Kristen Finlayson

There are several maps that help you along the path of personal and spiritual development. The path of spiritual development I invite you along is that shared by the writer Jim Marion in his book Putting on the Mind of Christ. In this book the writer Jim Marion outlines eight stages of personal and spiritual development as summarized below.

1. The Archaic Consciousness of Children

The first level is the archaic. This normally lasts into the third year of the child's life. The infant's first spiritual endeavor is to fully identify with its own own body as distinct from mother and then from all other physical objects.

2. The Magic Consiousness of Children

Around the age of two years another spiritual passage starts. The young child's mind begins to develop as something apart from its physical experience. A child of this age is sometimes not able to distinguish the difference between what is contained in its mind and the contents of the outer world.

3. Mythic Consciousness - Pre-Adolesence

Mythic level consciousness is the stage of awareness of the young person from the age of seven into adolescence. The mythic level of consciousness begins what are called the mental phases of consciousness development. The young child begins to defind himself within everyday rules and roles and determines his or her self-worth in abiding by these agreed upon rules and adopting appropriate behavior.

4. Rational Consciousness

The rational level of consciousness is the dominant level of consciousness. In today's world the passage from mythic consciousness into rational consciousness is the most important spiritual work of adolescence. Young adolescents encounter harsh difficulty when the religious group they belong to have problems understanding this passage and make an attempt to keep teenagers at the mythic level of understanding.

5 Vision Logic Consciousness

The mental stage of Vision Logic consciousness is the highest level of the three mental levels of spiritual development. More and more leaders in various fields are crossing into this level of consciousness. The passage into this level of consciousness however, is viewed as threatening and is being resisted by many fundamentalists of every religious persuasion whose consciousness wishes to remain at the mythic level of consciousness.

6 Psychic Consciousness

The primary characteristic of the psychic level of consciousness is that one begins to be more identified with the inner witness. The experience of the inner witness, which is recognized by all serious meditator's, is the part of the self beyond the form of the body, the emotions and mind. It is beyond the frontal personality by which means we move in space and time. This inner witness has been called the real Self. As we start to transit into the psychic level of consciousness we will step by step get even more conscious of guidance arriving from outside the experience of the five physical senses.

7. Subtle Consciousness

The subtle stage of spiritual awareness is the final phase of consciousness of the human personality. This is the last level at which one is attached to being human. Whenever we experience rebirth into this new level of consciousness we are reborn into a new state of being. In this new level of consciousness we mostly feel that we have returned home. We feel more psychologically whole. We gain a clearer system of beliefs. We come closer to the core values of all true wisdom teachings. It is at the subtle level of consciousness that we begin, to finally become a true individual. This is the method by which an individual becomes spiritually and psychologically whole, unique and full of inner beauty.

8. The Causal Level

Now we come to the eighth level of spiritual awareness This is the stage called causal consciousness. This is the first level of spiritual awareness of the human, not as a human personality, but as an awakened divinity. This stage of spiritual development is accompanied by a deep peace at the center of our being. That which is our "inner house" is no longer divided against itself but is now being re-organized into a well functioning whole. Emotionally we will notice at the causal level of consciousness a gentle unfolding of a great inner warmth. Other people notice it too. These stages of spiritual awareness are not something that you achieve. We do not lack any of these. This map of the stages of spiritual awareness is merely to assist us in becoming more aware of who we already are.

This map of the stages of spiritual development assists our becoming the fullness of Love in form that we, in truth, have always been and are forever more.