In preparation for my visit to JFKU, I was checking out the course offerings for the Integral Psychology program. A course called Diamond Approach caught my attention so I did some research.

The Diamond Approach was developed by A. Hameed Ali (A. H. Almaas) while he was working on his Ph.D. in physics at UC Berkeley. It emphasizes the integration of psychological and spiritual inquiry or as Ali put it:

Because of our particular vision of Reality it is not completely accurate to think of this approach as spiritual work, for this work does not separate the spiritual from the psychological, neither does it see these two as separate from the physical everyday life and scientific investigation of the content of perception.

The Ridhwan School teaches the Diamond Approach and has locations in Berkeley, Colorado and around the world. The school’s website is not very informative about exactly what the Diamond Approach consists of. In fact, I haven’t been able to find much information on the actual method anywhere online. I did find this introduction to the Diamond Approach, however it doesn’t get into the work itself.

The foundations of the Diamond Approach seem to be Being (the universal spirit or God) and Essence (the unique manifestation of Being in each of us). The Diamond Approach endeavors to help practitioners connect with Being through their own Essence by working on psychological issues and meditating. At least this is my understanding based on what I’ve read so far.

If you have any experience with the Diamond Approach, please let us know what you thought of it. I will be sure to report back as I learn more.