Once you master something, you must surrender, go back to ground zero, in order to learn something new and move up a level.  In my personal life, I feel I have experienced four distinct levels, and continue to journey further into truth every day.  Several spiritual practices outline these stages in different ways, but the goal, Oneness, is the same.

1) Concrete Thinking is the level where everything is either black or white, right or wrong, good or bad.  The letter of the law rules this stage.  It is an important stage because it is where we learn to self-govern, but once that is mastered, you should not stay there. Staying in this stage too long leads to fanaticism.  We must move on to a place where we no longer have to rely on a set of laws, but where our conscience and consciousness tell us what to do and what not to do.

2)  Abstract Thinking is the stage where we see that truth is held in the tension of opposites and we learn to navigate the gray areas of life.  We learn to discern between the spirit and the flesh.  It is when we begin to understand the scripture that says old things must pass away and all things must become new.  And this includes Christianity as well as all other religions. It is here we see that religions are just a facade separating people from what Spirit is really trying to do.  Some things about Christianity must pass away in us in order for us to move up a level.  In this stage there is no religious boundary for you.  There is no religious book that is off limits.  The restrictions fall off and you begin to be able to see truth that is present in all religions.

3)  Mystic Receptivity is where we learn to celebrate the mystery of life and spirituality rather than believe you have to have all the answers.  This is the stage in which we realize life and God are bigger mysteries than can be figured out on Sunday morning.  There is no way ALL truth can be obtained by concrete thinking.  Spirit doesn't just lead us into Christian truth, or Buddhist truth, etc.  The Spirit leads us into ALL truth.  Mystic receptivity teaches us that there's only power in the "name" of Jesus (or any other name) when you are also connected to the nature behind the name.  The power is produced when you start believing what you're saying.

4)  Oneness is the knowledge and understanding that God and the Devil are not fighting for the universe, but rather ALL things are working together for our good - even what we may consider to be "evil."  Oneness is when we have taken on the Christ Mind to such degree that we have dropped all our labels; when we realize that not only is there no male and female or bond or free, but also when we are as comfortable with the Spirit in one earthly temple referring to God as "Allah" as we are with another referring to God as "Christ." Oneness is when we recognize that the Second Coming of Christ is the Spirit of Christ working through us, in us and as us - when we give ourselves permission to lift the veil of humanity's sin and shame and behold the glory of God in the mirror.