The process of spiritual development

Metavarsity Interactive lecture 15 -30 minutes
The processes involved in spiritual development By Jimmy Henderson
Let me introduce myself :
I am Jimmy Henderson and the author of a number of articles and two books on spiritual and psychic development. I am based in Durban, South Africa. I am also a trained trauma counselor and a regular radio talk show guest on a local radio station phone-in programme dealing with wellness issues. I also regard myself as a metaphysical teacher and latest book, which is available at most bookshops as well as online, is entitled ‘Multi-Dimensional Thinking’ and forms the basis of my talk this morning. I am proud to be associated with Metavarsity and hope that you will enjoy my talk which deals with the different stages involved in spiritual and psychic development

• In the past, we have always thought of ‘spirituality' as being related only to religion and religious practices. However, I believe that the time has now arrived for it to come out of the closet and takes its rightful place in our world of everyday experience

• We have now reached the stage where spiritual growth can be seen as a perfectly natural process involving our self-actualisation as human beings and ‘spirituality’ seen as synonymous with the highest possible levels of personal growth and self-development

• Please note that I am not here to criticise or threaten any existing religious or traditional beliefs. In fact, I believe that the steps mentioned in this process are present in all religious and belief systems in some form or another

• In my book ‘Multi-Dimensional Thinking’, I have attempted to de-mystify this whole process by linking it to accepted scientific and psychological research as far as possible and viewing the process of spiritual development in terms of a gradual learning curve which involves completing certain developmental tasks and acquiring new skills relating to the body, mind and spirit

• Although I would be the first to admit that there are other paths, this particular method involves integrating specific developmental outcomes and skills to produce a new level of ‘mindfulness’, understanding, perception and psychic awareness

• It is therefore best performed as a series of simple and systematically graded exercises designed to achieve certain desired outcomes in terms of actual experiences

• I will now briefly describe the process
To begin, one must make two decisions or set two definite intentions
 One is a willingness to accept responsibility for your own life and actions
 And the second, a commitment to conscious self-development

THE BODY
PHYSICAL WELLNESS
• As you begin your the learning curve, your first task will be to reach a certain level of physical wellness as there are a number of body and lifestyle issues which could affect your spiritual and psychic development
 It makes sense that you would require a reasonably healthy body in order to maintain the levels of consciousness for which you are striving
 Here I refer to bad habits such as smoking and drinking excessively as well as a bad diet
 This can result in the buildup of toxins which will have to be cleansed by changing some of these habits and also detoxing your body regularly
• Your present lifestyle could also be an obstacle to spiritual and psychic development
 For instance, excessive partying, drugs, obsessions with sex and materialism can be great distractions to someone who is striving for higher levels of consciousness, and you may need to look at changes to your lifestyle
• The desired outcome for this first stage would be a commitment to improving your health and simplifying your life to create the time and space for spiritual and psychic development to take place

THE MIND
EMOTIONAL WELLNESS (EQ)
• Your second task will be to reach a certain level of emotional wellness (EQ).
 This can be explained as the ability to remain reasonably emotionally ‘at ease’ and suggests a certain amount of resilience to day-to-day concerns
 The reason for this task is that, in my experience, past traumas, emotional pain and instability will hold you back in terms of your spiritual and psychic development
 This stage therefore includes a period of healing to extricate yourself from the web of doubts, fears and negative emotions based on unpleasant memories from the past
 This healing can be concluded with assistance from traditional or holistic therapists or by means of self-healing processes
 In my book I do provide a ‘toolbox’ of common therapeutic techniques, such as journaling and rational-emotive techniques to release unhelpful emotions and challenge self-defeating beliefs, as well as new methods to deal with past traumas and restore broken relationships
• The desired outcome for this stage is divine forgiveness or self-forgiveness (depending on your belief system) which initiates a break with the past and ushers in a new beginning

EMOTIONAL EMPOWERMENT
• The third developmental task to be mastered is ‘emotional empowerment’, which can be described as building a healthy self-image and high self-esteem
 The path of spiritual and psychic development is often lonely and you will require an inner strength based on a new knowledge of who and what you really are, and your true purpose in this life, in order to succeed
 Before beginning the deeper processes of spiritual and psychic study, you should therefore include a period of ‘time-out’ for self-introspection and contemplation on these important issues
• The desired outcome for this stage is therefore a sense of total confidence and belief in yourself that will prove to be useful during the more advanced processes.

