NEW AND NOTABLE

NEW PROGRAMS

NEW! • Quasar VI Europe
Quasar seminars offer an experience of the Diamond Approach, taught by Diamond Approach co-founders Hameed Ali and Karen Johnson. The next Europe Quasar will be in Amsterdam, May 10 - 15, 2011. For more information or to register, see flyer.
Contact: QuasarVI@dhat.org

NEW! Charlottesville VA / Washington DC - New group Forming
In October 2010 there will be introductory weekends in the Washington DC / VA region.  If there is sufficient interest, this will lead to the forming of a new group.

Introductory Weekends:
Charlottesville, VA --- October 2-3, 2010
Washington, DC --- October 9-10, 2010

"Opening Your Heart to Where You Are"
Open to the public.
Teacher: Victoria Young 

See Flyer

For more information and to register, contact Victoria at victoriapyoung@gmail.com or Tel. 415-482-9200

NEW! SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REGION: Diamond Approach Los Angeles
A new group is forming in Santa Monica, lead by Diamond Approach teachers Sandra Maitri and Eugene Cash. Sandra Maitri is one of the principal teachers of the Diamond Approach, a member of its leadership council, an original student of Claudio Naranjo, and the author of two well-known books on the enneagram: The Spiritual Dimension of the Enneagram: Nine Faces of the Soul; and The Enneagram of the Passions and Virtues: Finding the Way Home. She has also worked extensivley with Vipassana and Tibetan Buddhism. Eugene Cash leads Diamond Approach groups in the Bay Area and is a teacher of Buddhism at Spirit Rock Meditation Center and at San Francisco Insight, which he founded, as well as leading intensive meditation retreats internationally.

The weekend programs will include evocative lectures, sitting and moving meditation, experiential exercises and inquiry.
Introductory weekend programs in 2010: August 7-8 October 23-24
See flyer. For more information or to register, contact Carli Simon at carlisimon@yahoo.com or ph. (818) 508-9721

Upcoming! Soul Discovery Weekend: “Awakening the Body”
September 18 & 19, Houston, Texas
Our soul longs to find its way home to what is real and true in us in a complete way.  This then engages not just our mind and our heart but, importantly, also our body.  The Diamond Approach® recognizes the importance of the body through its primary practice of inquiry as well as meditation, breath work and movement practices. In this weekend, we will explore: What is the reality of the body?  What is the body’s relationship to the soul and our spiritual journey?  Through experiential exercises, we will begin to see that our body reveals the truth, exposing our unconscious beliefs reflected in our body image, posture, and attitudes we hold toward our body and our self. We begin to understand that living a real life is not separate from embodying essential presence. This experiential weekend workshop is open to newcomers and current or aspiring DA students and will be taught by Ridhwan teachers Gwen Thornton and Rick Gaines.  This event is sponsored by the Gulf Coast Diamond Approach.  For more information please visit us at: http://diamondgulfcoast.com
Date: Saturday and Sunday, September 18 & 19, 2010 – 10 am to 5:30 pm
Location: The Spectrum Center, 4100 Westheimer, Suite 233, Houston, TX 77027
Tuition: $225 ($200 before August 18) payable to Crystal Mandala
For information/registration: call Willem Overwijk at (713)-397-8754 or email him at essentialdiscovery@hotmail.com


Upcoming! Diamond Heart 8 - Boulder, Colorado
The next Diamond Heart Program (DH8) has begun and is still open to new students. The teaching team is comprised of the following Ridhwan Teachers, listed alphabetically: Gina Crago Ackler, Anne Laney and Andreas Mouskos. 
If you are interested in joing this group, you can contact a DH8 Teacher via e-mail or by telephone at:  Gina Crago Ackler:  Gcrago@aol.com & 303-426-5066.  Anne Laney:  ABachman22@aol.com & 303-423-5570.  Andreas Mouskos:  AMouskos@msn.com & 303-463-4502. 
For more details, see the page for the Ridhwan Center in Boulder, Colorado.

