Real ID: Discover Your Real Identity Beyond Ego-self
The quest for self-discovery, both spirituality and psychology point us toward the concept of “real identity,” but the Diamond Approach offers a nuanced perspective that transcends conventional understanding. According to this spiritual teaching, our Essential, Real Identity is not a feeling of self. It is a single-pointed state of pure being, untainted by concepts or ego-driven motives. This identity can not be analyzed or reflected upon; it simply is. It is a state of “simplicity and innocence,” where the mind is quiet, and one experiences a sense of “lightness and freedom.” In this state, any form of conceptualization or ego movement—be it desire, motive, or even the quest for enlightenment—will obscure the purity of this Essential Identity.
The Real Identity is a dynamic presence that provides a “center and identity necessary for the soul’s life.” It is the “spark of the Absolute within the individual soul,” serving as the fulcrum towards the completion of the spiritual journey. Real identity is not bound by history, self-image, or memory; it is a direct recognition of one’s true nature, a radiant point of light that is both “definite and boundless”. Thus, the Essential, Real Identity serves as a mirror, reflecting the soul’s capacity to be her true nature, offering a pathway to transcend the limitations of the ego and abide in the Absolute.
The Point of Existence: Transformation of Narcissism in Self-Realization
The Point of Existence describes the underlying spiritual basis for the common understanding of narcissism: the experience of a disturbance in the inner sense of self and the resulting need for constant reflection from the outside. This vulnerability in the inner experience of identity arises from a basic separation from the essential presence, which is the source of a true sense of self.
“A.H. Almaas is an astute and brilliant explorer of the common ground of psychology and spiritual development. Almaas provides a much larger and more satisfying framework for understanding the quandaries of self, identity, and the resolution of narcissism. He shows how the universal narcissism of everyday life is an incomplete stage of development that can only be overcome by realizing one’s deepest, most essential nature. This is a book to study, contemplate, live with, and use as a guide on one’s journey.” – John Welwood, Ph.D.(author of Love and Awakening)
“Almaas has given us a powerful unfoldment of a new field of study. This pioneering work renders outdated both the psychologist’s traditional avoidance of deeper dimensions of experience and the mystic’s dismissal of psychology. Almaas’s tour de force is a must read for anyone who is seeking a more profound understanding of human experience.” – Sherry Ruth Anderson, Ph.D. (co-author of The Feminine Face of God)
“Almaas’s The Point of Existence is a supremely original and unique work at the interface of spirituality and psychoanalysis. It will be of immense significance for anyone involved in a spiritual path. The promise and challenge of this work for both transpersonal and psychotherapeutic orthodoxies is immense. Psychologists, spiritual practitioners, and theologians will study and debate it for years to come.” – Harry Hunt, Ph.D. (author of On the Nature of Consciousness)