Chapter seven

The Spiritual Levels of Attained Growth

About 29 years ago my wife and I became intrigued by the discovery that whatever discussions she and I were having throughout the week concerning God, the universe, the Bible or theology in general, Jack Cornell would be preaching about come Sunday morning.  Sylvia and I would discuss a topic, hash and rehash it, argue about it, and finally come to a conclusion.  It became a joke, then, to go to church on Sunday and listen to Jack speaking on the very thing we had been dissecting all week.

To make matters even more peculiar, whenever Charley and I would talk on the phone, I would discover that he had also had been either writing about, or giving a sermon on, the very subject that Jack was preaching about and that Sylvia and I had been discussing.  (This becomes even more significant when you realize that Charlie didn’t use the assigned liturgy that the Methodists use.  For that matter, neither did Jack.)  This went on week after week for several years.  At first I simply thought we were kindred minds sharing like thoughts.  But, I reasoned, if we’re sharing the same thoughts, why didn’t we always arrive at the same conclusions?

I finally decided we weren’t sharing the same thoughts at all.  It was more like we were being given classroom assignments to work on and resolve.  Apparently we worked on it on our own, unhindered, but (I suspect) led.  Even though Sylvia and I worked on them together, we didn’t always agree.  Often didn’t, in fact.

Because thoughts have wings and are not confined to our own mind, we’re able to send and receive, not just human thoughts, but super human, without even realizing it.  I believe that Jack, Charley, Sylvia and I were enrolled in what might be termed a ‘classroom of the mind.’  I believe you probably are too.

At that time Charley lived on a farm in Kansas, wrote and was a Unity minister.  Jack was a United Methodist minister living in Oregon; they didn’t know each other.  Sylvia was both a fiction writer and college writing instructor.  I was a custom furniture maker and (obviously) a writer.  Yet, each of us works through the same problems every week or two without being aware of what the others are doing.  (Since this was written, I have become a Commissioned Lay Pastor with the Presbyterian Church (USA) and am now serving United Presbyterian Church in Reedsport, OR.)

The four of us have these things in common: our approximate ages, daily meditation and prayer, our continuous seeking and our dissatisfaction with the pat answers offered by organized religion.  In other words, we were students seeking answers.  (“Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find”.  .  .  Lk 11:9)

Because God doesn’t play favorites, what was true for the four of us is equally true of all people.  None of us progresses spiritually because God favors one person more than another.  It’s more like God is a gigantic magnet and we are all tiny bits of steel.  Our spiritual progression is how well we react to the very faint magnetic pull.  Do we respond to that magnetic pull tugging at our souls?  Or, do we stubbornly hold on to the ways of the world?

 The reason you are reading this book (and probably others like it) is because you are either seeking answers to questions or are seeking reassurance of belief.  Either way you are on a spiritual quest, though you may not have thought of it that way.  When you seek, you find. The Buddhist adage, “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear,” is very appropriate, for in order to grow and achieve, we must be taught.  And, in order to be taught, we must¾of our own freewill¾be willing to learn.  Exactly what we learn will come to us from a variety of sources, including books, people, angels and in other ways.  There is no limit to the manner in which we are taught, including direct revelation.

To think of earth as a gigantic school of spiritual learning is not inappropriate, for earth is a school in which all of us are enrolled.  As we learn and grow, we spiritually mature and pass from level to level, somewhat analogous as passing from grade to grade.  This spiritual maturation will eventually lead through seven different levels of spiritual development.  These levels must be attained, if not here and now, then later in a different realm.

Before going any further, it is important to realize that no one knows what level anyone else is on.  Shoot, we don’t even know what level we are on.  This way no one’s ego can run amok by thinking, “My soul’s more advanced than yours.” Such thoughts would immediately plunk them back down to the bottom rung of the spiritual ladder.

Although all may be enrolled in this spiritual classroom, not all may choose to attend.  (The Biblical statement, “Many are called but few are chosen,” would be more apt if it said, “All are called, but few choose.”)  The prerequisites for enrollment are: 

a.     willingness,

b.      interest in matters of the spirit,

c.     a desire to be “good,” “moral,” etc.

d.     love of God,

e.     love of neighbor (people),    

Both d. and e. are attained attributes.

