For more than two decades, Dr. Connie McNeil has built a career out of helping as many people as possible as a highly successful conical psychologist. From the moment she started working with patients all those years ago, she realized she had an innate ability to get people to open up to her. Getting to know someone and really finding out what makes them tick was part of the job – and it was a part she is good at.
After establishing a relationship with someone, she helps people get to the root cause of any issues they may be facing. Then, she works to brainstorm possible solutions. While it’s true that everyone is unique and there is no one approach to solving problems that will work well for 100% of all people, one technique that she keeps coming back to time and again also happens to be among the most profound:
Spiritual formation.
Many people want to embrace spirituality but simply aren’t sure where to begin. In the opinion of Dr. McNeil, the process is actually straightforward – it simply requires people to keep a few key things in mind along the way.
Co-Creating the Book written by Connie McNeil
The Path to Spiritual Formation, One Step at a Time
Spiritual formation in and of itself is the process through which someone actualizes their capacity for transcendence. They do this through a combination of techniques including not only a focus on attentiveness but also on the relationships they forge with the world around them as well. Disciplined practice is crucial during all of this – spiritual formation is not something you “do once and forget about.” It’s something you must be proactive about, much in the same way you would prioritize continuing education in your professional life.
Proper spiritual formation requires someone to go through a variety of important stages, with the first one being “Innocence.” This is often earmarked by a period of time in someone’s life when they begin to realize something is wrong in the first place. Then comes an acknowledgment that someone is ultimately at the mercy of everything around them. At that point, they will make a series of choices. They can continue to live the way they have been up to this point, or they can begin to make choices that use their natural power, not for their own gain, but to give back to the world around them and to help as many people as they can.
After someone begins to go through spiritual practices on a consistent basis, a sense of enlightenment – and an urge for it – will begin to grow. At that point, they can continue their practices to develop both their unity and their consciousness. This will soon lead to a full awakening of one’s heart. Soon, their own spiritual foundation will have been formed and they will have all the tools they need to build from moving forward – which is ultimately the most important benefit of this process of all.
