A. H. Almaas (Part 1) - Nondual Love: Awakening to the Fundamental Benevolence of Reality

Ep. 85 (Part 1 of 2) | Hameed Ali (A. H. Almaas), founder of the contemporary spiritual path the Diamond Approach, and author of many outstanding spiritual classics, is writing a trilogy on the subject of love, and in this conversation the focus is on the second book, Nondual Love. Hameed explains that most wisdom traditions target various ultimates: pure emptiness, pure consciousness, nondual awareness, being, non-being—each of which is sufficient for liberation, but fails to include the qualities of nondual love: goodness, sweetness, abundance, benevolence. Hameed brings these dimensions of love to the table, asking what does divine love feel like, look like, what is it made of? Listening to Hameed is a beautiful, rich experience, due to his extraordinary lucidity, gentle humor, and the profound understanding and assurance that pervade his words from his long experience swimming in the waters of which he speaks. He tells us we all have the potential to experience nondual love, although there are significant obstacles along the path that are inherent to being human. Hameed describes the different stages of opening to nondual love, from the first glimmerings of “unearthly sweetness” to the realization that we ourselves are love. And he outlines the nature of the barriers we face, like the beast of anger and hatred that arises in us when we perceive that reality has abandoned us. Hameed explains that re-establishing basic trust, feeling the presence of benevolent love, we can regain the sense that things will be okay and unfold ultimately for the good. Recorded April 12, 2023.“Without love there would be no reason for the universe to exist.”(For Apple Podcast users, click here to view the complete show notes on the episode page.)Topics & Time Stamps – Part 1Introducing Hameed Ali (A. H. Almaas), spiritual master, creator of the Ridhwan School & Diamond Approach, and Hameed’s new book Nondual Love (01:07)What does Hameed mean by nondual love? It’s similar to nondual awareness but it includes the goodness, the sweetness, the heart that is inherent in our spiritual nature (03:00)In Plato, the main idea is the good, which is almost synonymous with love (06:05)What does divine love feel like? Does it have a color, a texture? (07:57)The fundamental benevolence of reality—without love there would be no reason for the universe to exist (09:10)The Sufis say, God created the universe out of love so God would be known—known through the human being (10:59)Rumi writes all the time about how love and God are inseparable: most poetry, most songs, most literature are about love, but we rarely hear about the very beingness of it (12:30)Beyond gratification: for someone who is awakened, the practice of sexual encounter is to bring out more love, the goodness of love (14:24)Stages of opening to divine love: our usual understanding of love is limited, but then comes a fullness in our hearts, a softness, an unearthly sweetness (16:47)The next stage is recognizing your full heart as just one wave of the ocean of love that comes through your individual heart (20:07)The next level is recognizing yourself as the ocean of love: I am love; this is the self-realization of nondual love (20:49)Basic trust: feeling the presence of benevolent love tends to evoke trust, a sense that things will be okay and unfold ultimately for the good...