Spiritual Development

Spiritual development happens as an individual becomes aware of, and then identifies with, increasingly larger, more complex structures. Starting with a selfish, immoral view of the individual out for him or herself alone, and developing to identification with the family, tribe or nation, and then on to more complex or "higher" concerns with all people, all life, all intelligence, all matter etc. The lower levels are generally "moral" behavior, that is behaving as to not hurt others, the middle stages conform to religious practice, and the higher ones mystical or transcendent positions.

The Power of Myth, Joseph Campbell

The book is based on a series of interviews of Campbell by Bill Moyers. In it Campbell explains the the value of myth is not on the surface; most myths are obviously not true in a literal sense. The value is at a deeper level. They describe - in a metaphorical, story form - some of the things that all humans go through: finding our place in the world, coming to grips with loss, who we are...

Campbell taught an undergraduate course in mythology for decades and helped shape the story line of the Star Wars films to reflect mythic themes.

The Eye of Spirit, Ken Wilber

The Eye of Spirit presents a complete description of Wilber's philosophy (at least as it was in the late '90's). Less heavily referenced than Sex, Ecology, Spirituality (described below), but still with hundreds of notes and sources.

The book also includes some "pointing out" instruction, almost poetic descriptions of how the world looks to a person in an awakened state. This is very helpful to someone moving in that direction and validating to someone only experiencing awareness for brief moments.

The Perennial Philosophy, Aldous Huxley

Yes, the same Aldous Huxley that wrote Brave New World. Originally published in 1944, this anthology brings together short quotes from sources East and West to illustrate that the most fundamental aspects of spiritual experience are similar in all traditions.

The book contains 27 short chapters with titles including:
   That Art Thou
   God in the World
   Truth
   Self-Knowledge
   Good and Evil
   Silence
   Prayer
   Suffering
(see "Look Inside" on Amazon for the compete list.
  

Religions, Values and Peak Experiences, Abraham Maslow

Describes "peakers" as people who directly experience transcendence or contact with God and non-peakers or people who set up and follow religions without the direct contact.

From the back cover:
"In this soul-stirring essay from the mid-1960's, the foremost spokesman of humanistic Third Force psychology explores the ecstatic "peak-experiences" of prophets and seers, from which the essential meanings of religion were originally conceived, and reveal how they can-and why they should-be experienced by virtually anyone. Masolw explains how by awakening in themselves the capacity for rapture  and transcendence, man and women can realize the best aims of religion: to inspire, to awe, to comfort, to guide in value choice-and to induce Dionysian states of rejoicing. In a society that has denuded both religious life and secular education of values and spirituality, such "glimpses of heven" can help people answer fundamental qustions and , ultimately, give meaning to their lives."

Ken Wilber

Ken Wilber calls himself a mapmaker. His work has integrated sources from all ages and traditions into a coherent picture of spiritual development. He is the author of over 20 books and founder of the Integral Institute. The typical Wilber book is incredibly well researched with many references to source material and very detailed discussions of the topics involved.
One of his largest and most detailed efforts is Sex, Ecology, Spirituality (1995). At over 800 pages, with hundreds of references, it provides a strong foundation for understanding what has gone before and how these efforts can be brought together. The book discusses his four-quadrant system starting with a simple introduction and then adding details.  See the Wikipedia article on Wilber.

His research covers cultural, social, behavioral and intentional development. The stages of development along these dimensions has been labeled by various philosophies and traditions over the centuries. Wilber selects a set of labels for each and sets them in four quadrants, see descriptions (and criticisms) at: http://www.kheper.net/topics/Wilber/Wilber_IV.html

What's important about Ken Wilber is not so much whether his map is perfectly correct or not, but that it provides a great starting point for further reading By placing sources on his map Wilber provides a larger framework of reality.

Not all of Wilber's books are as large, detailed (and intimidating) as SES. Some more accessible entry points are the audio CD's and DVD set: Kosmic Consciousness and The Integral Vision which present the results of Wilber's work without so much background.

Eckhart Tolle

The latest book by Eckhart Tolle - A New Earth - is very direct and simple to understand. It goes straight to the heart of spiritual development. The only unique terminology Tolle uses is his "pain body" for "an accumulation of old emotional pain".

Each chapter of the book has many short topics each a lesson in itself. For example, Chapter Eight - The Discovery of Inner Space - contains:
   Object Consciousness and Space Consciousness,
   Falling Below and Rising Above Thought,
   Television,
   Recognizing Inner Space,
   Can You Hear the Mountain Stream?
   Right Action,
   Perceiving Without Naming,
   Who Is the Experiencer?
   The Breath,
   Addictions,
   Inner Body Awareness,
   Inner and Outer Space,
   Noticing the Gaps,
   Lose Yourself to Find Yourself,
   Stillness

End Result of Spiritual Development

The end result of spiritual development is not separation from the everyday world, but a return to it. As described in the traditional ten "Ox Herding Pictures" the seeker progresses from not knowing the goal, to knowing what it is, to catching glimpses, to mastery and eventually, returning to the world not changed in some ways, but profoundly changed in others.

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