Spiritual Growth – a peek inside
Spiritual growth is our transformation. “Spiritual growth is a process of awakening to one’s inner self, exploring the deeper meanings of life, and establishing a connection with something greater than oneself, which is understood as the divine, the universe, nature, or one’s higher self.” – Ministry Brands
In this blog article series, we first look inward.
Reference verse:
“So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.” – 1 Corinthians 3:7 (NRSV)
One thing about publishing online is it keeps you humble. You throw your words to the wind and never know what God does with them. Witnessing people changing or growing, or seeing how their lives are enriched, is not something you experience.
You never get to beat your chest and say, “I did that!” It’s like my first job in radio, speaking to a microphone and never seeing the audience. You need the confidence your work is worthwhile. My wife says I’m full of confidence … and other things.
We who write for others may be facilitators, but spiritual growth and building faith only come from God in a willing individual. Well, I’m not always so willing, but it works anyway.
Is spiritual growth a bunion on your foot?
In some of my early years as a Christian, I thought so. I thought we should remove the Book of Hebrews and anything James said from the Bible. They were about helping others. I was happy to help others, but isn’t being a Christian about salvation only? Walking through their words was painful. Yeah, I was set up for spiritual growth. Big time.
What is spiritual growth? I don’t define. I describe so there aren’t limitations and growth can occur from discovery. What do I know anyway, having researched and experienced this for many decades?
Others are bolder, and their definitions aren’t the same.
“… the process of developing self-identity, nurturing meaningful relationships with others and/or with a higher power, communing with nature, and recognizing transcendence and unity.”
– https://transformationalnutrition.com/blog/spirituality-of-nutrition/spiritual-growth/
“Spiritual growth is the journey of growing in faith to know more about God and become the person that He created you to be.” “Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18, New International Version) – https://www.cru.org/us/en/train-and-grow/spiritual-growth/how-to-grow-spiritually.html
The spiritual can be all of these things. It’s not a force that controls you. You’re not possessed or insane and hearing things. It’s not like you’re erasing your identity or who you are and what you like. You’re growing to be the unique person God created you to be, a much fuller person who gains a richer life.
You’re growing in knowledge, experience, and compelled by ideas that don’t originate in you except as you integrate knowledge and experience. Well, that was a mouthful of bunion.
In search of self: inward discovery and growth
Who are we? We’re multifaceted beings because many factors shape who we are. Some are within our control (intrinsic), and some are beyond our control (extrinsic). Nature and nurture.
We laughed to ourselves at one of our children who was always conforming on the outside, sitting down on demand, but inside she was still standing up. She was much like her parents. My wife would get sent to her room. She enjoyed the solitude and reading. When she tired of being there, she would go apologize, not sorry at all. It’s the pleasure principle at work. Seek immediate gratification and avoid pain.
Our life experiences shape who we are. Painful experiences either teach us not to do the thing that causes pain, or pleasant experiences teach us to do pleasurable things. Some animals will eat until they flounder and die. Artificially stimulate the pleasure center of mice brains with electrodes and they will continue to do those activities endlessly.
Our three children differed from birth. Nature. Their paths through life have made them even more unique. Nurture.
From the point of view of personal psychology, we’re the ones who are totally responsible for our lives and our choices. No one else is responsible. There is much truth in that, and we are ultimately responsible for ourselves. But as we’ll see later in this series, while we may appreciate being fiercely independent individuals, we’re shaped more by the outside world than we think.
From survival and pleasure to meaning and purpose
Psychiatrist Viktor Frankl, who lost his career, freedom, and family to Nazi concentration camps, ultimately realized that “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms — to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” He created Logotherapy, which is about finding meaning in life.
We all search for meaning in life. We try to connect the dots to find narratives in events in our lives (make stories) that help us understand why things happen to us. And we want to do things that are meaningful to us. We want to be connected to a higher purpose.
Attitudes give us meaning for better or worse
Our attitudes shape how we react to everything in life. Like I said, I’m not always willing. Sometimes I choose to beat my head on unmovable things for a long time.
If we allow ourselves, we learn to appreciate other things that give us pleasure or assure our future.
Becoming who we are
Most of us are always becoming. We start our life with a set of interests and talents, then as we move through life, we gain many more. Things I thought I would never be interested in became interests. I disliked economics, business, history, geometry, and many other things. Now I appreciate them and sometimes study them.
I even find “finding your inner child” to be of little merit. Few of us remain as we were as children. I fondly remember playing on the road’s border outside my grandmother’s home, making roads, homes, and subdivisions in the gravel and tree roots. As an adult, I have done that (designed subdivisions, built houses) and enjoyed it, but it’s not who I aspire to be.
Technology is more of a hobby. Doing it full-time becomes boring and unfulfilling. I enjoy working with people. Usually. I find certain aspects enjoyable, but that’s the same for any job.
I admire those who know from youth what they aspire to be and have fulfilling careers. Most don’t. I still don’t know what I aspire to be when I grow up, but I’m appreciating the lengthy journey with new discoveries at every turn. Turns out I thrive on variety and creativity.
