Ep. 221 (Part 1 of 2) | Deep Transformation is excited to release the first episode in our new Path of Love Series with A. H. Almaas, in honor and celebration of Hameed Ali’s latest book, The Inner Beloved. The series begins with Hameed sharing his motivation for writing all three of the books in his Love Trilogy (Love Unveiled, Nondual Love, The Inner Beloved), namely, when he realized his prior books had omitted to teach specifically about the role of love on the spiritual path. Love is the energy, the driving force toward union with our inner nature, Hameed explains, and it is love that dissolves the obstacles that remain towards the end of the path. It is the path of heart that gets you all the way.

Hameed orients us with an overview of the Diamond Approach’s experiential path of love, gifting us with some tremendous teachings on love as a prelude to delving deeply into his newest book, The Inner Beloved. When asked, What is the inner beloved? he responds, The beloved is not just love. Love serves the beloved, love is the way to the beloved. The inner beloved is what our deepest heart longs for. The path of the heart is painful at times, he continues, because we feel separate from what we yearn to become one with. At the end of the dialogue, Hameed shares that with his path of love teachings, he wants us to know there is a way to address our longing, our yearning. There is a way for it to complete itself, he assures us. Recorded December 11, 2025.

“The beloved is the deepest nondual truth you can experience.”

1. Introducing A. H. Almaas and his trilogy of books on love: Love Unveiled, Nondual Love, and The Inner Beloved (00:48)
2. Hameed’s motivation to write about love came when he realized his prior books had omitted teaching about the role of love on the spiritual path (04:27)
3. The first book in the trilogy, Love Unveiled, talks about 3 kinds of love important in human life and in spiritual practice (07:01)
4. The second book, Nondual Love, talks about the boundless dimension of universal love (09:05)
5. The third book, The Inner Beloved, is about the path of love—the movement toward our fundamental nature through the heart (10:59)
6. Roger points out that Hameed’s teachings on love go far beyond other spiritual teachings (12:20)
7. The beloved is not just love: love serves the beloved, love is the way to the beloved (13:35)
8. We all have 3 centers of operation: head, heart & belly—each one is a spiritual brain of its own (16:24)
9. Love is the most explicit motivator for the spiritual journey (18:08)
10. The Diamond Approach is not about being liberated or free from suffering, it’s about loving to know the truth (20:40)
11. The path of the heart is painful because we feel separate from what we yearn to become one with...

Ep. 220 (Part 2 of 2) | In part 2 of Sliding Towards Authoritarianism, Constitutional Law expert and Ethics professor Mark Fischler unpacks the significance of the extreme lack of civic understanding in the United States and, well informed about students’ cognitive abilities and mental health status nationwide, adds the precipitous drop in achievement scores and through-the-roof diagnoses of ADHD, autism, anxiety, and depression to the mix, concluding, “You begin to see why an authoritarian world requiring only simple actions and answers would be more attractive than a democratic world that requires complexity, conversation, and the ability to see the intrinsic worth of the person across from you… to collectively decide to honor democratic processes and the winner who was voted in.”

This is the challenge, Mark says: “Since everybody has a partial piece of the truth, we need to ask ourselves, am I curious enough to understand another’s partial piece of truth in order to enrich myself and help me understand that we are all in this together?” “We need to take up the fight for greater awareness that recognizes the good, the true, the beautiful, and the oneness of what is,” he continues. Despite all that Mark has shared with us regarding the current Administration’s dehumanizing, authoritarian tactics and other significant factors contributing to the deterioration of our democracy, when asked what gives him hope, Mark answers, “A lot of things!” The discussion ends in a hopeful place—grim realities balanced with inspiring trends, including the growing recognition around the world that we are all in this together in what is essentially one global village. Recorded December 4, 2025.

“To understand is to forgive.” – Dr. Michael Fischler

1. What the problem of pervasive civic ignorance signifies for our democracy (01:02)
2. Our susceptibility to authoritarian leaders is not surprising considering our ignorance of civil responsibility (04:53)
3. Future shock: people under stress regress psychologically, making it even easier for an authoritarian to take over (06:57)
4. There is more than one reason for our pervasive civic ignorance (09:08)
5. Using A.I. to fact-check what we see and hear (10:37)
6. Education: cognitive understanding in young people has plunged below lowest-level functioning thresholds (16:35)
7. Among students, autism, ADHD, anxiety & depression diagnoses are through the roof (18:03)
8. Because of people’s lack of achievement & lack of civic understanding, it makes sense that people are willing to let democracy go (19:40)
9. Cultivating a quest for truth is part of the solution (22:48)
10. A call to contemplative warriors to take up the fight for greater awareness that recognizes the good, the true, the beautiful—and the oneness of what is (25:35)

Ep. 219 (Part 1 of 2) | Constitutional Law expert and Ethics professor Mark Fischler joins Deep Transformation again, to help us make sense of the slide towards authoritarianism happening in the United States today. Mark’s vast knowledge of the law, the Constitution, and the Supreme Court, his deep comprehension of ethics and morality, his Integral understanding, and his profound contemplative awareness all make for an extraordinary exploration of what is going on in this country at levels we don’t often consider. Beginning with examples of events in 2025 that are representative of various facets of authoritarianism, Mark goes on to discuss how the very crassness of the current Administration is undermining democracy: “We need to demand civil, fact-based discussion from our leaders, but we’re all accepting it’s okay to act like toddlers and dehumanize each other.”

Mark cites some stunning figures illustrating the widespread ignorance of democratic processes and institutions among the populace in this country, and describes why a lack of civic understanding makes us susceptible to authoritarians coming in and taking over. He also acknowledges that progressives are at fault for marginalizing conservatives, and calls on us to recognize the honor and dignity of all people, regardless of their politics—this is part of the solution, he explains. Mark’s passionate caring, wanting the best for all people and all beings, is a current that flows throughout, grounding the discussion in a beautiful way, while also making for a heartbreaking contrast relative to the chilling events happening in the political arena now. Recorded December 4, 2025.

“An ignorant people can never remain a free people.” – Thomas Jefferson

1. Introducing a frequent guest on Deep Transformation: Ethics, Law & Criminal Justice professor Mark Fischler, to help us make sense of our deteriorating democracy (00:43)
2. The trajectory of Trump’s presidency: the devolution of democracy towards authoritarian government (01:51)
3. John presents defining characteristics of fascism according to A. I. (04:01)
4. How does Mark define authoritarianism? (07:24)
5. Mark offers examples of 12 hallmarks of authoritarian government that happened in 2025, beginning with the stifling of dissent and speech (08:12)
6. Statistics on how U.S. citizens feel our democracy is performing (16:51)
7. What surprises Mark the most? The crassness & crudeness of the Trump Administration (18:15)
8. The deterioration in the greater culture at large: who and what is responsible? (21:19)
9. Deflecting our attention using whataboutism breeds cynicism & corrodes our democracy (24:45)
10. We need to demand civil, fact-based discussion from our leaders, but we’re all accepting it’s okay to act like toddlers and dehumanize each other (30:00)