spiritual development

I've been reading the very academic book by Elizabeth Liebert "Changing Life Patterns: Adult Development in Spiritual Direction".

She speaks of the phase that happens once you realize that two contradictory statements can be true. Or, a statement can be true and not true at the same time. Living with paradoxes sets a person into a "more advantaged" (though not necessarily more holy) spiritual stage, and this can be disorienting for a while. For some, they are filled will doubts and they resist growth, or lapse in some way. Other struggle badly and come out into a new spiritual stage, after a bit. It helps to have a spiritual director or guide at times like these who is there to walk with you.

When one understands the world differently then before a "meta-logic" is needed for understanding contextual situations. old answers, simple ones, don't work any longer. Life is more nuanced and requires understanding of a differently reasoned sort.

Liebert notes 6 stages of spiritual development. Most overestimate their stage. Christians, stack up overwhelmingly in stages 3 and 4, and remain there, rarely making forays beyond in a permanent way.