Human Potential Is Infinite

 

What if being human is not a limitation, but a gateway to the infinite? In this powerful and poetic talk, A. H. Almaas invites us to reconsider the prevailing nondual view that dissolves the individual self, urging instead a deeper appreciation of our embodied humanness. We are not just witnesses of the sacred, he tells us. Rather, we are instruments through which the sacred knows itself. From trauma healing to spiritual realization, Almaas reminds us that the human being is not an illusion to transcend, but a precious portal – a “wormhole” – through which the mysteries of the universe come alive.

 

Summary 

A.H. Almaas offers a profound teaching on the value, mystery, and cosmic importance of being human. He begins by recognizing trauma as a major barrier to spiritual awakening, pointing out that traditional spiritual teachings often failed to recognize its role. Healing trauma, he emphasizes, is not only psychological work but essential spiritual groundwork, clearing the way for deeper realization. 

From this foundation, Almaas builds a vision of the human being as both miraculous and necessary. It is through the human being that the divine becomes conscious of itself. Without the human lens, the sacred could not reflect, perceive, or recognize its own nature. “God needs the human being,” Almaas states, “to know itself.” 

Challenging popular nondual teachings that regard the individual and the physical world as illusory, he suggests instead that our sense of individuality and the material world are real, but partial. The issue is not that we are human, but that we believe our current way of experiencing ourselves is the only possibility. In truth, he says, human perception can evolve to reveal infinite dimensions of reality. 

Almaas introduces the metaphor of the human as a “wormhole”—a portal that connects the finite and the infinite, the physical and the spiritual. He insists that the body is not an obstacle but a critical part of that wormhole. Through embodied awareness, we can access not only deeper spiritual truths but also live those truths in our ordinary lives. 

He also proposes a layered view of spiritual experience, acknowledging nonduality as one important realization, but not the only one. There are states, like those described by Krishnamurti, in which there is no observer or self—only sacred presence. There are others where one realizes themselves as everything, or even as nothing at all. Each state reveals another facet of what it means to be human and to touch the sacred. 

A key message in his teaching is that the pearl of our humanity is not something to overcome, but something to treasure. Almaas describes the human being as a unique instrument of perception – like a divine microscope or telescope – through which reality can know itself in endless forms. “Each human being is an amazing treasure,” he says. “Not only sensitive and alive, but a lens through which the universe can experience any part of itself.” 

Rather than transcend the personal, Almaas calls us to embrace it. Even the simple craving for a latte, he jokes, may arise not just from the body, but from the universe itself. This talk returns again and again to the sacredness of the ordinary and the possibility of living a fully human life, one that includes, rather than excludes, the infinite. 

Ultimately, Human Potential is Infinite is a love letter to the soul of humanity. Almaas leaves us with a reverent message: we are precious, and our potential is still largely unknown. To live as a human being – embodied, aware, and open – is one of the greatest mysteries of all.