Ep. 214 (Part 2 of 2) | Part 2 of the 16th dialogue of the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series takes us on a sweet journey farther into our exploration of the nature of the absolute. Hameed Ali discusses the paradox of the absolute, being both source and cessation of all things, the nonduality of emptiness and beingness, these being two sides of the same coin, and explains why many nondual teachings do not touch upon the absolute. He makes sense of the difficult-to-fathom concept of pure emptiness, explaining that the absolute’s nature is absence—in contrast with presence—and relates that Mystery is the essence of the absolute, the fundamental essence of the nature of reality. “We are never going to know where it’s at, what’s happening, what life is about,” he laughs. Our knowledge is but “small islands in the vast ocean of mystery we live in;” mystery cannot be eliminated.

In the absolute, the soul finds its final resting place, Hameed tells us. The absolute is our true home—the essence of the meaning of home. All humans are searching for their true home, Hameed says, and they search in many places. But here the search is over. Reflections of the absolute bring us closer to love, like when we are in love, Hameed continues. Being in love with an outer beloved brings us closer to the inner beloved and we see deeper. “The absolute is total intimacy, Hameed finishes. “In the absolute we are intimate with everything.” How do we express this in the world, in our ordinary lives? “It becomes very simple,” Hameed says. “The absolute is the essence of simplicity—so simple, even though there is a profundity…” Recorded October 9, 2025.

“You don’t have to experience the absolute to know nonduality.”

1. Emptiness is nondual with consciousness, two sides of the same thing (01:03)
2. Many nondual teachings don’t talk about the absolute (02:50)
3. You don’t have to experience the absolute to know nonduality (03:32)
4. There’s no sense of individual self, but some teachings take the absolute as the ultimate Self (04:52)
5. Making sense of pure emptiness: the absolute’s nature is absence—in contrast with presence (09:47)
6. The absolute is the essence of mystery (12:59)
7. Experiencing all phenomena as projections of the absolute (13:57)
8. The absolute reveals that true nature itself is unmanifest (17:58)
9. Mystery is the nature of the absolute; the absolute IS mystery (19:08)
10. The absolute is the extreme limit of purity; the heart empty of everything except the love of God (23:13)
11. We live in an ocean of mystery; what we know are little islands (25:07)
12. The search ends in the absolute; the soul is home (27:32)
13. Reflections

Ep. 213 (Part 1 of 2) | The 16th dialogue of the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series is about the absolute, the source dimension of all manifestation, deeper than any other dimension, the vastness beyond vastness. In Part 1, Hameed gives a wonderful description of the majesty and the blackness of the absolute, and tells the story of when he first experienced being one with the absolute himself. When Roger Walsh asks him, what are the doorways to the absolute, Hameed talks about mystical poverty and also the way of the heart. “When the true beloved shines through the heart, it’s an amazing ecstasy… a mindblowing kind of beauty,” he says. He discusses the fear people often feel as they approach cessation of all perception, and the need for the basic trust we were born with (which often gets clobbered as we grow up) to proceed. What changes after an experience of the absolute? John Dupuy asks. If one abides in this realization, it cleanses the soul of all impurities, and our action embodies the virtues, Hameed answers.

In Part 2, which will be released December 25th, Hameed delves into the paradox of the absolute (the absolute is the elimination, the annihilation, the cessation of all things—and the source of all things), the nonduality of emptiness and awareness, and explains that mystery is the essence of the absolute: the absolute IS mystery, he says. There is laughter all around when Hameed says you can never completely “get” it, because there’s nothing there to get! Your mind disappears as you’re trying to get it. Towards the end, the conversation relaxes so deeply into the subject of the absolute, you can just about feel its presence. We become intimate with everything in the absolute, Hameed says. It is the soul’s final resting place, our true home, where the search ends. Recorded October 9, 2025.

“The absolute itself is majesty, and the universe that emerges is beauty.”

