You have probably heard or read the term spiritual awakening. It seems to be a hot topic these days, and articles about spirituality are becoming more mainstream. Everyone likes to say they are “woke,” but we fall back into patterns or let herd mentality cloud our judgment, and don’t always practice what we preach… so what does that mean?
What does ‘spiritual awakening’ actually mean and what does it entail? In this post, I will share the answer to that question and details about the signs of a spiritual awakening.
What is a Spiritual Awakening?
Cultures and religions around the world and throughout history have different terms for a spiritual awakening.
The Buddhists call it ‘nirvana’ which translated from its Sanskrit origins means “blowing out” and “quenching”. Buddha described it as a state of transcendental bliss and explains it is the highest spiritual achievement that releases souls from the cycle of reincarnation.
In Hinduism, one is supposed to have achieved ‘enlightenment’ if he has become one with the Hindu supreme god Brahman.
Taoism emphasizes living in harmony with the Tao, or the source.
The concept of spiritual awakening as we know it was popularized by psychiatrist Carl Jung, the founder of analytical psychology, who defined spiritual awakening as the process of coming back to the original Self.
To me, a spiritual awakening is the beginning of a new phase in your spiritual journey. Without the realizations that one encounters on this journey, we are doomed to go through life pursuing empty goals like money, fame, power, and other external means of validation in the ego’s attempt to find happiness. True happiness, peace, and contentedness are found through meaningful contributions to humanity as a whole that are in line with our soul’s true purpose.
What Causes a Spiritual Awakening?
A spiritual awakening can happen spontaneously or with the help of certain substances, but it often takes a significant, serious event to force you to examine your life from a more spiritual perspective. The Dark Night of the Soul, major life changes, traumatic experiences, a life-threatening illness, severe car accidents, divorce, war, pandemics, mid-life crises, mental health crises, and near-death experiences are good examples of happenings that significantly alter one’s reality, forcing us to step back and take a long, hard look at life from a spiritual point of view.
Flashes of awakening are kind of like an automatic door that opens, but then shuts again. After a brief transitory state of awareness, he or she returns to life unchanged and continues living as they always have. This type of awakening would be typical during a weekend retreat or during conversation with a spiritual teacher or counselor. Insights and epiphanies come through and change is initiated, sometimes in several aspects in one’s life. Sometimes a person can experience multiple flashes, and the difference when its a major awakening is the feeling that life feels forever altered, like there is no going back. The changes that penetrate mind, body, and soul are permanent; the search for truth has begun.
It’s Different for Everyone
Everyone describes the beginning of the awakening process differently. Some people experience a single sudden, penetrating instant where something is seen and realized, or report widespread connections hits them like a profound moment of clarity. For others, it feels more like a kind of collapse when they finally let go of something that held them back and the truth is revealed. The initial awakening doesn’t have to be earth-shattering, many have shared that the process was more gradual than instant.
Gregg Prescott offers some insightful conclusions he has made linking physical signs and symptoms to metaphysical causes in his article Metaphysical Explanations of Specific Physical Aches, Pains, and Sicknesses (2016).
As many people in the spiritual world know, everything happens for a reason. It becomes a lot easier to understand why things happen when we can see it from a metaphysical perspective.
Olwe
Signs and Symptoms of a Spiritual Awakening
There are countless sources of information on the internet and it can be difficult to know who is right. The good news is that YOU get to decide truth from fiction. Signs and symptoms can be physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual, ranging from mild to severe. Having one or two of the following universally reported signs and symptoms could indicate you are early on in the process. Please be patient with yourself and keep in mind that one undergoes many spiritual awakenings in one’s path to enlightenment.
If you have questions or concerns, please contact me! Good luck and blessed be!!
Acrylic on 8×10 canvas, 2018
in loving memory of Doug “Tator’ Hartman
You feel completely lost and alone
You aren’t sure what is going on anymore. You don’t feel like anyone understand. You don’t know what to do, or who to turn to. The darkness of the world seems to be winning, and hope is running low.
Suicide Hotline 18002732855
Please call to get help if you are having thoughts of ending your life. You are loved so much more than you could possibly know!!
Depression and anxiety are common
Depression is an emotional pattern caused negative feelings based on the past: regret, shame, remorse, grief… anxiety is an emotional pattern caused by negative feelings about the future: worry, fear, apprehension. These themes reappear during self-exploration and are released with shadow work and inner child healing exercises. We have the tools within ourselves to fulfill what our purpose. Unfortunately, no one handed out an instruction manual when we were born. No one taught us how to deal with the traumas that happen in our lives. It’s okay, and actual a huge step in the right direction to admit you need help.
