To develop our soul is to develop our personality in attunement with spirit guidance. In practical terms soul development is about building character and discovering new and higher spiritual meanings and values so as to live the golden rule from its highest level of interpretation - a reflection of spiritual growth.
To build character is to increase our reasoning ability, emotional maturity, self-control, and moral standards. Humankind is prone to egotism, prejudice, self-justification, and self-deception, but these attitude flaws are simply the rough edges that call out for self-development. Our active and deliberate efforts to build a noble character lead to improved interactions with others through enhancement of positive traits such as kindness, honesty, reliability, loyalty, empathy, fairness, tolerance, respect, generosity, and forgiveness.
What does it mean to discover new and higher spiritual meanings and values? It means that we refine our worldview, factually and philosophically. This results in reasoning and behavior that can create and support useful, durable, and sustainable transformation. Our worldview represents our general outlook on life-our personal perspective and interpretation of society, the world, and our place in it. It answers questions such as: Who are we? Why is the world the way it is? Where do we come from? Where are we going?
As we reflect on the answers to these questions, we gain insight into cosmic relationships that can transform our lives. The power to transform societies, however, is directly related to the truth content in our conclusions. To the degree that our worldview is accurate, factually and philosophically, so are our decisions and behavior likely to be effective at advancing spiritual unity and social progress. “And this intense striving for the attainment of supermortal ideals is always characterized by increasing patience, forbearance, fortitude, and tolerance.”[1]
The harmonious development and integration of cosmic insight, moral awareness, and spiritual perception are halted if we cling to beliefs that are rigid, incomplete, or outright flawed. Decisions and actions based on such beliefs are likely to manifest flawed results. We may feel spiritual, but are we growing spiritually? Are we more tolerant and forgiving than we were five years ago? We profess love, but are we growing in our love for God and our fellow human beings? Is our main motivation in life to become enlightened or to worship God by lovingly serving others?
If we truly want to grow spiritually and advance our civilization, we must discover new meanings in our philosophic concepts and theological definitions. We must also be willing to subject our beliefs to intelligent criticism and reasonable philosophic assessment.
[1] The Urantia Book, Paper 100:6, p. 1100:6.
