Posted on Aug. 10, 2009 by Lyle Rumpel, Queenswood library volunteer
The Unfolding Now by A.H. Almaas
Shambhala: Boston & London, 2008
ISBN 9781590305591
244 pages
Available in the Queenswood library
Review by Lyle Rumpel
The Unfolding Now is the latest of over one dozen books of spirituality and self-discovery by A. Hameed Ali, writing under the pen name A.H. Almaas, the founder of the Diamond Approach, a teaching of experiential spirituality that is informed by modern psychology and therapy. Perhaps because it is composed of transcribed presentations from a retreat for experienced students, this is one of the shorter and more user-friendly of Ali’s recent books.
The central theme is that becoming familiar with the truth of one’s own immediate experience is fundamental to living in fuller human potential, and that this familiarity can be learned through the practice of the Diamond Approach’s method of inquiry. Or in other words, as encapsulated in the book’s subtitle, the theme is “Realizing Your True Nature through the Practice of Presence”.
The text presents a guided self-exploration of different aspects of “true nature”. Neutrally observing each moment’s experience, as the Now continues to unfold, is intended to help develop an expanding awareness of one’s true nature. Our real nature, or Being, is considered to be observable in each moment – as expressed in the particular and shifting flow of one’s personal experiences, including physical sensations, emotional states, and mental reflections. Intimate contact with that expression provides the deepest of connection with ourselves and with what is more than our individual selves – the divine within us.
Although the primary practice is focused on individual self-reflection, Ali points out the need to understand the relationship of one’s true nature to its other manifestations. The Diamond Approach uses sitting meditative practice for developing presence and awareness, as well as reflective inquiry with the aim of bringing presence and awareness into daily life. The teaching and practice makes use of psychological tools (e.g. ego, superego, reification, projection) in attempting to do this.
By way of its individual self-reflection practice, Diamond Approach inquiry may be compared to purely meditative or contemplative practices. Beyond that, Ali distinguishes it from these by suggesting that in meditation one doesn’t involve the relation of one’s true nature to everything else, yet “We don’t just sit, we live”. Also, we live as individuals in the larger context of the world, and the Diamond Approach teaching and method recognizes that we develop from different individual places.
Some readers may be looking for more about the interrelating of true nature’s manifestations. This could be in terms of interpersonal relationships and transpersonal experience of true nature. It could be about true nature, and the methodology of exploring it, from the perspective of inter-group, intra-group, or cultural manifestations. The Unfolding Now indicates the need to address the interactivity of true nature, yet focuses on individual perception of that interaction. Can, and must, a greater awareness of true nature include an exploration of the larger context of which individuals are part, and which may influence individual perceptions? For an extended discussion of this issue see Ken Wilber’s "Integral Spirituality," Shambhala, 2006.
An appendix provides a summary of where the content of The Unfolding Now fits within the larger body of teachings of the Diamond Approach. This appendix is more of a contrasting break in the flow of the book than a supplement to the main text. It is very condensed, and is meant for those already having a substantial familiarity and background in this teaching. It may seem somewhat obscure to others.
This book conveys the sophistication and simplicity of the inquiry process, as a primary part of the methodology of the Diamond Approach. Presented in a way that a reader who is new to this teaching can follow, it gives us a graceful intertwining of contemplative practice and active self-reflection. It gently welcomes, reassures, and inspires us to living in the world by applying the insights gained from these practices: “We are beings of light….We have the treasures in us, and every moment is a matter of expressing them.”
