Transcend and Include
Genuine development doesn’t replace earlier stages — it builds on and contains them. If you’ve authentically moved to a more mature perspective, you’ve necessarily passed through the earlier ones. They live within you.
This makes judgment structurally incoherent. You’d be condemning a version of yourself.
Flip side: if someone is superior or dismissive about their “advanced” views, that’s evidence they haven’t actually integrated the earlier stage. They’ve bypassed rather than transcended. True development brings humility automatically.
Teachings as Scaffolding
Religious teachings are entry points, not destinations. They get you “in the right ballpark” but eventually need to be transcended through contemplation.
The distinction:
- Kataphatic — what we can say about God (doctrines, images, concepts)
- Apophatic — what we cannot say, the mystery beyond language
This isn’t modern revisionism. It’s the older contemplative tradition — Desert Fathers, Meister Eckhart, John of the Cross. The conceptual frameworks eventually become obstacles if you cling to them.
Pushed vs Pulled
What motivates us shifts between the two halves of life:
- First half: pushed from behind — by ego, wounds, fear, the need to prove yourself
- Second half: pulled from ahead — by soul, meaning, calling
Early-life drive isn’t bad, but it’s often compensatory — proving worth, escaping shame. Second-half motivation feels different: less frantic, arising from abundance rather than lack.