http://www.spiritualforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=22989
| angel6m2000 |
| Stages of Spiritual Maturation. I’m taking a class right now on stress management and it has a lot to do with spirituality and the mind/body connection. It is a very interesting class and I am learning so much from it, some of which I already knew (things of the ego and self/Self). Anyways, I’m at a part in my book where there is a diagram. This diagram is the maturation process of spirituality. There are 4 stages: -Chaotic antisocial individual; which is someone who basically has no direction and lives in chaos these people, according to my book, can be very manipulative and cynical. They are an absent of spirituality, avoid self-awareness, and are codependent on others, even though they have very poor relations with others. They often have addictive and abusive personalities. I feel sure no one on this forum is still in this stage. -The formal-institutional individual; These people feel they need guidelines to survive. These guidelines are what helps them build there lives. This stage often happens “overnight”. People tend to either stay in this stage, go back and forth between the first 2 stages, or, from unmet goals, proceed on to the next stage. -The skeptical individual; This person is one that has become tired of not having all the answers. They question the beliefs and values, guidelines of the second stage and look for truth elsewhere. This stage is considered risky but necessary to full spiritual development because you do not have a full anchor but are trying to find the answers in your own way, and at your own pace. -The mystic-communal individual; In this last stage, the person is aware that some questions cannot be answered. They learn to find comfort in the unknown. They realize that God is not only from the external, but from the internal as well. These people see it as a way of life, not a means to an end. Even though this seems like an end to all spiritual maturity, these people realize it is only the beginning of a beautiful journey. I know I am from the last stage, since throughout the past year I have unknowingly been through all the other stages. I have learned to accept all of life, even the negative parts, and take them as they come and learn from them. My question to you is… Which stage are you in? __________________ “..Everything that happens in your life is given for a reason, and it’s our time to learn the awareness of that moment is what life is all about.” |