My careers went from radio announcer talking to people, to field engineer in electrical in the radio, power, and medical fields, to working with people as a minister and counselor. Every once in a while, I get to “play in the dirt again.”
“Becoming,” or our never-ending transformation is expressed well in the U2 song, “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.” It’s about the ongoing search for meaning or transcendence in life, often interpreted as a reflection on spiritual doubt and the continuous quest for something greater, even when it feels elusive; the lyrics express both hope and a sense of not yet finding that ultimate fulfillment, with the emphasis on the word “still” highlighting the ongoing nature of this search.
As someone who works with attitude psychology (social psychology), I find it very difficult to ignore the influence the world has on each of us. We tend to define ourselves as either for or against many things in this world. Without that, we’re only walking in a wilderness experiencing pleasure and pain.
We don’t live in this world alone. We have relationships with others and this is where our true selves are revealed and subject to processing from the meat grinder of life. This is the subject of the next post in this series.
Conclusion
Dr. Maya Spencer, in the Royal College of Psychiatrists, summed it up well:
“Spirituality involves the recognition of a feeling or sense or belief that there is something greater than myself, something more to being human than sensory experience and that the greater whole of which we are part is cosmic or divine in nature.
“Spirituality means knowing that our lives have significance in a context beyond a mundane everyday existence at the level of biological needs that drive selfishness and aggression.
“It means knowing that we are a significant part of a purposeful unfolding of Life in our universe. Spirituality involves exploring certain universal themes – love, compassion, altruism, life after death, wisdom and truth ….”
In the rest of the series, we look at spiritual moral development: moral growth, outward growth, and then transcendent spirituality.
Probability Space
What probability spaces can we open in our minds to consider what it means to be here, and what attitudes prevent us from being more connected?
Potential Space
If you think creatively and allow your mind to wander and explore, how can we be more connected to others and God?
Series links
Is Religion Spiritual or Stuck in Comfort?
The Life-Giving Power of Spiritual Development
Alley Cats to Angels: Spiritual Growth Transformative Power
Discerning Truth in a World of Spiritual Ideas
Can We Trust the Mystics and Prophets?
Hey! How can churches minister to new generations if they won’t come to church?
Our bucket has had a hole in it since 1925. We can’t find the plug!
I developed and presented a course on understanding and working with new generations. I would like to say I had rave reviews, but on a scale of 1 to 5 it averaged 4.5. Well, some of the people were raving.
The course helps people understand new generations, their values, and their differences. It helps people understand how to build a bridge to them and minister to them. The old worn-out things we used to do don’t work, and for good reason.
This solutions focused course enables people to find new ways, appropriate ways, to minister to these generations in their local circumstances. It’s for church groups and creates deep discussion.
Free video preview of the course:
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I Would love to hear from you in the comments below. This helps me improve my work.
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My friend, David Ketcherside, a former Christian broadcaster, has written a book series that I gave feedback on. It’s for men, written from his experience, thoughtful analysis, and heart. Gen A, Z, and X (Millennials) would find it very helpful. It’s available in print, on Kindle, and as an audiobook on Audible. Check out The Whole Dude. His description: “I hope to remind readers what being whole looks like, and help them recognize the distortions that stop us from feeling totally awesome all the time.” He’s also excellent at marketing if you have marketing needs.
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– Dorian
Our answer is God. God’s answer is us. Together we make the world better.
Restore and recreate. Take time to celebrate life. Laugh, sing, and dance regularly, even every day. Happy. This is why we dance to celebrate life: Reindeer actually running and dancing.
Civic service opportunities
Do Unto Others Kindness Campaign, and civic engagement.
United Methodist Church Volunteer Opportunities.
Join or support Zero Hour and amplify the voices of youth organizing for climate action.
Peoples Hub. Resistance, Resilience, Restoration, Re-imagination. Online Popular Education. For movement workers to learn, connect, collaborate, and strategize – in and across the disability justice and solidarity economy movements.
Stakeholder Capitalism – a video podcast series from the World Economic Forum. Can capitalism be made to work for all of us – and to improve rather than destroy the state of the planet?
General service and aid opportunities (on One Spirit Resources Website). To add your service opportunity to the One Spirit Resources list, contact the author (me) through Facebook Messenger. Note that I only friend people I know.
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Education Opportunities for New Generations
Becoming an Entrepreneur – MITx online
Evaluating Social Programs – MITx online
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Bible scripture verses are New American Standard Version (NASB), unless noted.
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Author and books
Appease the Volcano: What does God require from people? The voices of the ancients from many religions echo much of the same things: It starts with law, then mercy and forgiveness, then love. Love is a major emphasis in all major religions and replaces law.
The Prophetic Pattern: Ancient and Modern Prophecy: How to distinguish the intent of various types of prophecies and oracles, both ancient and modern.
Preparing For the Future Of Work and Education: Analysis of the kinds of jobs that AI and Robotics will displace, and the educational requirements for them. AI will replace or augment thirty percent of jobs. This is an in-depth analysis citing many authoritative sources.
Author Website: Dorian Scott Cole
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