Inquiry itself is knowledge in action; it uses ordinary knowledge in conjunction with our innate intelligence to open up basic knowledge. It is informed by knowledge, is open to knowledge, and invites further knowledge. Knowledge in action is both inquiry and understanding, which is also the unfoldment of Being. We can say that understanding liberates basic knowledge from the rigid patterning of ordinary knowledge, freeing it to unfold according to its own intrinsic patterning, which we experience as inherent discriminating wisdom. – Spacecruiser Inquiry: True Guidance for the Inner Journey, ch. 6
True knowledge does not give us comfort. In fact, it frees us from the need for comfort. It does not make us more secure and cozy; it makes us more and more insecure. True knowledge causes us to lose our ground more and more because the ground we are standing on is fake. This Work is not an easy thing from the perspective of the dead world. It is very difficult and frightening. It is terrifying. It looks impossible because we look at it from the perspective of the mind; from that perspective it is not possible. But it is possible because the true reality is there. That’s what makes it possible. It is not because our mind thinks it is possible or not. Its possibility is its reality. It is what is; that’s why it is possible to perceive it. – Diamond Heart Book Four: Indestructible Innocence, ch. 8
To approach new knowledge, to become a new person, will happen through letting go of the old, not holding on to old concepts, which means not holding on to your mind. Our task, then, is not to take our knowledge as ultimate. This means to be willing to let go of our belief in the ultimate reality of the content the mind, of knowledge, at least for a while. This will feel like we are letting go of the mind itself, since we do not know the mind without content. But only this will allow us the possibility of seeing the world in its actuality and its truth. No matter how much psychological insight we have, how many inner spiritual experiences we have, how many times we see angels or talk with God, if our experience occurs still within the old concepts, no actual transformation of ourselves and our world will happen. – Diamond Heart Book Four: Indestructible Innocence, Ch. 12
We see the same thing in our collective world—all of us together are creating all kinds of things, but the major part of what we see in life and how we see it, has to do with mind and with what we take ourselves to be. You might complain for years about not having a boyfriend or a girlfriend. You might work hard until at some point there is a slight shift in some issue that releases as you understand a part of yourself. Then suddenly, a boyfriend or girlfriend seems to arise out of nowhere, as if by magic. It is as if there was a resistance inside you, a part that didn’t want to have a boyfriend or girlfriend. It could be the same story with anything—a satisfying job, enough money— all the things most people are searching for. You might be looking for a meaningful job, you might work on lots of conflicts, self-images and issues about it but nothing happens; but when you are deeply ready inside, it happens as if by magic. I have had this phenomenon reported to me hundreds of times. It might be the least likely thing in the world, but if you wholeheartedly want it, it manifests as if by magic. – A. H. Almaas, Diamond Heart Book Four: Indestructible Innocence, Ch. 2
So your reaction depends on your knowledge. Suppose a person feels a stabbing pain or hurt in the chest, in the heart. He’s never felt anything like this sensation before. He becomes alarmed: “Oh, I might be having a heart attack.” Or maybe he’ll be less alarmed but still want to get rid of the pain, so he says, “Oh, I’m hurting, I’m in pain, give me some Valium.” But a person with a different perspective, a different knowledge, might react differently when he feels the hurt: “I must be feeling hurt, oh good, let me feel it, let me explore it.” And if he feels the hurt for a while, he will begin to feel soft and gentle and warm inside himself. This person had the knowledge that it isn’t helpful to turn away from his pain, that when he is willing to feel the pain some kindness toward himself will arise. It seems clear that we should do our utmost to gain the necessary knowledge for living our lives—to have what we want, to do what is actually good, to live a happy life, to really find out the meaning of life, to actually solve the riddle. To accomplish these things we clearly need the correct knowledge. Otherwise we do things believing them to be what they are not, such as marrying someone believing we love them, when we really married them because they reminded us of our mother. – A. H. Almaas, Diamond Heart Book Three: Being and the Meaning of Life, Ch. 10