What is a Spiritual Awakening?
A spiritual awakening a process of the body, mind, and soul releasing from a lower version of consciousness and stepping into a higher state of consciousness. The individual experiencing a spiritual awakening will describe it as an old part of them dying off and being released, to then birth a completely new sense of self.
It is termed “spiritual” because the individual experiencing the awakening feels connected to a divine, higher power, and comes to recognize itself as being a reflection of the divine or infinite in human form. It can be described as the conscious mind transforming into an embodied awareness of its true divine and infinite nature, releasing the negative patterns and belief systems of lower vibrational mindsets.
While the term sounds as though it’s describing a singular and transformational “aha” moment, spiritual awakenings are most commonly a process and journey. This journey seems to the experiencers as though reality itself has suddenly shifted, and the individual is faced with a completely new world and a series of tests. These tests are learning experiences that challenge the individual on a soul level, forcing him or her to confront deep wounds, trauma, or sources of negativity. This is so the individual can release and heal from any negative experiences or unwanted energy.
What is the result of a spiritual awakening?
Spiritual awakenings transform the idea of the individualized self, and provide the experiencer with a new perspective of self. Experiencers might describe it as though they released anything that was in the way of knowing themselves as an empowered infinite being, connected to all things, and able to influence reality and create their own life experience.
Those who experience spiritual awakenings come away with a profound sense of life purpose, inner peace, an empowered sense of self, and often find dramatic increases in spiritual gifts such as intuitive insight, the ability to perform healing, or new levels of creative abilities.
The bliss state is a common result of a spiritual awakening. Experiencers find a state of profound inner bliss surging through their mind, body, and soul. While for most, this state isn’t a permanent experience, it often comes in waves--and can even continue the rest of the individual’s life.
Experiencers emerge from spiritual awakenings practicing an empowered sense of self, proactively creating the life of their desire, focused on serving the higher good, with healthy and vibrant energy. It is common for experiencers to look significantly younger and seem to be radiating energy.
How does a spiritual awakening happen?
There tend to be two common journeys of spiritual awakenings: one is spontaneous and can feel like intense energy is surging through your body. The other common journey is a slow, multi-year process that seems to create a challenging series of tests in order to begin feeling the state of bliss.
Common terms that relate to spiritual awakenings:
Kundalini awakening. A powerful spiritual experience where energy coiled like a snake at the base of the spine rises up through the spine, through each chakra, and opens into a state of expanded consciousness. This energy can feel electric, hot, dense, or like shooting light.
Spiritually transformative experiences (STEs). Existential, mystical, transcendent experiences such as near death experiences (NDEs), out-of-body-experiences (OBEs), visions, communications with God, angels, non-physical beings, star races. Spiritually transformative experiences are most often catalysts for significant transformation and change in the experiencer.
Spiritual emergence / spiritual emergency. A state that looks like a severe psychological crisis, with sensations of extreme inner agitation and turmoil. This occurs due to the intensity and severity of the spiritual development process; the challenges the individual is facing are too extreme and are not yet integrated.
What happens to a person experiencing a spiritual awakening?
At a core level, individuals experiencing spiritual awakenings are undergoing a dramatic shift in energy. What can be described as intense physical experiences are actually a physical manifestation of different energies--and the awakening process is largely about releasing unwanted energy and coming to live in a higher state of consciousness with aligned energy.
For those experiencing the longer, multi-year awakening journey, there is a process. It is biological, energetic, spiritual, and can present with such intensity that you become completely overwhelmed and engulfed in the experience. The individual will often feel physically overwhelmed and feel a strong desire to be alone. This is because there is a dramatic shift in energy taking place, requiring distance from the energy of others in order to truly process and integrate what is happening.
Common components of a spiritual awakening process:
Dismantling the ego. The individual faces a series of scenarios that destroy its ability to pursue ego-based objectives. The individual must come to understand ways the ego was guarding or shielding itself from experiencing the true soul path. Old patterns must be released, and anything that isn’t truly authentic must be released.
Resolving past wounds. Any pain, grief, trauma, or wounds are surfaced for resolution and healing. The experiencer is immersed in the process of releasing and resolving these areas, often feeling like it is happening inadvertently and beyond control. The spiritual awakening process seems to be designed to disallow any spiritual bypassing, forcing the individual to confront any old wounds.
This process is often described as emotional purging, and creates a phase of what many experiencers refer to as “The Dark Night of the Soul.”
Connecting to the infinite. A unique parallel to the challenges of the emotional turmoil and purging process is a significant opening into higher realms of awareness, a sense of oneness and interconnectedness to all things, and the development of a personal relationship with the divine for support and guidance.
Realizing one’s power. The spiritual awakening process shifts the experiencer from a view of self that is trapped in limitation to a view of self that has access to infinite guidance and abundance. The expanded awareness of consciousness helps the experiencer understand that it is an empowered consciousness with the ability to create its own reality. Individuals experiencing a spiritual awakening often go through dramatic change, including new diets, habits, relationships, and careers. Life choices are deliberate and any scenario of disempowerment is promptly addressed, transformed, or released.
New gifts are often presented, and the individual often gets guidance on how to move into their life purpose and mission.