Ep. 244 | In the second dialogue of The Jeweled Path Series, Karen Johnson and Hameed Ali continue to animate the Diamond Approach teaching with their remarkable stories and insights, loosely following the structure of Karen’s biography of the Diamond Approach, The Jeweled Path. Karen and Hameed delve into the subject of inquiry: the unique way it is practiced on the Diamond Path, it being a rare marriage of mind and heart, and the compelling way it opens the door for presence to make itself known. As Hameed puts it, “This type of inquiry pierces the veils of all the ways consciousness comes forward—in body, mind, and heart.” “The most necessary question is, ‘What’s happening NOW?’” Karen continues, vividly bringing forth what it feels like to be on the brink of Now, the departure point for experiencing further dimensions of consciousness.
It is a marvel how these two spiritual teachers are so much in sync discussing deeply profound subjects like the relationship of the human soul, ego, and consciousness, what it means to become a “pearl beyond price,” and how the soul is what gives true nature life. They are joined in their deep love and appreciation for consciousness itself—its beauty, multidimensionality, and the force of its teaching—and express how touched they are by its desire to break through to us and communicate. Karen and Hameed say our souls are a substance of consciousness, and the way this conversation stirs and moves our heart, it would seem that the luminous beingness deep in our soul is listening in. Recorded September 10, 2026.
“If you are interested in what is happening right NOW, that now is the point of departure that enables another dimension to come into play.”
Topics & Time Stamps
- Introducing the 2nd episode of The Jeweled Path Series with Karen Johnson & Hameed Ali, co-creators of the Diamond Approach (00:46)
- How did Karen & Hameed come upon the practice of inquiry, the central process of the Diamond Approach? (02:00)
- Inquiry, initially called “investigation,” was impacted by Socratic inquiry, psychoanalysis, group work, Gestalt, plus the scientific method (04:45)
- An often-read Sufi story underscored the importance of loving truth for its own sake (07:03)
- Hameed’s stalwartness with journaling provided the canon for the teaching (10:04)
- The marriage of mind and heart brought out a new, felt language of being (11:09)
- Inquiry allows us to explore ever deeper strata of consciousness (13:19)
- Practicing presence: opening to the subtle sensations of consciousness itself (15:25)
- What inspired Karen to delve below the horizontal surface of the experience? (16:56)
- This type of inquiry pierces the veils of all the ways consciousness comes forward: body, mind & heart (19:19)
- Interest in the “now” is what enables another dimension to come into play (20:28)
- Our loving desire is what opens to the force of true nature (24:19)
- Krishnamurti also inquired into the now, but he didn’t consider the influences of the past (26:32)
- When do you stop? When have you reached home? Or do you keep going? (30:09)
- The losses get greater and greater along the path, not less (33:33)
- Only in hindsight was it clear a teaching was developing (39:46)
- Human consciousness can be formed as ego but also expand into something in and of itself (44:38)
- The human soul is that which gives true nature life (46:34)
- The awakening of a force in Karen, opening her consciousness (50:31)
- The qualities of presence stayed with Karen as they came: strength, will, love, intelligence, joy (55:57)
- Appreciating the beauty of what consciousness is and can be (1:01:58)
- It took getting into the absolute to be able to recognize individual consciousness: the vajra body and the soul (1:02:40)
- The Hu symbol portrays the complete human being (1:07:45)
- Faisal Muqaddam, third spiritual explorer along with Karen & Hameed (1:12:02)
Resources & References
- A. H. Almaas (Hameed Ali) and Karen Johnson, co-founders of The Ridhwan School, home of The Diamond Approach
- Karen Johnson, The Jeweled Path: The Biography of the Diamond Approach to Inner Realization
- A. H. Almaas & Karen Johnson, The Power Of Divine Eros: The Illuminating Force of Love in Everyday Life
- A. H. Almaas, The Pearl Beyond Price: Integration of Personality into Being: An Object Relations Approach
- The Socratic method
- Idries Shah, The Land of Truth and Other Stories
- Plato’s Theory of Forms
- Jiddu Krishnamurti, The Awakening of Intelligence
- The Diamond Vehicle Revelations (Deep Transformation podcast)
- Ramana Maharshi, Who Am I?
- A Course in Miracles, Helen Schucman and the Foundation for Inner Peace
- What is Vajra Body?
- The Hu symbol portrays the complete human being
- Faisal Muqaddam, initially the third spiritual explorer with Karen & Hameed
The Jeweled Path Series is based on Karen Johnson’s wonderful, in-depth recounting of how the Diamond Approach came into being through Hameed Ali and herself in her book The Jeweled Path: The Biography of the Diamond Approach to Inner Realization, so listeners may want to get a copy of this book to study and follow along on this journey of awakening to presence.
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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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Karen Johnson is the co-founder of the Diamond Approach as it is taught in the Ridhwan School today, having worked alongside Hameed Ali (A. H. Almaas) for the last 50 years. Karen was trained in art and dance and began the journey into the spiritual universe at 14 years old with the guidance of her parents. First, she was introduced to yoga and meditation, and then learned about other forms of spiritual practice. After attending California College of Arts and Crafts, she befriended Hameed Ali, and began a new trajectory where journeying into the secrets of the universe of Being became central to her life.
The joy of discovery turned out to be a unique and specific approach to inner experience, which became the Diamond Approach. Karen received an MA in psychology JFK University in 1990. She continues to venture into the endless realms of the miraculous with her spiritual companion. She is the author of The Jeweled Path: The Biography of the Diamond Approach to Inner Self-Realization, and co-author with A. H. Almaas of The Power Of Divine Eros.
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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
