Exploring the Nature of Consciousness and Perception – Conversation with Hameed Ali (A. H. Almaas) and Rupert Spira -moderated by Zaya Benazzo
A.H. Almaas is the pen name of A. Hameed Ali, the creator of the Diamond Approach to Self Realization. The Diamond Approach is a contemporary teaching that developed within the context of awareness of both ancient spiritual teachings and modern depth psychological theories. Almaas has authored several books about spiritual realization, including The Diamond Heart series, The Pearl Beyond Price, The Void, The Unfolding Now and The Point of Existence. His last book is The Power of Divine Eros: The Illuminating Force of Love in Everyday Life co-authored with Karen Johnson. He founded the Ridhwan School, an inner work school devoted to the realization of True Nature.
Rupert Spira from an early age was deeply interested in the nature of reality. At the age of seventeen he learnt to meditate, and began studying and practicing the teachings of the classical Advaita Vedanta tradition under the guidance of Dr. Francis Roles and Shantananda Saraswati, the Shankaracharya of the north of India, which he continued for the next for twenty years. During this time he immersed himself in the teachings of P.D.Ouspensky, Krishnamurti, Rumi, Ramana Maharshi, Nisargadatta and Robert Adams, until he met his teacher, Francis Lucille, in 1997. Francis introduced Rupert to the Direct Path teachings of Atmanada Krishnamenon, Jean Klein and the tantric tradition of Kashmir Shaivism, and, more importantly, directly indicated to him the true nature of experience. Rupert is the author of three books, The Transparency of Things; Presence, in two volumes, subtitled The Art of Peace and Happiness and The Intimacy of All Experience (2012); and the latest one is a collection of sayings—The Ashes of Love—are a profound exploration of the non-dual nature of experience.
