How did you find the Diamond Approach?
My roommate was doing the work and encouraged me to check it out. I didn’t follow up until I heard the group was about to close and a new one wouldn’t start for four years. That got my attention and I was out the door for my first weekend.
When you first started, what was your greatest challenge?
The Diamond Approach practice of repeating questions. After years of spiritual practice in deep silence, entering a room with the sound of the same questions bouncing around from students doing their exercises in small pods was downright confusing. What kind of inner practice was this, I wondered?
What has kept you engaged with the Diamond Approach teachings?
I’ve always thought, wherever truth is being served, I want to explore it and see what it has to offer; to see if it has deep legs. The more I engaged the teaching, the more depth and profundity opened up. That was 28 years ago and there’s still more to discover.
What aspect of the teaching is most alive in you right now?
From discovering the truth, to practicing knowing the truth, to being the truth—it all has its beauty. But for me right now, the simplicity of being in the world and with others is simply sublime.
What has been the most surprising discovery for you in the past year?
Waking up. It never is what I expect, and always more than I anticipate.
What advice/encouragement would you offer to someone ‘on the fence’ about attending an Intro event?
Jump in, take a taste and see if it’s for you. I never would have known how valuable a gift this teaching was until I took the plunge and tried it out.
If you could have one wish for humankind, what would it be?
To know the great sweetness, joy, peace, and fulfillment of coming back to one's inner True Nature.
Lauren Taylor teaches individuals and groups across the US, Canada, and Europe. Her journey began as a Sufi and included years of training in a monastic setting before she finally established her wisdom tradition as a Diamond Approach student and teacher for the past 28 years. Her commitment as a naturopath and psychotherapist is to helping others bring mindful awareness to healing the body and mind as the practice of spiritual awakening is brought into everyday living. She is currently teaching for the Colorado Diamond Heart 9 group and offering a series of monthly webinars on "Mindful Awareness in Relationship."