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.
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.
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.
There is no ideology, no belief system to follow, no special diets to adopt. As a matter of fact, the Diamond Approach investigates all beliefs that we hold dear and helps us liberate ourselves from the shackles of such bondage. The aim is first to recognize our beliefs about reality, and then to know reality directly and discover its immediate truth. Beliefs are understood to often reflect unconscious orientations to our life that limit our openness to what we are experiencing.
No. Although the Ridhwan Foundation is incorporated as a 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.
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.
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.