The Method

• What is a spiritual path?
• Don't all paths lead to the same goal?
• What is the goal of the Diamond Approach?
• Are there any beliefs inherent in the Diamond Approach? What are they?
• Do I have to change my religion to do the Diamond Approach?

The Ridhwan School

• Who can teach the Diamond Approach?
• Are there any fees involved in studying with the school?
• What is the origin and meaning of the “Hu” symbol that Ridhwan uses?

The Method

What is a spiritual path?

A path implies the connecting of one point with another. It is an experiential process to be traversed, not a philosophy to be learned or accepted. It involves the personal transformation of the person on the particular path. A spiritual path is one which can potentially lead to the realization and actualization of our true nature.

To realize true nature means to have experience of it, and to be able to discriminate between that and our ordinary states. To actualize true nature means to achieve a level of integration that permits the embodiment of that deeper dimension of our being.

Don’t all paths lead to the same goal?

Not exactly. Reality is one, but has many facets and aspects. If we explore the various spiritual paths, we will find that they each make one aspect of reality central to their aspirations. Some lead to a relationship with the divine, others to union with it. Some recognize the personal dimensions of existence, others consider them illusory. Some think there is a Self; others aim at No Self.

What is the goal of the Diamond Approach?

The Diamond Approach does not look at the path in terms of goals. Reality is too subtle to view it within such everyday concepts. The teaching is more oriented towards discovering the truth of reality, in as deep and total a way as possible, and then to live it in ordinary life. Because of this open view the path can unfold in us as various kinds of realization. What matters in such realizations is freedom, freedom in the many ways true nature inherently implies. The realizations basically mean integrating true nature in its various facets, dimensions, and ways of experiencing. This integration is not intended to be merely transcendent but rather to be applied in the world of daily activities. One motto of the Diamond Approach is “to be in the world but not of it”. This means to participate in human society, and contribute to it. At the same time, it also means to not be of the world, to not be a product of the conditioning and influences of the world, of society, but to be of the real world, our true nature, the spiritual dimension.

Are there any beliefs inherent in the Diamond Approach? What are they?

The Diamond Approach does have a spiritual view of reality and practices that work to open the way to deeper levels of experience. But we also believe each person’s spiritual process is unique, so the main tenet of our approach is to delve into the truth of your own experience, not to take any teaching or articulation of the path as truth until it is verified through your own inner knowing. We encourage openness to the possibility of new and deeper experience—inviting understanding of what might be in the way of it—over a belief in any particular potential experience that may arise as a final truth, as there is always more to learn and explore.

Do I have to change my religion to do the Diamond Approach?

No. Although the Ridhwan Foundation is incorporated in the United States as a nonprofit religious organization and its teachers carry the title of teacher/minister, the Diamond Approach works toward the experience of reality not toward the development of a belief system to which one must adhere. Many of our members continue in and deepen their understanding of the religious or spiritual tradition in which they have previously participated.

What benefits can I expect to gather from the Diamond Approach?

The Diamond Approach is a spiritual path that can lead to the realization and actualization of our true nature, the greatest possible achievement in this life. Many additional benefits may arise from such development, but the Diamond Approach is not intended to provide benefits of a material or psychological nature. Any gains in those areas are incidental and not the direct aim of this work.

Is the Diamond Approach a branch or type of psychotherapy?

No. The Diamond Approach is a spiritual path and is not intended as a psychotherapy. Any techniques or knowledge of the Diamond Approach that resemble those of psychotherapy are due only to the broad scope of the Diamond Approach, which incorporates the whole spectrum of human experience. It is not intended for therapeutic purposes; its orientation, view, methodology and knowledge as a whole differ fundamentally from the fields of psychology, psychotherapy, psychiatry and psychoanalysis.

The Ridhwan School

Who can teach the Diamond Approach?

The Diamond Approach is taught by Ridhwan teachers, who are also ordained ministers. Teacher/ministers are trained by the Ridhwan Foundation through an extensive ten-year program, which is completed in addition to their work and participation as students of the Diamond Approach. The lengthy teacher/minister training process ensures that each person has a complete working understanding of the Diamond Approach and sufficient capacity and realization to teach it before being authorized to be a teacher/minister of this path.

Are there any fees involved in studying with the school?

Yes. Unlike some other spiritual organizations, the Ridhwan School has specific fees for the variety of services it provides. There are fees for most services and classes.

What is the origin and meaning of the “Hu” symbol that Ridhwan uses?

The HU symbol, which is visible throughout this website, is an octagon that contains four interweaving HU’s written in Arabic script. Sufis have long considered HU to be the most secret name of the divine, pointing to its deepest mysteries. In this teaching, we use this symbol as a recognition of and an invitation to the experiential union of nothingness and somethingness, of infinity and the finite, of space and creation. This unity also represents the station of the complete human being, who simultaneously is one with the purity of being and functions as that in the world. We find in our work that the visual depiction and the sound of the syllable HU can ignite our immediate experience of intimacy with the source that is the nature of everything. At its depth, HU shows us that what we are is the first sound that silence makes.

The Ridhwan Hu is part of our trademark protections, and can only be used by ordained teachers in association with teaching the Diamond Approach, or by teachers or students with permission in conjunction with a Ridhwan-associated event.