I find Willard’s description of the interior world simple and helpful. I appreciate his understanding drawn from the Bible that the interior world has its mysteries, but can be understood and ordered. He suggests that in the life with God it should look like this:

God
Spirit
Mind (Thought/Feeling)
Soul
Body

In the life away from God, the order of dominance is:

Body
Sould
Mind
Spirit
God

The transformation of a life not only puts things in order but in alignment with the character of Jesus Christ. Willard writes: “It is the central point of this book that spiritual transformation only happens as each essential dimension of the human being is transformed to Christlikeness under the direction of a regenerate will interacting with constant overtures of grace from God. Such transformation is not the result of mere human effort and cannot be accomplished by putting pressure on the will (heart, spirit) alone (41-42).”

How does this begin? With a cry to know God. “I want to know you!” That the Spirit of God awakens souls with this desire is incredible to me. That my own mind can be occupied with this desire is surely a sign of grace. I am intrigued with studies that search for genetic predisposition to the spiritual life. Maybe. Many people already recognize that temperment and personality take various approaches to spirituality. What remains though in this diversity of approach is this: There is an order to the interior world ordained by God; divergence from this order yields all forms of idolatry.