This is the third post in a series on Spiritual Development. Catch up on post 1 and post 2.
As we begin to look more specifically at the stages I’ll again be borrowing heavily from the model put forth by Fr. Richard Rohr, a Franciscan priest who founded the Center for Action and Contemplation.
Stage One: Running Around Naked
My boys don’t like to run naked as much as they used to when they were little. After hopping out of the bath and getting toweled off they used to run around the bedroom, or around the house, comfortable and unashamed in their bodies. At this first stage of our human development, as in the first stage of spiritual development, our body, its image and providing for and protecting it is who we are. Life at this stage is focused on pleasure, security, safety and the defense of our bodies.
Think of an infant. They poop and pee and eat and cuddle, and we think they’re adorable - and they are! There is no shame for them in their everyday bodily functions and they haven’t made life complex by thinking too much. Maybe that’s why we find them so fascinating! They are their bodies, and life is about providing for and protecting them.
This is true for adults at the first stage of spiritual development as well. Morality for adults at this stage is primarily about providing for your group (whatever that group might be – your religion, political affiliation, neighborhood, etc) and securing the superiority of your group. We see this in the endless need for wars and guns, and in little need for arts, culture, education, or contemplative spirituality.
Most people are nudged to the next stage, the second stage of spiritual development, by grace, life, and God. But this transition only happens when they are able to let go of their absolute need for pleasure and security.
Stage Two: What Do They Think Of Me?
At stage two, instead of focusing on pleasure and security, you start to focus on how you look to others. Your identity and security are wrapped up in pleasing and looking good to those in your group. Their acceptance and approval matter most to you.
Most of human history up to now has been at this second stage; this includes those who lived in the time of Jesus. A lot of Jesus’ teaching is focused on this level. His listeners’ lives revolved around external rituals, right beliefs, and purity codes, so most of his teaching started there. But he spoke in new ways - in ways that invited them to consider the shortcomings of this stage. His teachings challenged and encouraged them to move towards the next stage.
Understanding (Or Not Understanding) Other Stages
A stage model of development helps us see one of the challenges in spiritual and basic human maturation: typically the most a person can do is understand people one stage beyond themselves. We view the world in a way that makes sense from our stage of development. This means, that, unfortunately, people at later stages will tend to look ridiculous, or even wrong, heretical, and dangerous.
This also offers us another way of understanding why people like the Old Testament prophets, Jesus, and Martin Luther King, Jr. were killed. Instead of hearing their prophetic messages, they were seen as a threat that had to be eliminated by people at an earlier stage. Take some time to sit with this thought for a while. Try it on and see if it offers you any new insight on how the world operates.
Thankfully those at later stages of spiritual development are able to understand, accept and forgive people at the earlier stages. They remember that they too were once at an earlier stage. This adds to my understanding of Jesus’ words on the cross, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).
A Stage Two Byproduct: The Shadow Self
Because our concern at stage two is to look good on the outside we become very good at hiding or disguising anything that doesn’t fit our image of ourselves. This is the birth of our “shadow self,” as Carl Jung so helpfully called it. Our “shadow self” is the part of us that is hidden – even hidden from ourselves. It is our denied motives, and our real self.
Our shadow self doesn’t like to be exposed. This is why those who seek to expose our shadow and call us to a higher stage can be seen as such a threat. Our shadow self would rather stay hidden – it would never be caught running naked through the living room, even if it was certain that no one else was home.
Next month: more on stage two and what this looks like in cultures today; and what it takes to move us to stage three.
Todd Minturn is the Assistant Director of the Fresno Institute for Urban Leadership (FIFUL) where he provides spiritual formation and pastoral care. He also serves as a cross-cultural training specialist for the Surf & Turf Division. Todd will writing a monthly column on the spiritual life, reflecting on contemplative practices, spiritual disciplines and how these practices sustain us in urban ministry.
