Aug. 1998
Copyright © 1998 by Frances Vaughan. All rights reserved.
Used by the Council on Spiritual Practices with permission.
Stages of spiritual development
Traditional
Christian - Fowler's six stages of faith
Buddhist - Ten ox-herding pictures
Hindu - seven chakras
Sufi - seven levels of self
Psychological
Egocentric
Sociocentric
Worldcentric
Transpersonal
Markers
Presence
Self-awareness
awareness of others
awareness of relationships
authenticity
Emotional transformation
Compassion replacing judgment
Forgiveness replacing anger
Expanding circle of empathic identification
Motivation
inner peace: from fear to love
cultivation of wisdom: from ignorance to understanding
liberation: from bondage to freedom
Process
belief-faith-experience-identification
effort and surrender
attention and intention
setting a sacred intention
self-improvement and self-acceptance
from mystical experience to becoming a mystic
Purpose
relieve suffering
awaken new perceptions of reality
self-realization and self-transcendence
enlightenment
connecting life of mind and spirit with action in the world
Evolution
The spiritual path - aspiring to enlightenment
Involution
Experience-gnosis-manifestation-transmission
For further reading on topics outlined above see:
Vaughan, F. Shadows of the Sacred: Seeing Through Spiritual Illusions. Wheaton, Ill.: Quest Books, 1995. Also Author's Guild Back-in-Print series, www.iUniverse.com.
Vaughan, F. The Inward Arc: Healing in Psychotherapy and Spirituality. 2nd edition. Nevada City, CA.: Blue Dolphin, 1995 Also Author's Guild Back-in-Print series, www.iUniverse.com.
Spiritual Intelligence
Frances Vaughan - 1998
SPIRITUALITY: Subjective experience of the sacred
RELIGION: Creed, community, code of ethics
INTELLIGENCE: Transrational, transpersonal
Includes rational and intuitive modes of knowing
Includes personal and collective sources of wisdom
SPIRITUAL INTELLIGENCE transcends and includes
sense perception
feeling and emotion
discursive reason
intuition
SPIRITUAL INTELLIGENCE suggests
wisdom and compassion
understanding and inner peace
love and freedom
depth and breadth of vision
SPIRITUAL INTELLIGENCE may be expressed as
the common work
teaching and learning
healing and forgiveness
research, education and service