Loving the Truth, Exploring the Now: The Heart-Call of the Diamond Approach

Ep. 244 | In the second dialogue of The Jeweled Path Series, Karen Johnson and Hameed Ali continue to animate the Diamond Approach teaching with their remarkable stories and insights, loosely following the structure of Karen’s biography of the Diamond Approach, The Jeweled Path. Karen and Hameed delve into the subject of inquiry: the unique way it is practiced on the Diamond Path, it being a rare marriage of mind and heart, and the compelling way it opens the door for presence to make itself known. As Hameed puts it, “This type of inquiry pierces the veils of all the ways consciousness comes forward—in body, mind, and heart.” “The most necessary question is, ‘What’s happening NOW?’” Karen continues, vividly bringing forth what it feels like to be on the brink of Now, the departure point for experiencing further dimensions of consciousness.

It is a marvel how these two spiritual teachers are so much in sync discussing deeply profound subjects like the relationship of the human soul, ego, and consciousness, what it means to become a “pearl beyond price,” and how the soul is what gives true nature life. They are joined in their deep love and appreciation for consciousness itself—its beauty, multidimensionality, and the force of its teaching—and express how touched they are by its desire to break through to us and communicate. Karen and Hameed say our souls are a substance of consciousness, and the way this conversation stirs and moves our heart, it would seem that the luminous beingness deep in our soul is listening in. Recorded September 10, 2026.

“If you are interested in what is happening right NOW, that now is the point of departure that enables another dimension to come into play.”

Topics & Time StampsIntroducing the 2nd episode of The Jeweled Path Series with Karen Johnson & Hameed Ali, co-creators of the Diamond Approach (00:46)How did Karen & Hameed come upon the practice of inquiry, the central process of the Diamond Approach? (02:00)Inquiry, initially called “investigation,” was impacted by Socratic inquiry, psychoanalysis, group work, Gestalt, plus the scientific method (04:45)An often-read Sufi story underscored the importance of loving truth for its own sake (07:03)Hameed’s stalwartness with journaling provided the canon for the teaching (10:04)The marriage of mind and heart brought out a new, felt language of being (11:09)Inquiry allows us to explore ever deeper strata of consciousness (13:19)Practicing presence: opening to the subtle sensations