Midwest Diamond Approach Retreat:
The Soul Is Here for Its Own Joy
September 17-20, 2026
with Diamond Approach Teachers:
Jim Lockridge | Kathleen Graham | Kara Vangen
What if joy is not something we have to earn, achieve, or stumble onto during our inner journey?
What if joy is an inner quality of our nature?
In the Diamond Approach, joy is understood not as a passing emotion, but as an essential quality of Being—alive, sensitive, radiant, spontaneous, and intelligent. It is much more than a search for happiness. The joyful heart does not stand back from experience or restrain itself as life happens to us. It meets life directly, openly, and intimately. As Rumi said, it can meet life “at the door laughing.”
As we move through our lives, experiences can impact our heart, causing its subtle presence to be obscured. It is as if an inner light is dimmed as our heart learns caution. We learn to adapt, to restrain ourselves, to hold back our feelings, impulses, and aliveness in order to belong, succeed, or stay safe.
Gradually, what was once a free and joyful movement of the soul gets constrained.
Yet within our nature there is a deeper joy that doesn’t depend on outer conditions. An inner quality of being that emerges when our heart is free to open. The lightness of this inner quality is essential for the unfoldment of the soul and for living. Without it, our soul contracts and withdraws in the face of life, with it, our heart remains open, unrestrained, and joyful.
In this retreat, we will explore joy through the lens of the Diamond Approach—not as a passing emotion, but as a profound dimension of our nature. Through inquiry and presence, we will investigate the ways restraint has shaped our experience and limited the natural expression of the heart.
Explore joy through the lens of the Diamond Approach—not as a passing emotion, but as a profound dimension of our nature.
Curiosity is not just a mental activity, but a tender, vital movement of the heart – a quiet pull toward what is real, a spark of aliveness that invites us to discover ourselves and our experience anew. It carries a subtle joy within it, a lightness that can open us, surprise us, and reconnect us with something fresh and immediate in each moment.
Even in moments when the heart feels heavy – burdened by personal history or the weight of collective suffering – curiosity remains a quiet, resilient doorway. We may wonder how lightness can possibly reach a heart that feels guarded or weary. Yet, curiosity doesn’t ask us to turn away from our pain; instead, it offers a gentle, non-judgmental way to stay present with it. By meeting our burdens with a simple, ‘What is this?’, we often find that even the densest experiences hold a hidden spark of truth – and that within that truth, a subtle, indestructible joy begins to breathe again.
In this retreat, we’ll turn inward and explore our experience through the lens of the Diamond Approach, allowing curiosity itself to guide the way. We will look at some of the ways this natural openness may have been shaped or dimmed – and how it can reawaken.
Sometimes gently, sometimes unexpectedly, curiosity can illuminate hidden possibilities and reveal a deeper truth that has always been there. As we follow this thread, curiosity becomes more than a tool – it becomes a living presence, one that carries a quiet sense of delight, intimacy, and discovery. And in that discovery, we may begin to recognize a simple truth: the joy we seek is not elsewhere, but already inherent in the unfolding of our own experience.
If this is your first retreat: At 6 PM on Thursday, there is an introduction to the retreat for new people and anyone interested in reviewing the retreat format and practices.
For those new to the Diamond Approach, this is a great opportunity to check out the Diamond Approach in person with an ongoing, open group.
Retreat Structure:
This is an ongoing retreat group in the initial stages of the Diamond Approach work called Midwest Group 4. We are meeting 4 weekends a year, with a mix of in-person and online retreats.
Weekend retreats will be composed of meditation, breath and movement practices, lectures, and self-reflection exercises geared toward connecting with our True Nature and facilitating the unfoldment of our souls.
Youth Scholarship:
If there’s anyone you know who’s under 40 and on the fence about checking out the DA, a youth scholarship application can be found at this link: https://dayouthfund.org. It can cover part of the costs for retreats, either online or residential/in-person, 1:1 session work and can also cover child care costs if you have them.
