Navigating the Inner Journey Home: To Presence, With Presence, In Presence with A. H. Almaas

Ep. 172 (Part 1 of 2) | In this 8th dialogue in the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, Hameed Ali gives a clear, colorful description of the three stages we go through on the spiritual path: the journey to presence, the journey with presence, and the journey in presence. “There’s much more to the journey than just being free of suffering,” he says, “in the journey with presence, there’s a whole universe to discover—unexpectedly we find there is a whole realm of splendor, beauty, freedom, and liberation.” In the third journey, the journey in presence, the stage of actualization, we are swimming in the ocean of presence or we are the presence itself. Hameed relates how impeccability, strong and pure like stainless steel, is an important part of actualizing presence, embodying our essence in our daily lives. “The ‘I am’ can function in the world as a person,” he explains, “I can be the vastness, an infinite, black, luminous night, completely formless, but still walk in the street as a person.”

Hameed also talks about the “pearl beyond price”—the individuated self that brings a functional capacity to the isness, which is why it is of incomparable price—and the point of existence, point of light, or pure I-ness. He discusses the individuation of the soul and the realization that the nature of the soul is the nature of everything: this is the nondual experience. This dialogue is another treasure trove of spiritual transmission by Hameed—with humor, clarity, precision, and beautiful metaphor, his teachings, even as deeply profound and mysterious as they are, come as wonderful revelations for us to grasp onto, leading us forward on the inner journey home. Recorded January 3, 2025.

“The experience of presence is the defining experience of this path.”

Topics & Time Stamps – Part 1

• Introducing the 8th dialogue of the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, which focuses on the 15th chapter of The Inner Journey Home: “The Inner Journey” (00:56)
• Hameed outlines 3 stages of the inner journey: the journey to presence, the journey with presence, the journey in presence (03:00)
• First, the individual soul, structured through early life experience, begins (with practice) to recognize presence (09:50)
• Second is the journey with presence: working with the theory of holes before opening to spaciousness (12:22)
• The second stage is the fun part—when everything is completely new and somewhat miraculous (14:56)
• Experiencing the true potential of a human being: unexpectedly we find there is a whole realm of splendor, beauty, freedom & liberation (17:59)
• The third journey is actualization, when we are swimming in the ocean of presence or we are the presence itself: self-realization; the self is the presence (19:55)
• Impeccability: living in a way that is faithful to our true nature (21:12)
• Roger’s summary of Hameed’s points: presence is not static, learning about true nature is an ongoing, marvelous surprise, viewing spiritual maturation along a spectrum, and how realizing presence brings with it the deep desire that all beings experience it (23:34)
• In other traditions, there isn’t much discussion beyond the realization itself (25:56)
• The world is never “fixed” (28:55)
• Part of the soul’s maturation is individuation; personal-ness turns out to be a quality of presence (30:10)
• The pearl beyond price (the individuated self) is known also to the gnostics, the Sufis, the Taoists… it is protected by a fearsome monster (the ego) (33:28)
• The point of light, the point of existence, is pure “I-ness” (38:42)

Resources & References – Part 1

• 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
• Dzogchen, a tradition of teachings in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism and Bön aimed at discovering and continuing in the ultimate ground of existence
• Advaita Vedanta
• A. H. Almaas, The Pearl Beyond Price: Integration of Personality into Being: An Object Relations Approach
• A. H. Almaas, The Point of Existence: Transformations of Narcissism in Self-Realization
• Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, I Am That
• Isaac Newton, “I do not know what I may appear to the world…”
• A. H. Almaas, Luminous Night’s Journey: An Autobiographical Fragment

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.

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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