Have you ever felt such a sudden and profound shift in your awareness, like a veil has been lifted and your perception of life completely changes? You could be experiencing a spiritual awakening!
A couple of years ago I found myself questioning everything that I knew and wondered if I was slowly losing my grip on reality. What started as a wonderous yet frightening period became a journey towards a profound understanding of my true self. I have to say that I am still learning to fully integrate the realisations from this awakening.
A spiritual awakening is more than just a moment of clarity, it is a deeply transformative experience that can sometimes take years to integrate into everyday life. It challenges our old beliefs and brings us closer to our true selves.
In this modern age of technology and material aspiration, we have grown increasingly disconnected from our true selves. Despite this the universe has an inbuilt feature to bring us back in alignment with our true selves.
In this post, we dymystify the spiritual awakening process, its stages, the symptoms, and give you some practical ways to ease the pain and make it less scary.
What is Spiritual Awakening?
A spiritual awakening is a mystical experience that leads to a new dimension of reality that was previously unattainable. It’s a mystical experience due to the feeling of having your whole paradigm shift.
Awakening is like the biological equivalent of having new software downloaded to your consciousness. It’s a sudden upleveling of consciousness where you can glean deeper understandings and meanings to life. In some cases you are literally able percieve reality in a whole new way.
It’s rare for a person to have one spiritual awakening and reach full enlightenment. Most awakenings occur at different phases of life, and new levels of reality will be revealed to you.
I have personally gone through a few awakenings and suspect that I will go through many more during the course of my lifetime. The spiritual journey is like an onion and the universe peels and exposes back different dimensions to reality layer by layer.
A spiritual awakening can be caused by a catalyst in your outer environment such as a major life event like, heartbreak, bearevment or a traumatic experience. It can also come from deep inner work such as shadow work, plant medicine and meditation.
Having a spiritual awakening may also come at the most unexpected times like during travelling experiences or immersion with nature. I personally believe that spiritual awakening happens in layers and stages and oftentimes it’s not just one spiritual awakening that will happen during a person’s lifetime.
Common signs of spiritual awakening
- Your priorities dramatically shift
- You experience a heightened sense of awareness and deeper insights into things that were only understood on a surface level
- You sense and feel the interconnectedness of the web of life. You feel a sense of oneness with all of life and may sense a deep inner peace and connection to the universe
- You have an ability to see through the veil (illusion/maya)
- You may have dropped emotional baggage and heal from wounds that you were previously holding onto for years
- You may get the sense that you are the same being that created worlds
- Your dependence on your own intuition and inner guidance increases
- You may see a significant shift happening in your relationship dynamics and friendships, relationships and family members flow out of your experience and new relationships are forged that align with your true self
- You feel a sense of purpose and you feel like you have aligned with your north star and your true path comes into focus
- Synchronicities takes place as your increased intuition guides you in ways that you once considered coincidence
- You feel a deeper sense of empathy and appreciation, for yourself, for humanity, for the planet and for all of nature
The Stages of Spiritual Awakening
Stage 1: Awakening
In stage one of spiritual journey you may start to question your reality and your beliefs. The realisation can either be sudden or a very gradual awareness. Perhaps you sense that there’s more to life than you had previously thought. This may trigger a sense of childlike wonder, curiosity and can even leave you feeling quite confused
Stage 2: The dark night of the soul (purging)
You come face to face with the wounds that you have been running from which can get quite dark, painful and at times can even get quite scary. In this stage what’s happening is a shedding of an old self, paradigm and beliefs.
This is what is commonly referred to as an ego death. This is essentially the death of a former you! This can cause you to experience or more accurately, RE-experience past trauma, pain and discomfort. In this stage you may feel a sense of loss or emptiness
Stage 3: The quest for meaning
In this stage you want to understand the meaning of life and search for understanding and truth. You may begin exploring new spiritual practices, and philosophers. Perhaps you may feel the urge to accelerate your spiritual growth as you search for a deeper sense of purpose.
You may feel a strong thirst for knowledge in this stage and may explore new spiritual paths with an openness. Your feel a vigour and enthusiasm like never before.
Stage 4: Integration and alignment (transformation)
You’ll begin integrating all of the new knowledge and insights that you have been acquiring over the course of your awakening and begin to embody them as your truth. Your life is now in line with your new elevated consciousness as the consciousness upgrades become a part of your world view and how you see yourself. In this stage you may feel peace clarity and a sense of balance.
Stage 5: Living with awareness (service)
You are now living in alignment with your higher self. It’s like you have had your biological software updated and reconfigured to align with your new paradigm.
