The Diamond Approach

Rating:
Summary: Burning hard like a gemlike flame.
Review: I arrived at the teachings of A. H. Almaas through Ken Wilber's books. "The universal message of the Diamond Approach," Almaas explains, is that "when we learn how to invite our true nature to reveal itself, it will guide us toward realizing our spiritual ground and, at the same time, actualize our potential in all walks of life." John Davis, one of Almaas's first students (p. xi), now teaches "Ali's" Diamond Approach to human potential here in Boulder, a practice that integrates the ancient spiritual wisdom of Gurdjieff, Sufism, Vajrayana and Zen Buddhism with modern psychological theory (p. 10). "The aim of the Diamond Approach," he writes, "is to live fully and deeply" (p. 3), and like a diamond, the practice is "durable, valuable, precious " (p. 17). In a way that is easy to understand, Davis surveys the main concepts and methods of the Diamond Approach, including teachings on inquiry, the soul, space, essence, self-realization, and pure Being. The practice itself, however, is more challenging. Writers including Wilber, Jack Kornfield, and Tony Schwartz have all recognized the value in the Diamond Approach, and in his book, Davis provides his readers with an introduction to Almaas's Diamond teachings that, well, glitters.

G. Merritt

Rating:
Summary: Burning hard like a gemlike stone.
Review: I arrived at the teachings of A. H. Almaas through Ken Wilber's books. "The universal message of the Diamond Approach," Almaas explains, is that "when we learn how to invite our true nature to reveal itself, it will guide us toward realizing our spiritual ground and, at the same time, actualize our potential in all walks of life." John Davis, one of Almaas's first students (p. xi), now teaches "Ali's" Diamond Approach to human potential here in Boulder, a practice that integrates the ancient spiritual wisdom of Gurdjieff, Sufism, Vajrayana and Zen Buddhism with modern psychological theory (p. 10). "The aim of the Diamond Approach," he writes, "is to live fully and deeply" (p. 3), and like a diamond, the practice is "durable, valuable, precious " (p. 17). In a way that is easy to understand, Davis surveys the main concepts and methods of the Diamond Approach, including teachings on inquiry, the soul, space, essence, self-realization, and pure Being. The practice itself, however, is more challenging. Writers including Wilber, Jack Kornfield, and Tony Schwartz have all recognized the value in the Diamond Approach, and in his book, Davis provides his readers with an introduction to Almaas's Diamond teachings that, well, glitters.

G. Merritt