[.ca] Inner Journey Home: The Soul's Realization of the Unity ... (ISBN 1590301099)

Some insights, but mostly semantic mush...:
One of the oldest tasks of philosophy is to gain an understanding of what the "soul" is, and it's nature. Ever since Aristotle wrote the treatise we know as the "De Anima", philosophers have haggled over this question. Hameed Ali (known here by his pen name A.H. Almaas) has now thrown his hat into this ancient ring, with mixed results. "The Inner Journey Home" purports to explain the nature of the soul and how it develops, yet gets lost in a tangled web of Sufism, German Existentialism, and orthodox psychology without ever really getting to the point. For 500 pages, Almaas goes off on tangents that could have been summed up in 20, endlessly repeating the same themes using different terminology. The reader quickly gets bogged down in distinctions and terms that make absolutely no sense without some frame of reference- which is provided by Ali's other books, to which he constantly refers. There are some interesting and unique points (such as his discussions of the archetypal "diamond vehicles"), yet these quickly get lost in the repetitive maze built by Almaas' circular philosophizing. Unlike similiar writers, like Ken Wilber, there really isn't much use for Almaas' philosophy- it's mostly Heideggerian navel-gazing. The most useful section of the book, in fact, are the appendixes, in which Almaas compares his developmental theory to that of Wilber, Washburn, and Grof, and also analyzes western, easter, and sufi concepts of the soul, as well as early childhood spiritual development. Overall, while my opinion may be biased by the fact that I've never read any of Almaas' other works, I found his philosophy lacking in utility, repetetive, and incoherent, and his insights into the nature of the soul could be better summed up by Eckhart Tolle in a few sentences than Almaas manages in his entire book. If you want a coherent "integral" philosophy, Ken Wilber or Stanislav Grof are still the way to go.

Breaks new ground in literature on the soul.:
This book requires serious attention!! In two ways: One, it requires the readers serious attention to truly grasp and appreciate the many revelations and discoveries contained within. Almaas is precise and finely discriminating in his use of language. At times in philosphical like language, at others in more psychological language the reader is rewarded by deep insight into her own nature and an enlivened curiosity to find out more. Two, the major themes: the nature, properties and liberation of the Human Soul, and the Unity of Reality, Being and the Soul is a vast subject which Almaas handles coherently and in depth. This book requires serious attention from interested seekers and scholars alike for it crosses many disciplinary boundaries, linking the spiritual with the psychological and the philosophical through the practice of open-ended inquiry that comes from the very root of the Western Tradition. Their are insights for practioners in both eastern and Western spiritual traditions here. This is Almaas' 11th book, and the best one yet.

A Brilliant Book:
I found this book to be profound and deeply rewarding. Almaas, precisely describes the Diamond Approach to self-realization, your true home, as it was experientially revealed to him. He also offers a rich and in-depth description of the view of reality held by many of the world's religions. I have felt blessed by reading many other books by Almaas and other spiritual teachers. However, this book provided a comprehensive and scholarly understanding of the soul and its movement toward truth that gave me a long awaited sense of the overall experience of the inner journey, and spirituality in general. His writing seamlessly integrates spirituality and psychology to illuminate topics such as the soul and essence, living presence, human potential, liberating the soul, and divine love and light. One central thread of this book presents a clear picture of the non-duality of reality. Almaas also discusses the stages of spiritual development and the psychological obstacles that are encountered in the journey to individuation and self-realization. He begins by presenting an understanding of the soul, or self, as it is for most human beings. And then he explains the soul's development to the dimension of the Absolute where the soul or self is "the transcendent summit of reality". He continues his description of spiritual development by explaining the journey of descent where the soul or self realizes its full potential as an expression of the absolute in the world. I feel very inadequate in trying to describe the profundity of this book and it's impact on me. I have read parts of this book several times. Each time I read it I experience greater movement toward truth, the realization of the reality of who I am.