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I have suggested many ways for evaluating spiritual ideas and systems. There will be a tendency to instantly reject what I have to say about your favorites, because many of my ideas are controversial and may violate your current truths. Can you accept that your instantaneous rejection indicates a bias, a prejudice and/or an unwillingness to look carefully at your current ideas?
I offered in Chapter 2 what I consider the three most useful tools for measuring the spiritual development of leaders and/or followers. They bear repeating/rephrasing:
1. Bodily measurements of tension (blood pressure, heart rate and extremities' temperature) will reveal those who lack inner peace. Measurements of followers are key here; just because the leader might have inner peace does not mean that leader can teach it to others.
2. What gives satisfaction to a person is a good indicator of stage of spiritual development: Stage I = pleasures, Stage II = success, Stage III = service, or Stage IV = freedom from attachment. Again, look at the followers; if many or most are pursuing Stage I pleasures (excitement, fun, peak experiences or anti-authoritarianism), then their spiritual system is suspect.
3. How wide open is the face/smile? A young child can show us the way here. (Note: childishness is not the goal for an adult.)
© 2008 by Thayer White
Finding Your Soul in the Spirituality Maze
| Excerpt from Be Your Own Therapist: "Another subtle traumatic process often occurs when the child decides, consciously or unconsciously, to become just like a parent in one or more ways. Aspects of the child may be completely denied in the copying attempt." |
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