A.H. Almaas Diamond Approach
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y

 

Space

Space brings about expansion in the qualities of our senses, our sensations, and our mental capacities. It deepens our intuition. It expands our awareness into new dimensions of ourselves, some we would never have conceived could exist. It brings new capacities for perception and experience. In addition, space has the surprising and powerful capacity of expanding itself, continuously increasing the openness and dissolution of boundaries, allowing ever-greater understanding of ourselves and our minds. (The Void, pg 31)

 

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Whenever we become free from our identification with any self-representation, we experience ourselves as free from the structure patterned by it. This always manifests as some kind of space, as an inner field that feels exactly like empty physical space, but it is a state of consciousness a pure manifestation of Being. (The Point of Existence, pg 338)

 

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Space and Being

We find out, as we penetrate our representations of reality, that space is a facet of Being. It is the openness of Being, or the open dimension of Being. We also discover that space is not only a manifestation of our being, of our true nature, but that it also deals directly with the question of representations. So space is the facet of our true nature that specifically and directly deals with the barrier of representations. The work on becoming aware of representations, seeing through and being free from them, has to do with the understanding of space. (The Void, pg 154)

 

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Space, body-image and self-image

Not only does space correct the distortion of body-image and dissolve the psychological boundaries of the self-image, it ultimately dissolves the self-image as a rigid structure bounding experience. This provides a hint regarding the ontological truth about self-image. Since we see that space makes the body-image objective and realistic, i.e., correcting it according to objective reality, we can assume that it also corrects the self-image according to objective reality. That is, ontologically, self-image is simply boundaries frozen in space, frozen by their cathexis with libidinal energy. When the cathexis is undone, the boundaries dissolve into empty space, which is what actually exists as the nature of the mind. Therefore, we can say that pursuing the psychodynamic understanding of the self-image all the way to the end will leave us with, among other things, a real and objective body-image and the experience of mind as open space. (The Void, pg 52)

 

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Space and boundaries

We see that the sense of spaciousness that results from the dissolution of boundaries is a real lived experience when the person's capacity for awareness is developed and refined. It is closely connected with the physical body. It is not abstract or metaphorical. It is as a real as experiencing one's own body. (The Void, pg 21)

 

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Space always manifests in one's consciousness as the self-boundaries disintegrate. We can say either that space melts away boundaries or that the dissolution of boundaries allows space to manifest. It is one phenomenon. The dissolution of boundaries cannot be separated from the emergence of space. So here we see the role of space in inner change: there is no lasting change without a change in self-image. There is no change in self-image without the dissolution of self-boundaries, and there is no dissolution of boundaries without the action of space. (The Void, pg 105)

 

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Space and identity

Space is lost as the mind takes self-image for identity. We have seen that this leads to the building of boundaries in the openness of space. The final result is that instead of the experience of Being without mental images, one ends up with a mental image for an identity. So instead of space being pervaded by Being it gets filled with the self composed of many self-representations. (The Void, pg 135)

 

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Space, Personal Essence and Essential Self

These three aspects, Space, Personal Essence and Essential Self, are the most central aspects of Essence. In the process of inner realization they, in some sense, replace the self-image, the separate individuality of ego and the sense of self of ego, respectively. Most traditional spiritual teachings can be grouped according to which of these three aspects they emphasize. Buddhism emphasizes Space, the prophetic tradition emphasizes the Personal Essence, and most of the Hindu systems emphasize the Essential Self, which they term the "atman." (The Pearl Beyond Price, pg 316)