Four stages of Spiritual Experience: A comparison of the Ignatian Exercises and Jungian Psychotherapy

The Four Weeks of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola are compared with four stages of Psychotherapy described by Carl Jung: confession, explanation, education, and transformation. The dynamics, goals, and outcomes of each of the Weeks are successively discussed and considered pairwise with the corresponding Jungian stage.Mary Jo Meadow is Professor of Psychology and Director of Religious Studies at Mankato State University, Mankato MN. She is the founder of Resources for Ecumenical Spirituality, a non-profit corporation promoting human understanding through interfaith spiritual practice and study. Her books includePsychology of Religion: Religion in Individual Lives andA Time To Weep, A Time To Sing: Faith Journeys of Women Scholars of Religion. She may be contacted at Box 35, Mankato State University, Mankato MN 56001.