Welcome to the Best Life University podcast.
I'm Dr.
Lynn Brown,
A counselor and educator.
In this podcast,
I discuss a myriad of topics related to the five dimensions of personal growth,
Mental,
Social,
Spiritual,
Emotional,
And physical.
Thank you so much for listening.
Today's topic is the five dimensions of personal growth,
Spiritual.
Using Deepak Chopra's Seven Stages of Spiritual Growth and Development as our guide,
Let's take a look at this aspect of personal development.
One,
Innocence.
When we are born into this world,
We are innocent,
Not yet connected to the material world and all that this means.
And as long as we have a loving family,
We remain in love and joy,
In a sense of bliss.
We are in a state of being where only love exists.
Two,
Fear and ego.
As we grow,
Our ego emerges and this is the beginning of our worldly issues.
We recognize that to get what we desire,
We must interact with others and this means pleasing them.
This results in developing a personality that configures to the demands of our world.
At this time,
Fear enters the equation.
So now there is not just love,
There is also fear.
Three,
Power.
In order to squelch and deny fear,
We decide that power is the answer.
So we do what we can to achieve control in our lives.
We feel control will give us security.
This manifests in many forms,
Including education,
Partners,
Children,
And monetary success.
For many people,
Spiritual growth and development ends here because they continue to focus on possessions and power.
So there is only self-centeredness.
Four,
Giving.
If you do not get stuck in self-centeredness,
You are able to move forward and begin realizing that there is more to life.
You start pondering the idea of giving to others,
Of helping and serving.
This results in becoming comfortable with both giving and receiving.
But keep in mind that if you expect something in return when giving,
You are still ego-driven.
You can continue growing spiritually when you practice giving from love without any concern about recognition or reward.
Five,
The seeker.
When you desire enlightenment and your decisions are made from the heart,
You start looking for the deeper meaning of things.
You are looking to make your life more meaningful.
Six,
The sage.
As your mind fully awakens,
You recognize you are the witness to your actions and so are responsible for your life.
Your fear of death dissolves.
However,
As long as you feel special for having gotten to this place in life,
Your ego is still involved.
Seven,
Spirit.
When you recognize and release your ego from your thoughts,
Words,
And actions,
You are coming from a place of connectedness,
That we are all one,
So there is no concept of being special or separate.
At this stage,
You are in the world,
But not of the world.
You are in harmony with the world and know that everything happens at the right time.
Copyright 2021,
Lynn Baranis Brown.
