Stages of Spiritual Awakening
If you’re here then I trust you are on your own spiritual journey and to that I say ‘welcome to the ride’! And I want to remind you that you are not going crazy, you’re just waking up!
A spiritual awakening is sometimes a long and winding journey. Not so much traveling to a destination, but an unbecoming of everything that you thought you should be, and instead a figuring out of who you always were.
It’s a process of raising your consciousness and evolving. It’s like waking up from a dream, questioning everything you thought to be true, and often healing from old patterns, toxic people, and at times, questioning this reality.
The growth that happens during an awakening is transformative but not always butterflies and rainbows. It is a shedding of your old skin and there will be struggles, as growth is often painful.
Actually, many refer to their initial wakeup call as ‘the dark night of the soul’ or experience a period of sadness and despair, which we will talk about soon. Although everyone will have a unique path to awakening, there are some common threads that most will share.
Let’s elaborate.
Stages of Spiritual Enlightenment
The Darkness (AKA Dark night of the soul)
The Dark night of the soul is a period of your life when you feel frustrated with your current situations. Oftentimes this occurs after a significant loss, life change, or general sorrow. Eckhart Tolle describes the Dark Night of the Soul as “a collapse of a perceived meaning of life”.
This stage can feel similar to depression, especially for those who do not understand what is happening to them. Think of it as a caterpillar entering the cocoon; everything is dark and confusing. It may feel scary being in the unknown, but at the end there is a re-birth as the beautiful butterfly emerges.
Questioning and Isolation
Curiosity is a huge part of having a spiritual awakening. Some may experience this stage prior to the dark night of the soul. Mine actually started here, after meeting someone who was my catalyst for growth.
In this stage you became insatiably curious about all things woo-woo and new age. You may find yourself reading about religion, spirituality, yoga, meditation, or philosophy. You may be introduced to the chakras, alternative healing modalities (reiki, tapping, acupuncture) or just become interested in deeper healing in general.
Your consciousness starts to question everything, searching for a deeper meaning of life. During this time, you may crave alone time. If you desire to be around people, you will have no tolerance for small talk and seek a deeper connection in conversation.
Healing
The healing phase can be deeply transformational. Prior to awakening, your thoughts on healing may have been focused on the physical body. Although healing in this stage involves a shedding of unresolved trauma and brings parts of yourself to the surface that you may have tucked away or forgotten.
You start to realize that the answers are not ‘out there’, but within.
Some consider this shadow work or inner child work. Regardless, it is work. When you are guided to this stage, you will be forced to finally look at things like societal conditioning, limiting beliefs, and find that certain people will fall out of your life.
It is powerful work that will take your consciousness to the next level. To get through this stage, you have to want to heal. And unfortunately, there is no way around, just through it.
Robert Frost Quote
Awakening
The awakening happens as a result of all the healing work. Your vibration is raised, and your outlook has shifted. Things start to make sense again and you may feel that everything is interconnected.
Now the lessons that you learned of your journey of life start to be integrated. You can connect the dots backwards, sort of speak.
It’s likely that your intuition is heightened, or you remembered that you did in fact have spiritual gifts as a child, although the world conditioned you to toughen up. In my personal experience, my clairsentience and clairvoyant gifts were strengthened through meditation and reiki attunements. By this point you know that these abilities are gifts, and you can learn how to embody them and learn your true purpose.
hackspirit.com
As you progress in this stage, you identify less with your ego self and more with your spirit self.
Some consider there to be several stages of awakening. It’s a very individual experience as to how long you will stay in each stage. Some move quickly, some linger, and some bounce back and forth between stages.
Living your Purpose or ‘The Created Self’
The focus of this stage is the realization that we are powerful beyond belief. We are co-creators of this life. It is here that we integrate our learnings and realize our purpose.
We all came here on Earth with a unique purpose, and there may be people on your journey that help you discover this. Sometimes it’s paying attention to the passions that you have or the themes that show up in your life.
By this stage, you trust your intuition more and do the work to make your dreams come true.
Enlightenment
I’ve added enlightenment although I am certainly not here. Many will not reach this stage during this lifetime, although it is believed to be the ultimate goal.
On the way to enlightenment, we embody the idea that there is a ‘we’ and not just ‘I’ and feel an interconnectedness with the Universe and all other beings.
“Awakening is not a fantasy to fulfill, a goal to achieve, or a destination to reach. It is a clear understanding of who you are and what you are not. When you crack through fleshy illusions, you will see a light that is shining within you. The true existence of your ‘self’.”
NAVEEN KUMAR
It’s important to remember that everyone is on their own journey and you were not given this gift to ‘wake up’ others. There will be times when it is your role to be someones’ spiritual guide and this will be clear to you.
Symptoms of a Spiritual Awakening
It’s important to note that since we all have different sensitivities and journeys, not everyone will experience the following signs and symptoms. This is also not a full list of symptoms, but the ones collectively that seem the most common. Please feel free to share in the comments what your symptoms were.
Synchronicities occur (like seeing repeating numbers or topics)
Feeling lonely
Feeling like people no longer ‘get’ you
Craving alone time
Enhanced empathy or psychic abilities
Pressure or throbbing in the crown of your head or 3rd eye
Vertigo or decreased balance
Frequent goosebumps or chills
Vivid dreams or increased ability to remember them
Searching for a deeper purpose
Tools for Awakening
These are some tips and tools that helped strengthen my intuition and guide me along the way.
Meditation
Connecting with nature and spending time outside
Cleansing spaces with sage
Grounding practices
Journaling experiences and thoughts
Pulling Tarot cards
Practicing gratitude
Talking with like-minded people
Using crystals for protection
Using essential oils and aromatherapy
Saying/writing daily affirmations
Taking a bath with oils or Epsom salts
In Conclusion
An authentic spiritual awakening is not a ‘one and done’. It’s an ongoing process of shedding the conditioned ego and being open to the full human experience. It’s an understanding that not everything is happening to us, but for us.
I hope this was helpful for you. I was inspired to write it because posts like these were helpful when I was on my own spiritual journey and felt really lonely and confused. Please remember that there can be joy in the journey and realizing your gifts will lead to a life of peace and joy.
Namaste 🙏
Where are you in your spiritual journey? Let me know in the comments.