Abstract

This study examined the effectiveness of two theoretical models for tracking the spiritual growth of Sundo Taoist practitioners: Wilber's Four Quadrants of Integral Development and Kim's Five Archetypes of Personal Growth. It asked: What if any, developmental changes occur in long-term Sundo practitioners? Do practitioners in Korea report the same experiences as those in North America? What if any, differences do the Korean and North American practitioners exhibit in terms of the two theoretical models? Does the Sundo practitioner show a different health profile as the length of Sundo practice increases? ;A total of 202 Sundo practitioners from both North America and the Republic of Korea participated . They included 103 males and 99 females who had practiced from 2 weeks to 15 years. This mixed-design study utilized three Likert-type questionnaires, one based on Wilber's model and one on Kim's model, both heuristically derived to assess spiritual growth. The third questionnaire was the Survey of Self-Rated Health, Wellness, and Quality of Life. Seven male and 7 female long-term North American practitioners were interviewed, using open-ended semi-structured questions designed to explore their experiences in relation to Sundo practice. Descriptive statistics supplemented with ANOVAs compared the effects of practice over time as well as gender and geographic location. The interviews were explored using content analyses that focused on thematic material. ;Significant findings included: long-term increases in spiritual development across all levels of practice on all measures; increases in health scores with length of practice; national differences with higher scores on both questionnaires for North American participants; larger increases for women in one of Wilber's Four Quadrants; and greater variability among females than males on both Wilber's and Kim's questionnaires. Subjective content analyses disclosed similar developmental patterns in spiritual growth. ;Overall, this investigation supported the validity of both Wilber's and Kim's developmental models, and suggested their usefulness for similar studies. It also lent support to Sundo practice as a valid and effective path to spiritual growth