Karen Johnson - The Jeweled Path: The Biography of the Diamond Approach to Inner Realization

The book you have in your hands might be the first of its kind. It is not simply a biography of the individuals closely associated with a spiritual path but rather the story of the genesis and growth of that path as expressed through the lives of those individuals. And the story is told by an insider present at the paths inceptionby a true, living vehicle of the teaching who remains central to its ongoing development.

The Jeweled Path is not the story of a single awakening or epiphany from which a path arose, as happens in many teachings. Spanning many years, it is an unfolding tale of a path that simply erupted on the scene and unpacked itself in our lifetime rather than over the course of generations. It is the story of a logos that reveals a heartfelt knowledge and a discriminating intelligence that I believe the world is now ready for.

Since 1984, when the earliest Diamond Approach writings appeared, there has been much speculation about what this teaching is, how it came about, and what kind of person writes the books that represent the body of the teaching. The Diamond Approach has been called a philosophy, a spiritual psychology, a transpersonal psychology or philosophy, a synthesis of Western psychology and Eastern teachings, a synthesis of Buddhist teachings with other paths such as Sufism, and various other characterizations. I have been referred to as a Sufi, a Buddhist, a Vedantist, a philosopher, a scholar, a psychologist, and so on.

None of these descriptions are accurate, yet it is understandable that such ideas are put forward by individuals who were not close to the genesis of the teaching. It did not matter that I said many times that the Diamond Approach is not a synthesis of any kind, and that this path is quite different from other well-known teachings, ancient or modern. Even now, it does not make sense to most people when I tell them that I am not the source of this path because no human being could have developed it on his or her own. I thought of writing an autobiography, as some people suggested, partly to help dispel these well-meaning ideas and speculations. But I realized many years ago that it would be a monumental task, for this journey is a long series of awakenings and describing in detail the discovery of such a vast spiritual terrain would have taken me years and filled many volumes. My books detail some of the unpacking of the teaching and the secrets of reality, but The Jeweled Path tells how it all happened, filling a gap that my writings cannot.

Karen Johnson was a friend of mine before this path even began. As it unfolded, we became closer and deeper friends, spiritual friends. If anybody is qualified to present the truth of how the Diamond Approach originated and how it developed, she is. Karen knows this path from the inside out and has done a masterful job condensing in one small volume a rich and multifaceted story, replete with details of an inner process that included many births, deaths, and rebirths.

You will find The Jeweled Path readable and human, personal and intimate, even as Karen is narrating experiences of transcendence and sharing deep spiritual mysteries. She writes with spacious elegance and a compelling, often humorous, descriptive power that together communicate the feel of how things transpired. In showing the marvelous and sometimes miraculous ways this teaching has developed, she goes beyond describing the events themselves to discuss what it means to live out the various realizations that arise in the Diamond Approach.

Karen is a superb storyteller. She does not simply write about the knowledge and realizations that came through; she puts everything in context, as an unfolding of unusual occurrences in the midst of ordinary living. Although this book is in no way a comprehensive account of the Diamond Approach, you will be transported into the midst of a wide range of inquiries, awakenings, discoveries, and revelationsas well as the struggles and perplexities we facedas this path intelligently unfolded through my consciousness, Karens, and the consciousness of others who have been on this journey.

In addition to relating her personal experiences, Karen also talks about a number of my inquiries, awakenings, and insights, many of which we participated in together. I made available to her the approximately six thousand pages of my journals: thirty-six notebooks of handwritten entries, followed by more than twenty years of computer files. Excerpts throughout her book offer an additional sense of the texture and feel of what was happening at various junctures on this path.

I have read and reread the chapters of this book and had discussions with Karen to review and sometimes clarify various events, as well as to understand some of the implications that were not evident in the journal entries. I can attest to the authenticity and truth of Karens writing about me, the Ridhwan School, and the teachings of the Diamond Approach.

I am grateful that Karen undertook this task. It is a service not only to readers who want to know the story of the Diamond Approach and the students who are the beneficiaries of this teaching but also to the teaching itself. It is an expression of the reality behind the teaching, and this will hopefully guard against the mythologies, conjectures, and imaginings that usually occur when the story is told after the characters are long dead.

Both Karen and I are thankful for the many individuals who have confirmed the universality of the discoveries of the teaching through their participation in the Diamond Approach. Many have also helped the development of the teaching through their service in establishing and growing the Ridhwan Schoolthe worldly home of this teachingand by working with the many students who have become travelers on this path.