Awakening to Our True Nature: Releasing Limiting Ego Structures & Freeing the Soul with A. H. Almaas (Part 2)

Ep. 163 (Part 2 of 2) | In the sixth dialogue of the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, Hameed Ali tells us that whereas pure consciousness is already perfect and does not change or grow, individual consciousness is an impressionable organism—alive, changing, moving, developing. Hameed explains that because the soul is impressionable, the impacts of experience are imprinted upon it, shaping our very consciousness. Ego structures form from repeated impressions, and although they are necessary for survival and to function in a relational world, these structures make it difficult to experience the living presence of our true nature. We experience the ego self instead, mistaking our self-image for what we truly are. When we loosen our conditioning, with help from practices like inquiry and bodywork, our soul becomes free of its imprint and our true potential arises naturally, along with greater compassion and other qualities of the soul. 

Simply and clearly, Hameed brings us to a deeper understanding of our soul, elucidating what holds us to our limited self-identity and describing what we have to look forward to as the myriad imprints hammered into us by experience become diaphanous, and new impressions no longer make indelible imprints. Hameed also delves into the different ways various traditions talk about the soul, the difference between ordinary knowledge and “knowing,” or gnosis, and tells us that sudden enlightenment and gradual enlightenment are an artificial dichotomy, sharing a story of a sudden enlightenment experience of his own. Once again, Hameed transmits an extraordinary amount of wisdom in a relatively short time, and we emerge brighter, hopeful, and inspired as to our boundless spiritual potential. Recorded November 14, 2024.

“When the soul becomes free of its original imprint, it becomes open to its inner potential – and inner potential is mostly spiritual potential.”

(For Apple Podcast users, click here to view the complete show notes on the episode page.)

Topics & Time Stamps – Part 2

• Relaxing the tension in the soul and body is important: working with body armor (00:49)
• Mature impressionability: when the soul is more free, impacts don’t leave lasting imprints (03:16)
• When the soul becomes free of its original imprint, it opens to its inner potential (08:34)
• The enlightenment drive and our spiritual potential (11:41)
• Psychology and spirituality are not separate in our consciousness (13:51)
• The different ways different traditions and psychology talk about the soul (15:43)
• Unique particularity becomes very important in Zen: a flower is a flower (20:43)
• Gnosis: I know myself without reflection, without memory; I know what I am (23:13)
• Nonconceptual and transconceptual knowing (25:24)
• Sudden enlightenment and gradual cultivation are an artificial dichotomy (28:21)
• What does gradual enlightenment mean? (30:51)
• Hameed relates an experience of “sudden enlightenment” (31:21)
• How the evolution of the universe relates to awakened consciousness (33:40)
• Roger’s acknowledgment of this conversation as uniquely impactful (36:48)

Resources & References

• A. H. Almaas (Hameed Ali), founder of The Ridhwan School, home of The Diamond Approach
• A. H. Almaas, The Inner Journey Home: Soul’s Realization of the Unity of Reality*
• Wilhelm Reich, Reichian therapy, Reich’s Segmental Armouring Theory (Energetics Institute) 
• Alexander Lowen, developer of Bioenergetic Analysis
• Stan Grof & Christina Grof, Holotropic Breathwork: A New Approach to Self-Exploration and Therapy*
• Abraham Maslow, Toward a Psychology of Being*
• Carl Rogers’ fully functioning person, On Becoming A Person: A Therapist’s View of Psychotherapy*
• Bruno Bettelheim, Freud and Man’s Soul: An Important Re-Interpretation of Freudian Theory*
• The Chittamatra or “Mind Only” School of Mahayana Buddhism
• The 16th Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje
• Dogen, founder of the Sōtō School of Zen, “A blade of grass is a blade of grass.”
• Gnosis
• Philip Kapleau, The Three Pillars of Zen: Teaching, Practice, and Enlightenment*

The A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series will generally follow the sequence of Hameed’s magnum opus, The Inner Journey Home* (which John describes as psychoactive and spiritually, psychologically, and intellectually transformative), so listeners may want to get a copy of this book, to study and follow along on this exhilarating path of awakening.

* As an Amazon Associate, Deep Transformation earns from qualifying purchases.

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Hameed Ali (A. H. Almaas) was born in Kuwait in 1944. At the age of eighteen, he moved to the U.S. to study at the University of California in Berkeley. Hameed was working on his Ph.D. in physics when he reached a turning point in his life and destiny that led him to inquire into the psychological and spiritual aspects of human nature rather than the physical nature of the universe. He left the academic world to pursue an in-depth journey of inner discovery, applying his scientific precision and discipline to personal, experiential research. This included study with different teachers in different modalities, extensive reading, and continuous study of his own consciousness in an effort to understand the essential nature of human experience and reality in general.

Hameed’s process of exploration led to the creation of the Ridhwan School and, with his colleague Karen Johnson, resulted in the founding and unfoldment of the Diamond Approach. He is the author of 20 books, including Nondual Love: Awakening to the Loving Nature of Reality, Love Unveiled: Discovering the Essence of the Awakened Heart, Keys to the Enneagram: How to Unlock the Highest Potential of Every Personality Type, The Unfolding Now: Realizing Your True Nature through the Practice of Presence, and more. 

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Podcast produced by Vanessa Santos and Show Notes by Heidi Mitchell