What is Your
Spiritual Growth Rate?
By Jackie Woods

Spiritual growth usually starts when a person realizes something more is needed in their life. If they don’t cover up that empty space inside by finding a new job, by pouring more of themselves into their relationships, or by going on an antidepressant, they will hopefully turn to spiritual growth.

For those who turn in the direction of spirituality, the path they choose is critical if they are to end up attaining the optimum goal of Oneness. While a person may be ready only for the first leg of their growth journey, it helps to have a map that has a complete description of where they are going. I am going to attempt to outline the four landmarks that show up on every spiritual growth map with the destination of Oneness.

The first landmark is reached by discovering you are not your wounds. While everyone has wounded thinking as well as wounded feelings that keep them from believing we are all equal and connected in the world of spirit, those wounds can be healed. It is during this first phase that personal growth becomes the focus.

Once your unconscious mind has available a greater percentage of spirit choices than wound choices, you are ready to move from self-awareness to group awareness. At this point on your spiritual growth journey, you begin to appreciate the exchange of heartful energies that others have to offer, as well as the lessons they activate in your life. This second landmark in your spiritual growth is reached when you begin seeking out others who also want to increase spirit consciousness.

Once your unconscious mind has available a greater percentage of spirit choices than wound choices, you are ready to move from self-awareness to group awareness. At this point on your spiritual growth journey, you begin to appreciate the exchange of heartfelt energies that others have to offer, as well as the lessons they activate in your life. This second landmark in your spiritual growth is reached when you begin seeking out others who also want to increase spirit consciousness.

This joining with others of a like mind catapults you into a new understanding of Oneness. You are now able to experience the sharing of spirit energies as more than a pleasant feeling or the gaining of a new truth. You now understand that the Oneness of spirit no longer belongs to individuals. It is the accumulated consciousness that we are all individualized facets of God, and it takes all of our spirits to make a whole. As you enter this third landmark, synergy becomes more than a concept. It becomes a way of life.

Landmark number four is called service. This level is reached when Oneness is no longer a goal but who you are. You no longer think or feel yourself separate from any of life. You will be so in love with the facet being offered by each person’s spirit that your selfish needs will be lost in the vastness of your cosmic awareness. Every part of your body, mind, and emotions will be filled with the desire to make this spirit of Oneness the prevailing consciousness on our planet. This doesn’t mean you will become a street corner evangelist, but it does mean that every aspect of your life will be done in service to the light of Oneness.

Your map may call these landmarks by different names, but all four must be shown, in order for it to be complete. Even though you cannot short-circuit any part of the map, you do get to decide on the speed of travel. You can take lifetimes, years, or months to complete each stage, but no landmark can be missed. You can choose your spiritual growth rate.

Jackie Woods, founder of Adawehi (Ah-dah-way-hee) Institute Healing School and Wellness Center, is a published author and an expert in the field of self-actualization. Visit www.JackieWoods.org .