+ 1 Adult Psychological Development and Spiritual Maturity Part - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
+ 1 Adult Psychological Development and Spiritual Maturity Part I + Learning Goals 2 n (1) Discover new ways of thinking about spiritual growth, spiritual direction, and the experience of faith as understood developmentally n (2) Basic
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n (1) Discover new ways of thinking about
n (2) Basic grasp of Robert Kegan’s Constructive
n (3) Begin to identify the implications of adult
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n Adult development… What does it mean? n Associations? n Assumptions? n What connections might you see or anticipate
n 2 minutes to free write and three to share with a
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n A mutually critical, co-relational relationship n Neither “epistemic lens” can be reduced to the other n Psychological development provides capacity for deeper
spiritual maturation, but psychology does not entirely determine what spiritual maturity is.
n Holiness can happen at any stage of development, but will
look distinct from stage to stage
n No theory (or set of theories), psychological or theological
can ever capture the reality/mystery of what it means to be a human in relationship to God
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Psycho-Social , Moral, Ego, Women’s Ethic of Care, Constructive Development… 6
n Relating the self to
n Social
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n Stage 1: Impulsive Mind n Stage 2: Instrumental
Mind
n Stage 3: Socialized Mind n Stage 4: Self-Authoring
Mind
n Stage 5: Self-
Transforming Mind
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n The subject/object relationship (impulses, needs, desires, social
relationships, personal agency, one’s own sense of identity/self- authorship, etc.), i.e., what was subject (me) is now object (it)
n Examples: in adolescence, I “am” my peer group and they are
n In early adulthood, we identify with our abilities, our strengths,
tools in a tool box.
n In middle adulthood, I identify with my plans, my goals, my
achievements, my self-generated world view. Later, these plans, achievements, and goals are seen to be partial, and I long for a greater sense of purpose and connectedness…
Dualistic thinking (either/or) Dialectical thinking (both/and)
n Person as Meaning Maker n Development occurs on the basis of the
n Growth from stage to stage is driven by the
n Supports & Challenges (Holding Environment)
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Developmental Lenses for the Ways We Perceive and Make Meaning of Our Experience 21
n Based on three central premises:
(1) Constructivism (2) Developmentalism (3) Subject - Object Relationship (e.g.)
n A Way of Knowing (Drago-Severson, 2004)
shapes all aspects of identity & experience across multiple domains
n 4 Ways of Knowing found in adulthood: Instrumental
Knower; Socialized Knower; Self-Authoring Knower; Self-Transforming Knower
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n Expands options for how I
make sense of experience
n Expands capacity for
complexity
n Expands range of behaviors in
response to challenges
n Expands ability to handle
uncertainty
n Expands mental complexity
and emotional intelligence Vertical Development = Self-Transformation (Mindsets) Each Stage Transcends and Includes what comes before
n The Golden Rule: “I’ll do to you what you do to me” n “Rule-Bound Self” (Drago-Severson, 2007) n Others are helpers or obstacles n Reliance on rules, the “right” way/avoiding
punishment
n Limited capacity for abstract thinking n Orienting Concerns: fear/reward/self gain n E.g. Spiritual Direction/Ministry
n Supports and Challenges for Growth 24
n “I should do for you what I hope and expect you should do for
me”
n “Other-Focused Self” (Drago-Severson, 2007) n Self can think abstractly n Defined by important others’ & society’s expectations n Acceptance & approval are primary; conformity to social
norms
n Orients to inner states; feels responsible for other people’s
feelings
n Orienting Concerns: abstract psychological consequences
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E.g., Spiritual Direction/Ministry
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Supports and Challenges for Growth
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From NY Times 06/07
n “Doing for each other supports each of us in
meeting our own self-defined values, ideals, and goals and assists in preserving the social order”
n “Reflective Self” (Drago-Severson, 2007) n Self generates own values & standards; relies on
internal authority
n Capacity for healthy conflict- give and take n Self can hold contradictory feelings simultaneously n Meeting one’s own goals is ultimate; self
improvement
n Orienting Concerns n E.g., Spiritual Direction/Ministry n Supports and Challenges for Growth
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“I have the freedom to be myself and to let others be, while at the same time, being open to intimacy with people completely different from me… My own way of being is partial and incomplete without relationship with the other… my becoming is constantly evolving, looping back on itself, and changing.”
nA new balance between capacity for agency and communion nThe“self” system is an object available for attention and constant
discernment…the“fourth person” perspective.
nDark sides: Power/despair nOrienting concerns: n E.g., Spiritual Direction/Ministry n Supports and Challenges for Growth 28
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n A progression from the simple to the complex n From an external orientation to an inner one n From absolutism and certitude to increasing
n From tendency to rely on “out groups” and
n From a posture of conformity to group norms
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Applying Adult Development Theory to Spiritual Growth 31
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n Implications for working with adults and each
n Differing expectations n Needing different supports & challenges n In any spiritual/religious community, there will
n Spiritual directors as part of a robust“Holding
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n The context in and out of which we grow n 3 Functions : Support; Challenge: Stability n How might understanding this help you in
n Importance of meeting people where they are
n Demands sometimes outpace our capacities n Expectations
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Way of Knowing Expectations of SD’s Practical Supports Instrumental Directors know what the right goals and methods are & should tell me what they are. Give Instrumental Knowers goals, practices & step-by-step process for achieving them. Socializing Directors know the best goals for me, out of many
the director will help reinforce conventional values and ways of being spiritual or religious Socializing Knowers do generate some goals
supervisors should acknowledge them as goals that they should pursue.
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Way of Knowing Expectations of SD’s Practical Supports Self-Authoring Having appropriated the authority of their personal experience, they expect directors to engage in dialogue and to
perspectives for consideration. Offer feedback & alternate perspectives and engage in joint inquiry around experience.
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Way of Knowing Expectations of SD’s Practical Supports Transforming Directee hopes that the director will be a companion into the mystery of their deepening relationship and intimacy with self,
The director can be present to the directee as they explore more profoundly the paradoxes
tensions that are generated by inner contradictions.
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Way of Knowing Sin Rules
Sin is an external reality that affects my actions: for example “devil made me do it,” and being caught makes me feel ashamed. Dictate the right and wrong way to think, live, and act (imposed from
an imposition when they are not in line with MY impulses/needs.
Sin is often understood as a reality that jeopardizes my relationships, located within myself, which means “I feel guilty,” though I may not be able to take responsibility for my actions (blaming
Rules are internalized, though received (from the
authorities and sources external to me, e.g. church teaching, what some public figure teaches, etc.
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Way of Knowing Sin Rules
I experience sin as a breach of my integrity, self-stated values, personal code of
disappointed in myself. At this stage, I appreciate the value of rules, but not all of them apply to me, and I select the ones that resonate with my experience.
much more subtle, even moment to moment experience of being in and out of harmony with God’s will as this is unfolding and manifest in my experience. I understand the value of rules, and the importance
and codes of conduct in light of complex social realities; however, I appreciate that these codes are constructed, conditioned, and rarely absolute.
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Trust in the Slow Work of God. Above all, trust in the slow work
the end without delay. We should like to skip the intermediate
unknown, something new. And yet it is the law of all progress that it is made by passing through some stages of instability and that it may take a very long time. And so I think it is with
shape themselves, without undue haste. Don’t try to force them on, as though you could be today what time (that is to say, grace and circumstances acting on your own good will) will make of you tomorrow. Only God could say what this new spirit gradually forming within you will be. Give Our Lord the benefit of believing that his hand is leading you, and accept the anxiety of feeling yourself in suspense and incomplete.
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