Ep. 242 | What a gift to have Karen Johnson and A. H. Almaas (Hameed Ali) together in conversation to explore their extraordinary journeys of awakening and share the remarkable ways presence found to transform their hearts and minds—all of which culminated in the contemporary spiritual path known as the Diamond Approach. Karen’s book, The Jeweled Path (the basis for this Jeweled Path Series), chronicles Karen and Hameed’s spiritual adventures from the beginning: what happened in their childhoods, how they first met, the emerging realization that what they were experiencing was shaping into a unique path of awakening that others could follow and benefit from also, through the establishment of the Ridhwan School, home of the Diamond Approach.
In this dialogue, Karen tells how incredible spiritual experiences would come to them right in the midst of life—in the grocery store, on the way to work, in a bar… And we hear the resonant story of when Hameed poured a life-changing transmission of presence into her hand. Karen and Hameed’s vivid descriptions of what they experienced—“explosions of consciousness,” “streams of awakening,” “becoming a body of light, fullness, and presence, nowness embodied”—are awakening transmissions in their own right. And the point they drive home—that they were not the founders of the Diamond Approach, rather the teaching found them—has the magical effect of opening us to see reality in a different way. Listening to Karen and Hameed discuss their experiences, insights, and the emergence of the Diamond Path is simply an amazing experience on its own. Recorded August 13, 2026.
“The interesting thing about presence is, if you talk about it when it’s not there, it’s just an idea—because presence is only now.”
Topics & Time Stamps
- Introducing Karen Johnson, co-founder of the Diamond Approach, who joins Hameed Ali in The Jeweled Path Series which focuses on her book The Jeweled Path: The Biography of the Diamond Approach to Inner Realization (00:42)
- How did it come about that Karen & Hameed were able to found a spiritual path together? (01:51)
- The personal element in the Diamond Approach allows for the spiritual possibilities of relationship (10:01)
- Hameed & Karen’s conversations evolved into the student/teacher practice of inquiry so essential to the Diamond Approach (15:42)
- How Hameed switched from training to be a scientist to investigating the nature of reality (17:16)
- Hameed kept disciplined notes which allowed them to track their experiences, make sense of them over time, and realize this teaching was for others too (20:51)
- For Hameed, it wasn’t one awakening but a stream of awakenings (22:39)
- If Hameed talked about an experience, Karen would start to feel it (28:28)
- Karen’s experience of Hameed pouring a transmission into her hand (30:36)
- For some an awakening flushes out blocks & barriers, for others not (34:18)
- Hameed was able to collect presence in his hand and then give it away (36:53)
- For Karen, the transmission wasn’t just an experience, it was realizing: this is what you are (37:47)
- When a bubble of pure awareness came to Karen & Hameed in a bar (38:49)
- What is a transmission? (40:56)
- How Hameed’s motorcycle accident brought in the diamond structure (46:08)
- This is a spiritual path of felt understanding, not merely intellectual understanding (49:24)
- A teacher isn’t just transmitting all the goodies, they’re also transmitting all the grit (51:19)
- Hameed would receive transmissions from other teachings encompassing their whole path (52:32)
- Hameed & Karen were sure they would find explanations for their experiences in other teachings (54:40)
- Other twosome spiritual relationships: Aurobindo & the Mother, the founders of A Course in Miracles, Rumi & Shams, and more (56:19)
Resources & References
The Jeweled Path Series is based on Karen Johnson’s wonderful, in-depth recounting of how the Diamond Approach came into being through Hameed Ali and herself in her book The Jeweled Path: The Biography of the Diamond Approach to Inner Realization, so listeners may want to get a copy of this book to study and follow along on this journey of awakening to presence.
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Karen Johnson is the co-founder of the Diamond Approach as it is taught in the Ridhwan School today, having worked alongside Hameed Ali (A. H. Almaas) for the last 50 years. Karen was trained in art and dance and began the journey into the spiritual universe at 14 years old with the guidance of her parents. First, she was introduced to yoga and meditation, and then learned about other forms of spiritual practice. After attending California College of Arts and Crafts, she befriended Hameed Ali, and began a new trajectory where journeying into the secrets of the universe of Being became central to her life.
The joy of discovery turned out to be a unique and specific approach to inner experience, which became the Diamond Approach. Karen received an MA in psychology JFK University in 1990. She continues to venture into the endless realms of the miraculous with her spiritual companion. She is the author of The Jeweled Path: The Biography of the Diamond Approach to Inner Self-Realization, and co-author with A. H. Almaas of The Power Of Divine Eros.
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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
