What is most true of us?

Every person who completes the Spirit Map inventory rates the 44 Spirit Map items two ways, using a scale of 1 to 10.
1.     How true is this statement of you today?
2.     How important is this statement in your spiritual life?
 
What do people say is most true of them? Here are the top ten items, based on average ratings from the 768 people who have completed the Spirit Map inventory so far:

What might we learn from what's true of us collectively?
 
First, it’s worth considering whose data makes up these averages. We have four sources. Three data sets come from three Unitarian Universalist congregations, one in Minnesota (n=248), one in Colorado (n=302), and one in Massachusetts (n=133). The third data source is from individuals who have independently taken the Spirit Map survey (n=85).
 
Even though this is obviously not a random sample, could we learn something interesting or useful about the people who have taken Spirit Map so far? When we look at these top ten most-true items, we see people comfortable with many forms of action in spiritual well-being, particularly that their actions are aligned with their values and principles. Five of these statements speak to this theme:

• I believe it matters what I do.
• I act with integrity.
• I take responsibility for the consequences of my actions, even those that are unintended.
• Leading a moral life makes me happy.
• I can give loyalty to another’s leadership without losing my integrity.

 
We also see people comfortable with the open curiosity that can aid spiritual growth and development, seen in two of the statements:

• I am curious to learn more about how the world around me works.
• I seek opportunities to learn and grow.

 
And we see people who balance an inward focus with looking outward to the situation of others, seeing themselves as part of a larger whole:

• I care deeply about the welfare of others.
• I see something universal in all human struggle.

 
Only one of the top ten most-true statements speaks to the religious experience itself: I experience awe. What might it mean for people to be more broadly connected to the vulnerability and humility one finds in the experience of the holy? Could a broader connection to mystery and wonder, to that which is larger than ourselves, more fully ground people for the action that expresses their spiritual values, action the people who’ve taken Spirit Map already see as true of them?
 
Sarah Cledwyn of Grow Soul, Spirit Map’s Spiritual Direction Consultant, offers a short practice to take one of these statements and bring it deeper into your experience:
 
I have had the pleasure to work with many people who have taken Spirit Map and recognized in the results something that rang very true for them. I have also had the honor to lead them deeper into what the results mean for them and how they play out concretely in their lives. This is the real power of the inventory. The universal statements of Spirit Map capture a high level view of strengths and opportunities which come into their most beautiful expression in the details of a lived experience. Within our lived experience, we can gain awareness that enables us to live even more deeply into our strengths and to explore and lean into our opportunities.
 
Here is a practice you can try:
As you look at this top ten list, are there any that deeply resonate for you? Choose one that has the most energy for you and sit with how this expresses itself in your life. Remember a specific time where you embodied this statement. Re-tell this story to a trusted friend, spiritual director, or simply journal it for yourself. After re-telling the story reflect on: 

• What did it feel like to live into this aspect of life? 
• What gifts did you receive from this scenario? 
• What gifts did others or the world receive from this scenario?

 
What's most true of you? Take the Spirit Map inventory yourself and see! You can purchase a Spirit Map report, which gives you full access to the inventory, or you can try a sample inventory. Or, explore our website to learn more about us.