DO WE NEED A NEW DEFINITION OF GOD? PART 3

‎”I have treated many hundreds of patients. Among those in the second half of life – that is to say, over 35 – there has not been one whose problem in the last resort was not that of finding a spiritual outlook on life.”
~ C.G. Jung

Jungian psychology holds a key to understanding the metaphysics of New Thought Teachings. As noted in Part 1 (LINK) and Part 2 (LINK) of this series, it is understood that our psychological systems – mind, thoughts, feelings, ego, shadow, etc. – are our means of connecting to the Divine within.

It is at the Modernist-Orange stage of development that we begin to seek to know ourselves as individuals and to let go of being externally defined. The psychological aspects of New Thought, as unevenly taught and practiced as they may be, are what we have to work with to deepen how we actualize our spiritual nature and spiritual principles in our lives. Are we stuck in our fear-based ego self, or is our connection to our Higher Self open via alignment with our soul, self, and conscious awareness?

“Only a life lived in a certain spirit is worth living. It is a remarkable fact that a life lived entirely from the ego is dull not only for the person himself but for all concerned.”
~ C.G. Jung

When we have little or no awareness of our spiritual nature, or when we are stuck in rigid cultural or religious fundamentalism, our lives dry up. Our richness in spirit, when realized, allows the emergence of the God-qualities of Peace, Power, Beauty, Joy, Love, Light, and Wisdom from within us. We individuate (LINK), and through that process we become more capable of valuable contribution to the common good.

This takes lots of practice, and deep work to un-condition us from old and inaccurate programming. Learning how to recognize and accept one’s authenticity can be a difficult task for the New Thought student, and it is not something one masters in a short period of time.

“If the spirit is not being fed properly, with wisdom that has been cultivated with sensitivity and intelligence, it will devour fast food and eat junk. That is what fundamentalism is, in one respect: the junk food of the spirit.”
~ David Tacey 

“In narcissism, we strive to induce the ego, I, me, with the spirit of godliness, sanctifying the ego rather than sacrificing its superiority.”
~ Erel Shalit and Nancy Swift Furlotti,
The Human Soul (Lost) in Transition at the Dawn of a New Era

The founders of New Thought and the first several generations of ministers were operating from the Traditionalist-Blue and Modernist-Orange levels of human development. From Blue we get obedience to authority, loyalty, and an absolutist take on the teachings (something that Ernest Holmes, for one, warned against). From Blue we also get a sense of self-sacrifice to duty to whatever authority we have accepted or been born into (family, nation, church, political party, etc.)

From Orange, we get individualism, scientific rationalism, self-regard, competition, status- and wealth-seeking. During the first ¾ of the 20^th Century, New Thought ministers tended to be strict with their students and followed well-defined curricula in their teaching of Principle and the Law. Fewer students seeking credentials passed their exams and board interviews than is the case today. The focus of much of the teaching was individual success in areas of health, wealth, and creative self-expression.

Later in the 20^th Century, the Postmodernist-Green level emerged. Since New Thought attracted complex thinkers and people already centered at or moving into Orange, there were larger numbers ready to move to a Green center than in the general population. Like any such shift in a culture, it began slowly, with the “new ways” of those who had evolved into Green being seen as strange or “out of principle.” Over time, those new ways became more and more the norm – more ritual, a greater emphasis on feelings, more desire to form intimate community connections, and a desire to take our principles out into the world.

“The (Postmodernist-)GREEN stage of development is magnificent. It led us into the exploration of who we are, individually and collectively. It birthed psychology, anthropology and sociology. It began the dissolution of paralyzing (Traditionalist-)BLUE structures and countered the excessively materialistic (both financial and scientific) emphasis of the (Modernist-)ORANGE mind-set.
It taught us about diversity, inclusion and consensus. It cares about the environment and challenges materialist blind spots. GREEN is co-operative, team-oriented and accepting; it reawakens the human bonding that has been reduced in varying ways by all of the stages since (Tribalist-)PURPLE.”
~ Jon Freeman, Integral Leadership Review

Some other effects of this emergence in New Thought were a move toward less authoritarian leadership, greater diversity of course materials, less rigor in the content of class materials and student evaluations, a lower failure rate, and a larger embrace of ritual. All of this happened over a few decades and continues to unfold today. At Green, we become more sensitive to feelings and averse to disharmony – feeling right about something becomes more important than traditional ideas of success.

As I wrote in an earlier post (LINK): “The spiritual leader at Green will likely define herself as being ‘heart-centered,’ whereas the same person might have defined themselves as being more cerebral when centered at Orange. Another shift from Orange to Green values is a movement from the individualistic seeking of good to a more communal seeking of group intimacy. Spiritual communities centered at Orange will likely be larger, with a strong focus on prosperity, personal growth, and ‘church growth.’ With the transition to Green, the focus is more on community, on connection, and on church closeness. Diversity will also move to the forefront as a key value as Green emerges.”

Green values begin to go beyond the attachment to scientific rationality of Orange. This can open one to explore the greater mysteries of reality but can also lead to the kind of “magical thinking” prone to misinformation, conspiracy, and other false ideas – this is a shadow aspect of the Green stage.

As Green is a feelings-oriented stage of development, God becomes more accessible from a feeling perspective so a longing for a more personal connection is reborn. The writings of the founders are read differently here, they need to feel right, to bring meaning to one’s life, and to feel true. There is a greater emphasis on Love than Law. A heightened sensitivity to fairness and empathy emerges; where the idea of seeing oneself as a victim is seen negatively at Blue and Orange, at Green there is a growing awareness of systemic issues for which the individual is not responsible.

There is a greater desire to live spiritual principles as a true community – to take our teaching to the world, not in proselytizing sense, but by doing spiritually-motivated good works. Consensus is valued for governing bodies, such as boards or councils; decisions can take a long time because everyone should be consulted and everyone should feel right about decisions that are made.

Here is a link to other past posts on the blog about Postmodernist-Green and its impact on New Thought (LINK).

When centered at Green, God is more personal, more about feeling right, more about compassion and empathy. Green is a more complex level, so there is a greater capacity to see connections and linkages. At Green there is more curiosity about other faith traditions and how they link to New Thought. There is also a greater yearning for interfaith connections.

At Green, every voice must be heard and all opinions valued. There is a reluctance to dismiss other viewpoints or ideas. A greater variety of materials are brought into the curriculum and, in some cases, it becomes unclear just what the core theology of the spiritual community is. The desire is to be welcoming to all, and despite the desire to do more outreach there is a reluctance to engage in things deemed political or to disagree with the beliefs or practices of other faith traditions.

In Part 4, we will look at what is emerging in New Thought theology and how our broadening worldviews are shaping our definitions of God. We will also explore how God might be defined at the 2^nd Tier stages of the Spiral.

As always, your comments are welcomed. Feel free to share this and other posts with others who may be interested.

Copyright 2023 – Jim Lockard

REMINDER: I am offering this course of study to begin in November. There is an information call this Saturday, October 21st. For the link, email me at JimLockardTravels@jimlockard