5 stages of the spiritual journey

cal. 580 (this article)

Operationally, the spiritual journey is non-linear, but for the sake of simplicity it is presented as five stages.

stage 1: control the outer world (ego)

Get food, shelter, sex, money, success, experiences, ownership, prosperity, status, authority, followers, fame, political power, etc. Note that none of these are inherently negative, however, in the beginning they are pursued blindly in fear (of missing out), desire, anger (dominance), and pride, and overvalued as life's purpose due to ignorance of spiritual reality.