Michael’s Reviews > Further Along the Road Less Traveled: The Unending Journey Toward Spiritual Growth > Status Update

The stages of spiritual growth. We never really lose parts of the earlier stages. Addictions. We’re all broken but some hide it better than others. The kingdom is among you = community (we come together in times of crisis). God does not discriminate. Jesus was frustrated, depressed, lonely (while also needing to be alone), anxious, scared, even prejudiced at one point (but transcended it into healing love). Trust.

“Blessed are the poor (confused) in spirit”
Genuine humility is always realistic. Evil behaviors arise when we try to protect our self-esteem. You must teach people how important, beautiful, and desirable they are in the eyes of God. But you can’t force them to see it. Meanings of human nature = myth. “Simplistic thinking about anything in our lives can get us in trouble”. Good = create, Evil = destroy.

“In order to learn how to live, we have to come to terms with our death”.
Death is the reminder of our narcissistic attachment to ourselves. “The further we proceed in diminishing our narcissism, our self-centeredness, and sense of self-importance…we become progressively more self-forgetful and hence more able to remember God”.
Mental health = ongoing dedication to reality at all costs with curiosity.

That reminder of The Garden of Eden analogy. We became self-conscious in the garden, detached from nature and oneness, “banished from paradise”. While Dr. Peck also reminds us that we know nothing and growth is never ending. Oh, I am already so excited!!