The Alchemy of Freedom: The Philosophers' Stone and the Secrets of Existence

by A.H. Almaas

Well-known spiritual teacher A. H. Almaas uses the metaphor of the mysterious philosopher's stone to discuss a tremendous liberating power that leads to endless enlightenment

For millennia alchemists sought the philosophers’ stone, the miracle substance believed to be the key to all the secrets of existence. The quest was fueled by some of the prime questions of human What am I? Why am I here? How has this world come to be?

A. H. Almaas shows that the tremendous liberating power of the mysterious philosophers’ stone is closer to us than we realize. In fact, it is the true nature of all reality—in all times and all places, without being limited to being anything in particular. Through the philosophers’ stone, real transformation can happen, our consciousness can become free, and we can open to all the possibilities of reality. 

Almaas discusses the factors that are involved in igniting the catalytic property of the philosophers’ stone and then begins to unpack the properties of true nature when it is free of constraints. Finally, we are left with the revelation that true nature is endlessly knowable, and yet nothing we can know or say about it exhausts its mystery and power. The result is a new understanding of what liberation and practice are—and a view of what it’s like when seeking ceases and life becomes a process of continual discovery. We begin to appreciate that the freedom of reality expressed in the complete and fulfilled life all human beings seek—and few find—is actually the simplicity of the ordinary.

Genres: Self Help, Psychology, Nonfiction, Spirituality

216 pages, Paperback

Published March 28, 2017

About the author

A.H. Almaas is the pen name of A. Hameed Ali, the creator of the Diamond Approach to Self Realization. The Diamond Approach is a contemporary teaching that developed within the context of awareness of both ancient spiritual teachings & modern depth psychological theories.

Reviews

[Heidi Wiechert · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up The Alchemy of Freedom because I was looking for an accessible book about alchemy. Unfortunately, it wasn't actually about alchemy nor was it accessible in my opinion.

But, everybody is ready at different times for different manners of spiritual teachings. Don't let my incomprehension deter you if you find the description intriguing. I'm neither a genius nor a guru, just someone who studies religions and spirituality in a comparative, curious, meandering way. This could be the book that opens a door for you. It simply wasn't that for me.

There are some gems hidden in these pages but I found it mainly to be a labyrinth of words. I've had a similar feeling when listening or reading the works of Eckhart Tolle. I feel like what Almaas is saying is worthwhile, so I made my way through it. But I just didn't get the majority of it. Puzzling my way through this book was like grasping a cloud.

I had finished this book last week in preparation for writing a review the day it came out, but when I sat down to write yesterday, the words wouldn't come. Rarely does reading a book leave me speechless.

I'll pull some highlights to give you a feel for it. Reminder: this was a digital advance reader's copy so the final published version could be slightly different.

I was able to comprehend Almaas' thoughts about our "true nature" and most of the passages I highlighted talk about it: "Whether we recognize it as presence or awareness or emptiness, true nature is crucial to the process of awakening, realization, enlightenment, and liberation. It is the source of all spiritual experiences, insights, and transformations. There is no other source. Nothing can happen without it." loc 116-133.

The bits of alchemy that Almaas did discuss were illuminating: "When we are experiencing ourselves as true nature, we realize that a human being is really the alchemical laboratory. The human being, the human consciousness, the human mind, the human heart are the instruments through which the magician works." loc 186. Most books that discuss alchemy are symbols heaped upon symbols. Perhaps it's just the nature of the topic, but it's frustrating.

About the philosophers' stone: "The alchemists spent millennia trying to find it. They considered it the final result of the magnum opus, the great work of spiritual and material transmutation. Some alchemists thought they could make it, others believed it had to be discovered. ... I am not teaching anything about alchemy here; I am borrowing the idea because it fits with what I am trying to say about true nature. ... We can only experience true nature in the manifold ways it presents itself, and yet it is always one thing." loc 666

I felt like this next quotation encompassed my experience of this book: "Sometimes we can rapidly absorb a teaching, and other times we can't get very far with it for a long time. But we don't need to get into a mental struggle with the ideas and the notions. Although understanding is an important part of awakening, it need not happen immediately." loc 922.

So, that's a relief. Perhaps my awakening is still on its way. Until then, I'll just chill where I am.

Thank you to NetGalley and Shambhala Publications for a free advance reader's copy of this book.

[Markus Stobbs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Breaks new ground in nondualism, dissolving misconceptions about enlightenment and framing the journey as a continual and never ending process of opening to true nature.

[Presley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is not for alchemists or beginners to nondual spirituality, but it is an important read for people who have had an awakening of some kind or are following an “enlightened” teacher. Almaas debunks many myths that can trip up spiritual seekers, like:

- “our realization is the ultimate one; that tradition describes a different one so they must be less advanced than us”
- “once I have an awakening I’ll understand everything”
- “an awakened teacher can do no wrong”
- “all traditions are describing the same realization”
- “this is just postmodernism”
- “the goal is to reach a certain state and be in it forever”

There are some parts where it gets kind of overly philosophical and he says “being” every other word, and it might be hard to follow if you’re totally unfamiliar with his work, The Diamond Approach, but I think it’s a really great inoculation against a bunch of harmful misunderstandings.

[Kali Franciska von Koch]

Never finished with this one, but return again and again to it