We have been discussing a model of spiritual development which is based on James Fowler's work describing the stages of faith development. While, in a conceptual sense, this model is helpful, in the spiritual realm it is not accurate and may even mislead the spiritual seeker. It is misleading because in the last analysis, as human beings, we are provided a simple choice: love or illusions?
In A Course In Miralces, in the section entitled "The Laws of Chaos," the first law is that truth is different for everyone. The course teaches that this is not true. Illusions may be different for everyone, but Love is the same.
Illusions are individualistic and separate us. Illusions can turn us into enemies and adversaries. The more attached we are to our illusions the more hateful and attacking we can become. Chaos ensues and when we back off and try to develop some perspective, we realize that the belief in the illusions that separate us have led us to the insanity of hell. It is written in ACIM in the section on Principles in Miracles that the first principle is "There is no order of difficulty in miracles. One is not "harder" or "bigger" than another. They are all the same. All expressions of love are maximal."
It is true that we can believe in Love which involves an awareness of our Oneness with the divine, or we can believe in illusions which separate and divide us. It is really that simple. This truth is not different for different people. It is maximal for everybody. People don't have to choose it. They can continue with their attachments to their illusions which they may do until they realize they have been mistaken. They have missed the point of their lives because as the Beatles told us, Love is all there is.
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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