More Information about Midwest 4 Diamond Approach Retreats:
The Diamond Approach is the core teaching of the Ridhwan School (www.diamondapproach.org) and has been in existence since 1977. The method has become well known through the books of A.H. Almaas such as Essence by A.H. Almaas, or Introduction to the Diamond Approach by John Davis. These are recommended reading as are other books by A.H. Almaas (Shambhala Press). The Diamond Approach path was first introduced in the Midwest in 1996.
Most of us spend our lives within a thin layer of reality, unaware of the deeper realms of our consciousness. What we call emotional reality—the layer where most people believe human richness lies—is onion-skin deep compared to the totality of reality. Beneath this thin layer of emotions and thoughts lie indescribable beauty and freedom. Many people wander in that onion-skin layer forever, but in the inquiry process, it’s a layer we need to go through and not get stuck in. To support us in this movement into and through our emotions, reactions, and beliefs, the White or Will Essence—plays an important role.
(A.H. Almaas, Spacecruiser Inquiry, p 285)
More Information about Midwest 4 Diamond Approach Retreats
The Diamond Approach is the core teaching of the Ridhwan School (www.diamondapproach.org) and has been in existence since 1977. The method has become well known through the many books published by A.H. Almaas and the multiple opportunities currently to participate in Diamond Approach retreats throughout the world.
The Diamond Approach path, DA Upper Midwest Group 1, was first introduced at the Christine Center in 1996 by Sr. Johanna Suebert. Since then Groups 2 and 3 were also formed. This new group, DA UMW Group 4, is an open group, accepting new students for the next few years. The current teachers have been active members of the school and the DA UMW Group 1 since 1996, were ordained in 2016-2017 and live and practice in various places in the Midwest.
Meet the Teachers
Jim Lockridge
Diamond Approach Teacher
Jim Lockridge has spent his life exploring two great frontiers: the outer world of science and the inner world of the spirit. A student of the Diamond Approach since 1998, he began teaching in 2012 and was ordained in 2017. His spiritual journey began early, at age 14, when his exposure to Catholicism sparked a deeper search for meaning. Although his time within the Church was brief, it opened the door to a lifelong exploration that led him through many paths before he found a lasting home in the Diamond Approach. Alongside this inner journey, Jim pursued a 40-year career as a research scientist—though for him, inquiry was never confined to the lab. Whether in science or spirituality, his work has always been guided by curiosity, discovery, and a passion for truth. Now retired from scientific research, Jim dedicates himself fully to helping others explore the depths of their own experience and uncover the truth of who they are.
Kathleen Graham, RN, MS, she/her
Diamond Approach Teacher
As a student of the Diamond Approach since 1996 and teacher of the Diamond Approach since 2016, I work with individual students and I am part of the teaching team for Midwest DA group 4. My career, prior to being a Diamond Approach teacher, was in Oncology as an advanced practice nurse. From the earliest days of attending Diamond Approach retreats I have been so impacted by the open hearted sensitivity of my teachers inviting all inner places that felt so untouchable. As a teacher, I bring this love and passion, and kind holding for every unfolding and deepening truth. I enjoy life itself very much, spending time in nature, hiking, swimming, intrepid world travel, and especially, spending time with my partner and family of the heart.
Kara Vangen, MSW, CHTP, she/hers
Diamond Approach Teacher
Kara is passionate about doing the, “deep inner work” required to show up authentically in life and community and believes that our value and happiness as human beings arises from our ability to illuminate our inner life. She has been a member of the Ridhwan school for 25 years and is an ordained Diamond Approach teacher.
Kara’s professional experience includes front line work as a social worker in community mental health and as a Mental Health Therapist where she combines traditional and complimentary health practices to address mental health. She is co-director of the Cauldron Studies program which centers spiritual practice in both the study of culture and the sacred feminine. She has been teaching and working with others for over 20 years.
2026 Retreat Dates and Venue
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March 12-15 (online)
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May 28-31 (in-person)
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September 17-20 (in-person)
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December 3-6 (online)
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2026 Retreat Dates and Venue
-
-
-
March 12-15 (online)
-
May 28-31 (in-person)
-
September 17-20 (in-person)
-
December 3-6 (online)
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