Degrees of Freedom: Presence vs. Awareness

Ep. 201 (Part 2 of 2) | In the thirteenth dialogue of the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, Hameed Ali delves into the subject of knowing, or basic knowledge, at the deepest level of awareness. Different from ordinary knowledge, basic knowledge is inherent and immediate, an important feature of reality. You can know Being by being Being, he says; know consciousness by being consciousness, know peace by being peace. Being and knowing are the same thing, he explains, two sides of a coin. Some of what Hameed shares here is unique to his Diamond Approach teaching, and not found in other spiritual teachings, such as what he imparts about the origin of mind and the distinction he makes between pure being and pure awareness.

Hameed explains that we need our conceptual mind (to do our taxes, he laughs), but that reification—treating concepts as if they were real things—creates obstacles and alienates us from our true nature. The aim of all spiritual practice is to go beyond reification to immediate experience, he says. When Hameed describes the difference between pure presence and pure awareness, John wonders, how does Hameed remember the state of pure awareness when there’s no knowing in that state? And what does it feel like to experience no ground of being? Hameed answers in his usual enlightening, gently humorous way, leaving listeners in a state of open-minded wonder. Vastly illuminating, this conversation goes directly to the heart of being and the heart of knowing at the very foundation of true nature. Recorded July 17, 2025.

“Mind is not an obstacle. Not an enemy. The obstacle is the reified representation of mind. If we take the knowledge of that mind to be reality, that is the obstacle.”

Topics & Time Stamps – Part 2

• How does Hameed remember the state of pure awareness when there’s no knowing in that state? (00:32)
• Most spiritual teachings have pure awareness and pure presence as inseparable, but in this teaching they can be distinguished (03:26)
• The experience of pure awareness: transparency, translucence, freedom (04:02) 
• The world is not an illusion; it is the face of God (06:13)
• The logos is what makes things manifest (09:48)
• Connecting the dimensions of pure being and pure awareness: mind is not an obstacle (11:46)
• Gurdjieff’s “stupid saints” (13:14)
• Mind is not the enemy; it’s the reification of knowing that is the obstacle (14:07)
• Pure awareness is more fundamental than pure being because there are no concepts; freedom is more palpable in pure awareness (17:14)
• Hameed’s multiple kinds of freedom; freedom independent from the ground of being (22:10)
• What does it feel like to realize there is no ground? (25:02)
• Transcending conceptual dichotomies: in spiritual liberation dichotomies can be stumbling blocks, like being vs nonbeing (25:20)
• Will science start to accept the ground of being? (29:38)
• Is math, the Euclidean theorem, a property of reality? (32:42)
• Consciousness and quantum theory (34:27)
• Knowing is fundamental to the universe; it’s inherent to our true nature (38:41)
• There’s no reason to have to choose between knowing and being, they’re two sides of the same thing (39:51)

Resources & References – Part 2

• 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
• Dzogchen
• Advaita Vedanta
• Kashmir Shaivism
• Sri Aurobindo
• The Greek logos is what makes things manifest
• U. G. Krishnamurti, Thought is Your Enemy: Conversations with U.G. Krishnamurti
• G. I. Gurdjieff, Views from the Real World
• Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Indian philosopher who became Vice-President of India
• Nisargadatta Maharaj, I Am That
• A. H. Almaas, Runaway Realization: Living a Life of Ceaseless Discovery
• A. H. Almaas, The Alchemy of Freedom: The Philosophers’ Stone and the Secrets of Existence
• Roger Penrose, The Emperor’s New Mind
• Federico Faggin, Science is Ready for Consciousness
• Quantum Consciousness Debate: Does the Wave Function Actually Exist? (YouTube video with Penrose, Faggin & Kastrup)
• Ken Wilber, Quantum Questions: Mystical Writings of the World’s Greatest Physicists

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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