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In recent years researchers have produced extensive research in the area of cognitive development. Other researcher and scholars have paid increasing attention to spiritual development. The purpose of this paper is to explore the connection of adult cognitive development and learning and spiritual development.
Spirituality is central to human life. How it develops, how it affects a person's view of life and way of living are not new topics of interest. According to Tisdell (1999), much has been written about spiritual development, most of which is " . . framed exclusively from a psychological perspective that focuses on the spiritual or faith development of the individual" (p. 89). Weibust and Thomas (1993), in seeking to understand spirituality, refer to spiritual maturity as a particular level of development achieved (or learned) as a result of a profound, disturbing experience, which exposes the paradox of reality. Identifying a level of unity consciousness, they argue that reflecting on such an experience can lead to a transformation where people can begin " . . . to see the paradoxical nature of reality and to restructure their previous assumptions about the centrality of their own egos in the scheme of things" (p. 27).
Discussions, based on a psychological perspective, that focus on spiritual or faith development of the individual, began with Jung who first drew attention to the spiritual dimension of the second half of life (Elias, 1992). Also, religious traditions associate spiritual maturity with age. Weibust and Thomas (1993) explain that in the Hindu faith, the fourth stage (Ashram) cannot be reached until after career and family issues have been stabilized. Such a developmental argument is supported by numerous adult development theories (Erikson, 1959; Fowler, 1981; Maslow, 1970; Levinson, 1978; & Loevinger, 1976). In fact, Fowler (1981) in his six-stage model of faith development, based on Kohlberg's and Piaget's theories of moral and cognitive development identifies middle age as a special time of spiritual development. Loevinger (1976) and Maslow (1970), along with Fowler, suggest agreement about a set of stages that move from conformity to "self-transcendent" meaning systems (Bee, 2000). Kegan (1982) explains human development in terms of an alternating rhythm based largely on transitions which stimulate movement. In general, these scholars agree that during later stages of...