12.11.07
The Spiritual Stages are Not a Rating System - by Margaret Johnston
The spiritual stage a person has reached is not to be viewed judgmentally. Spiritual stage is just another area in which individuals have progressed to different levels. It is no different than saying so and so is a concert pianist. We generally accept that some people are going to be more accomplished pianists than others. That does not mean they are better people, better fathers, more intelligent, etc. They are just more skilled at that one particular activity.
Well, in the case of religion, it is more emotionally charged than say piano playing. And it’s not that I am in favor of more rating systems……but the problem is in our society, we repeatedly see people at the lower skill level insisting they are at the top – the ONLY ones who have the truth. Further they insist everyone else is evil – or else eternally damned. Well, that is where knowing about these stages could come in handy.
If you hear a fundamentalist insisting you will be damned if you don’t adopt his particular faith, all you need do is think what stage he is at (Stage Two,) smile with compassion and move on. When you read the recent atheist manifestos, all you need do is realize their writers are at Stage Three and that puts everything they say into place. They have moved beyond the need for a mythic god, but have not yet realized that the god some people are talking about is not a paternalistic singular being in the sky waiting to judge us for infractions of faith.
When you see a Stage One lying, cheating or stealing his way to the top - or the bottom, depending how skilled he is at reaching his goals - all you need do is realize the underlying sense of fear and inadequacy that motivates him and you can feel less critical and less shocked.
If you are lucky enough to meet any true Stage Fours, or find you are in the process of becoming one yourself, then you can work to encourage that type of spirituality in yourself and others.
It would not be a good society if everyone were a Stage Four. But it would surely do the world good to move everyone up just one stage. Assuming everyone has to move through the stages in sequence, wouldn’t it be great if fewer people got stuck at the lower stages so the critical mass of society was at a higher stage than they are now?
That is why I am writing all this. I just want people to have perspective about these stages. It really does help understand what you see going on in the world.