This decision is almost always an unconscious one that we are completely unaware of.  We’re just sort of compelled in direction. But, once the seeking has begun, those who have made the decision to enter this school are nurtured, tutored and cared for in accordance with our personalities and our attained spiritual level.  This is because the higher our level of attainment, the clearer and better we are able to accept help, comprehend the will of God and be of service to others. (Though we may not know what we’re doing, we end up doing it.)

Remember that we are completely unaware of this tutoring.  We don’t wake up in the morning, sit down at our desk, take pen and paper in hand and say, “OK, teach me!  I’ll take notes.”

Who teaches this school?  Nobody knows.  I suspect cosmic citizenry, including God, the Holy Spirit, angels, and others.  We also get guidance, help and instruction from people who have either been led to us, or us to them for a specific reason.

The unconscious school of the mind works like this: Those who are developing belief, faith, trust, and a desire to do the will of God have attained cosmic citizenship of student status.   At this time¾often a gradual evolution¾the teachers then begin guiding the students through these different levels of learning.  These levels may be thought of as the growth rings of a tree, with each successive ring brining the student closer to cosmic understanding, sensitivity, wisdom and leadership.  The more sensitive the student becomes, the easier the teacher’s job in guiding the student.  The higher the spiritual level of the student, the stronger the kindred spirit connection between them, God, angels, students and other kindred spirits.

Striving to find and do the will of God draws us closer to God.  (Striving to do the will of God is the only gift any of us can ever give to the Supreme Being, and He lovingly accepts our gift.)  The biblical story of Paul is an indication of how far off base a person can be, and still be loved, nurtured, guided, directed and tutored by God.:

As you probably already know, Paul was on his way to Damascus doing what he thought was the will of God: eliminating the newly forming Christian community.  Because he was a very religious man who sincerely desired to do the will of God, there was a sudden, dramatic intervention. As a result of this intervention he became transformed from the persecutor of the new Christian sub cult of Judaism into the world’s most ardent supporter of Christianity.  Almost single handedly he kept Christianity alive. [1]

In addition to seeking God’s will in the real world and learning truth with a questioning mind and open heart, there is one other aspect critical to attaining higher spiritual levels:  our attitudes toward others.  Spirituality, devoid of loving all people¾even those whom we don’t like¾is a contradiction.  Spirituality recognizes no racial, religious, sexual or social levels.  Spirituality accepts all people as equals because God does.  That’s because God’s love has no strings attached—which is what agapé love is.  As His children, he expects us to do the same.[2]

As indicated above, spiritual levels have only to do with one thing:  the ability to love all people without bias.  Americans are no better than the Japanese, men are no better than women and social level is only in the minds of the spiritually ignorant.  For God this is natural, for men and women, however, this is not (normally) a natural state¾though it might be if we weren’t so self oriented.  By that I mean we tend to believe our religion is best, our country is best, our race is best, our sex is best, and even our school is best.

Spiritual growth is nothing more than becoming more loving, hence compatible to universe standards.  Since we are born on a world where love is not the dominant theme, most of us must learn how to think on higher levels.  The more loving we become, the more sensitive we are to the needs, concerns and cares of others.

If we used the analogy of a spiritual ladder, with each step up bringing us a little closer to God-like understanding, then we would understand that we can go down as well as up.  Rarely is the ladder of spirituality one that is climbed straight up.  Rather, it is often one up, slide back a couple, then step up one again.  This is because our material fetters are so habitual—really hard to break.  In other words, we tend to take back control of our lives after we have made a conscious effort to surrender it. 

Spiritual growth is difficult because we live in a material world that we understand all too well.  When we begin to climb the spiritual ladder, we enter into unknown territory.  What makes spiritual/material choices difficult for most of us is we know—and understand—our material surroundings.  We are unsure and uncertain of the spiritual ramifications or rewards. 

