The 12 Steps of

the Spiritual Journey

By Melody Larson
 THE 12 Steps of
the Spiritual Journey

©2009 by Melody Larson

from the PATH TO INNER PURPOSE ecourse
http://innerpurposecourse.weebly.com

Please feel free to share this ebooklet on your blog,

forum, etc. Or, email it to whomever you believe would
benefit from reading it.

THANK YOU!
~ Melody Larson
 The spiritual journey is the journey
of becoming more conscious…

Spiritual awakening is becoming an increasingly common

occurrence among “normal” everyday people. Once the privilege of
sages and saints, many are now seeking, and finding, enlightenment.
But I believe that there is more to the spiritual journey than just
awakening.
Along the way to that ultimate goal, we have the chance, and
the choice, to evolve both our souls and our human selves. Indeed,
we must grow in addition to awakening if we want to know true
wholeness. This is an integral approach to awakening that does not
deny the inventiveness of our human minds, the desires of our
human hearts, and the expression of our individual souls.
How do we grow? How do we evolve from ego to soul and
ultimately to spirit? We can start by becoming more conscious
wherever we are on the journey, right now. We don’t need to wait
for awakening to transform us. When we choose any thought,
feeling, belief, habit, or deed that’s just a little more noble, a little

The 12 Steps of the Spiritual Journey, copyright 2009 by Melody Larson 3

 The spiritual journey is the journey
of becoming more conscious…

higher than the one we had before, we increase our consciousness just that much. An
increased consciousness moves us that much further along the path.
Ultimately, the spiritual journey is the journey of shifting from a life that is quite
unconscious to a life lived in full consciousness. It is all about living more fully, more
purposefully, and more joyfully along the way to awakening. This is the journey of moving
from darkness to light, from suffering to acceptance, from judgment to allowing, from
success to significance, from disease to wholeness, and from separation to unity….

The 12 Steps of the Spiritual Journey, copyright 2009 by Melody Larson 4

 Each step MOVES YOU FORWARD

As you work through each step on the spiritual journey,

you are really making a horizontal move along an imaginary
scale from left to right within that step, followed by a vertical
move up to the next step.
You work through thoughts, feelings, beliefs, habits &
actions in relation to any given step in order to lift them all to
a higher level. As you achieve mastery within a step, you
propel yourself vertically to the next step. And so it goes….
The final step, awakening itself, is the wild card on this
journey. At any time, you may move so far from left to right
within a given step that you slide right off the scale and into
full consciousness, the awakened state. Others find themselves
awakening spontaneously, with no conscious plan to do so.
For most of us, however, we must work to move both
horizontally and vertically in order to make our way on the
spiritual journey.

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 the spiritual journey in actuality
is never linear…

In this ebooklet, I explain the spiritual

journey in a linear fashion for the purpose of
clarity. But I remind you that in real life, the
adventure from ego, to soul, to spirit is
extremely messy! You may find yourself:

o Skipping steps
o Repeating steps
o Working on several steps at once
o Moving back & forth within a step many
times before mastering it
o Taking 2 steps forward & 1 step back

It’s all quite normal!

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 MANY PATHS, ONE MOUNTAIN:
moving from separation to unity

The spiritual journey as I describe it here is a

practical breakdown, or synthesis, of the “paths up
the mountain” to awakening. They correspond to
both the 12 chakras and to the 12 signs of the
zodiac, for example. All spiritual paths, including
those of traditional religions in their esoteric
forms, are about this journey.
Each path has its own language & system,
best suited to its culture, but it is important to
remember that all human souls are on the same
journey to remember who we really are…
Spirit, not ego.
One, not many.

What we do, and who we become, along the way to

this realization matters.

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 The 12 steps of the SPIRITUAL journey

 SEPARATION
 BELONGING
 SELFHOOD
 COMMUNION
 SOVEREIGNTY
 SEARCHING
 SURRENDER
 HEALING
 GUIDANCE
 CO-CREATION
 TRANSMUTATION
 UNITY

In this ebooklet, we’ll take a brief look at each of these steps by exploring some keywords &
phrases associated with them. For a more detailed description of each step, and of the
spiritual journey in general, I invite you to explore my PATH TO INNER PURPOSE
ecourse: http://innerpurposecourse.weebly.com
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 STEP 1: SEPARATION

 Survival mode
 Identification with ego
 The time of getting by and/or getting ahead
 Competition
 Comparison
 Fulfilling material needs & desires
 Seeking meaning from without
 Unconscious living
 Where most people are most of their lives
 Where humanity has been for most of its
history

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 STEP 2: BELONGING

 Tribal mode
 Identification with group ego: family, culture,
nationality, etc.
 Us vs. Them
 The time of fitting in and/or looking for
approval
 Codependency
 “You complete me”
 Peer Pressure
 Kowtowing
 Seeking fulfillment/wholeness through others
 Again, where most people are & where humanity
has been

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 STEP 3: Selfhood

 Independence mode
 Search for own identity
 Desire to rebel or escape from tribe
 Divorce, career change, change in looks, moving
away, etc.
 Development of personal power & self-esteem
 Often the start of the spiritual quest at the
unconscious level
 Seeking fulfillment through changing the self at
the outer level of form

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 STEP 4: COMMUNION

 Acceptance mode
 Transition point from ego to soul
 Falling away of old values & beliefs
 Loosening of judgment
 Compassion, allowing—towards others & self
 Curious about others & about the inner self, or
soul
 Finding self-acceptance through the acceptance
of others

