When Soul, World & God Became Separate: The Loss, the Paradox & the Promise of Integration

Ep. 237 | In the 19th dialogue of the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, an exploration of the final chapter of The Inner Journey Home, Hameed Ali looks at the evolution of Western culture and how it happened that soul, world, and God became divided as the culture developed. Hameed explains this was a necessary evolutionary step, an inherent part of our development, and though we lost our spiritual footing in the process (with secularization came a “gaping emptiness, meaninglessness, a lack of true fulfillment”), the separation of science and Church freed science and later psychology to take off on their own trajectories, leading to great strides in our understanding of our physical world and psychological make-up. The secularization of society turned out to have plenty of benefits, including improving the physical and economic well-being of many. But where does that leave us now, and what does the future hold? Will there be an integration of these disparate parts, where spiritual ground becomes a foundational piece of our next stage of evolution? Can the scientific perspective, with its precision and clarity of mind, be brought to bear on our inner life of spiritual inquiry as well as the outer nature of reality? In realizing that our soul needs life’s encounters to mature—meditation alone is not enough—will we find the lost “pearl beyond price” individually and possibly collectively or in small groups? Hameed concludes by telling us that the Diamond Approach is about redeeming the mind: integrating the diamond clarity of the intellect with spiritual depth. He shares his vision of fully realized scientists merging a spiritual perspective with precise and penetrating inquiry, and ends with the wish for all human beings to know: “People who are listening… it’s possible for you.” Recorded June 11, 2026.“The spiritual ground that science doesn’t deal with is needed to complete the story.”Topics &amp; Time StampsIntroducing dialogue #19 in the A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series, in which Hameed Ali explores the final chapter of The Inner Journey Home (00:45)The development of Western culture &amp; the idea that soul, God, and world are separate (03:27)The separation of God, soul &amp; world was a necessary evolutionary step (05:39)This secularization of society allowed the scientific point of view to develop (09:15)The bifurcation happened also in the field of psychology, especially with the influence of Freud (14:49)Our inherent spirit of inquiry came to be applied to the outer world instead of the inner; with secularism, the spiritual perspective was left behind (17:50)With secularization came meaninglessness; capitalism &amp; communism focused on economics (26:16)Will integration happen? Can secularization find its spiritual depth? (30:08)What does the future hold? Hameed thinks humanity’s enlightenment is a LONG way off (34:47)Valuing autonomy is an outer reflection of the valuing of the uniqueness of the individual, the pearl beyond price (36:06)Gurdjieff thought humans don’t live long enough to grow spiritually (40:12)Finding the lost pearl: the soul matures through encounters in life—not just in meditation (42:24)The complete pearl integrates the compassion, love &amp; intelligence of boundless awareness: the personalization of the absolute (45:00)What are the possibilities of developing a cultural pearl or a species pearl? (47:00) The Fermi paradox, the future, AI, and the importance of personal experience (51:20)Can we teach AI to make truth the #1 priority? (56:22)Roger reads the epilogue of The Inner Journey Home, a beautiful distillation of the soul’s journey (57:17)Having a few spiritual individuals living their true nature is what keeps humanity alive (59:49)Redeeming the mind: this teaching integrates the diamond clarity of the intellect with spiritual depth (1:00:23)Hameed’s wish for all human beings (1:05:49)Resources &amp; ReferencesA. H. Almaas (Hameed Ali), founder of The Ridhwan School<a href="https://online.diamondapproach.org/?ref=15&amp;utm_source=affiliate&amp;%20utm_campaign=iawake" rel="noope