A.H. Almaas
RIDHWAN SCHOOL A.H.ALMAAS BOOKS/TAPES/VIDEO NEW/NOTABLE

 

The Ridhwan School is a loosely-knit affiliation of ongoing groups, which has been unfolding over the last 30 years and now has members in many parts of North America, Europe and Australia. Hameed Ali (A.H. Almaas) is the spiritual head of the School, while individual groups are taught by qualified Ridhwan teachers.

The Diamond Approach is the spiritual teaching, the path, and the method of the Ridhwan School. The Ridhwan Foundation is the nonprofit spiritual organization established to support and preserve the integrity of the Diamond Approach teaching. Its educational branch is the Diamond Heart and Training Institute (DHAT), which is responsible for making the teaching available to the public; for training teacher/ministers; and for supporting the publication of teaching material through books and audiovisuals.

Minister/teachers offer the Diamond Approach teaching through various formats including individual guidance sessions, public workshops, and ongoing groups. Only ordained Ridhwan minister/teachers are authorized to teach the Diamond Approach. All current teachers are listed at Teachers.

DHAT Institute, under the direction of Hameed Ali, offers the public opportunities to study the Diamond Approach through various Diamond Heart Programs. Several times this year, DHAT will present weekends open to the general public in the Boulder area as an introduction to the Diamond Approach. In addition, it presents ongoing Diamond Heart groups—there is a waiting list forming for Diamond Heart 8 in Boulder, Colorado and for Diamond Heart 8 in Berkeley, California (interested parties in Berkeley may email the DHAT office atemail addressand include their contact information). For those not living in the Boulder or Berkeley areas, DHAT presents international retreat programs called Diamond Heart Retreats—there is also a waiting list for the next retreat group (please contact LeighJMc@aol.com).

Outside of the Berkeley and Boulder areas, ongoing groups in the Ridhwan School are organized and led by Ridhwan teachers, individually or in teams. All Diamond Approach groups consist of individuals committed to a long-term process of spiritual study. The group format—which includes large group meditation, lectures and exercises, small group inquiry practice and individual private sessions—creates a field of spiritual resonance that allows a gradual process of individual spiritual development. These ongoing groups may meet as many as 9 times a year on weekends, or less often for 3- to 8-day periods depending on the location and schedule of the teachers and participants.