• Introducing dialogue #16 in the
• A.H. Almaas Wisdom Series, focusing on the source dimension, the apex of Hameed’s book The Inner Journey Home (00:41)
• “By simply witnessing the process of manifestation… the soul experiences itself as a vast silent witness… discovering a dimension deeper than any other, the absolute” (02:18)
• Being the absolute, one experiences an emptiness so empty there is no sensation (05:29)
• Cessation of perception, as the Buddha called it, was exactly Hameed’s experience (09:57)
• Neglected teachings of Nisargadatta: awareness that is not aware of itself can be experienced as “rock-like” (11:26)
• The story of Hameed’s first experience of the absolute (15:19)
• Is the absolute the destination? What is cessation? Is it the same as the absolute? (16:47)
• What changes after an experience of the absolute? (21:00)
• The absolute is majesty, the universe that emerges is beauty (23:18)
• The flowering of virtues follows true realization (24:24)
• The spiritual path has two sides: knowing who you are and living it (26:03)
• Moving towards cessation, people feel terror (26:53)
• Trust is essential; the more we are loved as an infant, the more we trust (28:25)
• What are the doorways into the realization of the absolute? (32:02)
• Mystical poverty is one doorway; the recognition that the soul has nothing of its own—it all comes from the Source (35:29)
• There is also the way of the heart, finding the true beloved within...

Ep. 212 (Part 2 of 2) | In Part 2 of the compelling conversation with SAND founders Zaya and Maurizio Benazzo, the discussion turns to the making of their 2021 documentary film about the tragic injustices inflicted upon Palestinians in the West Bank. Where Olive Trees Weep is a very beautiful, heartbreaking, and eye opening film we highly recommend to our listeners. “How do we stop the violence?” asks co-host John Dupuy. No one knows the answer, but “each of us can find a way to alleviate the suffering in Palestine now as we grapple with the question of how to stop the wounds that continue to bleed,” Zaya and Maurizio contend. “We can stand for justice, food, and human rights, recognize the dignity of Palestinians and fight for their freedom.”

Spiritual communities are mostly quiet on this issue, Zaya mentions. But “it’s not a political issue,” she says, “it’s a human issue—we are losing our humanity. If we believe in oneness, we need to face our discomfort and turn towards the pain, towards the suffering. Discomfort is the very essence of the issue on a psychological and archetypal level,” Zaya adds. Zaya and Maurizio are also working on a remarkable series of films called The Eternal Song, an ongoing project to bring forth teachings from Indigenous communities around the world. To date, they have released The Eternal Song, Mauri: The Vital Essence of All Beings, and most recently If an Owl Calls Your Name. Thank you, Zaya and Maurizio, for contributing your gifts in these stunning films, so poignant and important in these disconnected, turbulent times, and for sharing your extraordinary wisdom with our Deep Transformation listeners. Recorded October 16, 2025.

“Opening to the darkness and the pain is the gift of this time. We are all one; we cannot continue to separate ourselves into our comfortable silos.”

• Making the 2021 film Where Olive Trees Weep, about the tragic mistreatment of Palestinians in the West Bank (00:58)
• Making films about the effects of colonization all over the world (04:36)
• The more hateful the emails Zaya & Mauriozio received, the more they answered & engaged (06:01)
• There are 80 years of history behind the conflict in Palestine; everywhere you look there’s injustice (06:57)
• Apartheid in Palestine is maybe more extreme than in South Africa (10:26)
• What can we do about Gaza now? Stand for justice, food & human rights, recognize the dignity of Palestinians & fight for their freedom (12:37)
• Netanyahu is not the problem, the system is rotten to the core (15:20)
• How do we stop the violence? (18:49)
• Acknowledging the beauty & power of Zaya & Maurizio’s Where Olive Trees Weep (20:37)
• The silence about Gaza in most spiritual communities: if we believe in oneness, we need to turn towards the suffering (25:38)
• Thanking Zaya & Maurizio for the film, and tales of the transformative effects of engaging with senders of hate mail (29:26)
• Zaya & Maurizio’s movie The Eternal Song came out in June 2025, but they are making many more films in Indigenous communities, like If an Owl Calls Your Name (link below) (34:10)
• Opening to the darkness and the pain is the gift of this time—we are all one, and we cannot continue to separate ourselves into our comfortable silos (37:57)