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 STEP 5: SOVEREIGNTY

 Security mode
 The ego is much healthier for the most part
 Return to the tribe, but with autonomy
 The soul is somewhat integrated, but barely
 Hold strong in our new values & beliefs, even if the
tribe disagrees
 “Free to be me”
 Love others w/o trying to change them
 Become secure in outer life: career, mate, family,
success, etc.
 Can be the end of journey for many unless the ‘soul
call’ for deeper fulfillment and healing is answered
when it comes

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 STEP 6: searching

 Seeking mode
 Outer success no longer satisfying
 The soul begins to claim our attention
 If ignored, the soul creates crisis:
“Dark night of the soul”
Self-sabotage
Unexpected, unwanted change
Illness
 If answered, we go on the quest of inner discovery
 For most, this is the conscious undertaking of the
spiritual journey
 Time of confusion, disruption, self-help, spiritual
study, wandering, adventure, search for inner
purpose

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 STEP 7: surrender

 Faith mode
 We can’t do it on our own
 We realize the soul is wounded, not pure or
untouched
 A turning to Spirit (as we define it)
 Prayer, meditation, stillness
 A time of giving up, but with relief
 Ask for, and receive, divine grace
 Grace comes not according to our schedule, but
when Spirit deems we are ready
 Trust that everything is happening for a reason
 Never given more than we can handle
 “I believe”

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 STEP 8: HEALING

 Wholeness mode
 We’re no longer afraid to face our Shadow
 We begin to work on ourselves in earnest, to
heal the wounded soul
 Releasing the past: both childhood & karma
 Development of inner discipline
 Forgiveness
 Gratitude
 A time of healing in all forms, often alternative
in nature: therapy, energy work, alternative
medicine, change in diet & exercise, etc.
 Any method that helps us heal the past, both
from this life and from other lives, is useful

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 STEP 9: GUIDANCE

 Intuition mode
 We’re empowered at the soul level
 Healing opens the doorway to psychic
gifts & intuitive knowing
 We find our inner purpose & move to
fulfill it
 A time of synchronicity & support from
the Universe
 We understand that everything is
divinely guided
 The people, things & events that we need
start to show up to help us narrow our
focus

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 STEP 10: co-creation

 Service mode
 We ground our inner purpose in the physical
plane by converting it to a tangible product,
gift or service
 The soul & the ego are integrated (I call
this the Self)
 The soul begins to remember that it isn’t
separate from Source
 Significance
 Meaning
 Joy
 Philanthropy, generosity
 We work to bring healing to the planet in our
unique way

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 STEP 11: transmutation

 Mastery mode
 Shift from soul to spirit
 Fulfillment of our inner purpose starts moving
us to ultimate purpose
 The alchemic process of transmuting lead into
gold
 Caterpillar to butterfly
 Instant manifestation
 Miracles
 Command of natural & supernatural laws and
forces
 Leadership, command, power
 We learn that the only way to master our
limited being is to transcend it

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 STEP 12: unity

 Oneness mode
 All is One, all is Spirit
 Fulfillment of ultimate purpose: Awakening,
Enlightenment
 Christ Consciousness, Buddha Mind
 Becoming a messenger, guide, guru
 Integration of body, mind, soul, Spirit
 Return to Source
 Merging, subsuming
 There is only ‘The Now’
 “I am THAT”

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 Where are you on the journey?
No STEP IS BETTER OR WORSE THAN ANOTHER!

1) SEPARATION—Just trying to survive &

thrive
2) BELONGING—Just trying to fit in and be
loved
3) SELFHOOD—Rebelling & making changes
that reflect “me”
4) COMMUNION—Shifting my beliefs &
learning compassion
5) SOVEREIGNTY—Enjoying my authenticity
& new life
6) SEARCHING—Lost, in crisis, or on a search
for deeper meaning

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 Where are you on the journey?

7) SURRENDER—“Not my will, Lord, but thy

will be done”
8) HEALING—Working on my wounds once
and for all
9) GUIDANCE—Opening my intuition, finding
my inner purpose
10) CO-CREATION—On purpose; Serving the
world with my gifts
11) TRANSMUTATION—Mastering spiritual
powers, laws & forces; shifting from Self to
Source
12) UNITY—Awakened, Enlightened, in The
Now, “I am THAT”

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 Want to know more?

Want to know more about the 12 steps of

the spiritual journey?

Are you ready to discover & fulfill your

inner purpose?

Go to: http://innerpurposecourse.weebly.com

The 12 Steps of the Spiritual Journey, copyright 2009 by Melody Larson 23

 About the author

Melody Larson has dedicated herself to helping others discover their

inner potential and purpose in this time of great evolutionary change.
She is a published author and an accomplished teacher.
Her own spiritual journey has led Melody to many disciplines over the
years: psychology, astrology, energy healing, shamanism, Eastern and
Western mysticism, integral spirituality, and evolutionary enlightenment.
All of these disciplines connect in core ways, and through them she has
distilled a spiritual system that works best for her.
To share this system and assist others on their spiritual journeys,
Melody is currently developing her unique 4-path process for
spiritual development. The PATH TO INNER PURPOSE ecourse
is the first of the 4 pathways.
Join her mailing list if you’d like to know when more ecourse paths
become available! http://innerpurposecourse.weebly.com

The 12 Steps of the Spiritual Journey, copyright 2009 by Melody Larson 24