How did you find the Diamond Approach?
I knew Hameed and Karen (co-founders of the Diamond Approach) before the Diamond Approach came into being—Karen was my housemate in art school when I was 21 years old, and Hameed was my housemate during Claudio Naranjo’s SAT group right after that. A few years after the SAT group ended, Karen helped me explore the hole I’d been in following two years at a meditation center, and within ten minutes I’d moved through it. I was amazed and knew instantly that the DA was a new and remarkable spiritual approach, and I had seen them all.
When you first started, what was your greatest challenge?
Sensing my body. I was very emotionally centered and could not identify physical sensations. It was like learning a new language.
What has kept you engaged with the Diamond Approach teachings?
Their relevance to my process and that of my students, and the beauty of its continuing unfoldment.
What aspect of the teaching is most alive in you right now?
I’m discovering the whole universe in this location and learning to navigate with those coordinates.
What has been the most surprising discovery for you in the past year? Month? Week?
I fell down a flight of stairs almost a year ago, and have been recovering ever since. The blessing that I am still alive and not seriously impaired and the depth of generosity, kindness, and love from people in the hospital and from my Ridhwan community has been a revelation. This has rooted my soul in the profound love and goodness of Reality.
What advice/encouragement would you offer to someone ‘on the fence’ about attending an Intro event?
The Work will change your life, enhancing it in ways you can’t imagine and also stirring up things you also can’t imagine. Once you start this journey, there is no turning back.
If you could have one wish for humankind, what would it be?
To wake up to and deal with the environmental crisis. Otherwise, we will not have a planet where spiritual practice can happen.
Sandra Maitri is a longtime teacher of the Diamond Approach and a member of its leadership council. She leads groups in the San Francisco Bay Area and in the United Kingdom and has a private practice in Marin County, California. She is the author of The Spiritual Dimension of the Enneagram: Nine Faces of the Soul, and The Enneagram of Passions and Virtues: Finding the Way Home.