This article came about because of a question I received. It’s by no means scientifically supported, it’s just one man’s rough sketch of the spiritual stations we might pass through.

The journey to spiritual maturity is a transformative process that involves moving beyond surface-level understanding to a deeper connection with our true Self and the universe vs our egoic self (aka “persona”). This journey, marked by distinct stations, helps individuals evolve from a state of spiritual vacancy to the enlightened state of a spiritual master.

I call these “stations” because just like a train we’re all just on a journey passing through stations, or maybe getting stuck at one for a while. It’s all good, every train is just as valuable regardless at which station it happened to pull into last. There’s no hierarchy in the non-linear spiritual world so there’s also no need to get triggered by any of the below, as we’re all just a single speck of stardust in an infinite universe which will go on into eternity. Your and my 70–80 years or so here in Earth School are simultaneously critically important and completely irrelevant in the big scheme of things. Yet, understanding these stages can offer valuable insights into one’s spiritual growth.

Please note that any adjectives I use are purely descriptive — that’s how we tell a story — there’s zero judgment in any of my words.

What is spiritual maturity?

Spiritual maturity refers to the development of a deep, enduring connection with the spiritual aspects of Life itself and it goes beyond religious doctrine or spiritual practices. It represents a state of being where one is deeply connected to their inner true Self and the universe, moving beyond ego-driven desires and embracing a higher level of consciousness. This maturity is reflected in how an individual navigates life’s challenges, responds to suffering, and seeks meaning beyond material success.

Spiritual maturity is not about perfection; rather, it’s about continuous growth and alignment with spiritual principles, shifting to a more compassionate and selfless approach to life.

Achieving spiritual mastery: a framework

1. First station – Spiritual vacancy

We might as well start at the “ugly” one, these are the psychopaths and sociopaths of this world: this initial stage is characterized by a lack of awareness or interest in spiritual matters.

Individuals in this state may feel disconnected from any sense of higher purpose or spiritual truth, often driven solely by material gains, carnal pursuits, and fear- and scarcity-based survival instincts. These people have temporarily lost their connection with their divinity within so they’re cut off from both love the emotion and love the energy. I specifically say temporarily because for all of us — including the spiritually vacant ones — this is just one round in Earth School of countless rounds we have already lived and countless others we will live after this one.

Regretfully, many if not all of our world leaders — our political and corporate elites — are parked in this station for reasons I cannot fully explain in a single article. But, all those in places of power and influence that submit to uncontrolled greed — which is rooted in fear and survival instincts — eventually allow their lust for power, money, and control and domination of others to guide them. And, when these spiritually vacant souls happen to be elites they can cause great harm to our world and others as they will justify and rationalize their fraud, malfeasance, self-dealing, conflicts of interest, exploitation, destruction, violence, hate, and disdain for others as an acceptable means to an end. The “end” goal is absolute power and total control, money is only a tool and scorecard. They like to congregate in private societies to bundle their resources and advance their common agenda. For their ultimate justification they made a flawed interpretation of Darwinism — survival of the strongest — and within that they are convinced that all means are acceptable.

That’s actually not what Darwin pointed at nor is that the correct phrase he coined. He coined the term “survival of the fittest” as a concept in his theory of evolution meaning the continued existence of organisms which are best able to adapt to their environment, where those least able to adapt inevitably face extinction. Adapting to your environment is a very different precept than adapting at the expense and detriment of others, but this critical insight is of no concern to the spiritually vacant. They simply have no access to love or compassion and are operating on survival instincts which reside in our lizard brain, the smallest and oldest part of our human brain.

The irony is they appear omnipotent, but this is only because the next station — the spiritually illiterate — acquiesce to their free will and by virtue of their numbers this allows the spiritually vacant to rule and dominate. It’s not real power though, it’s governed by fear and manipulation — leaning heavily on force, abuse of leverage, misuse of vested power, violence, and using mainstream media to dictate the narrative. All of this entirely predicated on the masses not (yet) being aware of their sovereign and free will soul powers that lay dormant deep within. The moment this awakening of the masses takes place, the spiritually vacant will be relegated to powerless bystanders as all their powers will dissipate virtually overnight. This is the spiritually vacant’s worst nightmare and what keeps them in an incessant neurotic state.