A NEW FRAMEWORK OF THINKING (IQ)
• At the level of the mind there are also a number of tasks to be mastered
 It will be necessary to clean out your mind and free it of self-defeating thoughts and beliefs based on fear and which do not allow you the freedom to explore the deeper mysteries of life
 For instance ‘I cannot /should not do this or that’ (religious or self-imposed beliefs)
 Apart from holding you back, you simply will not be able to be make sense of any new experiences if they are not acceptable to your mind and thinking
 You may therefore require a shift in consciousness as well as a new framework (or paradigm) of beliefs in order to move forward and to process the experiences, concepts and ideas associated with spiritual and psychic development
• Completing this shift is not always easy and could also be tackled in stages.
 For example, a useful start would be to begin to think holistically and be more open to new ideas.
 One way of doing this is to do self-introspection, learn to reflect on life more deeply and to approach important questions in life by cross-referencing and combining information from various areas of knowledge such as the natural and human sciences, philosophy, metaphysics and even religion.
 Another method is to begin classes in basic meditation and learn to quiet your mind and free it from the clutter of everyday thinking
 This will also raise your consciousness which is required for later stages
• Your desired outcome for this stage would be success in clearing the unwanted debris from your mind and ‘shifting gears’ to a more universal paradigm of thinking

THE SPIRIT
THE DEVELOPMENT OF SPIRITUAL SKILLS (SQ)
• The slope of your developmental curve has now increased and you are ready to begin to develop new ‘skills’ such as heightened sense perception, intuition, psychic sight and a conscious connection with your higher self, all associated with a higher spiritual experience or spiritual wellness (SQ).
• The first and most important task is building a relationship with your subconscious mind, as this provides the underlying power for your later spiritual and psychic skills
• I liken your subconscious to a lover who needs to be wooed before she will trust you and admit you into her chamber of mysteries
 This building of trust takes place gradually as you learn to use affirmations, intentions and begin to build channels of two-way communication using dreams, collages and symbolic drawings
 You will also need to increase your sensitivity to cues and impressions from your subconscious
 This will become possible during training in more advanced meditations and visualization (imagery) which you should undertake with an experienced teacher or a reputable metaphysical college
 These processes are also explained in detail in the exercises in my book
• The desired outcome for this stage is a relationship of trust with your subconscious mind in which it communicates readily with you through dreams and meditations and provides the basis for your developing psychic abilities such as intuition and spontaneous imagery

THE RECONNECTION WITH THE HIGHER SELF
• The next stage of spiritual and psychic development involves a reconnection with your higher self (or soul-consciousness)
• This provides the power and consciousness needed for the development of advanced psychic skills such as clairvoyance, clairaudience and clairsentience and the perception of energy
• This is where your earlier work in dealing with your past and clearing out the pathways of your consciousness will be of such great value, as it is unlikely that you will have much success at his level if the previous tasks have not been satisfactorily completed

 As you approach the end of your developmental curve, you need to prepare for this meeting and merging with your higher self or soul, your true spiritual identity
 Once again, this will be achieved during advanced training in meditation which should be undertaken with experienced teachers

• Your desired outcome is the successful re-integration of your inner and outer self
 This introduces a state of mindfulness or self-actualization in which you are able to manifest psychic abilities and take a quantum leap into a new life filled with meaning and power
 In practice, this should result in your becoming happier, more insightful, understanding, tolerant, moral and spiritual. All that now remains is to apply this to your everyday life.

I have now concluded my talk and thank you for your time and attention
I am now available for a few questions