What really is spiritual development?

[pf2222]

Originally Posted by iamthat

I consider spiritual development as the journey from identification with personality to identification with Consciousness. We then function through a Soul-infused personality.

The next stage is identification with Being, where the Soul-infused personality becomes an expression of Spirit.

Peace.

can you elaborate on janielee's question for further discussion :)

[iamthat]

Originally Posted by janielee

I admit that I really hate all these different words - Soul! Spirit! Consciousness! Being!

Who knows who means what? Right?

Regardless of that, can you talk a bit more about how you see the difference between these two stages you mention?

A soul infused personality VERSUS Spirit?

How does that come into being, and how is that really different in your mind?

Thank you

JL

I tend to use Soul and Consciousness interchangeably. Likewise Spirit and Being (or even Monad). I will try to be more consistent.

This is all based on the teachings in the Alice Bailey books which I can relate to from my own experience.

A human being is triple in nature. There is the Monad (our true Being). This expresses itself through individualised Consciousness or the Soul. The Soul incarnates in form through successive personalities. Personality is considered as the mental and emotional nature expressing through a physical body.

For much of our human journey in form these three aspects of Being/Soul/personality are separate. The spiritual path really begins when there is the first conscious contact between Soul and personality.

At this stage we are still mainly identified with personality, but there is some measure of contact with the Soul. This contact increases as we progress on the spiritual journey, primarily through meditation when we turn our backs on the outer world and go within.

There is a long period where identification fluctuates between the familiar patterns of personality and the less familiar nature of Soul. This can be a very difficult time. The outer world no longer satisfies us, but we are not yet established in identification with Soul. We are caught between two worlds.

Gradually we become more stabilised in identification with Soul. We consider ourselves as Consciousness expressing through the mental/emotional/physical patterns of a human body.

At this stage Soul and personality start to merge as Soul consciousness descends into the mental and emotional bodies. This is regarded as a Soul-infused personality. The eventual outcome is that we become Soul consciousness directly expressing itself through the physical body via our particular mental and emotional patterns.

As this is happening, the process is repeating itself on a higher turn of the evolutionary spiral. We make our first conscious contact with Being. The Soul-infused personality is both expressing in the outer world but also learning to rest in Being.

Again, identification fluctuates between the Soul-infused personality and resting in Being. But gradually our identification becomes stabilised in Being. Then, for as long as we remain in human incarnation, our life is Being expressing through the human body, via Soul consciousness and our particular mental and emotional patterns.

In the esoteric tradition there are various initiations associated with successive stages of spiritual development. So the Soul-infused personality is associated with the 3rd initiation and the blending of Being and Soul-infused personality is associated with the 5th initiation. In this tradition the initiate of the 5th degree is considered as a Master.

Peace.

Thanks for your response, iamthat.

Originally Posted by iamthat

There is a long period where identification fluctuates between the familiar patterns of personality and the less familiar nature of Soul. This can be a very difficult time. The outer world no longer satisfies us, but we are not yet established in identification with Soul. We are caught between two worlds.

Gradually we become more stabilised in identification with Soul. We consider ourselves as Consciousness expressing through the mental/emotional/physical patterns of a human body.

At this stage Soul and personality start to merge as Soul consciousness descends into the mental and emotional bodies. This is regarded as a Soul-infused personality. The eventual outcome is that we become Soul consciousness directly expressing itself through the physical body via our particular mental and emotional patterns.

As this is happening, the process is repeating itself on a higher turn of the evolutionary spiral. We make our first conscious contact with Being. The Soul-infused personality is both expressing in the outer world but also learning to rest in Being.

Again, identification fluctuates between the Soul-infused personality and resting in Being. But gradually our identification becomes stabilised in Being. Then, for as long as we remain in human incarnation, our life is Being expressing through the human body, via Soul consciousness and our particular mental and emotional patterns.

It's an odd thing being stuck between two worlds.

JL

[iamthat]

Originally Posted by janielee

Thanks for your response, iamthat.

It's an odd thing being stuck between two worlds.

JL

We all go through it. We have a foot in both worlds, the material world and the spiritual world. We know the things of the world of form will never satisfy us, and yet we are repeatedly drawn back into old familiar habits because we are not yet ready to let go. Eventually we reach a point where we say enough!

Peace.

No one knows for sure,yet we have hats.

Originally Posted by iamthat

We all go through it. We have a foot in both worlds, the material world and the spiritual world. We know the things of the world of form will never satisfy us, and yet we are repeatedly drawn back into old familiar habits because we are not yet ready to let go. Eventually we reach a point where we say enough!

Peace.

My only contention is the job thing, but maybe that's a big thing - survival.

[little.nation]

Originally Posted by pf2222

How do you define it.

All the seeds were planted, in various ways, in different spaces of time. Now, at my current "level" or, better to say, in my current form and condition I am resistant to new seeds.

An action, event, incident or happening can be a planting of a seed. An outpouring or a download can plant a seed. A vision or a dream can plant a seed. A word or a name or a smell or a song or a movie or a book or a city or a town...

Seeds are then grown through exposure, experience, research, contemplation...

There are blooms and fruits and harvest...

Your character, personality, knowledge, culture, outlook, values, skills, priorities are altered.

Soul is known
Spirit is known
Eternity is known

If you're lucky, truth (good truth, not evil) is known.

You might know value and worth.

I sit alone in a room by myself for 11 years and spend most of my time in the dark. Ecclesiastes1:18 speaks for me.

[Busby]

Originally Posted by pf2222

How do you define it.

It's the evolution of the universe from chaos to order. The laws of the universe are there to contain the behaviour of mind and matter leading to a state or condition of fulfilment. There is nothing supernatural anywhere, universal laws suffice.
This universe is just one of many kinds that have been and are still to be.

[lomax]

Originally Posted by John32241

Hi,

I would define it as Self Discovery.

John

A work of many lifetimes,in one line of words.

Well said John

[HITESH SHAH]

Broadly world is made of matter (all that can be seen , heard and measured ) and spirit (invisible all that can be felt) . So is an individual made of matter (body , organs and senses , sub-conscious) and spirit (intellect and soul ) .

As all sense are outward facing and spirit is more internal , there is natural tendency for material orientation and lesser spiritual orientation .So the spiritual development is to have an ideal mix of material orientation (in highest ethical form) and spiritual orientation which let one understand , identify ,appreciate , perpetuate , permeates the spirit within himself/herself and within world . The spiritual orientation has to be more than material orientation . That's where we need meditation . But material orientation has not to be eliminated for it will create unfeasible situations and suppressive spirituality which leads to superstitious and dogmatic practices and eventually bring misery to seekers.

Spiritual development enables one to visualize the invisible in the visible and visible in seemingly invisible . It's not about magic . Its not about whimsical or capricious who also do similar things. It's about visionaries who see for example 'capacity for human to fly in flying bird ' and capacity to see 'aeroplane' in principle of floating object or 'the invisible God ' in every worldy object or 'human God' (like Jesus Christ , Mohammad Paigamber , Krishna, Rama, Buddha etc) in seemingly invisible God . In this sense scientists too are spiritualist .