Opening to the Absolute: The Mystery That Liberates with A. H. Almaas (Part 2)

Ep. 184 (Part 2 of 2) | In the tenth dialogue of the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, Hameed Ali addresses what co-host Roger Walsh calls perhaps Inner Journey Home’s most profound chapter of all, the chapter on True Nature, as well as subjects he writes about in his autobiographical fragment, Luminous Night’s Journey. In the second turning of the Diamond Approach teaching, we transition from exploring individual true nature to boundless true nature—the absolute, ground of all manifestation. Following the mystery of truth, you come to absolute truth, Hameed tells us, and you find a mystery that not only liberates but makes everything happen. Hameed describes the absolute as the radiant blackness before the light, its luminosity awareness, and relates how, in the absolute, the feeling of intimacy is palpable. Here, the soul recognizes “I am home.”

Hameed relates how being and nonbeing are integrated, and about how time and space emerge out of true nature. Every moment is a new creation, he explains, not formed by the past or present, but new, instant to instant, from nonbeing to being. Hameed says true nature is the essence of freedom, and that in these troubled times the important thing is to recognize “I am free” and ultimately indestructible, and to be ourselves, grounded by the truth of our inner nature. Towards the end of the conversation, co-host John Dupuy asks Hameed, “What motivates you? Why aren’t you simply hanging out being true nature?” Hameed laughs and responds, “I am.” Recorded April 10, 2025.

“The idea is to be free. Inwardly.”

Topics & Time Stamps – Part 2

• Beingness is what Hameed calls presence; everything is both being and non-being (00:52)
• Being in the world but not of this world (04:12)
• The effects of studying Reichian therapy and breathwork on Hameed’s experience and way of teaching (06:32)
• The body needs to be open and at ease to experience presence; this is why yoga is widely practiced in East Indian traditions (09:17)
• Is having an ego a necessary stage for waking up? (13:01)
• Space and time are created by true nature, even though it is timeless (14:43)
• True nature is the essence of freedom; it is “radically unqualifiable” (19:38)
• The depths of our experience set the limit on our intellectual understanding (22:53)
• In these troubled times, the important thing is to recognize “I am free” and be ourselves, grounded by the truth of our inner nature (25:07)
• Profound equanimity allows deeper compassion to emerge (28:29)
• The values of true nature are fundamental and eternal; how do we manifest these all the time? (29:20)
• After all the amazing, mind-shattering realizations, life becomes ordinary and simple (32:21)
• What motivates Hameed now? (35:24)

Resources & References – Part 2

• 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
• A. H. Almaas, Luminous Night’s Journey: An Autobiographical Fragment
• Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, I Am That
• Mahamudra
• Wilhem Reich, Reichian therapy
• Nāgārjuna, central philosopher of Mahayana Buddhism
• Plato’s cardinal virtues
• The Ten Ox Herding Pictures from the Zen tradition
• Viktor Frankl, “Everything can be taken away from one except…” 

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