Showing posts with label stages of spiritual development. Show all posts
Showing posts with label stages of spiritual development. Show all posts

Friday, October 7, 2022

“Secret teachings” of spiritual development.


Some people have asked about the purpose of the UU A Way Of Life blog is. As it is written in the masthead, the mission of UU A Way Of Life is to nurture the spiritual development of people around the world. Nurturing spiritual development implies that there are stages of spiritual development and that there are milestones of spiritual growth. Given this model of spiritual development, it is understandable that UU A Way Of Life is not for everyone. Its purpose is to nurture the spiritual development of people at intermediate and advanced stages of spiritual growth.


In the gnostic literature some of the teachings of Jesus are called “secret.” Jesus would sometimes take one of two of his disciples aside and discuss spiritual matters which were not meant for the majority of people. These teachings were not “secret” in the sense that they were hidden from anyone, but in the sense that they were over the heads of people not capable of understanding them because they had not mastered the prerequisite knowledge. A good teacher does not give 8th grade material to 3rd graders. The 8th grade material is not secret in the sense of hidden but in the sense that it is not appropriate given the level of understanding of the students.


If we conceived of the level of spiritual development as beginner, intermediate, advanced, post graduate, the UU A Way of Life blog is not meant for beginners but for people at the intermediate, advanced and postgraduate levels.


In our current society in the United States the level of spiritual development of the population is very low. 50% of the population have not even begun a spiritual journey. They are still asleep as the spiritual literature describes. Maybe 30% have started seeking for spiritual truth and meaning and are at beginner level.15% may be at an intermediate level, and 5% are at advanced and post graduate level.


What are the stages of spiritual development? One model will be described in our next post. In the meantime, if you are reading this most likely you have embarked on your spiritual journey seeking truth and meaning beyond any one religious tradition. It is helpful in this journey to have a map otherwise the traveler can just wander and get lost.


To be continued


Sunday, February 20, 2022

Understanding of "God" depends on one's stage of development.

 



The understanding of god depends on one's stage of development. Just as children believe in an anthropomorphic Santa who judges them naughty or nice and depending on the outcome of the assessment may bring gifts or coal, people at low levels of development understand god as an anthropomorphically imagined person.

As one's level of spiritual development rises, God is no longer seen as a person but an energy. 

God is a verb not a noun. 

Until our cultural understanding of god shifts in this direction homo sapiens will continue to have difficulty creating a teleological understanding of our responsibility for co-creation as we continue our evolutionary journey towards sanctification of all existence.

Tuesday, March 27, 2018

UU AWOL podcast, Episode 6, Stages of faith development, Milestone 1, Trust and Faith

UUAWOL postcast is also available on Itunes and other podcast distributors. Look under "Unitarian Universalism: A Way Of Life.

Monday, March 19, 2018

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