Without that meeting with the Guest, without that intimate familiarity with the Beloved, we are fundamentally, ontologically, existentially alone. We are separated from our Beloved. We use the name “our Beloved” because our heart will not feel completely happy, delighted, fulfilled, contented, and rested until it meets with the true object of the heart, the true love of our soul’s heart.  We make so many things more important without understanding what is most central to our well-being. What does it matter what we do in our life? What does it matter if I go here or go there? Or if I have this possession or I don’t have it? If I’m in this situation or that situation? Whether somebody likes

Soul is a stream of consciousness We need to hold different views simultaneously to have a more thorough understanding of individual consciousness. We need to hold the nondual or unitive view, but we also need to hold the individual view, and possibly more views. In the Diamond Approach, we have a quite detailed understanding of the individual consciousness. I refer to it as soul, but there is the recognition that it is not an individual entity, but rather a stream of consciousness, a flow of experience. There is no claim that the Diamond Approach has a complete understanding of individual consciousness, rather there is the recognition that many teachings have a good understanding sufficient for the particular teaching. Each teaching

Open-ended inquiry redux I do not consider my experience to be incontrovertible evidence or proof of the truth of what I believe I saw or experienced. After all I am still alive and in the body and it seems to me that direct corroboration of what the deceased individual is actually experiencing can only come from being on their side of the death divide. What I would like to encourage in the meantime is to be open to what various teachings say, and, at the same time, question everything, even your own perceptions, until a more satisfactory method of verification than we have at present becomes available. March 2013 I am quite heartened by the many meaningful responses to the

Open & open-ended inquiry Maybe none of the researchers who were having the discussion with HHDL knew of this understanding or experience of soul, or it did not occur to them, or they were too polite to contradict a major Buddhist tenet with HHDL. But it is obvious to me that HHDL has the kind of openness to have welcomed such a discussion for he has been seeking common elements in the various traditions. I think a great opportunity was missed, which I hope will not happen the next time such an opportunity is presented. It is important to point out I was not just reading, enjoying and benefiting from the book. I always read a book by engaging my

Missed Opportunities Originally posted February 2013 A year ago a friend gave me a book titled Sleeping, Dreaming, and Dying—An Exploration of Consciousness with the Dalai Lama,, edited and narrated by Francisco Varela, Ph. D. published in 1997. It is a narration of one of the first times His Holiness the Dalai Lama (HHDL) met and dialogued with Western scientists and researchers. The group included philosophers, psychologists, ecologists, neuroscientists, and anthropologists. Because HHDL was not only knowledgeable both intellectually and experientially with the Tibetan teaching systems but also open to listen and question, I found this an unusual opportunity for a dialogue and true investigation that crossed the boundaries of both religions and research areas. And it was clear that

Entanglement of spiritual traditions It is my understanding that this is an interesting outcome of the meeting of traditions in our time. We do not have to adhere to an ultimate but we can. We do not need to take a view whether ultimates is a valid way of expressing reality or completeness is, for they both do and many others also do. Freedom becomes the value, and it is both defined and defies definition. But it expresses itself as the all rounded openness for ourselves as the very reality to express itself in whatever way its intelligence moves it. There is no end to realization, kinds and types of awakening, or enlightenment and completeness. There is no end for

The end of seeking, the birth of runaway realization Seeking had ceased at stages, each realization or awakening coming to a deeper and more complete ceasing of search or need. What became clear at some point in this path is that Reality does not posit itself as one ultimate that all will agree upon. It does reveal itself as one ultimate or another, each absolutely true and liberating, but it does not have to continue revealing itself as this ultimate. One can stabilize in one of these ultimates and that becomes one’s life attainment. One is free and happy, and can render a great service to others. But since in this path many realizations occurred, there was first an integration of all

The next and most important question is: which ultimate is the true ultimate? We ask this question because almost all teachings take the view that they have the correct ultimate truth of reality. Each believes they found the right ultimate or absolute truth, and other teachings are either wrong or second best. One does not, of course, have to take the view of ultimate this way. This view of ultimate truth, which almost all teachings adhere to, is in some sense Aristotelian. It is a way of looking at reality to find the irreducible ground, the simplest or most primordial truth, the final cause or the prime mover. In other words, if we are totally free and can see and know absolutely

Which of the Ultimates is Ultimate Originally published February 2014 We live at a time when all spiritual traditions and contemporary inner work schools are available to the interested seeker. Most teachings—maybe all—are available around the globe, largely due to advances in transportation and communication technologies. This presents both a unique opportunity and equally an exponential possibility for confusion. When we are new on a path or at the naïve state of a beginner, which can last for decades, we simply follow our path, assuming we have found the right or best teaching. It is usually helpful that we feel or believe we have found the right path, otherwise our motivation for practice can become diminished. We may even believe it