When we talk about our spiritual lives I want to ask the person, "Who have been your spiritual teachers?" At my age of 71, I answer, "There have been so many I couldn't name them all. However, if I had to name the ones who have been the most important I would say, 'Jesus' and 'Osho'. I would also have to mention 'A Course In Miracles.'
Spiritual teachers I have known personally I can't say. Have I ever had what is called a "guru" or "spiritual director?" The answer is "no." It's not that I haven't looked for one, but none have appeared and so I have relied on texts for the most part.
In terms of understanding spiritual development, I have gotten the most from James Fowler and Ken Wilbur as well as Lawrence Kohlberg.
I am very grateful for my spiritual teachers and the work they have done and the lives they have lived. The test of spiritual teaching is experience. I ask myself and others, "and how is that working for you?" If the teaching helps you get your life on a better track and works for you, then it more likely is authentic, genuine, and true. If not keep on searching.
Different teachers appear at different stages of life and spiritual development. Teachers who were important at one stage may not be as important or even relevant to later stages.
At the stage I am at now in my spiritual life, I am looking for teachers of peace. The teachers of peace, teach love, forgiveness, and oneness.
The idea of the Perennial Philosophy of Aldous Huxley leads one to the idea that God is too big for any one religion. How is it that sometimes people outgrow their religion of childhood? James Fowler, among others, has mapped out a model of spiritual development. Osho says that a person cannot enter into a spiritual life until he/she rebels against childish religious beliefs. Notes On A Spiritual Life intends to explore deeper understandings of an authentic spiritual life.
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