M. scott peck and the theory of stages of spiritual growth

One of the names that has left the deepest traces on the religious/spiritual lives of Western people in recent times is undoubtedly M. Scott Peck. Having graduated from both literature and medicine faculties, Peck, on the one hand, wanted to confront people with the fact that life is difficult, on the other hand, he tried to express the need for self-discipline and trusting a higher power through his experiences in both fields. In his works, which he wrote based on the experiences he gained in both his fictional stories and therapy sessions, he tried to show that science and religion, which are presented as alternatives/rivals to each other in the Western tradition, can come together. Like Tournier, Peck uses the "psychology of the unconscious" to assist people in their search for love, traditional values, and spiritual growth. He tries to integrate psychology and religion while seeking the spiritual meaning of individual identity by attributing a religious meaning to the unconscious. Thanks to his work on this subject, he is considered among the most important architects of Western mysticism. Especially his best-selling work, The Road Less Traveled, is considered an important touchstone at this point. One of the names that has left the deepest traces on the religious/spiritual lives of Western people in recent times is undoubtedly M. Scott Peck. Having graduated from both literature and medicine faculties, Peck, on the one hand, wanted to confront people with the fact that life is difficult, on the other hand, he tried to express the need for self-discipline and trusting a higher power through his experiences in both fields. In his works, which he wrote based on the experiences he gained in both his fictional stories and therapy sessions, he tried to show that science and religion, which are presented as alternatives/rivals to each other in the Western tradition, can come together. Like Tournier, Peck uses the "psychology of the unconscious" to assist people in their search for love, traditional values, and spiritual growth. He tries to integrate psychology and religion while seeking the spiritual meaning of individual identity by attributing a religious meaning to the unconscious. Thanks to his work on this subject, he is considered among the most important architects of Western mysticism. Especially his best-selling work, The Road Less Traveled, is considered an important touchstone at this point. This study has aimed to introduce M. Scott Peck, who has sold more than 15 copies thanks to the works he published and has been on million the New York Times bestseller list for more than thirteen years and to explain the Stages of Spiritual Growth theory, which he developed it based on clinical observations in an academical perspective. According to this theory, people begin their spiritual growth at a completely self-centered stage, and then, with the influence of culture and traditions, people turn to institutional organizations and submit to the directives of these organizations without a question. Afterward, due to the fact that the organizations in question do not meet the expectations and the development of mental reasoning, people make some inquiries and as a result, they shift towards a kind of agnosticism or atheism. At this point, the effect of science-religion dualism, which is very strong in the West, on individual lives is clearly seen. In this tradition, when people start to have a scientific perspective, religion begins to lose its influence. Highly educated people usually take part in this stage, but a very small minority of them enter a mystical stage when they begin to realize that life is a whole, that there is no contradiction in the universe, and that some questions have no answers.The most distinctive feature of this model is that the capacity for love increases and fear gradually decreases as people evolve spiritually. Compassion comes from pain to some extent. Those who defeat their own personal demons gain a special empathy for those who suffer similar pains (Carroll, 2013, p. 190). Peck states that as people's dependence decreases, they become more independent and eventually become active members of a community of interdependent spirits (p. 288).Although three of his works have been translated into Turkish, the lack of sufficient information in the local literature about Peck's other works and the Stages of Spiritual Growth theory is the main motivation for this study. The document/text analysis technique, one of the qualitative research methods, was used in the research. In the analysis, the 15 books written by Peck were examined in detail and tried to evaluate his thoughts on spiritual growth.His Books:1978: The Road Less Traveled: A New Psychology of Love, Traditional Values and Spiritual Growth1983: People of the Lie: The Hope for Healing Human Evil1985: What Return Can I Make? Dimensions of the Christian Experience 1987: The Different Drum: Community Making and Peace 1990: A Bed by the Window: A Novel of Mystery and Redemption 1992: The Friendly Snowflake: A Fable of Faith, Love and Family 1993: A World Waiting to be Born: Civility Rediscovered1993: Meditations from the Road1993: Further Along the Road Less Traveled: The Unending Journey toward Spiritual Growth1995: In Search of Stones: A Pilgrimage of Faith, Reason and Discovery1995: Gifts for the Journey: Treasures of the Christian Life1996: In Heaven as on Earth: A Vision of the Afterlife1997: The Road Less Traveled and Beyond: Spiritual Growth in an Age of Anxiety1997: Denial of the Soul: Spiritual and Medical Perspectives in Euthanasia and Mortality1999: Golf and the Spirit: Lessons for the Journey2005: Glimpses of the Devil: A Psychiatrist's Personal Accounts of Possession, Exorcism, and Redemption.Finally, Peck, who stated that he was also interested in Sufism for many years, seems to have reflections of the Islamic perspective in some of his thoughts. For example, his definition of the collective unconscious as the part of God in man is in parallel with the verses "we are closer to man than [their] jugular vein" (Quran, 50:16). In this regard, Peck unequivocally states that "our unconscious is God. God within us. We were part of God all the time. God has been with us all along, is now, and always will be" (Peck, 1978, p. 281). Peck, with an idea that coincides with the understanding of evil in Sufism regarding the goal and endpoint, states the ultimate goal of spiritual development is "man's oneness with God". This is possible by knowing and comprehending God with the conscious mind of man. According to him, since the unconscious is a gift given by God to man as a part of himself, the goal of spiritual development can also be defined as the conscious self's reaching God (Peck, 1978, p. 283).