2. Second Station – Spiritual illiteracy

At this stage, individuals may have some awareness of spiritual concepts but lack a deeper understanding. This is probably 70-80%+ of the world population. They do have a sense that at some level they’re spiritual beings, they have access to “love the emotion” and they generally would not harm others intentionally. These are generally what society calls “good people” as they’re law-abiding citizens living comfortable and pedestrian lives. They follow the rules society sets, work their jobs, pay their taxes, love their country, and their lives are typically centered around their families and a circle of like-minded friends. They come from all walks of life and some of them accumulate enormous worldly success. Except, that’s all based on their unconsciously gained “success programming” hard-wired into their subconscious mind through their upbringing and swimming in the right fishbowl (i.e. being surrounded by people who have success, abundance, and wealth).

Nevertheless, all these people are still identified fully with their mind — which is made up of thoughts and belief systems — and their body and have no access to true sovereign critical thinking because that requires activating your free will as a sovereign soul and a complete disidentification with form. The identification with mind is what makes the spiritually illiterate so susceptible to follow political flags, ideologies and religion in a dogmatic way which all together make up each person’s enculturated conditioning. The identification with body is the foundational belief of any identification with form whether it’s race, creed, gender, or sexual orientation. The combination of identification with mind and body is the root cause why we see so much division and social tension in Western society and the USA especially.

So, these beautiful beings follow whatever narrative their upbringing, society, religion and the media imprints on them. Blindly and unbeknownst that they are acting out their life 99% in unconscious mode which like I said can still yield vast worldly success. The tell-tale sign is that they get heavily triggered if you even suggest this – you cannot explain the color orange in a sea of red to the color blind. Individuals in the station of spiritual illiteracy might explore various spiritual traditions superficially without fully grasping their essence. Overcoming spiritual illiteracy involves committing to learning and understanding spiritual teachings more profoundly but this pursuit must go beyond the accumulation of mere information. Spirituality is concerned with applied wisdom; not just the memorization of facts, theories, dogma, and doctrine.

3. Third Station — Spiritual novice

This stage is marked by curiosity, exploration, and a growing desire to connect with the spiritual realm. Novices may experiment with different practices and philosophies, gradually finding what resonates with their inner truth . These people have had an awakening event of some sort — they’ve been “red pilled” as Morpheus would say in the Matrix movie. However, they are still expanding their understanding and are the hungriest learners you’ll ever meet as they sense there’s so much they don’t know but their innate desire to spiritually grow and evolve is immense.

During this time of learning incessantly about all things spirituality they will go down various rabbit holes that will ultimately prove to not give them the whole answer. This is a natural part of the learning process, there are many modalities we can explore such as astrology, tarot, yoga, meditation and tantra that can give us clues, guidance, and practices that aid on the spiritual path but these aren’t the path in and by themselves. Then, there all the ancient wisdom traditions which include all major world religions and a treasure trove of philosophy schools (e.g. Ancient Greece, Stoicism, etc.) as well as esoteric teachings and mystery schools like Hermeticism, Kabbala, Gnosticism, Rosicrucianism, etc. There are many schools of New Age teachings and even quantum physics touches on spirituality if you venture deep enough into the discoveries of the great physicists like Albert Einstein, David Bohm, and Niels Bohr just to mention a few. The point and path here is to go deep into our inner world to gain mastery of the intelligence of Life itself. The only true access portal — i.e. rabbit hole — to that is the heart. We have to become masters of the intelligence of the heart — feeling, sensing, direct knowing, and intuiting — and ultimately the spiritual novice will figure this out by going down many rabbit holes never to really find the one holy grail yet picking up a great many pieces of the cosmic puzzle in all these sources described above.

In the rite of passage called awakening we are also called to “walk through the fire” which is often referred to as the “dark night of the soul”. Typically, we actually have many dark nights of the soul events until we reach higher levels of ascendence as described further on. The spiritual novice will likely experience at least their first dark night of the soul event which usually coincides with some form of crisis or catastrophe showing up in our life as a trigger event.

This stage is marked by curiosity, openness, and not just willingness but eagerness to learn. Since these still searching souls are on a learning bender, they make bookstores, workshops, and all varieties of spiritual teaching or healing a frisky business. The tell-tale sign here is that they tend to idolize their teachers and gurus, they have not yet gained the spiritual wisdom to idolize the teachings, never the teacher. Usually, people only stay in this station for a short period of time, a few years maybe and 4–5 years max.

