Easy Spiritual Growth Tips: A Beginner’s Guide

Although the definition of spiritual growth varies a lot depending on who you ask, spirituality is generally thought to mean a connection with God, Self, community, and environment (Ai, 2000). And growth, in this context, just means we increase that connection. So in this article, we define spiritual growth as the forward movement or evolution of one’s being towards that sense of connection with God, Self, community, environment, or any other personal representations of spirituality we might hold.

Opposite of Spiritual Growth

​Although spiritual evolution is our natural process (Tolle, 2006) and we are always growing spiritually, we often resist this growth. We may refuse to see beyond our own limiting beliefs, shame others for taking a different spiritual path than our own, or find ourselves repeating the same patterns without changing our perspectives (Shutan, 2024). In these cases, we still grow spiritually, albeit at a slower pace than we might otherwise have.

There are both internal and external causes of spiritual growth. For example, we may choose to be grateful for others in our daily lives as an easy spiritual growth practice. Or, we may be pushed to grow spiritually when we suddenly develop an incurable illness or lose a loved one. The difference between internally and externally caused spiritual growth is far less meaningful than it appears, though, since we are all connected. Internal and external are not really separate and we often engage in practices like mirroring and projection—mental processes that make our internal workings appear to be external (Shutan, 2024).

Theories suggest that we progress along multiple quasi-independent lines of growth, and the later stages of these lines are what we tend to refer to as spiritual growth or spirituality (Wilber, 2001). Here, we’ll focus on seven major lines (which roughly map to the chakras). (another approach to this growth involves the 10 fetters).

In this view, each line has multiple threads. Spiritual awakening (and enlightenment) requires reaching the advanced stages of all the lines and all (or most) of the threads within a line. 
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The seven key lines are below: 
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1. Stability. Grounding, connection to the physical body, financial stability, sense of safety, etc…
2. Emotion. Emotion regulation, nervous system activation, fear, physical movement, sexuality, etc…
3. Self. Identity, self-esteem, ego, self-expression, achievement, etc…
4. Other. Social connection, love, kindness, compassion, gratitude, forgiveness, etc…
5. Self-Other. Communication, listening, voice, boundaries, leadership, etc…
6. Mind. Thinking, learning, analyzing, imagination, intuition, etc…
7. Soul. Play, surrender, oneness, etc…

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​Within each line, spiritual growth occurs in waves, stages, or spirals (Wilber, 2001). In other words, increases in spiritual connection or awareness may look more like a staircase than a hill, and we will hop forward and jump backward many times as we climb the staircase of our spiritual evolution. 

It is also important to note that although I have described these lines as separate, they are integrally connected. Think of them more like a braid—they are separate but they overlap and are interwoven. A braid cannot exist without all lines supporting it. Although we move forward in each line separately, moving forward in any one of these lines will affect how easy it is to move forward in the other lines.
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Engaging in easy spiritual activities (and difficult spiritual activities) along any of these lines results in spiritual growth, as each moves us closer to connection and enhances our spirituality. How this occurs will become more clear when we talk about spiritual growth stages in the next section.

Each line (above) must go through each stage (below). As an example of how we progress through the stages, we might experience a wave of growth that enables us to have peak spiritual experiences that are characteristic of the later stages of spiritual growth. Then that wave retracts all the way back before the wave rolls out again, enabling us to experience even greater spiritual experiences. Like a rising tide, each time a wave crashes on our shore, we extend our spiritual growth further and further. 

Although the waves of growth allow us to have occasional spiritual experiences, we generally can not skip stages (Wilber, 2001). Indeed, Akilesh Ayyar, a spiritual teacher, says that most people need to have their physical, emotional and mental needs met before they can effectively make significant progress with spiritual practices. So if we want a more stable experience of spirituality, we benefit by continuing to pursue growth within each of the lines described previously. 

The following descriptions of the stages can help you understand where you are in your own spiritual growth journey and what easy spiritual activities you can engage in to progress to the next stage.

​Spiritual Growth Stages & Easy Spiritual Activities

1. Sensing Stage. This stage involves fully using our 5 senses. Easy spiritual activities at this stage may include deep breathing, somatic therapy, grounding, nutrition, trying new things, forest bathing, and physical touch. All of these help us become more embodied.

2. Learning Stage. This stage involves initial learning. Easy spiritual activities at this stage may include reading spiritual or self-help books, building good habits, going to therapy, learning to regulate our emotions, setting goals, socializing, and journaling. 

3. Expressing Stage. This stage involves action-oriented self-expression. Easy spiritual activities at this stage may include exercising, gratitude, kindness, interpersonal communication, setting boundaries, creative expression, and outwardly showing our true selves in other ways.

