I am very pleased with the way the School has grown around the world. We have many students in Europe, Australia, Canada and New Zealand as well as in the U.S. Still, most of our planet’s population live in parts of the world where there are no Diamond Approach groups. This contrasts with the interest in the teaching as evidenced by strong sales of my books in other parts of the world, China being a notable example.
We can create an opportunity for everyone with serious interest in the teaching to join a Diamond Approach group. If this new teaching format works—combining the internet with traditional channels—the teaching can benefit many more people. We are not interested in expansion for its own sake; but if there are individuals who resonate with the teaching and can truly benefit from it, I would like them to have the opportunity.
We’ve decided to explore starting a new group somewhere in Asia, accessible to South East Asian and Far Eastern countries. I would like to share with you some of our preliminary thoughts on how this group may work and ask for your assistance.
Since many students may have to travel we would combine in-person teaching (currently envisioned as one to two 8 or 10-day retreats a year) with several weekends taught online through Diamond Approach Online (DAO). The location of the in-person retreat will be in Chaing Mai, Thailand this June 29- July 6, 2019. For more information about upcoming Diamond Approach Asia retreats and events, Click here.
The group will be led by experienced Diamond Approach teachers, including Jeanne Hay Rosenblum as one of the lead teachers. Jeanne will have other experienced teachers teach the in-person retreat with her, leading small groups and private sessions. We will be exploring how private sessions and small groups can continue online. Different experienced teachers will be teaching the online weekends. I will be participating in the online weekend teachings. I will be giving a free online webinar on April 6th call "Expanding Horizons," that is an informational event for the new DA Asia group. For information about this event Click Here.
While we already have some people interested in participating, we need more people to make the group feasible. Some of you may know others in the greater Asia region who may want to participate. Please forward their names and contact information to our team, or have them contact us directly.
We also appreciate any suggestions on how we can let more people know about this initiative. We are in the exploratory stage; since we have noticed the interest from different directions and venues, I thought we can find out if a group is feasible.
Please direct your questions to Becky Ocean at becky@ridhwan.org.
With appreciation for contributing to this new possibility of serving true nature,
Hameed Ali