May 7, 2019
As my good friend Jana Spangler and I talk in
this episode about the quality of "spiritual maturity," we note the
difficulty involved in a subject like this because such maturity is
more of a thing that we might notice in other people and, perhaps,
ourselves, yet it is hard to explain in words (and definitely not
something someone should claim about themselves). But we pushed on
anyway! Our approach was to discuss three qualities or hallmarks
that we believe are universal across all spiritual traditions and
communities. Jana leads us through a discussion of
transformational vs transactional relationships
with God and others. We move next to someone's ability to examine
what ego needs are playing out with others and
ourselves, leading us in our relationships and soul work to
over-identify with these needs and trying to protect others and us
from seeing them rather than coming to center in our highest
selves. Our final topic is differentiation. How
comfortable are we with expressions of genuine difference, whether
they be in others' experiences vs ours or even another's critique?
Are we able to validate the positions of and see those who differ
from us as fellow travelers rather than enemies who are standing in
the way of our vision becoming normative? Do we lead out
always with love and compassion first? Are we comfortable enough
with ourselves to be okay even in settings in which we might feel a
bit like an outsider?
This episode contains many terrific insights. Jana knocks
everything out of the ballpark here. Prepare for a good and
potentially important transformative listen! Cheers!
Links to things mentioned in the episode:
Mormon Matters episode on the
Enneagram for Mormons"
On Being episode with Alain de Botton, "The
True Hard Work of Love and Relationships"