Upcoming! Berkeley, California: Diamond Heart 8 Now Forming
For those interested in finding out more about the Diamond Approach and participating in the Diamond Heart Eight , the group officially began in September 2009 and remains open to new applicants.
2010 Weekends: Aug 14-15, Sept 18-19, Oct 30-31, Dec 18-19
If you are interested in joining DH8 we strongly recommend that you send in your application as soon as possible.

For more information or to be on the mailing list for Diamond Heart Eight, or to receive an application for DH8, e-mail your name, address, e-mail address, and phone number to dh8@dhat.org If you prefer, you may leave us a voice message by calling 510-841-1283 and pressing 240.

The Teaching Team of Diamond Heart Eight includes Eugene Cash, Cynthia Cornell, and Vince Draddy. A.H. Almaas (Hameed Ali) and Karen Johnson, Founders of the Diamond Approach, will also be teaching on a regular basis.

Upcoming!  Realization Unfolds: A Conversation between A.H. Almaas and Adyashanti
Saturday, October 23, 2010, 12:30pm - 6:00pm
Dominican University, Angelico Concert Hall, 50 Acacia Avenue, San Rafael, CA 94901
Get directions

Registration: Preregistration is recommended as the event will most likely sell out quickly. Register online for $85 on or before October 15. Or register at the event for $95 cash or check only, space permitting.

Schedule & Information:
11:30am: Registration begins

12:00pm: Doors open
12:30pm: Event begins.
6:00pm: Event Ends
Please arrive on time. Theater style seating; no floor seating available. See flyer

This event will be hosted by Sounds True founder, Tami Simon. She writes:

“Spiritual Realization expresses itself differently through different teachers. On October 23rd, two of our generations most pioneering and influential spiritual teachers will join together for the first time to explore their respective perspectives on spiritual awakening and what it means to live an awakened life.”

Topics to be covered include:
Is psychological self-knowledge necessary for spiritual realization?
What about human uniqueness and individual personhood after awakening?
What is the role of the spiritual teacher and transmission in the awakening process?
Guided inquiry sessions led by Adyashanti and A.H. Almaas
There will also be time for questions and discussion with the audience.

NEW! Diamond Heart Europe Group II
Applications are now being received for Diamond Heart Europe Group II, which starts in February 2012. Diamond Heart Europe Groups I and II are under the direct supervision of Hameed Ali (who writes under the name A.H.Almaas) and Karen Johnson, the co-founders of the Diamond Approach.

Diamond Heart Europe Group II will meet twice each year (February and June) for 7-8 day residential retreats in either Northern Germany or the Netherlands. The group will be taught (in English) by Jeanne Hay, Joyce Lyke, with Stefan Haarhaus and Rob Merkx. 

There will be several introductory events in 2011, in Germany and Denmark.
For more information about dates and locations, or for an application, e-mail: DHEurope2@dhat.org 

NEW! Ireland Group II
Diamond Approach Ireland Group 1 is now closed.
Diamond Approach Ireland Group 2, in Cork, is open to new participants. Susannah Grover is the lead teacher of the Irish groups.
Next retreat: Oct 1-10, 2010
For more information and to apply to join this group, contact: Liam Collins, group2admin@gmail.com or Tel: +353 (0)85 1415645

NEW! Italy Group II
The Diamond Approach is a path of spiritual realization characterized by sincere inquiry into one’s experience, fueled by the love of truth.  Grounded in understanding that the depth of our spirit and our psyche are one, we will begin our exploration of the development of the essential presence and various psychological barriers to inner realization through open-ended inquiry.  See flyer.
Lago di Garda, Italy October 24-28 Tuition €300
Please contact us for detailed information regarding costs for lodging and board.

For more information, contact Rossana Novati at IT_contact@dhat.org
Ph./fax: +39-031-302067 * Via Baravalle 14 – 22100 Como, (Italy) Email
or Katie Boone at katie@ktboone.com Phone: +01-303-517-0842

NEW! Netherlands (including EU)
The Diamond Approach North Sea groups are closed to new participants.  A new group, with a different format, is on its way. Early in 2011 a series of evening classes will be initiated, leading into a series of weekends introducing the fundamentals of the work. When the time is ripe, these weekends, introducing and working with the DA orientation and practices, will lead into the new ongoing group.
 
