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Introducing the Diamond Approach – Boston

It is a natural step in our human development to at some point ask questions about who we are and what we are doing here on this planet.  What is my full potential as a human being?  Who am I beyond my history and conditioning? What would it be like to experience the present moment in its pure immediacy, empty of my usual structures and beliefs?  These are important and potentially life-changing questions. 

The Diamond Approach offers the clear understanding that our Essential or True Nature, the pure presence and fullness of the moment from which we come, can be returned to, through rigorous experiential understanding of how our original pure experience became structured into specific patterns of belief and reactivity which we now take to be the norm. Simply put, we begin as pure presence, we leave that state of presence in order to survive in environments where presence is generally not valued, and we then long in one way or another to return to that condition from which we came. By presence, here, we mean a richness and fullness of experience which is not simply empty space/big mind, but a fullness and richness of in-the-world experience which is simply free of the resistances, controls and stuckness which dominate our soul when identified with our patterns and old reactions. 

A “spiritual” experience, in this view, is not necessarily an "elevated" one but any experience that is not controlled or produced by our conditioned personality.  These may range from the direct experience of absolute truth to the equally valuable experience of admitting we are wrong about something to which we have defensively clung -- the dropping of a defense and resultant truthfulness that increases our freedom in that moment.  

Consequently, the Diamond Approach differs from most other paths in that it recognizes the uniqueness of each individual soul and adapts itself to each person’s needs at the time.  It does not require that people adapt to some ideal, but welcomes people exactly where they are and helps them to take the natural next step for their unique development.

Taking advantage of the inherent tendency in the soul to return to its original and natural state, personal exploration not only of essence and presence, but individual personality structures as well, tends to allow ego structures to relax in the field of truthfulness we create; enough so that we might see beyond and experience, stepwise, our increasingly more true sense of self.  This is a gradual process -- there are no quick fixes to personal complexities that develop over decades -- yet it is a sure one, based in sound principles.  What we do is to facilitate a completely natural process: the natural movement of the individual soul toward its natural state, where it most wants to go . . .

“We live in a world of mystery, wonder and beauty.  But most of us seldom participate in this real world, being aware rather of a world that is mostly strife, suffering and meaninglessness.  The situation is basically due to our not realizing and living our full human potential.  This potential can be actualized by the realization and development of the human essence.  The human essence is the part of us that is innate and real, and which can participate in the real world…”

~ A.H. Almaas          From Diamond Heart, Book One

Diamond Approach® residential retreats involve periodic presentations of the central teachings of the Ridhwan School, an esoteric Work School dedicated to the exploration and development of our human potential.  This work has grown and developed beginning in Colorado and California since 1976 and has become well-known in the last decade through the books of A.H. Almaas.  More information can be found at Ahalmaas.com. 

Upcoming meetings in the Boston area:
Ongoing Diamond Approach Work is available in the Boston area through a new group currently forming.  This group is team taught by experienced Ridhwan Teachers Gina Crago Ackler, Neal Carbon, Anne Laney and Duncan Scribner.

We are meeting approximately three times per year for five day residential retreats.  In these immersion retreats we are studying the central teachings of the Diamond Approach, some of which are accessible from the books of A.H. Almaas, but much of which is more appropriately an oral tradition of teaching in group format.

Upcoming dates are:

2008 Weekends:
July 17-20               Espousal Center, Waltham            
December 4-7         Espousal Center, Waltham            

2009 Weekends & Retreats:
Feb 19 - 22         Espousal Center, Waltham 
May 28 - 31        Walker Center, Newton 
July 23 - 26        Espousal Center, Waltham          
Sept 30 - Oct 5   Espousal Center, Waltham    
 
Hameed Ali, the founder of the Diamond Approach, is coming to Boston to do a seminar open to the public in September 2008.

For more information about Diamond Approach Boston, to register or to have your questions answered please contact one of the teachers.
 
Gina Crago Ackler 303-426-5066 or gcrago@aol.com
Neal Carbon 303-499-6833 or necarbon@aol.com
Anne Laney 303-423-5570 or abachman22@aol.com
Duncan Scribner 303-545-5220 or duncanscribner@msn.com