An element that can be missing from political analyses is that of spiritual development. We have created a world that reflects our level of consciousness. Growth into new levels will not automatically solve our many interdependent, ever-worsening social problems, but deeper, wider perspectives may allow solutions to become possible.
As Scott Peck has said, "Everyone has an explicit or implicit set of ideas and beliefs as to the essential nature of the world."
In order to have a realistic world view, ""we must constantly revise and extend our understanding to include new knowledge of the larger world." He adds that failing to rise above the influence of our particular culture or conditioned paradigm easily leads to a world full of conflict. Each person tends to believe her particular world view is correct. It is difficult to see the boundaries of one's worldview or perceptual lens, simply because one is immersed within it.
James Fowler and Peck have described a 4-fold model of spiritual growth in an intriguing way.
Stage I: Anti-social/Chaotic
In this stage a being is self-focused with little capacity to see beyond the needs and wants of one's own self. People in this stage are largely focused on gratifying their own needs even if it hurts others. Traits can include chaotic, defiant, disordered, and reckless behavior. Persons residing in this stage are often exploitative, self-centered in the extreme, and have little or no development of empathy for others. It is not unusual for such people to create a facade, projecting the impression that this is not the case. Many adults who are unable to grow beyond Stage 1 become criminals; some become politicians.
Stage II: When we are able to grow beyond this more primitive, boundary-less phase we enter into stage 2, which can be described as "Formal" or Institutional ("Bounded").
This stage involves being part of a religious tribe or community. In contrast to chaos, in Stage 2 there are clear boundaries of both belief and behavior, centered around an authoritythe pope, the Church, the Scripture, the tradition. Institutions provide a sense of stability. If this sense of stability takes the form of a church or religious observance, persons locked in Stage 2 thinking may become extremely upset - and in extreme cases, violent - when their beliefs are questioned.
People at Stage 2 tend to see God as an external, transcendent Being. They have very little understudying of the immanent, indwelling God - what Quakers and other wisdom traditions refer to as the Inner Light. The contradiction to which they have become habituated is that they simultaneously believe in an all-loving God and also feel He possessesand will useextreme punitive power (in the Bible demanding that "His" faithful slaughter men, women and children). It is not uncommon for such people to rationalize their own sadism or destructiveness based on this model.
Many "fundamentalists" and religious (Christian, Jewish, Hindu) extremists have not grown beyond this stage. Moreover, a great many "good, law-abiding citizens" never transition beyond this phase. Although limitations are necessary for living in community, those whose growth is arrested at Stage 2 often are severely limited in their ability to think for themselves, and to be flexible enough to communicate with and live comfortably with those different than oneself.
Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
2
