A. H. Almaas is the pen name of A. Hameed Ali, founder of the Diamond Approach to Self-Realization, a contemporary teaching that developed within the context of both ancient spiritual teachings and modern depth psychology theories. Almaas has authored eighteen books about spiritual realization, including the Diamond Heart series, The Pearl Beyond Price, The Void, and The Alchemy of Freedom.
He is the founder of the Ridhwan School for Spiritual Development, an inner work school devoted to the realization of True Nature. The orientation of the school is directed toward guiding students to realize their true nature to the fullest realization and further still to endless enlightenment.
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Remember the story of Buddha before his enlightenment? The devil Mara came to him, sending dark forces against him, in the hope of distracting him from finally letting go of attachment. First he threw spears at him and sent monsters to scare him, but Buddha didn’t budge. Then he started sending wonderful, beautiful women with luscious breasts who tried to tempt him. The detached heart of Buddha didn’t move. That is when Mara himself acknowledged the Buddha and was converted. This state of poverty and purity, this depth and level of work, require that we really want the truth as it is.
In the work of self-realization, the first and most important part of working on the narcissistic constellation involves exposing the shell. This means realizing directly that what we take ourselves to be is not real, that it is an empty shell, a facade constructed from images and identifications. For most students in our work, this happens completely naturally, in the course of self-exploration. It is not necessary for the teacher to introduce or create these perceptions.