As a writer on the stages of spiritual develoment I like to point out to those interested in such development that there is a difference between personal growth and spiritual growth. One isn't to be considered better than the other. Each is required and there is a kind of paradoxical relationship between these two aspects of human development. Paradoxically speaking the primary energy is spiritual but the expansion in spirituality occurs within a well developed sense of the individual.
The most effective way that I have found to describe these two distinct aspects of personal and spiritual growth is through the system I describe as the Way of the Chakra's. This is a universal map of personal and spiritual development. In this map there are shown to be seven main Chakras or energy centers.
1. The Root Chakra.
2. The Sacral Chakra.
3. The Solar Plexus Chakra.
4. The Heart Chakra.
5. The Throat Chakra.
6. The Brow Chakra.
7. The Crown Chakra.
Generally speaking the first of the three Chakra's are engaged with the process of an integrated persona. This integration involves the work of becoming grounded in the body. This requires the integration of inner opposition and the facility to use the individual will in the service of the ego. This is that aspect of the work of personal development focused in building clear ego bounds. This is so that in the second part of the personal and spiritual journey the individual can invite the Divine to move and, more and more, inform one's purpose and passion.
The middle Chakra is the heart Chakra. This is the bridge between the personal and the universal. With clear ego boundaries one begins to expand such limits. This is achieved from a sense of letting go and letting Love be the driving force in the life of the individual. The ego is not then the enemy. The ego becomes an alliance of the will with the willingness to become all that Creation created the individual to be. There isn't a sense that the ego is something that needs to be got rid off. We see the absence of clear ego boundaries within people who have serious psychological illness.
There may be a problem with the ego should the individual over identify with this aspect of who they think they are. In such a situation the focus on their individual self can become a kind of addiction. Then the work of personal expansion can in many ways become a compulsion rather than an expansion into higher stages of spiritual development.
Personal growth moves into spiritual growth when the individual moves deeper into a process, not of achievement, but of surrender. The more developed stages of spiritual development are stages of deeper and deeper trust in the process of surrender that expands the ego into infinity. This process is said to be where the dewdrop merges with the ocean. I like to think it is where the Ocean of Oneness merges with the dewdrop of individuality. That seems much more mysterious, magical and miraculous.
The most effective way that I have found to describe these two distinct aspects of personal and spiritual growth is through the system I describe as the Way of the Chakra's. This is a universal map of personal and spiritual development. In this map there are shown to be seven main Chakras or energy centers.
1. The Root Chakra.
2. The Sacral Chakra.
3. The Solar Plexus Chakra.
4. The Heart Chakra.
5. The Throat Chakra.
6. The Brow Chakra.
7. The Crown Chakra.
Generally speaking the first of the three Chakra's are engaged with the process of an integrated persona. This integration involves the work of becoming grounded in the body. This requires the integration of inner opposition and the facility to use the individual will in the service of the ego. This is that aspect of the work of personal development focused in building clear ego bounds. This is so that in the second part of the personal and spiritual journey the individual can invite the Divine to move and, more and more, inform one's purpose and passion.
The middle Chakra is the heart Chakra. This is the bridge between the personal and the universal. With clear ego boundaries one begins to expand such limits. This is achieved from a sense of letting go and letting Love be the driving force in the life of the individual. The ego is not then the enemy. The ego becomes an alliance of the will with the willingness to become all that Creation created the individual to be. There isn't a sense that the ego is something that needs to be got rid off. We see the absence of clear ego boundaries within people who have serious psychological illness.
There may be a problem with the ego should the individual over identify with this aspect of who they think they are. In such a situation the focus on their individual self can become a kind of addiction. Then the work of personal expansion can in many ways become a compulsion rather than an expansion into higher stages of spiritual development.
Personal growth moves into spiritual growth when the individual moves deeper into a process, not of achievement, but of surrender. The more developed stages of spiritual development are stages of deeper and deeper trust in the process of surrender that expands the ego into infinity. This process is said to be where the dewdrop merges with the ocean. I like to think it is where the Ocean of Oneness merges with the dewdrop of individuality. That seems much more mysterious, magical and miraculous.
About the Author:
Tony Cuckson promotes and writes courses related to stages of personal and spiritual growth. He specializes in sharing maps for the journey of personal and spiritual development including The Way of the Chakra's. To discover more about these various maps of personal growth and spiritual development visit http://www.tonycuckson.com
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