So, you are onboard with the idea that you are on a spiritual journey. Great! What is next? Is there a map for this journey? Or do we just stumble along, hoping the path opens up for us? Frankly, probably a little of both. Whether we are aware of it or not, the Holy Spirit inspires us forward and, God willing, some people or faith communities can be intentional guides for next steps. And some of these people have created maps.
Over the centuries people have noticed that there are standard developmental stages which all humans go through on their spiritual journeys. These stages are related to the evolution of our consciousness. One example explaining the steps of the spiritual journey is St. Teresa of Avila’s book, Interior Castle which she wrote in 1577. There are numerous other examples, and the number of stages vary, but there are observable parallels between them. Spiritual growth always has been, and continues to be, a critical part of the human journey.
Today I like to offer you a brief outline of the stages of spiritual development as outlined by Jim Marion in his book Putting on the Mind of Christ. One of the interesting things that Marion points out is that these spiritual/consciousness stages are found both in individuals, as well as in cultures. In other words, entire groups of people can also be at a particular level of spiritual development. I certainly have noticed this in various churches where I have visited or served. Some parishes are more, and some less, spiritually advanced. Marion says this also can hold true with entire regions or nations.
I’d like to emphasize that spiritual development is not the same as intellectual development. There are many smart, educated people who are beginners on the spiritual journey, and many simple, uneducated people who are advanced. And vice versa. There is little correlation between the two conditions.
Jim Marion begins by noting these four principles which he says “govern the spiritual path from start to finish.”
1. All growth in consciousness is a process of inner realization.
2. All inner realizations are the result of personal experience ‘meditated upon’ in some fashion.
3. All growth in consciousness is a lessening of self-centeredness, a ‘death’ to the old self-centered way of looking at the world and a simultaneous ‘rebirth’ into a lesser self-centered way of seeing things.
4. As a person’s consciousness goes up the spiritual ladder from level to level, the person’s consciousness becomes less and less attached to (i.e,: stuck in or defined by) physical matter.”
Other important points Marion makes are:
“The levels of consciousness can overlap to some extent; for example, one level can begin before another has completely finished.”
“Each level of consciousness will be less egocentric than the last, and each new level will find the mind of the person freer of the limitations of matter.”
“Things can go wrong at every level,” delaying the process.
Each level includes and transcends the level before it. Each level is necessary and a building block for the steps to come. Each level is important.
“As Jesus pointed out, the path can get difficult, misunderstood, and controversial the farther one’s own consciousness begins to go beyond the level realized by one’s family, community, co-religionists, and culture (Luke 14:26). His experience on the cross shows this.”
These are the levels of spiritual development in humans:
1) The Archaic Consciousness of Infants
It is a time when we come to recognize that we are both physically and emotionally separate from our mother and other parts of the physical world. We come to recognize that the universe contains more than us. A failure to make this separation results in narcissism.
2) The Magical Consciousness of Children
It is a time when we are taken with gods, demons, fairies and other creatures of a polytheistic world. “The child’s consciousness is still ego centric and believes the outside world revolves around the self.” “The child at this stage will develop magical beliefs.” “Magical consciousness is one in which the child cannot clearly distinguish between its own emerging mental images and symbols and the external world.”
3) Mythic Consciousness – Pre-Adolescence
This is “a conformist, law-and-order level in which everything in the child’s parochial world is seen as ‘true’ and ‘the best.’ The child learns to define itself by conventional rules and roles and sees its self-worth in following these ‘laws’ and in behaving properly.” Follow the laws and you are ‘good,’ break them and you are ‘bad.’ “God exists primarily to fulfill the child’s narcissistic wants,” if the child is ‘good.’ Tolerance for other points of view is not possible. For mythic conscious adults, “others” threaten their “externally defined sense of worth.” “The Christian adult who is stuck in mythic consciousness will see the followers of other religions (or other ‘isms’ such as Marxism or feminism) as ‘evil’ and probably headed for hell.” “A large number of Christian adults, including many Christian leaders… are still predominantly stuck in the rigidities and separation of mythic consciousness.”
4) Rational Consciousness
This is the dominant level of consciousness in our society. Here one must be able to “handle abstract ideas and grasp universal principles.” One uses logic. A rational spirituality allows one to critique conventional rules and roles of society, allowing one to “creatively envision an alternative and better future.” “The development of reason…will allow [one] to begin to understand universally applicable spiritual truths, such as those taught by Jesus, and to distinguish these universal truths from the merely sectarian.” One starts “to use reason to interpret Christian myths and/or they emphasize the more rational aspects of Christianity.” They tend to discount the transcendent. “To the mythic believer, [those with a rational spirituality] have ‘lost the faith.’” While those with a rational spirituality have actually grown. “Like Jesus, they have become more tolerant, less judgmental, more compassionate, more inclusive, less fearful, less aggressive, and more universally loving. Like Jesus, they have more faith in the action of the Spirit within their psyche and in life itself than those who worry about being punished by God for breaking the moral and other rules of their denomination or society.”
Wow! This entry is taking much longer to write than I expected! I will stop here for the night and finish up the next five levels next week. Although if you can’t wait, I highly recommend picking up a copy of Marion’s book yourself. My outline only scratches the surface.
While it’s more fun to write my own stuff, I feel this outline of the levels is critically important for where we are going. Having a map for the journey ahead helps.
“We find stumbling-blocks everywhere; for we are afraid of everything, and so dare not go farther, as if we could arrive at these Mansions by letting others make the journey for us! That is not possible, my sisters; so, for the love of God, let us make a real effort … our own task is only to journey with good speed so that we may see God.” – Teresa of Avila
All other quotes are from:
Marion, J. W. (2000). Putting on the Mind of Christ: The Inner Work of Christian Spirituality. Hampton Roads Publishing Company.
Photo by Ashley Batz on Unsplash
I received The Miraculous Green Scapular of Our Blessed Mother, started wearing it. Shortly after, I discovered my lost ancestor I have been searching for in US, Caribbean and Europe for 48 years---thank you Blessed Mother for sending me the Miraculous Green Scapular !!!
I love this book! Thanks so much, Stephanie!!