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SAND 2018 — Appreciating the Human with A.H. Almaas, Kabir Helminski, and Robert Sapolsky: Many teachings do not appreciate that the human being is important for realization and liberation. That there is no awakening without humans. But some do, and it is a different kind of appreciation than the scientific exploration of the mystery of being human. We discuss what is it to be a human being, both biologically and spiritually, and we come to value who and what we are, and the necessity for the world we experience and know. A discussion facilitated by Zaya Benazzo.
A. H. Almaas is the pen name of A. Hameed Ali, founder of the Diamond Approach to Self-Realization, a contemporary teaching that developed within the context of both ancient spiritual teachings and modern depth psychology theories. Almaas has authored eighteen books about spiritual realization, including the Diamond Heart series, The Pearl Beyond Price, The Void, and The Alchemy of Freedom.
He is the founder of the Ridhwan School for Spiritual Development, an inner work school devoted to the realization of True Nature. The orientation of the school is directed toward guiding students to realize their true nature to the fullest realization and further still to endless enlightenment.
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From the perspective of Being, then the major mental pathologies can be understood thus:
* Psychosis is a reflection of the absence of, or conflicts about, the Merging Essence in the symbiotic stage.
* The schizoid condition is a reflection of the absence of, or conflicts about, the Strength Essence, mainly in the differentiation subphase.
* Pathological narcissism is a reflection of the absence of, or conflicts about, the Essential Self, primarily in the practicing subphase.
Ultimately, we experience longing and sadness and unhappiness because we experience ourselves as separate objects. Then we try to connect to other separate objects through love or sex or spiritual work. But we have to see the basic truth that we’re not separate beings. We don’t need to do anything to be connected. There is no disconnection. Disconnection is an illusion. In fact, it is a delusion, a psychotic delusion. This perspective is not new. For thousands of years, the oneness of reality has been the central insight in various spiritual traditions and teachings.