Source Text
Almaas demonstrates (1) how and why these ego-constructions tend to cut us off from our more essential states of presence, and (2) how essence can come to
“shine through” these limiting structures, absorbing and integrating them into itself.
This book was written in English, but is in a sense a translation from a body of experience which submits to verbal description less readily than do most categories of human experience, and which “loses more in the translation.” Not only the nonlinearity of the subject matter, which is true of any human experience, but the nature of the states of Being described here, make unusual demands on the reader to hold in abeyance the desire for intellectual resolution. One must proceed through a large number of steps in this book to see the whole picture at once, and these steps are closely interrelated. There are at least two books here: a relatively simple book dealing with the spiritual concerns of human life from the perspective of the question of individuation, and a more technical discussion, mainly in terms of object relations theory, of the psychological phenomena involved in the pursuit of a deep understanding of the nature of one’s true being.
A second source, then, of Almaas’ contribution is that quality of mind constituted by objectivity, openness to the unknown, and curiosity. This quality which he refers to as the Diamond Mind operates sufficiently powerfully to penetrate and finally “transcend” the conceptual systems within which books on both spiritual realization and psychology are generally written. This is both a blessing and a curse: a blessing in that a new understanding is reached which extends the limits of each of these subjects; and a curse in that from the point of view of either domain of discourse, this book can be difficult to place in context.
(This metaphor is actually not accidental; qualities similar to what Almaas calls the “essential aspects” are studied in esoteric Judaism under the category of angelology.) For the psychologist reading this material the concept of essential aspects might seem esoteric; I would point out here that to a political scientist, for instance, concerned with the actions of government leaders, explanations involving such concepts as the Oedipus complex might seem equally esoteric.
The NATURE of the PEARL BEYOND PRICE
THE PERSONAL ESSENCE
Chapter One The Man of Spirit and the Man of the World
We want to explore the potential of being human. What is the extent of this potential? What is a truly mature and complete human being like? How will he and she experience themselves and the world, and what kind of lives will they lead?
The personal life is the core of most human activities; what is called a public life is still a personal life, related to the person, and lived for persons. In our exploration we will examine in a new light the conviction that living a personal life centered around the person is its own value and end. Contrasted to the perspective of the man of the world is the view of what we will call “the man of spirit,” which considers a higher spiritual reality to be the true and proper center of real human life.
AI Summary
The Pearl Beyond Price by A. H. Almaas presents key insights from the Diamond Approach tradition. The 10 passages above capture the essential teachings.
Core Themes:
- [To be expanded]
Key Passages: Highlights 1, 3, and 10 are particularly representative.
This entry was generated from Readwise highlights. Expand with additional context as appropriate.