Spacecruiser Inquiry True Guidance for the Inner Journey

by Almaas, A. H.

• ISBN13: 9781570628597
• ISBN10: 1570628599
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-04-30
• Publisher: Shambhala

Summary

Over the past twenty-five years A. H. Almaas-widely recognized as a leader in integrating spirituality and psychology-has been developing and teaching the Diamond Approach, a spiritual path that integrates the insights of Sufism, Buddhism, Gurdjieff, and other wisdom traditions with modern psychology. In this new work, Almaas uses the metaphor of a "spacecruiser" to describe a method of exploring the immediacy of personal experience-a way of investigating our moment-by-moment feelings, thoughts, reactions, and behaviors through a process of open-ended questioning. The method is called the practice of inquiry, andSpacecruiser Inquiryreveals what it means to engage with this practice as a spiritual path: its principles, challenges, and rewards. The author explores basic elements of inquiry, including the open-ended attitude, the focus on direct knowledge, the experience of not-knowing, and the process of questioning. He describes the experience of "Diamond Guidance"-the inner wisdom that emerges from our true nature-and how it can be realized and applied. In this process Almaas looks at many of the essential forms of Diamond Guidance, including knowing, clarity, truth, love, intelligence, compassion, curiosity, courage, and determination. Also included are exercises and questions and answers from the original talks by Almaas on which the book is based.

Author Biography

A. H. Almaas is the pen name of Hameed Ali, originator of the Diamond Approach, who has been teaching individuals and groups in Colorado, California, and Europe for some twenty-five years. He is the founder of the Ridhwan School and the author of numerous books, including Spacecruiser Inquiry, Essence, and The Pearl Beyond Price.

Table of Contents

Introduction to the Diamond Body Series	xi
Acknowledgments	xv
Editor's Preface	xvii
Note to the Reader	xxiii
PART ONE: Mystery and Inquiry
Why Inquire?	3	(9)
Openness in Inquiry	12	(18)
The Adventure of Being	30	(18)
Spacecruiser Inquiry	48	(15)
PART TWO: The Fundamental Elements of Inquiry
Ordinary Knowledge	63	(13)
Practice Session: Your Past Experience with Inquiry	73	(3)
Basic Knowledge	76	(16)
Practice Session: Your Experience in the Moment	87	(5)
Not-Knowing	92	(12)
Practice Session: Your Experience of Not-Knowing	100	(4)
Dynamic Questioning	104	(21)
Practice Session: What Limits and Stops Your Questioning	108	(12)
Practice Session: Your Experience of Questioning	120	(5)
Loving the Truth	125	(25)
Practice Session: Your Motive for Self-Exploration	128	(9)
Practice Session: Your Instinctual Needs and Your Love of the Truth	137	(9)
Practice Session: The History of Your Love of the Truth	146	(4)
The Personal Thread	150	(24)
Practice Session: Your Personal Thread	160	(14)
Journey without a Goal	174	(25)
Practice Session: Your Relationship to Goals and Comparison	194	(5)
PART THREE: Diamond Guidance
Guidance of Being	199	(10)
Practice Session: Your Relationship to Inner and Outer Guidance	205	(4)
True Guidance for Inquiry	209	(13)
Guidance as Gift to the Soul	222	(14)
Practice Session: Your Experience of Guidance	227	(9)
Guidance and Understanding	236	(13)
Practice Session: Your Experience of Understanding	241	(8)
PART FOUR: The Essential Aspects in Guidance
Inquiry and the Essential Aspects	249	(9)
Yellow: Joy in Discovery	258	(11)
Practice Session: The Presence of Curiosity and Playfulness	267	(2)
Red: Bold Adventure	269	(16)
Practice Session: Discrimination in Your Immediate Experience	276	(9)
White: Staying the Course	285	(16)
Practice Session: Your Ability to Stay with Your Experience	298	(3)
Green: Attuned Guidance	301	(13)
Practice Session: Your Relationship to Difficult Experiences	311	(3)
Black: The Power of Cutting Through	314	(18)
Practice Session: Inner Perceptual Capacities in Your Inquiry	322	(10)
Knowing in Understanding	332	(9)
Practice Session: Your Relationship to Direct Knowing	334	(7)
Truth in Understanding	341	(15)
Practice Session: Your Own View Regarding Objective Truth	343	(13)
Diamond Clarity	356	(18)
Practice Session: Your Capacity for Clarity and Precision in Inquiry	370	(4)
Focused Inquiry	374	(15)
Practice Session: Being Specific in Your Inquiry	386	(3)
Personal Inquiry	389	(12)
Practice Session: Your Personal Involvement with Your Own Inquiry	395	(6)
Brilliant Inquiry	401	(30)
Practice Session: Analysis and Synthesis in Your Inquiry	414	(17)
Epilogue	431	(4)
Index	435