How many of us felt small and insignificant as children when we were told, “Don’t get too big for your britches” or “Who do you think you are?” Conversely, how pleasantly surprised were you when you responded to a situation with strength and confidence and marveled, “I can’t believe I just said that!”
This last reaction is the essence of the red latifa shining through, a quality needed on the inward journey in order to challenge our assumptions and patterns around being big, vibrant, and alive. It stokes our interest and our vigorous engagement with the world, making us feel courageous and daring, and helping us come truly and resplendently into our own.
Other blocks to inhabiting our “bigness” can arise as we explore the red latifa: Feeling small and helpless in the face of the overwhelming scale of the world’s difficulties. Having judgements around our aggression (i.e. it makes others uncomfortable or it’s an expression of hatred and, therefore, bad). Even ideas we have about enlightenment, such as the belief that the goal is to transcend our everyday existence, can obscure the force of the red latifa.
In the Diamond Approach, we expect nothing and welcome everything. So, when we get fired up about something, we ask: What would happen if we didn’t push that feeling away or become attached to it? What if we didn’t judge ourselves for our fieriness? What might be revealed not only about us, but about the might, vigor, and vitality of all reality?
“What if everything happening outside, what if the scale and the might and the vibrancy that you see outside you…is also possible inside you? What if you can meet the world in a way that's bold and daring? What if you don't have to shrink? What if you can get big in the face of something big? What would that be like?”
- Zarina Maiwandi, Diamond Approach Teacher
Turning inward and inquiring into where we are in this moment can reconnect us with the fiery initiating force of our natural boldness and strength
This quality is necessary to engage with liveliness and interest in the inner journey
The purity of our boldness and strength can help us channel our anger and aggression in healthy and effective ways
This force helps us dismantle old assumptions about our bigness that come from our personal histories, our conditioning, our society, and other sources
We can meet the world’s difficulties in a bold and daring way
A recording of the online workshop including teachings, guided meditations, and interactive exercises
Recorded Q&A sessions where you will learn from the teachers and others in the program
Zarina Maiwandi has been a student of the Diamond Approach since 1999 and a teacher since 2015, working with groups in the United States, Asia, and Europe. Trained as an academic studying Western philosophy and literature, she edits books, including several written by A. H. Almaas.
This course is the third part of the 6-part online teaching series Lightness of Being. Each course in this series may be purchased individually, or you can register for the full series for a combined discount.
“Ridhwan” is a Sufi word. It means “satisfied and satisfying.” Our school, home to more than 4,000 students across the globe, has the potential to both help you to be fulfilled and to help others be fulfilled. Students learn to ground, sensitize, recognize, and trust the inherent guidance of Being.
The Diamond Approach is the core teaching of the Ridhwan School, a spiritual path that approaches our ordinary experiences, emotions, and sensations in a friendly way of understanding. This radical acceptance of our situation allows something to come through that puts us in touch with our spirituality.
In the Diamond Approach, everything we experience is utilized as a doorway to our spiritual nature. Rather than negating or seeking to transcend parts of our humanness that are considered barriers to realization, we learn to approach each aspect of our physical, emotional, and mental experience with acceptance and open curiosity to discover its truth. We do meditation and other exercises, but the main method is Diamond Inquiry™: non-judgment of what we’re experiencing, which brings crisp clarity into one’s own truth.
A recording of the online workshop where you’ll hear talks from Karen, participate in guided meditations and experiential exercises, and learn from other participants in the Q&A portions.
This is a recording of an online workshop.
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Yes! To apply for financial assistance for any of our courses, click here to complete a scholarship application.
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To make online spiritual support more accessible to our global community, especially during the pandemic, we offer two additional “Pay It Forward” payment options in addition to the regular fee. For those who need help, we offer a reduced tuition option, and for those who are able to help, we offer the chance to add a “Pay It Forward” addition to regular tuition, with those additions going directly to provide scholarship opportunities for others.
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