The stages of spiritual knowledge

My take on the stages of spiritual knowledge from my anecdotal evidence.

Note, some people go through these stages faster than others, some may skip stages, some may combine them, and some may do them in a different order, or even regress. For some this process is tumultuous, for others, it's moderate. I don't think God punishes us for not following a set time frame, or order, but I do know that God appreciates one's effort to attain it, consciously or subconsciously.

Stage 1 (Childhood) - The default state of being connected to God, in which, society and community either educates us to deviate from, or strengthen.

Stage 2 (The Rebellion) - The period in which hedonism becomes important. Often defined by sex, drugs, traveling, dating, partying, accumulating wealth, "keeping up with the Joneses". One is often in competition during this phase.

Stage 3 (Opening consciousness) - The period of inner exploration, questioning, sorting out. One may have a sudden stirring interest in religion(s), history, metaphysics, conspiracies, or fighting for a cause.

Stage 4 (The Father/Mother as the Sacred Child) - This is the final stage, in which the knowledge from all previous stages get affirmed, yet become secondary to everyday life matters, both mundane and important. Also, the Fatherly and Motherly instinct takes over, even if one chooses not to have children. One often finds the serendipitous feeling of opening their consciousness in everyday activities. They become hardwired into the mind, accepted and appreciated without much overt excitement. Despite the lack of overt enthusiasm, the potency is just as powerful, or more. An activity such as drinking a cup of coffee becomes an affirmation of one's connection to God, and get's added into one's bank of accumulated wisdom. One becomes like a child again. If you've ever spent time around elderly people, you can feel their level of spiritual mastery shining brightly like the sun.

Peace and hope you found something interesting from this small write-up.

I take an "If it works for you, then it's legit" approach to religions and spirituality, whether it be God, Allah, Yahweh, Brahma, Spirit, the Universe, the Eggun, or Eastern concepts such as Zen and Tao. For a strictly scientific mind, those beliefs can be easily and righteously grouped in the category of things than cannot be proven empirically. On the other hand, I've heard representatives of the "empirical crowd" say that belief in these unseen (often sentient) forces is akin to a mental illness that must be addressed and perhaps cleansed. I think such a cleansing would be an undertaking in futility. I am a believer in spirituality and religion.  If I'm crazy, then my crazy is bothering nobody, so to be so adamantly against a crazy that bothers nobody, is well.....crazy. 

Beyond the shallow waves

Something happens when a Woman tells a Man the deep spiritual and emotional reasons why she likes him. Were expected as Men to be very surface level utilitarians, with no expectation for profound and intense connections, we're expected to take what we can get because it's "the thing to do". 

Most everyone loves the beach, but beaches are but a small portion of the total amount of coastline space to be found around the world.  My body of water is like a reef or a trench, a short, shallow stretch leading into a steep drop off. You can't just wade and or play in it, but once you explore it, you'll find treasure.