Dominic C. Liber - Diving in the Inner Ocean: An Introduction to Personal Transformation through Diamond Inquiry

PRAISE FOR

Diving in the Inner Ocean

I am delighted that Dominic Liber has written this book. As a teacher of the Enneagram, students often ask me what to do with the knowledge they acquire. And my response is that without practice, such learning cannot take us very far. But here, in Diving in the Inner Ocean, Dominic has provided a beautifully written, lucid, and friendly introduction to what I see as the central practice for working with our personality and for exploring the deeper mysteries of our essential naturethe practice of inquiry. This book guides us step by step into developing the tools and capacities for inquiry, and whether you are an experienced meditator or are new to inner work, the teachings here are a treasure trove of helpful experience and insight. I enthusiastically recommend this book.

RUSS HUDSON , author of The Enneagram: Nine Gateways to Presence and coauthor of The Wisdom of the Enneagram

The cosmic ocean of consciousness is such a magnificent vastnessbut where to begin? Are you sitting at the shore longing for a way in? Or adrift with only a memory of a rogue wave that grabbed you only to deposit you back on the sand, helpless to find your way back? Do you think the ocean of consciousness is just one thing and miss the riches it holds?

With his friendly, encouraging guidance, Dominic illuminates the way to inner exploration with a heart of adventure and the wisdom of a seasoned diver. The pages drip with the presence of the sea as he sharpens our diamond inquiry skill with the innate inner resources that have all but been forgotten. He deftly points us toward the numinous presences of strength, kindness, and steadfastness and sets our curiosity free to explore uncharted watersall of itthe sparkling, the turbulent, the surface, and the depth. He leaves no shell unturned. Better yet, you will discover all of the magical treasures hidden within each one.

Dominic offers an invitation to return to our natural condition as part of that vast sea. You are fluid as an octopus and bright as the bioluminescence that lives at the mysterious depths.

Come on in! The conditions are perfect for a dive!

KAREN JOHNSON , cofounder of the Diamond Approach, author of The Jeweled Path, and coauthor of The Power of Divine Eros

A brilliant, welcoming gift to the whole world. Dominic Liber lays out a lucid, warm path for becoming competent in an essential skill, diamond inquiry: a contemporary method for uncovering and manifesting our true nature. His work is kind and accompanied in every step with practices, warnings of pitfalls, and pre-forgiveness for any mistakes. Anyone seeking a direct experience of their authentic self will be well served by this compassionate, deeply human, and generous teaching.

JAMES FLAHERTY, MCC , author of Coaching: Evoking Excellence in Others and founder of New Ventures West and Integral Coaching

Dominics book elucidating the revolutionary practice of inquiry as practiced in the Diamond Approach path is excellent. The process of inquiry allows us to penetrate through our egoic experience and discover the treasures that lie beyond, and is a game-changing innovation in spiritual technology. With clarity and simplicity, he shows us how to navigate our inner life, likening it to learning how to skillfully scuba dive. The analogy of learning to dive into the ocean that he follows throughout is an apt one. He teaches us how to move beneath the surface of our experience and explore what underlies it. As our acclimation to our inner ocean deepens and we become more comfortable, he takes us into the depths of whats possible for us as human beings to experience. Not only descriptive but filled with exercises for the reader to practice, it is essential for those new to inquiry and a great enhancement for those already familiar with it.

SANDRA MAITRI , author of The Spiritual Dimension of the Enneagram and The Enneagram of Passions and Virtues

Shambhala Publications, Inc.

2129 13th Street

Boulder, Colorado 80302

www.shambhala.com

2021 by Dominic Liber

Diamond Approach and Ridhwan are registered trademarks of the Ridhwan Foundation

Cover photo: Wonderful Nature/Shutterstock; Zakharchuk/Shutterstock

Cover design: Shubhani Sarkar

Interior design: Kate Huber-Parker

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Shambhala Publications is distributed worldwide by Penguin Random House, Inc., and its subsidiaries.

L IBRARY OF C ONGRESS C ATALOGING - IN -P UBLICATION D ATA

Names: Liber, Dominic C., author.

Title: Diving in the inner ocean: an introduction to personal transformation through diamond inquiry / Dominic C. Liber; foreword by A. H. Almaas.

Description: First edition. | Boulder, Colorado: Shambhala, [2021] | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2020037481 | ISBN 9781611809084 (trade paperback)

eISBN 9780834843592

Subjects: LCSH : Spiritual lifeRidhwan Foundation. |

Ridhwan FoundationDoctrines.

Classification: LCC BP 605. R 53 L 53 2021 | DDC 204dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020037481

a_prh_5.7.0_c0_r1

To all the teachers from whom I learn to inquire

The Guidance of Being

The originators of the Diamond Approach

Hameed Ali (A. H. Almaas) and Karen Johnson

My big group teachers over the years including

Bob Ball, John Davis, Jeanne Haye, Linda Krier,

Rennie Moran, Patty Rice

My private session teacher

Gina Crago

My mentor

Tejo Jourdan

&

To my own students

with whom I discover

often through trial and error

what helps them learn to inquire