Personal growth and self-discovery are sacred journeys that call us to become the best versions of ourselves. I have learned that true fulfillment comes not only from what we achieve but from how we grow, integrate our inner world, and share our wisdom with others. In the following reflection, I explore the deeper meaning of life and our calling to live authentically. Drawing from the insights of teachers and mystics such as Carl Jung, Rumi, and Thomas Merton, I also consider the unique challenges of our time—especially the rise of artificial intelligence—and what it means for our human and spiritual development. At the heart of this exploration lies what I believe to be the essential truth: real transformation begins when we align with love, authenticity, and divine intelligence. And for many, this transformation includes learning how to deepen authentic connections in your relationships and integrate your inner world through Psychospiritual Development or Depth Psychology, both of which are central to my work at Michael Regier, PhD.

I’ve been working on a music project – a journey through the phases of love. (Stay tuned) One of my songs begins with the following lyrics:

What is the meaning of the songs we sing?

What is the message our lives bring?

How can I tell you what matters the most?

Before I am a ghost?

Not sharing what we are learning is not living. This is our mission. Our sacred calling: to learn, to grow, and to share what we have learned—to give others the gold we’ve spent our lives mining from the depths of our souls and our life experiences.

The great souls make a way for others. To stand on their shoulders and see at a higher level than they could have on their own two feet.

They are constantly listening to the voices that make up who they are and trying to bring resolution and integration to their internal world. They seek the guidance of a supreme intelligence that resides at the center of their souls and exists above and around them.

This is the voice of truth itself. The love that is love that weaves the entire cosmos together. This is the Self, the Great I AM that sages speak of when they have an encounter of crossing over.

Carl Jung, Theresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, Rumi, Thomas Merton, and so many others gave their lives to this mission of listening, learning, and sharing what they were discovering with the world.

The opportunity to become a ghost awaits us, and will come sooner than we think.

What will matter when we cross over is what we have done with the gift of life we were given in this place. In this creation. With this power to be co-creators with the great intelligence that set the stars in motion.

Humanity now stands on the brink of a great awakening and a major deception. The artificial intelligence we have developed offers us the chance to harness both our own intelligence and the divine intelligence, which is the ultimate reality, to accelerate our evolution. To move beyond primitive fears and learn to love our neighbors as ourselves.

We have an unlimited capacity for self-deception. The less psychologically integrated we are, the more we see through the distorted lenses of our defenses and egos that try to protect us with a constructed version of identity used to avoid facing the question of who we truly are.

Who we are is what we are. What we have done. What we have learned. Which vanishes like a mist unless shared with the next generation.

We are travelers on starships navigating the complexities of our lives. We start our journeys by mimicking the lives of others. As Rene Girard discovered, we are imitative humans who need model after model to help us take our next steps.

Every life that we imitate brings us to the end of ourselves. When we discover that we are greater than the model. The model has become an obstacle to our discovering our true nature.

Our essence is greater than we can comprehend. Yet it is always speaking of another reality that requires us to leave behind the truth we have been seeking to perfect in our lives for a deeper, more expansive, more loving way of being.

While artificial intelligence helps clarify and organize our thinking, it can never truly think for us.

The greatest gift we have as sentient humans is the power to create. Our downfall will occur if we surrender our lives to artificial intelligence that lacks divine essence.

Artificial intelligence is programmed to gather the world’s information and shape it into an image that pleases us to see. Artificial intelligence is a man-made idol that will tempt us not to think for ourselves.

And while it has a great capacity to help us remember what we have forgotten, or in other words, the connections we haven’t made, or to serve us by adding numbers or performing administrative tasks, it will always be a child that needs to be guided and told how to serve us. Because in the end, artificial intelligence will always be artificial.

Making artificial intelligence our leader is like a narcissist seeking others to mirror their imagined greatness. The narcissist is afraid to do the work of seeing himself. Of facing the trauma and emptiness inside himself. So he creates an imagined greatness that he projects onto others and expects them to reflect back to him.

Artificial intelligence has a great capacity to serve us in fulfilling our mission to learn, to grow, and to share our learning with others.

We must always remember that there are no shortcuts to becoming. To see the ultimate reality for ourselves. To failing. To face our shortcomings. To make amends. To hold the hands of the ones we love and to be with them when they are sick and dying.

This is the stuff of being and becoming the human-divine, ever-evolving souls who are participating in the great mission to be and become the love that created us!

In the end, becoming our best selves requires more than shortcuts or surface-level solutions. It is a journey of facing failures, embracing growth, and building authentic connections with ourselves and others. For me, personal growth has always been about moving beyond imitation and self-deception to discover our true essence as co-creators with divine intelligence.

While artificial intelligence can serve as a helpful tool, it can never replace the soul’s journey toward authenticity, spirituality, and love. My deepest conviction is that our greatest calling is to live with intention, share what we learn, and embody the truth that personal growth and spiritual transformation are the paths to becoming fully human. If this reflection resonates with you, I invite you to explore more reflections on personal growth and spirituality.

I’m Michael W. Regier, Ph.D. I provide Emotionally Focused and Psychospiritual therapy. For 30+ years I’ve helped individuals and couples learn how to love self, others and the divine within each of us. Along with my wife Paula, I’ve co-authored Emotional Connection: The Story & Science of Preventing Conflict & Creating Lifetime Love and Relationship Foundations online course.