Introduction

In the contemporary West we find ourselves in a world in which the soul or self, the world or cosmos, and Being or God, are understood to be separate aspects of reality. They are so understood in two senses: first, in the scientific, religious, and philosophical discourses of the day, and second, in the actual experience of the modern person. Regarding the latter, the actual experience, some part of the alienation of the self from Being, and the sense of being a separate entity in a world of entities, is a result of ordinary egoic development. It has been argued in many places, however, that the alienation from the sense of Being or the divine is particularly prevalent and thoroughgoing in the modern Western world, and that it is due to the rational, scientific, and materialistic worldview that dominates in the modern West, in conjunction with the end of a more or less universally assumed context of belief in God. In this book we try to show that it is more accurately due to a worldview that not only separates the areas of self/soul, world/cosmos, and Being/God, but almost universally does not question or investigate such separation in the spirit of truth that has been such an important part of our cultural history.

The orientation of this book moves toward a living understanding of the fundamental unity of reality. We believe that it is possible to communicate a vision of reality that heals the current prevalent dissociation of self, world, and Being. We also understand that the alienation of the self from Being is a source of much suffering and hardship in the world, and hope to contribute to alleviating that suffering through this new understanding of the nature of the human being and the path to reclaiming our connection to Being. Our approach is not a theoretical one based on an externally defined discovery of unity, as for instance the whole-systems approach that is so significant and valuable in some current scientific discussion. Although these discussions are important and resonant with our understanding (see appendix E), our discoveries come from a systematic investigation of the nature of reality starting with the direct knowing of the nature of self or soul. This revelation inevitably leads, as is known in all authentic spiritual and philosophical traditions, to an understanding of the nature of the cosmos and the nature of Being or the divine.

The present book has two main elements: first, mainly in the first half of the book, is a detailed discussion of the nature of the self or soul, which understanding has developed in the course of several decades of systematic research and investigation of personal experience, the practice of traditional spiritual methods, and research and application of modern psychological understanding. Our investigation has culminated in a largely original description of the soul, involving a detailed description of the actual phenomenological nature of the soul as well as a description of how the soul's development creates the structures that come to be known as the self. In the endnotes and appendixes, we connect this understanding with detailed comparisons and references to modern and traditional notions of self and soul.

The second element of this book, largely in the second half of the book, is a simple overview of the path of the soul's journey to the realization and embodiment of Being, as developed in the Diamond Approach, and again referenced to the best of our knowledge to various traditional and psychological sources. Here we explore the essence of the soul, her true nature, its aspects, dimensions, and integration into the soul. In the second half of the book, the exploration of the essence of the soul develops into an explication of the inner journey as it reaches and integrates the ultimate true nature, the final ground of all existence. We discuss this journey in terms of five coemergent boundless dimensions of Being, clarifying our understanding of both normal and enlightened awareness, and how they relate to each other. We refer to the inner journey discussed to this point as the journey of ascent, in which the soul ascends the various subtle dimensions of Reality.

To complete the story of the soul's path we discuss the journey of descent, in which the soul integrates the ground of true nature, with its five dimensions, into everyday life, which brings the soul to a realization of nonduality. This takes us to a discussion of mature and complete human realization, in which the human being becomes not only a microcosm and mirror of Reality, but its agent, organ, and servant. We end with an exploration of how the three facets of reality—the triad of soul or self, God or Being, and cosmos or world—are related to each other in enlightened awareness, and unfold our vision of Reality as it is revealed in the inner journey of this particular path of wisdom.

This book presents the larger view of the Diamond Approach, its metaphysical underpinnings, its overall structure, and its metapsychology. This will clarify its logos, which structures its methodology and which in turn is grounded in the articulated understanding of the five boundless dimensions of true nature. The reader will notice that certain segments of the view are discussed in detail while others are described only briefly. This is because we have discussed many subjects in detail in previous publications, so we only refer to them in this book, giving the appropriate references. Thus this book can be used as the central organizing presentation of the Diamond Approach. The elucidation of the path of the Diamond Approach appears in many previous books, to which we refer readers for more detailed discussion of various aspects of the understanding of the Diamond Approach.

Since this book is a presentation of the structure of the path of the Diamond Approach, the main body of the book does not refer to other teachings, and does not quote other authors. This is true of all chapters. Quotations and cross-references are left to the endnotes and appendices. Hence, the reader can approach this book in two different ways. The reader can read only the body of the book, learning about the Diamond Approach in and of itself. Or the reader can read the body of the book and the endnotes and appendices as they are referred to in the main body, learning about the Diamond Approach within the context of other teachings and sources. The choice will obviously depend on the reader; if he or she wishes to understand the Diamond Approach purely and independently from other sources, and see it as it is without regard to its relationship to other teachings and writings, then reading only the main body of the book is the preferred option. But some readers prefer scholarly references, and connections with other teachings and sources; for such a reader, reading the endnotes and appendices in the order given in the text will be the preferred option. Our suggestion is that the reader read the book twice, once with and once without the endnotes and appendices.

The extensive endnotes fulfill several functions, including:

1. To elaborate in more detail some points and questions that are not in the main theme of this book, but are related to it.

2. To substantiate some of the ideas and findings through quotations from other more established teachings, or from scientific and psychological sources.

3. To show how and where the Diamond Approach uses, integrates, modifies, and develops findings from other sources, both spiritual and psychological.

4. To relate some of the concepts, ideas, and observations of the Diamond Approach to other teachings and fields of research. This may help the reader to understand them more accurately or completely by situating them in different and perhaps more familiar contexts.

5. To demonstrate that the Diamond Approach is similar to many well-known wisdom traditions in its general outlines, but also to illustrate differences.

6. To situate the Diamond Approach and its vision and view within the larger context of the wisdom tradition, as a particular path for human integration.

7. To demonstrate that even though the Diamond Approach expresses a particular approach to inner transformation and liberation, similarly to all other wisdom teachings, it is particularly an expression of the specifically Western tradition of seeking inner truth.

The book contains several appendices. Some develop ideas in the book and endnotes in more detail and with greater technical precision. Some address questions and themes that are tangential to the main body of the book but nevertheless amplify and develop its meaning. Some apply the Diamond Approach to other fields or areas, and some attempt to relate our understanding to other fields or cast it in the language of other fields or teachings.

Like other publications of the author, this book is not a rigorous philosophic treatise or an attempt to prove any theory or idea scientifically or logically. Even though the book utilizes philosophic discussions, logical reasoning, and scientific findings and procedures, it presents a teaching that developed experientially, as the expression of an inner transformation of consciousness that the author has undergone, as have some of his associates and many students who have participated in the teaching.

As a human individual I am the author of this book, but not the source of the teaching presented in it. The real source of the teaching is the true nature of Reality, the essence of our soul and what ultimately we are, the elixir that alone can transform our consciousness and life. By writing and publishing this book, and the others before it, I am fulfilling a facet of my personal function as a discriminating and expressive organ, and an appreciative servant, of this wonderful and magnificent truth of Reality.