pathy.rb

class Hash
  def gather(field = :all, options)
    unless options[:in].nil?
      values = options[:in].inject(self) do |memo, field|
        memo[field]
      end.map do |hash|
        hash[field] if hash.key? field
      end

      values.select! { |value| options[:only].call value } if options[:only]
      values.reject! { |value| options[:not].call value } if options[:not]
      return values
    end
  end
end

$example_data = { profile:
  { name: "Kurtis Rainbolt-Greene",
    age: 24,
    friends: [
      { name: "Jason Wilhelm", age: 25 },
      { name: "John Numaker", age: 29 },
      { name: "Johnson Reed", age: 14 }
    ]
  }
}

conditions = ->(value) { value.include? "John" }
$example_data.gather :name, in: [:profile, :friends], only: conditions