Page 184 - EMCAPP-Journal No. 7

The Work and Thinking of David Benner

something that for too many people is a present Another way of describing mature personhood
reality that is devoid of becoming and devoid of is in terms of advances on the various lines of
vitality. human development. We all differ on such di-
mensions of life as cognition, moral reasoning,
An embrace of becoming all that we can be is and emotional functioning. Similarly, we differ
a deeply spiritual way of living. It orients us to in terms of the maturity of our ego develop-
that which is larger and beyond our individual ment, the breadth and openness of our world-
selves and it channels our vitality and makes life view, our capacity for love, and our ability to
meaningful. It is a spirituality of growth and the adopt perspectives other than our own. Under-
fulfillment of our potentialities.“ lying all of these are fundamental differences in
the development of consciousness itself – the
Further comments from Mike Sheldon great evolving ocean of awareness on which all
Spirituality which enables us to grow and phenomena and experiences arise. But while
complete our earthly journey must be open to these competencies are all makers of the fully
the transformative influence of God’s Spirit. actualized human, none exist at birth and none
There will therefore always be a large element
of mystery in our lives as we have so much are acquired simply by the passage of time.
more to learn and experience as we grow.
We are therefore in a process of “becoming”. Time is necessary but not sufficient in the hu-
This journey makes a balance between doing man journey. Many other things are also neces-
and being. Sometimes we place too much em- sary – including adequate love and emotional
phasis on doing, and at other times we can support, a healthy balance between gratification
over-emphasise being. They are both sides of and frustration, courage, honesty, an openness
the same coin, neither is possible without the to experience, a commitment to growth, free-
other dom from both external and internal restric-

tions, and much more.
Becoming Fully Human
“Confucian philosophy and developmental Integral psychology – a holistic approach that
psychology share at least two important convic- makes its central concern the evolution of hu-
tions about being human. Both believe that not man consciousness – places a similar emphasis
only are humans never born fully human, they on the intentional nature of the journey to full
also believe that the mere passage of time is not human personhood. Ken Wilber argues that life
in itself sufficient to ensure the development of practices that attend to body, mind and spirit
full human personhood. are essential for significant advances on any of

the lines of inner development. Some growth
Newborns may bear the potential for mature comes from openness to life experience but ex-
personhood but they do not show any of the pansion of consciousness – which, in his view,
characteristics that humanistic psychologists fuels and supports all other development – re-
have identified. Markers of fully actualized hu- quires conscious choice and commitment to
manity include such things as a well developed our becoming all we can be.
capacity for non-possessive love, being groun-
ded in reality and alive in the present moment, Christian teaching has not always been nearly
a personal philosophy that makes life meaning- as clear as to just how important becoming hu-
ful, the capacity for forgiveness and letting go, man truly is. Sometimes it has seemed to sup-
inner freedom of choice and response, creativi- port a spirituality of escape from the human
ty, respect for others, the capacity for reflection condition, particularly from our bodies, emo-
on experience, and an identification with all hu- tions and sexuality. In this, it has failed to take
mans, not simply those of one’s own kind. Many seriously the Bible’s clear and strong affirmati-
other things could be added to this list, but even ons of goodness of the material world in general
in this partial form it shows the magnitude of and humanity in particular. Salvation as escape
the task of achieving full-orbed personhood. from humanity is sub-Christian. Saint Irenaeus

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