Defining Pure Awareness vs. Knowing

Ep. 204 (Part 1 of 2) | In the fourteenth dialogue in the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, Hameed Ali explores the nonconceptual nature of the dimension of pure awareness, guiding us into the realm that lies beyond conceptual dichotomies such as being/nonbeing, being/doing, duality/nonduality, good/bad, and meaningful/meaningless. Beyond knowing, this dimension exposes and challenges conceptual polarities, and when we arrive at this level of realization we are able to trust letting go of knowingness and wake up to pure awareness. People fear annihilation at the prospect of going beyond concepts, Hameed explains, and it does lead to a death: the death of mind, the death of the doer. But even here beyond knowing, Hameed continues, the nonconceptual always operates from compassion and love. 

How do we develop a continuity of nonconceptual awareness? Roger and John wonder. One way is when knowing is integrated into being, Hameed answers. Then everything just happens; the doing is funneled through the individual. And there is another way, through developing the “pearl beyond price,” the individual, Hameed adds, but this way is rare. As co-host Roger Walsh says, this is an especially nourishing, stimulating, and intriguing discussion, with Hameed doing a beautiful job of relating how our concepts form the basis of our existence and what it means to transcend them, let go of our mind, deconstruct our perception of ourselves as the “doer,” and wake up to pure awareness. Recorded August 14, 2025.

“To be in the nonconceptual state, i.e. in sitting meditation, is half of it, but to actualize it is the other half.”

Topics & Time Stamps – Part 1

• Introducing the 14th dialogue in the 
• A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, focusing on nonconceptual awareness & transcending conceptual dichotomies (00:51)
• Nondual reality, at the heart of The Inner Journey Home, is differentiated into five dimensions, each of which reveals something important about the deconstruction process that happens with spiritual practice (03:41)
• Nonconceptual means beyond the capacity of knowing (07:34)
• The experience of pure awareness transcends the dichotomy of existence/nonexistence (10:02)
• In Dzogchen, rigpa includes knowing—but pure awareness means no knowing, just perception (10:30)
• The dichotomy of being/doing is often a “sticking place” in our practice (16:10)
• How do we develop a continuity of nonconceptual awareness? (19:44)
• People fear annihilation at the prospect of going beyond concepts, and it does lead to the death of mind, the death of the doer (23:03) 
• With this level of realization, we can trust letting go of our knowingness (27:10)
• What are ways for actualization to occur? (29:20)
• In true, deep sleep there is cessation, all awareness gone (34:38)
• When God manifests through the individual, the two dimensions of being and knowing can happen at the same (37:16)
• Many traditions think the individual is an illusion—it’s not an illusion, it’s an appearance (39:12)
• Most human beings get arrested at the ego stage of development, the separate stage (43:14)

Resources & References – Part 1

• A. H. Almaas (Hameed Ali), founder of The Ridhwan School, home of The Diamond Approach
• A. H. Almaas, The Inner Journey Home: Soul’s Realization of the Unity of Reality
• Gnosis
• Reification, the process of treating an abstract concept or idea as a concrete, real thing
• Advaita Vedanta

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The A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series will generally follow the sequence of Hameed’s magnum opus, The Inner Journey Home (which John describes as psychoactive and spiritually, psychologically, and intellectually transformative), so listeners may want to get a copy of this book, to study and follow along on this exhilarating path of awakening.

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Hameed Ali (A. H. Almaas) was born in Kuwait in 1944. At the age of eighteen, he moved to the U.S. to study at the University of California in Berkeley. Hameed was working on his Ph.D. in physics when he reached a turning point in his life and destiny that led him to inquire into the psychological and spiritual aspects of human nature rather than the physical nature of the universe. He left the academic world to pursue an in-depth journey of inner discovery, applying his scientific precision and discipline to personal, experiential research. This included study with different teachers in different modalities, extensive reading, and continuous study of his own consciousness in an effort to understand the essential nature of human experience and reality in general.

Hameed’s process of exploration led to the creation of the Ridhwan School and, with his colleague Karen Johnson, resulted in the founding and unfoldment of the Diamond Approach. He is the author of 20 books, including Nondual Love: Awakening to the Loving Nature of Reality, Love Unveiled: Discovering the Essence of the Awakened Heart, Keys to the Enneagram: How to Unlock the Highest Potential of Every Personality Type, The Unfolding Now: Realizing Your True Nature through the Practice of Presence, and more.

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Podcast produced by Vanessa Santos and Show Notes by Heidi Mitchell