbjörn-Hargens is the first comparative scholar to undertake exploring and differentiating the myriad varieties of nonduality. A longtime spiritual practitioner within several nondual traditions, Sean wanted to find out how we can understand the relationship between reality, consciousness, and practice. When he delved into an analysis of different traditions’ experience of nonduality, Sean was surprised and excited by what he found: 40 distinct nondual traditions, ancient and new, from both East and West, fascinating in their differences, their similarities, their uniqueness, and their depth. Sean’s hope is that his comparative study of nondual traditions will open the door to a global, cross-tradition dialogue that will supersede centuries of misunderstanding and conflict among people arguing that their realization is the only correct and/or best interpretation of reality.
Enthusiasm and excitement flow throughout the conversation as Sean reveals the provocative patterns he uncovered in nonduality’s history, like the mysterious flourishing of nondual traditions for a 300-year period starting in the 11th century. He covers specific distinctions he has mapped: the primary polarities across traditions (goal, path, context, practices), the different qualities that are emphasized (emptiness + omnipresence, emptiness + bliss, and more), and the six possible subject/object orientations of the traditions. Informed by A. H. Almaas’ awareness that there is no endpoint to spiritual realizations and Ken Wilber concluding that nonduality evolves (nonduality = emptiness + view; emptiness doesn’t change, but view does), along with his own findings of ever deepening and broadening nondual realizations, Sean wonders, “What will our nondual traditions look like in a thousand years? In two thousand years?” And, “What are some of the nondual seeds from other traditions that we are not watering?” Hang on to your hats for a thoroughly enjoyable and eye opening ride through a goldmine of information about the many faces of our nondual traditions. Recorded September 12, 2024.
Sean Esbjörn-Hargens (Part 1) – The Boundless Riches of Nonduality: Understanding Nondual Experiences Across Traditions and Over Time
Ep. 155 (Part 1 of 3) | Integral polymath Sean Esbjörn-Hargens is the first comparative scholar to undertake exploring and differentiating the myriad varieties of nonduality. A longtime spiritual practitioner within several nondual traditions, Sean wanted to find out how we can understand the relationship between reality, consciousness, and practice. When he delved into an analysis of different traditions’ concept of nonduality, Sean was surprised and excited by what he found: 40 distinct nondual traditions, ancient and new, from both East and West, fascinating in their differences, their similarities, their uniqueness, and their depth. Sean’s hope is that his comparative study of nondual traditions will open the door to a global, cross-tradition dialogue that will supersede centuries of misunderstanding and conflict among people arguing that their realization is the only correct and/or best interpretation of reality.
Enthusiasm and excitement flow throughout the conversation as Sean reveals the provocative patterns he uncovered in nonduality’s history, like the mysterious flourishing of nondual traditions for a 300-year period starting in the 11th century. He covers specific distinctions he has mapped: the primary polarities across traditions (goal, path, context, practices), the different qualities that are emphasized (emptiness + omnipresence, emptiness + bliss, and more), and the six possible subject/object orientations of the traditions. Informed by A. H. Almaas’ awareness that there is no endpoint to spiritual realizations and Ken Wilber concluding that nonduality evolves (nonduality = emptiness + view; emptiness doesn’t change, but view does), along with his own findings of ever deepening and broadening nondual realizations, Sean wonders, “What will our nondual traditions look like in a thousand years? In two thousand years?” And, “What are some of the nondual seeds from other traditions that we are not watering?” Hang on to your hats for a thoroughly enjoyable and eye opening ride through a goldmine of information about the many faces of our nondual traditions. Recorded September 12, 2024.
A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series (Dialogue 4, Part 2) – Discovering the Soul’s Treasures: Awakening Our Deepest Capacities and Highest Potentials
Ep. 154 (Part 2 of 2) | In this 4th dialogue of the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, spiritual teacher Hameed Ali explains that much of the beginning of the spiritual path is spent clarifying our individual consciousness from the conditioning of the past in order to wake up and discover our true nature. In the Diamond Approach, this is accomplished using the practice of inquiry, and as we inquire deeply within, qualities intrinsic to consciousness emerge in our awareness. These qualities—like truth, courage, steadfastness, curiosity, and love—each have their own particular sensory expression: a certain color, texture, warmth or coolness, varying degrees of sweetness. The more these qualities emerge, Hameed says, the more powerful our practice and the more authentic our life. He calls these qualities treasures of the soul.
This beautiful conversation ranges from profoundly moving, as Hameed evokes specific qualities of presence, to humorous, when he tells a funny story about Maharishi Yogi, to intensely illuminating as Hameed talks about the teaching of the first turning, the miracle of ordinary life, what it means to be spiritually mature, the nature of true sorrow, the fact that we are the universe being conscious, and how fundamental nature lies deeper than consciousness, deeper than awareness. It is a multifaceted gem, not to be missed. Recorded September 19, 2024.
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