The format of this new group will be regular ongoing non-residential weekends several times a year, taught by EU teachers in different locations, like North NL/North Germany/ Denmark; Central NL; South NL/Belgium. Once the group is established as an ongoing group, the regional weekend groups will come together on occasion for a five day residential retreat with a senior DA teacher and the EU teachers.

More details on this format will be available in the early fall of 2010.  To be on a mailing list, send your name, address and e-mail to NL_contact@dhat.org

NEW! Scandinavia
A new Diamond Approach Scandinavian group, Luminous True North, has formed and is still accepting new members. The venue of the retreats is close to Karlstad, Sweden. The teachers are Marie Ali, Regina Reilly, Susannah Grover and Gregory Beck.
Next Retreat:  September 22-27, 2010
For more information and to apply to join this group, please email: luminoustruenorth@gmail.com

NEW! United Kingdom Group 3
The third ongoing Ridhwan UK group is still open to new participants. It has had one retreat last year and will meet for two 7-day retreats in 2010 at Buckland Hall in the Brecon Beacons in Wales.
The next  retreat dates are September 10-17, 2010 and April 25 - May 2, 2011.
The groups in the summer will be lead by Joyce Lyke and Tejo Jourdan and in the Autumn by Sandra Maitri and Tejo, with other teachers of the Diamond approach assisting at both retreats.

Fees for the teachings are £475; this includes one private session and four in-between recordings. Accommodation costs average £390.

To request an application, please contact Diane at diane@dhat.org Tel 0044 (0) 20 8150 3410
There is a £25 non refundable fee for covering the cost of administration and application review.
For more information, see flyer.

NEW! Diamond Approach in San Diego
You are invited to attend several retreat weekends of the San Diego Diamond Approach Group to see if this path is right for you. 
Upcoming Weekends in 2010:September 18-19, November 6-7

Weekend retreats are held at the Marina Village Conference Center in San Diego, from 10-6 on Saturday and Sunday. Cost is $200 if paid two weeks in advance of the retreat, and $250 if paid after that date.

Introductory Evenings:
On each Friday night preceding a weekend, from 7-9:30, there will be an opportunity to meet the teacher, Sanjen Miedzinski, and hear an overview of the practices and teachings of the Diamond Approach. Cost is $20. Location may vary.

If you have any questions or wish to attend either the Friday night or the weekend, please call Sanjen Miedzinski at (510) 524-1633 or send an e-mail to sanjen@att.net

Also see our website: diamondapproachsandiego.com

NEW! Introduction to the Diamond Approach Workshops in New York City and Connecticut:
The Emerald Mountain groups of New York will be presenting a series of introductory workshops on the Diamond Approach this year. A series of weekends will be offered at the Guest House Retreat and Conference Center in Chester, CT, led by Leslie Chyten. For information please contact Leslie Chyten at lesliechyten@gmail.com.

NEW! Diamond Approach in Seattle
Diamond Approach Seattle draws students from all over Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. The first group (DAS 1) has been ongoing for many years and is closed to new students except for students transferring to this area. Teacher: Lauren Armstrong.
DAS 2 is now starting and open to new students. The teaching will be in Seattle and Portland. As this group develops, they will be invited to attend Hameed Ali's (A.H. Almaas) annual retreat.
Teachers: Joyce Lyke, Lauren Armstrong. Assisted by Rosalind Diamond, Candace Harris, Renie Hope, Jane Johnston and Carole Miller as supporting teachers

For more information contact Candace Harris at charris@antioch.edu Phone 206-706-1383

NEW! Diamond Approach in New Zealand
A new group is forming in Auckland and draws students from both the North and the South Island.
Retreats will be held in October 2010 and March 2011. For more information on specific dates and times for the 2010 weekends, please visit: www.diamondapproach.co.nz.
Teacher: Christine Dveirin at cdveirin@gmail.com
Contact: Suni Sharpe at s.sharpe@xtra.co.nz phone 021 533047

Other Diamond Approach groups that are forming or currently open for new members exist throughout North America, Europe and Australia. Please check Locations for specific places.