What Is Spiritual Growth

So you wanna know, what is spiritual growth? I guess it's going to be something that's defined differently for different people, though there will be a few unifying threads through all the definitions.

I feel that spiritual growth can be understood as the development of a person as a complete being, comprising mind, body and spirit, and particularly the development that brings the spirit into greater integration with the rest. I don't think that's a complete definition, though.

I don't think it's a complete definition because when someone is undergoing spiritual growth they may not necessarily feel identified with developing their integration with their spirit. I know I was personally on a path of very intense spiritual growth during a time when I was atheist and would have laughed at the concept of spirit. (In the end I had to accept the validity of it, though, as nothing else came to fit in the model of personal growth I was developing).

To make a complete definition of spiritual growth we're going to have to identify what exactly it means to get more in connection with your spirit, and indeed, what the spirit itself is.

What Is The Spirit?

First, what is the spirit? This is a slightly tricky concept to define but imagine this.

Your spirit is your true self. Beyond all your accumulated concepts of who you are, the spirit is who you are. It's your awareness and pure, unfettered essence. It's undefined, formless and in effect limitless, though you will be able to sense its presence if you learn to become sensitive.

We have to realise we don't really “have” a spirit. We are a spirit. We “have” a body. But, that's something you come to realise and integrate through spiritual growth ;)

So our body is like a receiver for our spirit. Our brain, while doing some information processing, is mostly like a radio that pulls in the spirit signals, letting the spirit operate the body.

Or you could say that the body is like a glove. The brain is like the opening of that glove, and through it enters the spirit, which is what's really alive in the whole hand-glove setup.

When you die, need I say, your spirit continues on and may later enter a new glove as needed. There's scientific and anecdotal evidence for this, but as it's not mainstream you might need to do a little work to dig it up.

What Does Spiritual Growth Involve?

Now imagine that the spirit doesn't have a perfect time of controlling its glove. Perhaps the glove is tricky to move, inflexible, and seemingly has a mind of its own. Spiritual growth would be the spirit learning to meld with and perfectly inhabit the glove – or rather, the glove becoming a perfect vessel for the spirit. Or rather, both becoming one.

We would call the “glove” the mind and body, from the mind-body-spirit framework. The mind is the earthly part of our consciousness. It can be useful for processing information, but what it does most of the time is take up so much of our awareness that the spirit can't enter our body.

The thing is, we think we *are* the mind. So the spirit seems almost threatening. Stop paying so much attention to the mind and give it all up to the spirit? No way!

Spiritual growth means coming to terms with who you really are. Seeing as you never were the mind, thinking you were has brought you dysfunction. Dysfunction is your wake-up call, letting you know that something is wrong. Spiritual growth comes about when you follow your instinct to find something more, answers if you will.

Finding The Meaning Of Life

But answers to what? At first the mind doesn't know this. It's a new sensation to be pulled by the urges of something that goes beyond logic or the desires of your body or social conditioning.

What is the meaning of life? The mind would never ask this. It only looks for ways to survive, to attack or defend, or to get what it wants.

But the spirit would ask, “Survive to what end? What is worth surviving for? What is my deepest impulse, what would be the truest expression of me?”

For the spirit, things aren't seen in terms of “doing this to get this”. Though results are often expected from one's actions, the primary focus becomes being – and becoming.

Being what? Being spirit. Becoming what? Becoming more of spirit, or rather removing obstacles (imperfections in the glove) that prevent the expression of spirit.

What we do becomes an expression of who we are – and even joy becomes not an end in itself but an understanding of what we are. Joy is recognising the perfect truth.

At first, the mind will ask how to get there. How to get to the perfect destination. Then, the spirit will let you know that you don't need to achieve anything or go anywhere. There is nothing to be achieved, nothing to be desired – only obstacles to be removed to expressing the truth of who we are. When that happens, perfection is revealed.

So that's what spiritual growth is. At first, a search for perfection. Then, a search for answers as the mind's previous ways of doing things break down. Finally, no search – just being and becoming, and expressing ever deeper layers of natural perfection.

See Also: Spiritual Teacher Eckhart Tolle

You can also check out my website for more stuff on spirituality, lifestyle and saving the world: Andrew Gubb's Blog - Indigo Children and Adults, Lightworkers, and Saving The World