Love, compassion and service to others comes into focus and you sense that you are now living more in alignment with your purpose. You remain committed to growing your new awareness. You feel more joy as you have shed a lot of density and you feel a deeper connectedness to life
Whilst spiritual Awakening can be a beautiful and mystical experience it can also have its downsides and one can feel like they are going mad.
Triggers and Catalysts for Spiritual Awakening
Life events
All great changes are preceded by a period of chaos and this dramatic metamorphosis can be extremely chaotic. It can be brought on by a major life event such as a sudden change and drastic change in your environment e.g. moving home or country.
The ending of a significant relationship such as a divorce, the death of a loved one, or like myself can happen through the painful experience of unrequited love. It can also be brought on by extreme pain and suffering. In this instance you experience the infamous dark night of the soul.
Meditation and mindfulness
When you are committed to personal growth and spirituality you have chosen a path of accelerated spiritual growth. The possibility of having a spiritual awakening increases the more that you are working on your personal and spiritual growth.
Nature and travel
Having a deeper connection to the interconnectedness of all things such as the type that happens through your connection to earth, the creatures, and people, can all act as triggers of spiritual awakening.
Common Challenges During Spiritual Awakening
Emotional turbulence
Isolation
This is usually a time when your perspective changes so dramatically and it can be challenging to continue with the same relationships that you once had. You can feel misunderstood by the people that knew you.
Identity crisis
A common challenge during spiritual awakenings is being unfamiliar with your new identity and this can bring on an identity crisis. For example my challenge during spiritual awakening was not knowing how to protect myself as my usual defences had dissolved along with the old ego identity.
Another challenge during spiritual awakening is working out how to integrate major realisations like becoming aware of non duality. As your connection with the universe strengthens the challenge is being patient whilst you integrate this major shift in consciousness. The challenge here is that oftentimes it can leave you feeling like you may be losing your sanity.
Practical Steps to Support Your Spiritual Awakening
It’s important to ensure that you build in lots of self care and support during a spiritual awakening. Sometimes awakening require a period of isolation but it’s important not to dwell in this isolated period for too long and reach out when you require support
Mindfulness practices such as meditation, journaling or yoga are powerful tools during a spiritual awakening. I would recommend going deeper with journaling using Carl Jung’s shadow work.
Seek guidance from any mentors, spiritual communities and spiritual teachers. However if your old paradigm didn’t put you in proximity of these individuals then I recommend finding them by joining spiritual groups and communities.
Have compassion for yourself during this time. You are undergoing an intense metamorphosis and transmuting a lot of density. Its crucial you are kind and patient with yourself during this process.
Benefits of Spiritual Awakening
Increased awareness
Spiritual enlightenment can lead to a greater self awareness and understanding leading to an empowering feeling of self knowledge. Having self awareness is an underestimated superpower as you not only become more emotionally aware of yourself but you are able to see the bigger picture of life.
Inner peace
You feel a greater sense of inner peace and contentment
Enhanced connection
You feel a deeper sense of connection to yourself and the energy that creates worlds!
Conclusion
In conclusion, a spiritual awakening is a profound shift in awareness that can change your outlook on life. It can be triggered by external events or inner work such as mindfulness and meditation.
Signs of a spiritual awakening include a shift in priorities, heightened awareness, a sense of interconnectedness, increased intuition, and a deeper sense of purpose.
The stages of spiritual awakening include questioning reality, facing past wounds, searching for meaning, integrating new knowledge, and living in alignment with your higher self.
Triggers for spiritual awakening can include major life events, meditation and mindfulness practices, and a connection to nature and travel. Challenges during a spiritual awakening may include emotional turbulence, isolation, and an identity crisis.
Practical steps to support a spiritual awakening include self-care, mindfulness practices, seeking guidance from mentors, and having compassion for oneself. The benefits of a spiritual awakening include increased awareness, inner peace, and enhanced connection to oneself and the world.
Final words
Embracing your spiritual journey is a courageous and transformative step towards discovering your true self and living a more fulfilled life. Each moment of awakening, each insight, and each lesson learned is a beautiful thread in the tapestry of your unique path.
Remember, your spiritual journey is a deeply personal experience, full of growth, exploration, and profound connections. Trust in the process, be kind to yourself, and know that every step you take brings you closer to your authentic self and a deeper understanding of the world around you.
We would love to hear about your experiences and reflections on your spiritual journey. Share your thoughts in the comments below, and let’s inspire each other on this path of awakening.
If you’re eager to explore more about spiritual awakening and its profound impact, dive into our other articles and resources to continue your journey of discovery and enlightenment.
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