Introduction
My spiritual journey has enabled me to realize that most spiritual enthusiasts go through five stages of spiritual growth:
What are the Five Stages of Spiritual Growth?
Excitement
Here, spiritual enthusiasts get excited because they believe living a spiritual life will enable them to experience heaven on earth. They become obsessed with spiritual practices such as yoga, meditation, and prayer, believing that they will enable them to live a stress-free life. They even encourage their friends and relatives to embrace spirituality and experience its benefits.
This stage also involves reading every spiritual book and listening to several spiritual lectures. Spiritual enthusiasts believe that doing so will enable them to discover a spiritual secret that will lead to enlightenment and allow them to attain oneness with everything.
Adopting a Positive Perception of Life
In this stage, spiritual enthusiasts adopt a positive attitude towards life after realizing the power of thought. They also believe the world is a beautiful place and wonder why people are stressed in such a fantastic place. They are happy to be alive, they practice gratitude, and believe everything happens in their favor.
Attaining a Sense of Spiritual Superiority
After reading spiritual books and embracing spiritual practices for a while, spiritual enthusiasts might start feeling spiritually superior to others. Their spiritual practices and the information they acquire from books make them believe that they are growing spiritually. They start thinking that they will be more blessed than others and their lives will be better than the lives of the unspiritual. They feel special, thinking that they are aware of many hidden spiritual secrets. They also believe they have experienced all the stages of spiritual growth. Some even believe that God loves them more than other people. Mainly, they feel superior because they believe they have tapped into a deeper understanding of life.
Disappointment
Firstly, disappointment arrives when spiritual enthusiasts realize that unspiritual people are attracting good things in their lives despite ignoring spiritual teachings and practices. This realization makes them wonder whether spirituality is necessary. Secondly, spiritual enthusiasts become disappointed when they face severe hardships and realize that it is hard to have faith in themselves or a Higher Power during difficult times. They become surprised when they realize that they are vulnerable to fear, depression, and stress when hard times hit despite their commitment to spirituality. This realization might sometimes encourage them to give up on spirituality.
Among the five stages of spiritual growth, this is the most important because it leads to humility and surrender.
Wisdom, Trust, and Humility
After experiencing hardships, spiritual enthusiasts learn that hardships are part of life, and they are always followed by good times. They also realize that hardships provide valuable lessons that lead to mental and spiritual growth. Thus, they willingly welcome them, knowing that they will overcome them and acquire spiritual insights from them. Moreover, spiritual enthusiasts become humble, knowing that spirituality does not make them more special than others. Lastly, they continue embracing spiritual practices knowing that a spiritual life makes life bearable.
Concluding Remarks
This article is founded on my spiritual journey. Therefore, although most people might go through these stages of spiritual growth, some might not.
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