4. Fourth Station – Spiritual bypasser

Spiritual bypassing occurs when individuals use spiritual beliefs or practices to avoid facing unresolved emotional issues. Instead of confronting pain or trauma, a spiritual bypasser might meditate, pray, or engage in rituals as a form of escape.

This is a very interesting station, this is where we believe we have summited the Himalaya while we’ve actually just made it to base camp. The spiritual bypasser knows all of the lingo and buzzwords and sounds like the Buddha himself, yet the knowledge is still just in the mind and not fully “embodied” which is to say integrated into the heart yet. Again, being to regurgitate information does not equal applied wisdom. They will preach “love & light” all day long and in the same breath be rude and condescending to the waitress.

Here we also find the spiritual speculators chasing the Matrix-game called crypto windfalls and their newest gold rush called NFTs and the Metaverse. Never mind the environmental disaster most of it is or the dystopian world it will almost inevitably create. The spiritual bypasser also likes to make sure he/she doesn’t pay any taxes anywhere in the world because he/she never uses any airports, public roads or water, and there’s no need for any public schools as I am okay with an illiterate world. Oh wait, except my virtual VA, he/she does need to be able to write, do basic math, and post for me on my IG. Like I said, the spiritual knowledge is not quite embodied yet and this reflects in their life choices, but they sound like masters when you meet them and quite a few of them are highly successful coaches at teaching you how to make your fortune. Never mind that most clients are still caught up playing Matrix games humanity shouldn’t be playing anymore. They will cloak their course offerings in cute spiritual wrapping paper but when it comes down to brass tacks they will teach you mindset techniques. Don’t get me wrong, these can be very useful and effective in realizing material gains in the Matrix, but it won’t move you an inch closer to embodying the intelligence of Life itself because — as mentioned earlier — that can only be accessed through gaining mastery of the intelligence of the heart. Ultimately, spiritual information needs to be integrated so it can be expressed in the form of applied wisdom.

What is an example of spiritual bypassing?

A common example of spiritual bypassing is using positive affirmations to suppress negative emotions rather than addressing the underlying causes of those emotions. Instead of facing and healing these issues, they use spiritual practices as an emotional pacifier and mental bandaid, which ultimately hinders genuine spiritual growth. While affirmations can be powerful, they should not replace the necessary work of healing and self-reflection.

5. Spiritual false prophets

These are essentially spiritual bypassers on steroids, they know how to talk the talk and dress the part – they’re smooth marketers and very talented at storytelling so the novices and bypassers follow right along as their spiritual bullshit radar has not yet come fully online.

At this station, we find individuals who may mistakenly believe they have reached spiritual enlightenment, often using their perceived wisdom for personal gain or to manipulate others. These “false prophets” can lead themselves and others astray, mistaking ego-driven pursuits for genuine spiritual insights. Here is where we find the tragic stories of self-anointed gurus and sages who prey on novices especially (recall “never idolize the teacher”). Fraud, sexual abuse, etc. — you get the picture. Here’s the tell-tale sign of a spiritual false prophet: anyone referring to themselves as a guru, sage, mystic, or grand priest or priestess of royal Pleiadian starseed lineage, etc. is in fact not. Jesus or Buddha never called themselves any of these things, they were just being themselves, i.e. Jesus and Buddha, respectively.
These “false prophets” may possess charisma and knowledge but lack the true essence of spiritual maturity, which is grounded in humility and service.

Spiritual maturity VS bypassers and false prophets

Now we’re getting into pretty rarified air: at the spiritual maturity station we find fully integrated beings, meaning they can shift dimensions between 3D (i.e. the material realm) and 5D (i.e. the spiritual realm) at will. So, what else separates the spiritually mature from the bypassers and false prophets?
Most bypassers and some false prophets make those stations temporary, when they do decide it’s time for them to walk through the fire again they eventually pull into spiritually mature stations. Some never do though, they get comfortable where they are at and somewhere deep within they know that to ascend to spiritual maturity they will need to do two things which are both exceedingly challenging. They need to

• (a) clean up whatever addictions and numbing — unhealthy relationship with money, attachment to things, alcohol, drugs, partying, gambling, binge watching, infidelity, porn, etc. — they still have going on in their lives;
• and (b) take 100% responsibility for every single aspect of their life, no more victimhood of any kind.

Furthermore, within 100% responsibility is the embedded premise that we must be unconditionally committed to live a life of truth and integrity — this is usually the greatest challenge for the false prophet ascending to this level as this is a major test for them which most flunk time and again as the mind and flesh can be highly resilient in its weaknesses. Power and pleasure are potent corruptors.

6. Sixth Station – Spiritual maturity

Reaching spiritual maturity involves integrating spiritual knowledge with daily life – this is called embodiment. Individuals at this stage embody virtues such as integrity, nobility, compassion, humility, and inner peace. They are more attuned to the interconnectedness of all life and strive to live in harmony with these principles.

You will find them to be in service in whatever field they choose to be in, they’re humble, and self-deprecating. They emit joy, are playful, yet remain highly dedicated students of life and view everyone and every situation as a master & teacher. Moreover, they have made that soul commitment to fully live in truth and integrity. They have mastered the language of the heart — feeling, sensing, direct knowing, and intuiting — and exude a loving presence yet will gently remind you of their boundaries which are firm and non-negotiable. They don’t judge and the whole picture of the intelligence of Life itself has become a knowing to them, it’s no longer an intellectual concept as it is for the bypassers. In their presence, you will FEEL their presence as love the energy is their prevailing vibration which makes them organically charismatic and highly magnetic.

There’s quite a cadre of these wayshowers gathering on Earth right now and they’re the ones that will play a critical role in ushering in a new era for humanity during this time of transition. These are the architects of the new world and you might find them in all walks of life, all sorts of professions, and all sorts of capacities.

7. Seventh Station — Spiritual masters

Spiritual masters are individuals who have attained a high level of spiritual maturity. They possess wisdom and insight that guide others on their spiritual journeys. These are the true Bodhisattva’s gracing this Earth — there might be only a handful or dozen max of these very special beings. These are the master teachers among us — fully integrated in dimensions beyond even 5D — that are here to assist a transition of humanity to a higher plane of consciousness. These Bodhisattva’s have an enormous organic presence — meaning they don’t have to do anything specific for it — as they have nearly fully embodied the Christ consciousness. I say “nearly” because Jesus Christ was of a level of consciousness so pure and close to Source itself his presence on Earth now would shift the consciousness of the entire planet in revolutionary ways.

Nevertheless, the mere energetic presence of these spiritual masters on Earth still affects the gridlines in powerful ways, their following tends to be universal although they’re generally not fully understood as the levels of higher intelligence they have access to far exceeds that of all others which explains we haven’t necessarily heard about them.

You simply cannot see what you don’t know.

However, their specific cosmic role is to serve as a guide for wayshowers and assist prospective wayshowers to gain spiritual maturity so they can start being of service to humanity and fulfill their role here on Earth. Spiritual masters have transcended ego, fully embodying love, wisdom, and compassion. These individuals often serve as guides, helping others navigate their own spiritual journeys. A spiritual master doesn’t claim superiority but walks the path with humility and grace.

I am not going to expand too much on this station as, quite frankly, this station is mostly aspirational for 99.9% of us which includes myself.

Becoming a spiritual master during your journey

Here’s how to interpret all of this (except maybe for those handful of true spiritual masters): we’re all flawed human beings — perfectly imperfect — and the only real difference is our current level of understanding.

None of this is black and white, the spiritually mature will occasionally make a misstep or stumble, the novice will have an enlightened streak, the bypasser will fully embody love the energy from time to time, and the false prophet will actually do some really good work as well and help someone tremendously. Life is fluid and dynamic, translating these sorts of concepts into words — which is content — is using language to describe what’s actually beyond words, beyond content. Keep that in mind before you condemn me to the fire.

As I said at the very beginning, there’s no hierarchy in any of this — every soul is just as sacred as the next — and so this is really just one way to size this up and put something into neat boxes that actually can’t be confined by any box.

Having said all that, there’s a lot of clues here that — if you so choose — can be used to guide you as you might be considering it’s time to move to another station.

Enjoy your train ride.

Love+Truth,

Robert