In human development, maturity represents many social and legal concepts. As opposed to a ‘minor’, a mature person has reached adulthood and therefore has more independence. But this is not all there is to the question of maturity and development. Psychological adult development varies between individuals and is not as fixed as one might think. It is often inconsistent and contradictory in the ways it is described.
Biological Maturity& Legal Adulthood
Maturity is often expressed within the parameters of sexual development, the point of maturity occurring in time with puberty. The socially constructed term ‘adolescence’ often describes this period. This often causes the distinction between biological and social understandings of adulthood. However, it is generally recognised that maturity is a point at which you take on wholly individual responsibility and autonomy and physical maturity as a person.
To be considered mature is generally to reach the point when one is provided autonomy over their own decisions. As a result, you are considered free to develop and become who you feel you are or should be.
Spiritual Maturity
This may be considered as the concept of developing a greater personal sense of what your spirituality means to you or connecting with a sense of spirituality for the first time. This can be set in any number of ways and is not prescriptive, requiring self-knowledge and exploration over specific action methods. The development of spirituality occurs at different points in everybody’s life. Still, it is never too late to understand further yourself and the place you have within the universe.
Guided Meditation
In terms of self-development, the tool of guided meditation is imperative. When we seek to gain a deeper understanding and experience of ourselves, and when we want to understand further what exists past ourselves and our ordinary reasoning, guided meditation can provide answers that are otherwise often hard to come by. Often, we can learn more about the universe as a whole through meditation and exploring further what is intuitively within us. You could go as far as to say that guided meditation is essential in the journey to spiritual maturity. The development of self-knowledge, including self-love, self-image and self-discipline, all aid in allowing us to gain spiritual maturity. While it can be hard to imagine what lies beyond us, we can sincerely try, and guided meditation is based on the willingness to attempt to grow and mature for the better. This is why it can be highly beneficial in our understanding and developing maturity, both physically and spiritually.