Conscious Spiritual Evolution by Rev. Lane Williams
There is a theory that all parts of life break down, fall apart, and naturally dissolve into disorder; that all systems eventually break down. It’s called entropy. Anyone who owns anything, a car, a house knows that is true. It seems that there’s always something that needs repair or replacement. And this is true of our relationships also. There is another theory that all of life is continually evolving into more complex and defined systems. This we call evolution. These are both happening – two seemingly contradictory forces happening simultaneously. When we look at how far mankind has come in just the last 250 years we see this is true. We have ended slavery in most of the world. Child labor has largely been outlawed. Women have the right to own property, receive inheritances, and vote in much of the world. So there has been an evolution in the consciousness of the world. And we also see how along with this evolution in society and in the global social consciousness, there has been a breakdown in our environment, and for many, in our family systems also.
In chaos theory at a point in an organized system, when the forces of change become so great that the system cannot handle it, chaos breaks out, and the system is forced to restructure itself. In order to accommodate the new situation the system must develop new ways of handling its new environment and thus evolution occurs. As we look at history and even our own lives we see that the challenges, the horrible events that have happened to us have also ushered in the changes that brought forth our spiritual growth. Through our challenges we have matured emotionally and spiritually.
Spiritual maturity is expressed through wisdom and compassionate action. Spirit-ual Intelligence or S.Q. measures the ability to integrate the inner life of mind-spirit with the outer life of the world. And its principles include:
- Self-Awareness: Knowing what I believe in and value, and what deeply motivates me
- Spontaneity: Living in and being responsive to the moment
- Being Vision- and Value-Led: Acting from principles and deep beliefs, and living accordingly
- Holism: Seeing larger patterns, relationships, and connections; having a sense of belonging
- Compassion: Having the quality of “feeling-with” and deep empathy
- Celebration of Diversity: Valuing other people for their differences, not despite them
- Independence: Standing against the crowd and having one’s own convictions
- Humility: Having the sense of being a player in a larger drama, of one’s true place in the world
- Tendency to Ask Fundamental “Why?” Questions: Needing to understand things and get to the bottom of them
- Ability to Reframe: Standing back from a situation or problem and seeing the bigger picture; seeing problems in a wider context
- Positive Use of Adversity: Learning and growing from mistakes, setbacks, and suffering
- Sense of Vocation: Feeling called upon to serve, to give something back
Jesus spoke quite powerfully on this subject. He called upon us to develop our SQ. Maybe you might not recognize it as such, but He did say, “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.” When our enemies come to mind, (not just people, but also circumstances or situations that are challenging and that feel like our enemies), bless them. See them as blessings, because they will reveal things about ourselves that our friends will never tell us. The friendly circumstances in our lives will never reveal to us. Hardship, obstacles, even pain and suffering, can serve us if we let them.
When I think of someone who demonstrates a high SQ, I think of Dr. Martin Luther King. Here is an excerpt from his letter from Birmingham jail. He writes:
“…though I was initially disappointed at being categorized as an extremist, as I continued to think about the matter I gradually gained a measure of satisfaction from the label. Was not Jesus an extremist for love?… And John Bunyan: ‘I will stay in jail to the end of my days before I make a butchery of my conscience.’ And Abraham Lincoln: ‘This nation cannot survive half slave and half free.’ And Thomas Jefferson: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal…’
So the question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be. Will we be extremists for hate or for love? Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice or for the extension of justice?
In that dramatic scene on Calvary‘s hill three men were crucified. We must never forget that all three were crucified for the same crime — the crime of extremism. Two were extremists for immorality, and thus fell below their environment. The other, Jesus Christ, was an extremist for love, truth, and goodness, and thereby rose above his environment. Perhaps the South, the nation, and the world are in dire need of creative extremists.”
We too can choose this path which many may call extremist – the path of Spiritual growth, and thus raise our S.Q. It can happen when we choose to view life from a higher perspective than a judgmental and critical mind. We too can be extremists for love, peace and compassion when we choose to do the kind and loving thing, when we consciously choose to see the good in the situation, when we know that despite the appearance of disorder, chaos and the rumors of calamity around us, we can stand for the conscious evolution of our Divine Spirit. And through this stance, aligned with divine beings throughout the world, it shall come forth. And so it is and so it is.
