Diamond Heart: Elements of the Real in Man

I got the four books on the Diamond Heart series. Almaas is a great writer , great details and great literature for those on the path of self realization and understanding. Totally recommended, that is if you are willing to have your old views challenged!!

Years ago, my then Zen teacher, Joko Beck, was recommending that her students read A. H. Almaas's "Diamond Heart" series. She said that his work helped her articulate the connection between the ego and the absolute. Whether or not someone wishes to pursue this particular path, this is an amazing book. Teachers often say that "we are love (or compassion, peace. . .)." Almaas helps us understand what that actually means.

This is the first book in A. H. Almaas's four-part Diamond Heart series of teachings, and as such, it offers a good introduction to his integration of Sufism, Zen, and Vajrayana Buddhism with Gurdjieff and modern psychology into what he calls "the Diamond Approach" to realizing our full potential. "We live in a world of mystery, wonder, and beauty," Almaas observes in the book's Preface, "but most of us seldom participate in this real world, being aware rather of a world that is mostly strife, suffering, or meaningless" (p. i). According to Almaas, this is because we are not realizing and living our full potential. The collection of teachings compiled here (based on talks Almaas delivered in both Colorado and California), thematically linked by the "essence" of what is real in each of us, have the power to change the way you live your life.G. Merritt

Diamond Heart Book 1 is the first in a series that comprises a certain body of knowledge of the teachings of the school created by A.H. Almaas (a pen name). There are two complementary "lines" in the series: Diamond Heart and Diamond Mind. The Diamond Heart series, currently 4 volumes, is a selection of essays and transcripts from the teaching, and is non-clinical in it's language. I found the relatively conversational style to be excellent as a companion to the Diamond Mind series books which are rather technical and clinical in their use of pschoanalytic and psychodynamic language. The books in each line roughly parallel one another in content: the material in Diamond Heart vol 1. deals with much of the same material in Diamond Mind vol 1., The Void (and another Almaas title "Essence"). Reading them together gives one a much deeper understanding of the material. Imagine reading the clinical text and then going to hear the speaker at a seminar workshop or vice versa. What is unique about this overall body of material is that it is truly integral in its approach. In that regard, it is similar to Ken Wilber's multi-volume uberwork of Integral Psychology drawing from both Eastern spiritual disciplines and Western psychological theories and practices. Almaas' material is very specific and uses examples from his students work in psychological and spiritual development to give you something to relate to in your own life and growth work which I found extremely helpful for anchoring understanding. If the following ideas are appealing then this material is for you: When we are born we are our true selves as Essence and Being. Over time and through exerience in relation to our parents, family members, peers, and the world at large we develop a protective structure called the Ego. In the developmental process, we not only lose contact with our Essence, but begin to identify with our Ego structure as our real self. This state of affairs contributes to much of our suffering in life. In the East, enlightenment is seen as coming through the dissolution of the Ego, while in the West the integration of the Ego is seen as the final development of the adult individual. Almaas shows that both are right but incomplete in that each has something to contribute to the other. The work is about disidentifying from the Ego through techniques of psychodynamic work in order to dismantle it, while at the same time reconnecting with and developing those aspects of our original Essence in order to become a fully realized adult human being. Wonderful work.

Almaas provides us with an integration of much traditional spiritual thinking with a more modern psychological understanding accessible to readers who have grown up in a western culture. This accessible and practical book reflects Almaas' understanding about the path towards enlightenment based on his personal experiences, not just theory. I can hardly imagine a reader who won't want to go on to read additional material by Almaas once they've finished this book.