The Cartography of Awakening & Transformation

I have always loved maps, not for their precision or directions necessarily, but for how they invite the imagination to travel and grow. As a child, I designed ski resorts and drew fantastical tropical islands with intricate keys and cities bearing long, exotic names in imagined languages.  Some of my most cherished computer games growing up were GeoSafari, Spelling Jungle (I suppose I have always loved words too!), Carmen San Diego, Civilization, Sim City, to name a few.

In hindsight, those early maps were training in how to find my way through unseen worlds. As an adult seeker, I’ve continued mapping, though now the terrain is inner. On the journey of discovering myself, selflessness, and purpose—who I am meant to be in this world—I have often relied, sometimes too heavily, on certain maps to light the way.

At their most disempowering, spiritual maps can lead us to adopt rigid or dogmatic frameworks—ones that predict the future or grasp at certainty.  We end up holding tight to our expectations of what is going to happen or what should be happening.  There may be no real blame to assign to the map itself or the map's author. And there is always the possibility of poor timing (i.e. “the right map for the wrong moment in the journey”). Ultimately, what matters is not the framework itself, but our relationship with it; whether it invites curiosity or control, openness or grasping. Awakening and transformation is destabilizing and many, upon having their worldview collapse, rush to fill the void with another framework, instead of learning how to live with discomfort, uncertainty and unfolding.

Guides on spiritual awakening —-or maps on stages of enlightenment—-have been the thorniest for me, most likely because spiritual awakening has been my greatest desire and also possibly because there isn’t a ton of agreement around what terms like “awakening” or "enlightenment" actually imply.* Clinging to maps, especially when things aren’t working out as planned or predicted can leave us with self-judgment, self-blame, and confusion.  That sense of tightness and disappointment can be a signal for us to evaluate how we are relating to our desire.  What sort of hidden meanings have we imbued the map with? How is the map and our expectations of what any given guide might do, serving us in this moment?

At their best, personal development maps and frameworks can help us meet needs for clarity, understanding, vitality, inspiration, understanding and even belonging. They can inspire contemplation as they help us orient ourselves to the landscape without overemphasizing the “X”—location of the treasure chest.  There have been moments, such as when reading about the Enneagram, that brought tears of relief at seeing that I am not alone—deeply resonating with the description of what it means to be a “4”.  At other times, such as when going through my Gene Keys profile or receiving an astrological reading from a skilled astrologist, I’ve felt bright eyed, energized and inspired—sensing greater clarity and truth around my journey and a new willingness to take action towards my dreams.

Our bodies often tell us the truth before our minds catch up—-this is perhaps the most important theme of the Spiral of Illumination.  Upon reviewing a map or tool for understanding yourself, do you feel bright and wide-eyed, inspired, energized, reaching for a pen to journal, pacing around with excitement? Or do you feel heavy or tense—perhaps with tightness in the forehead, eyebrows, jaw or neck?  It isn’t always the case that we should throw away a tool because it brings dissonance—there is perhaps just as much to discover here as there is with something that brings resonance.  And it isn’t always the case that we should cling to something that resonates.  Along the way, it hasn’t been uncommon for me to fall in love with (obsess over) a map—- initially feeling inspired but later feeling stressed that things weren’t lining up as I had expected. 

It is also the case that along this journey, if we dedicate ourselves to growth, our worldviews will change.  Tools become more or less important in different moments as our paradigms shift.

With the Spiral of Illumination, I’ve sought to create a map broad and spacious enough to inspire, yet loose enough to avoid the traps of prescription and prediction. Just like us, this framework is a living breathing creation that is subject to change over time.

Hold it lightly. Let it breathe. If some parts don’t resonate or reflect your current experience, that’s perfectly okay, they may belong to another turn of your own spiral.

*For a fascinating overview of the many existing frameworks on awakening, Daniel Ingram’s chapter on “Models of Awakening” in Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha is well worth a read