Because spiritual growth always hinges on “seeking first the Kingdom of Heaven,” and “having faith and belief,” it is always opting for the unknown and the uncertain. 

Spiritual decisions are rarely obvious.  Spiritual hunger is often expressed as vague dissatisfaction.  Inwardly we feel “there must be more to life than this,” which is the reason psychiatrists couches are filled with thousands of socially and financially successful people seeking answers to their dissatisfactions. It’s one of the reasons movie stars, rock stars and others, commit suicide. Sadly, they are not looking in the right place.

All of us start life spiritually equal, and with the same spiritual potential.  How we progress is strictly our own doing.  Those on the bottom, or first rung of the spiritual ladder, are more developed as animal beings than as spiritual beings, while those on the top, or seventh rung, have nearly approached the purely spiritual levels of thinking that would result in their being lifted up as Enoch was.  A seventh leveler is always aware of God’s will, and lives completely out of this awareness.  Only a very few people have ever reached this level.  Enoch, of the Old Testament, was one who did.  (Gen.  5:24 & Heb.  11:5)

The higher up the spiritual ladder we go, the closer and more unified we become with God.  With that in mind, the following are the spiritual levels of progress and what they represent:

First levelers are more closely akin to the animal realm than the spiritual realm.  Their lives are far more dominated by greed and hedonistic tendencies than of spiritual considerations.  In fact, there is little, if any, concern for spiritual matters.  Interestingly, fanatic fundamentalists of all religions may be first level persons, as are children.  All of us start life on this level.  (Because of the “purity” of children, they do receive special considerations.)

Second levelers are only slightly higher.  They have made progress mostly in their dealings with others.  Morals, ethics and respect are sometimes considered along with self wants.

Third levelers know the love laws of God and universe, but do not always practice what they know.  They are often altruistic and benevolent to those they call “friend.” (Usually those of their church, ethnic, or social group.)  Real progress is made at this level, for a third leveler is always aware of, but doesn’t always heed, God.  While second levelers pray sporadically or selfishly, third levelers may pray often.

Fourth levelers are beginning to be almost totally absorbed by thoughts of God, the universe or “truth.”[3]   The primary difference between a fourth and seventh leveler may only be the biases and prejudices they have yet to overcome.  A fourth leveler may hear the voice of God as well as a first leveler, but be unable to heed the calling because of lifelong social habits.  For this reason the angels often work behind the scenes to move people from one community to another, thereby breaking close personal ties as well as other habits of familiarity.  In essence, they are getting a fresh start on life.

Fifth levelers are beginning to overcome the material habits that bind them to the earth. They would never consider going against the will of God, yet are still able to ignore the voice of Deity when convenient.  (Sort of like a dieter reaching for candy as a reward.) 

There is very little difference between a sixth and seventh level person except this: a seventh level person has totally overcome all earthly ties.  They have reached such a high state of being that normal earthly things, such as disease, have no effect on them.  On attaining the highest earthly level, the mind and soul of man is preparing to merge (become at one) with the indwelling spirit of God.  When this happens, the soul leaves the body in a fiery display, and the body is no more.  The Bible refers to this as “translation.”  Enoch, of the OT, was translated, and Moses is believed to have been translated.  Their earthly adventure may be finished, but their eternal adventure has just begun. (Hebrews 11:5 King James Version)[4]

All who are interested in eternal life, becoming cosmic citizens, discovering truth, or in finding God, will eventually traverse these seven levels of understanding.  It is a requirement.  Those who have no interest in things spiritual will simply cease to exist at death.  Of them no requirements are necessary.

All who are “reasonably” spiritual will survive death.  Those who, for one reason or another, choose death rather than life, simply perish when they die.  Eventually there will be no record they ever existed and the universe will be as though they never were.

Interestingly, only two universal laws are been mastered when these seven levels have been traversed: (1) “Love God with all your heart and soul, and (2) love your neighbor as yourself.  It is these two laws that rule the entire universe.  Mastering these two simple laws is mastering spirituality.  Mastering spirituality is mastering life.  Mastering life is mastering all.  This is the was Jesus put it: