The stages of personality development are one of the most interesting and popular topics. This is due to the desire of the individual to learn something secret about himself and become someone even more advanced. Reading about the stages of development, we mentally determine our place in life and look at the near future. This may be an intermediate step between clearly defined stages, or a specific stage. As a rule, in systems describing the stages of development, there are three initial stages along which social people move, one transitional stage, and two or three stages of the spiritual level. In this article I will not make large deviations from the usual canons, but I will try to express my view on the topic of the stages of development of personality and consciousness .
First of all, I would like to say that there is nothing wrong with being at one stage or another. From birth, everyone is forced to go through stages of personality development. And if you jump over a step somewhere, most likely the experience will be incomplete, and you will have to make up for lost time. It is stupid to condemn a first-grader for not being able to solve university problems. If, in your opinion, a person is stupid, perhaps there have not yet been those lessons in his life, thanks to which he could gain wisdom. And in your life there were no lessons that eliminated the roots of the energy-consuming habit of judging. In a developed person, the soul has come a long way, stage by stage. The current stage of development depends on past experiences.
All people are different - each at their own stage, and this phenomenon could best be explained by the concept of rebirth of the soul. It seems like the past is unknown, therefore the result of the past in the form of the current stage of development has to be taken for granted. The acceptability of such an explanation depends on one's personal worldview. If we omit the theory of reincarnation, we can say that the developed personality was lucky - she probably had good genes and living conditions suitable for development.
It makes no sense to condemn people who are “underdeveloped” relative to our level. If a person at his stage of development is weak and cannot solve a problem that seems elementary to us, this means that we are “luckier” - we received a better upbringing and education. If a person avoids difficulties, it means that he is either not ready for them, or he is “unlucky”, and he does not yet understand what lessons can be learned from solving problems independently.
There are no objectively high and low stages of development - everything is relative. And if you get attached to these ranks, there will always be a person on earth who will be two heads taller than you, in comparison with whom our stage will be low. The fewer games of elevation and humiliation, the less waste of energy on a sense of self-importance. However, in our scale of six stages of personality and consciousness development, I will start from the middle levels, to which most of the world’s population are involved, and call the subsequent stages (relatively characteristic of most people) high levels of personality development.
A person at a certain stage of development may have missed lessons from previous stages, which from time to time can emerge in the form of temporary regression. There may also be developments from advanced stages of development - local heights that contribute to an evolutionary career as beacons along the way.
Levels of human development
The consciousness of each person is characterized by a certain level of development, which determines the needs, goals, desires, aspirations, lifestyle, priorities and most important things in a person’s life.
This level of development determines the maturity of a person’s personality and reflects the degree of his understanding of the world and himself, thereby establishing certain priorities for the person. It is possible to determine the level of development of a person by his goals, by his mode of action, by what he considers most important. Simple observation and analysis allows you to determine this not only in other people, but also in yourself, which provides an important point of reference and direction in self-development.
Levels of consciousness development:
1) Bodily.
2) Emotional.
3) Reasonable
4) Spiritual.
The importance of morality in society
Morality is a set of voluntarily accepted rules for a person, which are of decisive importance in a person’s behavior and his attitude towards himself and others.
It is formed by the influence of many components:
- family values;
- individual experience;
- school influence;
- society.
Within the definition, there is differentiation into such subspecies as:
- racial;
- religious;
- humanistic.
The role of moral positions is important for any social group. There is an opinion that racists, bigots and others lack moral principles and moral qualities. This judgment is erroneous and unscientific. Also, according to research, such social groups have genetic roots and cannot always be controlled by humans.
The first level of development is the bodily level.
At the bodily level, a person identifies himself exclusively with the body. This is the lowest level of development, a person’s consciousness is not developed on it and his life is rather chaotic and aimed at the most mundane goals. A person is not aware of other needs and another path of development other than the one associated with the maintenance and development of his body. A person also strives to develop his material condition, completely or almost completely denying other needs other than the need to satisfy his feelings and accumulate material wealth.
This level of development leads a person to the need to exploit knowledge or skills to satisfy his desires. At this level, everything is simple for a person - work = pleasure. For this reason alone it is worth working hard.
This level of development dictates only 5 types of activity for a person: sleep, sex, food consumption, entertainment and protection . The same thing that a dog can do, only using more advanced tools. In this case, a person’s entire life is built around these five types of activity; besides this, he is not aware of other aspirations. This can be reflected in popular culture, which is aimed at inducing in a person the desire mainly to eat, have sex or have fun. But for this you need a safe place and the opportunity to sleep. This creates a limited range of needs.
Such activity is truly inherent in animals, and by observing them and such people one can find similarities. An animal has no purpose; when it does not have to work, defend a home or satisfy needs, it rests, and people do the same. If there is no activity that satisfies the need for sleep, reproduction, protection and food, or if a person is not engaged in an activity that provides him with this, that is, work, he is not busy with anything. A very popular picture. Such a person is no longer interested in anything. Maybe he is still interested in bad habits, in the form of alcohol, tobacco or games.
This standard of living does not give a person dignity, he has no aspirations beyond satisfying his needs, and an increase in the quality of life means for him: more expensive food, more sleep, less work, better sex, more interesting entertainment.
Entertainment is in the nature of traditional outings with alcoholic drinks and a lot of garbage. Sometimes at sea. This is a common picture. There is one plus: such people do not ask for much - “Bread and circuses” are enough for them. They are quite happy with what they have, although they would love to acquire even more, but they will not put any effort into it. Quarrels often occur among such people, but rarely reach any serious consequences if there is no alcohol nearby.
People with this level of development are necessary for society as a simple working class. The truth does not always sound disingenuous, but for the most part it is beneficial for society to have many such people. A society filled with such people is very organic and simply controlled by more conscious people.
List of abbreviations
VMKO – in-school monitoring of the quality of education.
VShK – intra-school control.
GBOU is a state budgetary educational institution.
Preschool educational institution - preschool educational institution. DUK is a children's and youth club. Children's and Youth Sports School. The Unified State Exam is a unified state exam. ZUN – knowledge, skills, abilities. GIA – state final certification. ICT – information and communication technologies. IT – information technologies. Candidate for master of sports. KHL – Continental Hockey League. MS is a master of sports.
MSMK is a master of sports of international class. MHL – Youth Hockey League. NHL – National Hockey League. HIA – limited health capabilities. OO is an educational organization. PLO is the main educational program. OU is an educational institution. GPP – general physical fitness. SDYUSHOR is a specialized children's and youth school of the Olympic reserve. SOU – council of an educational institution. SOSH – secondary school. SPO – secondary vocational education. SPT – sports and pedagogical technical school. Secondary specialized educational institution. PC – personal computer. UUD – universal educational activities. Federal State Educational Standard is a federal state educational standard.
FOD – physical education and health activities. CO is the center of education.
The second level of development is the emotional level.
The emotional level of development denotes a person who identifies himself with his emotions, feelings, with his heart and all impressions and experiences. At this level of development, the main thing for a person is to receive a variety of experiences that could make his life brighter and more enjoyable. Whether it is travel, communication or drugs depends on the integrity of the individual. However, in general, at this level, the main thing for a person is a certain bright picture of a “good” life in which he feels great.
Pleasures and needs at this level of development are already of a much more subtle nature - they are connected with the inner world, with how a person sees and feels this world. These are already heartfelt impressions, experiences, an emotional vision of the world. A trip to nature is no longer just an excuse to eat, but it is much more important to enjoy the atmosphere of nature itself. Sex is no longer a purely physical, but also a deeply emotional process. Entertainment is of an aesthetic nature, which is close to the human heart. And so on. All needs are reflected in the inner world of a person and cause certain impressions.
At this level comes the need for literature, music, theater, and the pleasures that impressions provide. For a person at this level, impressions are the main stimulus of life . And if there are no impressions, then there will be no action. Very often, such people act from potential impressions that have not yet arrived or will not occur in general, which makes their life look like building a castle in the air, which “should” come true in the future.
Unlike the physical level, such people are able to occupy their free time with creativity or their hobbies, which are a source of positive feelings . Communication with other people is of the same nature. Although often, precisely because of the expectation of positive impressions, disappointments come, which serve as a source of vivid perception of negative impressions.
Expectations and hopes are the causes of emotional rollercoasters for such people. Up down. Fear gives way to hope, and hope to fear. This is all because of the very active mind, which is most active during this period of development. It is he who produces desires, dreams, aspirations, fears, moods, etc. inside a person. And it is by them that man lives.
In general, emotions towards someone, even the best ones, always make this roller coaster work - “up and down”. And such people often experience depression and sudden recovery. They identify themselves with something more subtle than the body and experience pleasure from experiences, events, communication, emotions and aesthetic pleasure. They are also very passionate about something and want to be even more passionate. To the question “what do you want?” they will often answer “I don’t know” because they want too much.
The third level of development is the reasonable level.
A reasonable level of development - this level leads a person to identify himself with his business, duty, character, principles. With your destiny and path. A person feels his nature and does business that corresponds to it. An illustration of this level of development can be a wandering warrior who has his own code of honor and goals and motives incomprehensible to others. He clearly does not strive to enjoy this world like an ordinary person, but has elevated the way of enjoying into a way of life, realizing that there is no other way for him.
At this level of development, a person no longer identifies himself with his emotions, but becomes increasingly immersed in the inner world. For him, what is no longer important is the process of consuming impressions, but immersing himself in himself, in his path, in his business. This is accompanied by certain principles that a person follows in order not to deviate, so as not to lose himself and his way of life.
We also recommend this article: Vedas - is it possible to kill insects: mosquitoes, cockroaches, wasps, fleas?
This level of development allows a person to gain discipline, since it is more important for a person to become himself, how he looks to himself, and not impressions. This allows a person to develop rapidly and succeed in business, since he has no distractions from any pleasures or temptations, or from the opinions of other people or social stereotypes. The path of such a person is straight and constant, although there are falls along it.
At this level of development, a taste appears for the development of inner life, for getting rid of negative character traits and acquiring positive traits. If in the first two levels of development a person did this in order to gain the opportunity to enjoy from others, then a reasonable person does this for himself. In order to become better. He has no external reasons to do so.
On the other hand, there is a downside to this course of action. It is quite difficult for a reasonable person to find other reasonable people, since they constitute a minority in society. Communication for the sake of emotions or raw pleasures no longer attracts him and inspires boredom, for this reason he rarely voluntarily converges with people of a lower level of development. And if it does converge, then it is temporary. Such relationships, in reality, cannot be maintained long enough. All this forms a limitation of social connections, which, however, does not create strong concerns.
A person at this level understands himself, his nature and his real needs. He is able to find happiness and follow the direct path to it, without the permission of other people. Freedom is found in refusal. Inner pleasure from one’s own feeling in this world and the absence of internal conflicts and contradictions only strengthens a person’s choice in favor of himself and not society. Although this does not always mean that rejection of society is mandatory. It’s just that people are no longer as necessary for a happy life as they used to be.
This level frees a person from the conventions of human life and many desires that are inherent in the majority. This creates a favorable environment within a person to continue his path, fulfill his duty or achieve his goal. All this creates the opportunity to be serious, not to succumb to the laxity of others and to remain yourself, defending your place and your principles in the world, without succumbing to the temptation to betray yourself for the sake of pleasure, fame or wealth. Happiness, which is acquired at this level, becomes a more significant value than any material benefit, and therefore a person simply does not need to betray or deceive himself. This is truly a warrior who lives for his path.
The fourth level of development is the Spiritual level.
Spiritual level of development - this level leads to the identification of a person with his true “I” - soul . At this level, the main priority for a person is to interact with spiritual energy, through immersion in one’s true nature, knowledge of spiritual knowledge or worship of the Supreme Lord, God, the Absolute Truth. In this, a person reveals not only his true nature, but also absolute and pure happiness.
Realizing himself as an eternal soul , conditioned by this body, but at the same time not connected with it, just as a person in a uniform is forced to be conditioned by his presence in it, but does not consider himself to be one. A person is then free from material or worldly desires, completely immersed in the contemplation of the spiritual nature within himself.
This leads him to freedom from attachments, desires, fears and blissful indifference to the world, which manifests itself in the reluctance of honors, pleasures, wealth, tolerance for other people, their shortcomings and actions. All this is dictated by the awareness of oneself as an eternal soul, which cannot be damaged, changed or destroyed. This perception of the world frees a person from a lot of suffering and gives a person the opportunity to be completely satisfied in his spiritual inner happiness.
Blissful detachment from the world does not necessarily manifest itself in complete external renunciation. Rather, it is reflected in a person’s perception of the world around him and the people around him. He begins to realize their situation, to have compassion, perceiving them not from the position of a false ego, but as if from his own. After all, no one was born a saint.
A person at this level reaches the peak of his internal development - positive, good, virtuous qualities predominate in him, he is happy and does not experience discomfort in life and in communicating with other people. Without fear of death on the one hand and without becoming attached to material things and people on the other, such a person is constantly free, although he is busy with various activities.
Various manifestations of negative qualities are not reflected in such people, which, on the one hand, makes them attractive to others, and on the other, causes misunderstanding, even antipathy, on the part of less conscious people. But if a wise man bows to knowledge and a fool scoffs at it, then this is confirmation of its truth. It is impossible to find knowledge that is sufficiently valuable, applicable and generally accepted. Mostly because people are different and their perception and level of development limits their ability to see the truth.
A spiritual person is a person who has comprehended spiritual knowledge, knowledge about the soul, advanced on the spiritual path and blessed with spiritual energy, having revealed it in himself. Spiritual nature has three qualities - eternity or immutability, knowledge or a set of qualities that are considered the most favorable and bliss - a state of complete and unconditional happiness. These three signs are signs of progress on the spiritual path and serve as a reward to the person himself when they are revealed in his heart.
Volitional characteristics
Let’s touch on the main ones:
Purposefulness – a person’s focus on the chosen result of an activity. This property is divided into a strategic variety and a tactical one. The first is, in general, a person’s actions based on his moral positions, values and ideals. The second is the movement of the individual “step by step”, from one micro-goal to another until the result is achieved.
Initiative is a person’s focus on taking action. Usually precedes the beginning of a volitional act. Independent individuals have this property. Initiative is associated with independence.
Independence is a person’s voluntary and active attitude to make decisions in accordance with his principles and beliefs.
Will is not considered an innate quality , but is considered by psychology as a quality, the formation of which occurs on the basis of a person’s personal choice.
Levels of development
Levels of development determine a person’s place in the life of society, his worldview, his internal state of being, which determines whether he will be happy or whether he will experience constant suffering within himself. After all, as you know:
If the whole world became vicious, then the only reason for this was man himself: he alone is the source of troubles, he alone is the creator of his sorrows.
Alighieri Danta. The Divine Comedy.
The evolution of a person’s inner world consists of a gradual transition from one level to another. Gradual growth, step by step, step by step - this is what real growth looks like. At the same time, when a person simply wants to reach a certain level, he will simply deceive himself for a while, pretending, for example, to be reasonable. However, the ability to live in accordance with a certain way of life comes precisely from internal conformity, and not from volitional effort or great desire. The latter very often lead to disappointment and failure, so the process of internal growth should be treated patiently but persistently, firmly but gradually.
At each subsequent level there is more happiness, work and responsibility. The more developed a person is, the more expectations are placed on him regarding the fulfillment of his duty. At each subsequent stage of development, a person is forced to give up bad habits, more prohibitions, responsibilities and spiritual work are imposed on him, but he is also more joyful and reasonable. Everyone loves honest, kind, calm and bright people.
Growth and development require deep changes, which can only be achieved by long-term practice and deep work on oneself. However, this will be the most successful deal in life - happiness in exchange for work. Good luck.
