The nuts and bolts of taking the Diamond Approach journey sincerely

books:


	• The Unfolding Now: Realizing Your True Nature through the Practice of Presence A. H. Almaas Shambhala, 2008 - 272 pages average customer review:based on 5 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Excellent for the "Beginner"

I put beginner in quotes because there is not really a dichotomy between the beginner and advanced person.
I first thought that AH Almaas was possibly jumping on the "Power of Now" bandwagon. But I'd say that this work is much more mature some new agey work.
The writing is simplistic and direct, for Almaas.
Having read much of his works and many many other spiritual commentaries, I'd say that I have tended to skim some of the chapters and spent more time on the practice sessions. But for the person new to this world, it is all worth reading, from front to back. I have just read so much from so many things that it is a whirl in my head and I go right to direct practice.
I ordered 'Spacecruiser Inquiry' to explore his opened ended version of spiritual inquiry which is more creative and more difficult to understand, than to just ask alot of deep questions, like other teachers.

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Extraordinary "how to" of practicing Presence

We spend so much of our lives trying to get somewhere else. This book revealed to me how this habit of striving interferes in my inner experience of what is happening now. Learning to truly experience what is happening now does not mean being passive. It does not mean that I refuse to take action. It means that if I am sad, I experience that sadness, rather than rushing to cover it up with wishing for a different inner experience. I can take action to change circumstances without denying what my experience is with the current circumstance. Wanting my experience to be different is subtly different from wanting external change. I can work to improve communication and understanding in my family or community without denying my own inner experience at each moment whether it be frustration, anger, fear or joy. Almaas teaches with great clarity the "how to" of being present and tells us that being ourselves, being real, means being our True Nature.

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Clear and Supportive

Most of those drawn to practice have had the experience of being moved by the open perspective of a teacher's words. While words alone can be supportive of practice, this work also provides a very clear introduction to the practice of inquiry. The reader who is willing to spend time with the questions at the end of each chapter will have the opportunity to gently shift their perspective with regard to self and life.

Broadly speaking, Almaas has written two kinds of books. His Diamond Heart series is an easy to read survey of the practice perspective of the Diamond Approach. His Diamond Mind series provide a detailed and scholarly examination of critical aspects of practice. In terms of flavor, this book is as approachable as the Diamond Heart books. For those who are unfamiliar with this approach or perhaps even new to any kind of practice, this book is a wonderful introduction. In addition to mindfulness and meditation, the Diamond Approach uses inquiry as a support for practice. While inquiry isn't the subject of this book, the short chapters are followed by a series of gentle questions. Working with these questions individually or with a partner not only gives a flavor or this form of practice, but also allows the reader to move beyond the tightly held assumptions about self and life that we all embody. Even those who are familiar with Almaas should find freshness in this work that is supportive of their practice.

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Close, but not quite.

I can see that the author is very wise, and many people think he is a fine teacher, but I'm just not swept away by this one. The sense that I got is that Almaas is subtly making a Doing out of Being.

The nuts and bolts of taking the Diamond Approach journey sincerely

Rarely do teachers reveal the essence of practice in incredibly clear and simple words which penetrate the veils in those of us who are still deeply longing to understand the truth of our nature more. For me this book has quenched a profound depth of that thirst. The quiet nature of this teaching in the diamond approach reveals itself incredibly slowly, but as it does, if one is sincere enough, the unmistakable feeling of finally being at home abides. As I see it this book is Hameed's attempt to reach out to a wider audience with the core of this diamond approach path. Beyond any means that I can understand Hameed, a man of incredible intelligence and mind boggling spiritual sophistication, speaks to us newer students with remarkable clarity simplicity and 'in-touchness'. Never have I heard a teacher communicate so clearly and gently about the task, from the beginning, of the soul learning to find itself again via; this practice of learning how to be real, letting go of judgments about 'real-ity', and then simply existing, calmly, as yourself unfolding now. It seems as though Hameed is saying all suffering is caused by us not simply being where we are, as we are. Various mind conjured resistances, unconscious and conscious, keep us from Reality, which is all the time displaying itself right under our noses. This is a step by step guide in learning to start, stabilize and deepen the being philosophy which the diamond approach offers. A manuscript of value I have trouble putting in to words. A clear, simple, spacious and detailed talk about this journey, told by a man, who if listened to, can not help but awaken ourselves.

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The keys to self-knowledge and deep contentment are right here before us in this very moment?if we can simply learn to live with open awareness. In The Unfolding Now, A. H. Almaas presents a marvelously effective practice for developing the transformative quality of presence. Through a particular method of self-observation and contemplative exploration that he calls inquiry, we learn to live in the relaxed condition of simply "being ourselves," without interference from feelings of inadequacy, drivenness toward goals, struggling to figure things out, and rejecting experiences we don't want. Almaas explores the many obstacles that keep us from being present?including defensiveness, ignorance, desire, aggression, and self-hatred?and shows us how to welcome with curiosity and compassion whatever we are experiencing.

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