By George A. Boyd ©2023
Q: At what level are people able to do spiritual work?
A: We can conceive human functioning as an eleven-point scale:
-5 Gross physical dysfunction – Catatonia or paralysis, inability to use the body
-4 Etheric body dysfunction – Chronic debilitating illness, not having the energy to carry out the activities of living
-3 Mental dysfunction – Cognitive disorganization and delusion, deficits in intellectual ability
-2 Emotional dysfunction – mania and depression, inability to form normal human relationships
-1 Egoic dysfunction – Anxiety, personality disorders, inability to experience integral Self
0 Integral Self – Normal adult functioning, having the capacity to make congruent choices, to plan for the future, and to achieve one’s objectives
+1 Aspiration and idealism – Dedication of one’s life to a cause greater than oneself
+2 Creativity – Expression of the Soul’s gifts through the operation of the transpersonal will
+3 Altruism and service – Living a life of love and compassion, charity, and caring for others, which expresses the unconditional love of the Soul
+4 Inner awakening – As one awakens the three immortal principles—the attentional principle, the spirit, and the Soul—one gains the ability to work on the personality and to awaken and transform one’s spiritual potentials
+5 Thaumaturgy – This grants the ability to minister the Light, and to guide, teach, and initiate others—this expresses the Illumined Mind and the Divine Spirit
We can find common characteristics for those who operate at the levels that exist within the personality (-5 to 0) and those that transcend it (+1 to +5):
Physicians and mental health professionals assist people to get to level 0, where people can function optimally in their lives.
People who join causes—military, political, and religious—follow beliefs and perform behavior to dedicate themselves to something greater than themselves. These individuals operate at level +1.
Those that develop a gift that comes from their Superconscious mind—athletic, scientific, artistic, philosophical, metaphysical, or psychic—tap into their creative nexus at level +2.
Those who awaken as their attentional principle, spirit, and Soul are capable of working at level +4. This is where we begin our students in Mudrashram®. This is where one gains the ability to do spiritual work.
Those who become spiritual Masters or who work directly with spiritual Masters are able to engage in spiritual ministry at level +5.
We observe that people who operate in levels -5 to -1 typically have difficulty with adult functioning. If they try to transcend the Self—without working out their issues—through forays into spiritual levels +1 to +5, they experience difficulties maintaining their rationality and balance.
If they attempt this jump into the beyond before they have achieved the Integral Self stage, they often bring their emotional, cognitive, or egoic dysfunction with them. This yields distortion of spiritual concepts, belief in conspiracy theories, and fanatical behavior.
Before you can safely transcend the Self, it is important that you reach stable functioning as your Self—and are able to carry out the activities of adult functioning.
Those who dedicate themselves to an aspirational agenda at level +1—if they still have unfinished resolution of cognitive, emotional, and egoic issues—are more likely to succumb to demagogic and cultic manipulation, making them prone to believe in conspiracy theories and to adopt fanatical behavior.
We suggest that you study this eleven-point scale of functioning, and identify the factors that will allow you to stably move to higher levels of functioning and to ready yourself for conscious spiritual work.
