Ep. 237 | In the 19th dialogue of the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, an exploration of the final chapter of The Inner Journey Home, Hameed Ali looks at the evolution of Western culture and how it happened that soul, world, and God became divided as the culture developed. Hameed explains this was a necessary evolutionary step, an inherent part of our development, and though we lost our spiritual footing in the process (with secularization came a “gaping emptiness, meaninglessness, a lack of true fulfillment”), the separation of science and Church fre...
Ep. 237 | In the 19th dialogue of the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, an exploration of the final chapter of The Inner Journey Home, Hameed Ali looks at the evolution of Western culture and how it happened that soul, world, and God became divided as the culture developed. Hameed explains this was a necessary evolutionary step, an inherent part of our development, and though we lost our spiritual footing in the process (with secularization came a “gaping emptiness, meaninglessness, a lack of true fulfillment”), the separation of science and Church freed science and later psychology to take off on their own trajectories, leading to great strides in our understanding of our physical world and psychological make-up. The secularization of society turned out to have plenty of benefits, including improving the physical and economic well-being of many.
But where does that leave us now, and what does the future hold? Will there be an integration of these disparate parts, where spiritual ground becomes a foundational piece of our next stage of evolution? Can the scientific perspective, with its precision and clarity of mind, be brought to bear on our inner life of spiritual inquiry as well as the outer nature of reality? In realizing that our soul needs life’s encounters to mature—meditation alone is not enough—will we find the lost “pearl beyond price” individually and possibly collectively or in small groups? Hameed concludes by telling us that the Diamond Approach is about redeeming the mind: integrating the diamond clarity of the intellect with spiritual depth. He shares his vision of fully realized scientists merging a spiritual perspective with precise and penetrating inquiry, and ends with the wish for all human beings to know: “People who are listening… it’s possible for you.” Recorded June 11, 2026.
“The spiritual ground that science doesn’t deal with is needed to complete the story.”
Topics & Time Stamps
- Introducing dialogue #19 in the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, in which Hameed Ali explores the final chapter of The Inner Journey Home (00:45)
- The development of Western culture & the idea that soul, God, and world are separate (03:27)
- The separation of God, soul & world was a necessary evolutionary step (05:39)
- This secularization of society allowed the scientific point of view to develop (09:15)
- The bifurcation happened also in the field of psychology, especially with the influence of Freud (14:49)
- Our inherent spirit of inquiry came to be applied to the outer world instead of the inner; with secularism, the spiritual perspective was left behind (17:50)
- With secularization came meaninglessness; capitalism & communism focused on economics (26:16)
- Will integration happen? Can secularization find its spiritual depth? (30:08)
- What does the future hold? Hameed thinks humanity’s enlightenment is a LONG way off (34:47)
- Valuing autonomy is an outer reflection of the valuing of the uniqueness of the individual, the pearl beyond price (36:06)
- Gurdjieff thought humans don’t live long enough to grow spiritually (40:12)
- Finding the lost pearl: the soul matures through encounters in life—not just in meditation (42:24)
- The complete pearl integrates the compassion, love & intelligence of boundless awareness: the personalization of the absolute (45:00)
- What are the possibilities of developing a cultural pearl or a species pearl? (47:00)
- The Fermi paradox, the future, AI, and the importance of personal experience (51:20)
- Can we teach AI to make truth the #1 priority? (56:22)
- Roger reads the epilogue of The Inner Journey Home, a beautiful distillation of the soul’s journey (57:17)
- Having a few spiritual individuals living their true nature is what keeps humanity alive (59:49)
- Redeeming the mind: this teaching integrates the diamond clarity of the intellect with spiritual depth (1:00:23)
- Hameed’s wish for all human beings (1:05:49)
Resources & References
- A. H. Almaas (Hameed Ali), founder of The Ridhwan School, home of The Diamond Approach
- A. H. Almaas, The Inner Journey Home: Soul’s Realization of the Unity of Reality
- Roger Penrose, prize-winning physicist & philosopher of science
- Isaac Newton’s occult studies, Hermeticism
- Bertrand Russell, philosopher, logician, mathematician
- Ken Wilber, Quantum Questions: Mystical Writings of the World’s Greatest Physicists
- Kieran Fox, I Am Part of Infinity: The Spiritual Journey of Albert Einstein
- G. I. Gurdjieff, Beelzebub’s Tales to His Grandson: All and Everything
- A. H. Almaas, The Pearl Beyond Price: Integration of Personality into Being: An Object Relations Approach
- The Fermi paradox asks why, given the vast number of potentially habitable planets in our observable universe, there is no clear evidence of extraterrestrial civilizations
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The A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series generally follows the sequence of Hameed’s magnum opus, The Inner Journey Home (which John describes as psychoactive and spiritually, psychologically, and intellectually transformative), so listeners may want to get a copy of this book, to study and follow along on this exhilarating path of awakening.
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Special Diamond Approach Course Discount for Deep Transformation Listeners
If you are interested in taking a course offered by Diamond Approach Online, Hameed’s team at the Ridhwan School have offered a special 20% discount for Deep Transformation listeners. You can access the Course Catalog here: https://online.diamondapproach.org/catalog/. And enter the code DTP20 to receive your discount when you sign up.
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Hameed Ali (A. H. Almaas) was born in Kuwait in 1944. At the age of eighteen, he moved to the U.S. to study at the University of California in Berkeley. Hameed was working on his Ph.D. in physics when he reached a turning point in his life and destiny that led him to inquire into the psychological and spiritual aspects of human nature rather than the physical nature of the universe. He left the academic world to pursue an in-depth journey of inner discovery, applying his scientific precision and discipline to personal, experiential research. This included study with different teachers in different modalities, extensive reading, and continuous study of his own consciousness in an effort to understand the essential nature of human experience and reality in general.
Hameed’s process of exploration led to the creation of the Ridhwan School and, with his colleague Karen Johnson, resulted in the founding and unfoldment of the Diamond Approach. He is the author of 20 books, including Nondual Love: Awakening to the Loving Nature of Reality, Love Unveiled: Discovering the Essence of the Awakened Heart, Keys to the Enneagram: How to Unlock the Highest Potential of Every Personality Type, The Unfolding Now: Realizing Your True Nature through the Practice of Presence, and more.
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Podcast produced by Vanessa Santos and Show Notes by Heidi Mitchell
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