4. Awareness Stage. This stage involves a heightened level of awareness and understanding about ourselves and our world. Easy spiritual activities at this stage may involve self-reflection, mindfulness, presence, active listening, and meditation.

5. Allowing Stage. This stage involves acceptance and letting go. Easy spiritual activities at this stage might involve letting go of the past, forgiveness, developing trust, and surrender.
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6. Awakening Stage. This stage involves a greater understanding of our place within the whole. Easy spiritual activities at this stage may include taking full accountability, loving-kindness meditation, practicing empathy, finding flow, radiating positivity, and finding your life purpose.​

All stages of personal growth have their challenges and opportunities. Here are some tips on how to easily move forward at each stage.
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• Sensing & Learning Stages. Read. Learn as much as you can about the different lines described above. Don’t ignore any of the lines—you need them all.
• Expressing Stage. Practice, practice, practice. Start implementing some of the things you learned. Choose activities you like. Maybe you prefer a gratitude list or maybe you prefer expressive art therapy. Or maybe you prefer to go swimming rather than write poetry. Start with what you love and use this to further find your most authentic modes of self-expression.
• Awareness & Allowing Stage. Once you have engaged in a lot of spiritual growth activities, you will find that they become automatic and you can now do them without thinking about it. For example, maybe you don’t need to write a gratitude list anymore because your mindset has become naturally grateful. This means it’s time to start exploring which lines need deeper work and focus more intently on them.
• Awakening Stage. Once you’ve advanced far enough in all the lines, you’ll discover that you’re naturally going through a self-integration process. This is the beginning of what some might call spiritual awakening, God-realization, or ascension, and it precedes full enlightenment. Engage in the awakening process without resistance and you’ll continue to grow spiritually.

It may be tempting to focus on the Mind and Soul lines when we’re pursuing spiritual growth–wouldn’t that be easier? This unbalanced approach to spiritual growth is exactly what leads to problems and spiritual emergencies (Shutan, 2015; Wilber, 2001). For example, focusing only on these lines may explain some instances of schizophrenia and other complicated mental problems where people have scary and disorienting experiences (Shutan, 2015). 

This growth pattern may explain why some spiritual leaders—who are quite spiritually advanced in some ways—abuse and manipulate their followers. Needless to say, these are undesirable outcomes and they do not lead to true spirituality and enlightenment.

Advanced techniques along any of the lines, but especially the Mind and Soul line are to be avoided. For example, engaging in third-eye meditation, taking courses on psychic abilities, or seeking to capitalize on the law of attraction are advanced techniques that don’t function properly without adequate development along the other lines. 

They may result in “peak experiences”—or momentary entry into the Awakening stage—but a solid foundation has not been built so the experiences don’t last or are distressing in some way. Plus, seeking shortcuts often detracts one from reaching the peace, joy, and love that are part of the true spiritual growth that emerges when we balance our spiritual growth among all the lines.​

Here are some experiences that commonly occur during the Awakening stage of each spiritual growth line:
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1. Stability. Sense of safety, stability, and security.
2. Emotion. Fearlessness and stabilized nervous system.
3. Self. Healthy self-esteem and we are no longer ruled by ego.
4. Other. Automatic gratitude, forgiveness, and love.
5. Self-Other. Authenticity, honesty.
6. Mind. Intuition, knowing.
7. Soul. Oneness.

Because spiritual growth looks more like a staircase than a hill (or more like waves than a placid lake), it can often involve big jumps forward in growth. We can be faced with a death, an illness, or a job loss that catapults us to a new stage quickly and without warning. Or, internally, we may suddenly gain access to repressed memories, realize that we are in a toxic relationship, or gain awareness of something that motivates us to change our lives radically. 

These rapid bursts of spiritual growth can indeed be challenging, as each one involves undergoing a loss of some sort. That loss may be of something or someone in our material world, or it may be an identity, belief, or role we have grown attached to—whatever it is, it threatens our reality as we know it. We may feel depressed, tired, or even experience physical symptoms as we progress. It is important that we remember that growth comes in waves, we will get through this, and the next stage often holds even greater rewards for us. 

• Ai, A. L. (2000). Spiritual well-being, spiritual growth, and spiritual care for the aged: A cross-faith and interdisciplinary effort. Journal of Religious Gerontology, 11(2), 3-28.
• Shutan, Mary Mueller. (2024). Shadow Work for the Soul: Seeing Beauty in the Dark. Findhorn Press.
• Shutan, Mary Mueller. (2015). The Spiritual Awakening Guide: Kundalini, Psychic Abilities, and the Conditioned Layers of Reality. Findhorn Press.
• Tolle, E. (2006). A new earth: Awakening to your life’s purpose. Penguin Life.
• Wilber, K. (2001). The eye of spirit: An integral vision for a world gone slightly mad. Shambhala Publications.