You feel disconnected or detached
You begin to notice the way the energy feels differently around certain people or in certain situations. Spending less time at social events you used to enjoy, or avoiding them and other places with large crowds altogether are typical.
You begin to find peace in solitude
Spending time alone becomes a refuge. Returning from contact or exposure to large crowds can feel like a sigh of relief. Even extroverted people need time away from the world to gather their thoughts and recharge their batteries. Rather than thinking of this as negative, realize that the quiet time is necessary and completely normal human behavior. Everyone goes through periods of isolation in their life, just be careful not to completely cut yourself from the world. Human interaction is necessary for ongoing growth and development. We are part of a universal consciousness.
You deeply want to understand who you are
Why are you here? What makes you YOU? Personality profiles like Myers-Briggs, enneagrams, archetypal psychology, Values Inventory Worksheets, Self-exploratory journaling, and other self-assessment tools are employed frequently in modern psychology. They provide the gold-standard of parameters for determining the status of a person’s mental, social, cognitive abilities, but they are subject to human error in subjective judgment.
Guided meditation, art therapy, drama therapy and shadow work are interventions that have been successfully implemented. Natal astrology, full numerology profiling, iChing, Human Design, Tarot readings… all of these are valuable tools to see through the illusions of not-self you develop throughout life and rediscover the real you. Identifying strengths and dominating features while improving on or limiting the effects of weaknesses allows you to discover your true calling in life.
You experience more synchronicities and déjà vu
Synchronicities are phenomena- an event, occurrence, chance meeting, conversation, etc- that coincide meaningfully to transmit a divine message that you are on the right path. Like you think of someone out of the blue and randomly run into them the next day. Deja vu is the sense we get that we have been somewhere or experienced something before when it is the first time. I experienced deja vu when I was a child as I ran up on a specific white and purple snail shell on the beach that I specifically remember from my dream the night before!
Acrylic on Canvas, 11×14, 2019
Answers come to you in strange ways
You ask a question and shortly after the answer comes to you, or the solution pops into your head. You may hear messages in music or on the radio, songs that play at a certain time, the sudden discovery of the answer, epiphany moments. Angel Numbers are repetitious numbers and repeated number sequences that show up everywhere you look: on the clock, street numbers, at the gas pump etc. More synchronicities, but these are much more overtly coming from a higher power.
Acrylic on Canvas, 11×14, 2019
Dreams are more vivid
In addition to deja vu, you may find that dreams are more lifelike and colorful. Visitors from your past may appear. Scenes from different times in your life meld together with the 5 physical senses as your subconscious plays out. Studies show we dream in all phases of sleep, but the most vivid occur during rapid-eye movement (REM) sleep.
The average human mind produces 3-5 dreams per night, but some people have up to 7. Dreams can be a few seconds but typically last 20-30 minutes each. You are more likely to remember dreams if you are woken up during the REM phase dream. A dream journal helps to track dreams and is one recommendation to help encourage Lucid Dreaming.
Freud was the first to imply the concept of dream symbology, although I’m not convinced that everything has to do with my father’s penis or my mother’s breasts. Carl Jung introduced the terms shadow, Self vs Not-Self, and drama therapy as a means to unify the light and dark aspects of one’s personality, and dreams provide the theater for our subconscious to work through issues. Either way, I have found that journaling my dreams with reflection on symbology and the connection to where I am on my journey has provided insight and on occasion preempted deja vu scenarios.
You become a human lie detector
Inauthentic, deceitful, or manipulative people become like big red flags running around. You can pick them out of a crowd of strangers. Avoid these types of people, they drain you. Regardless if they are family, long time friends, or acquaintances, you have the right to decide if they get to stay in your life. People whose actions don’t match their words and people that don’t celebrate your wins are not your friends… they are drilling holes in your boat when you aren’t looking.
Relationships begin to shift
You will feel like you need space from friends and family that no longer resonate with you. People that you were once close to may drift away. What is meant for you will stay. Sometimes true love doesn’t mean forever, it means for awhile. Every relationship had its meaning, its purpose for you. Don’t fall into the cycle trap and bludgeon your love to death. Learn to gracefully let go, so maybe down the road you have the chance for forgiveness. We are all connected, so every lingering discord is felt in the conscious collective.
That human lie detector I mentioned might go off close to home and force you to see others more clearly, regardless of how long you have known them. It can be hard to realize when you must leave someone behind who isn’t on the same path as you. Give the benefit of the doubt for not knowing better, as you once didn’t know better, and wish them well. Revenge is a slow death for your future, as whatever you put out into the universe comes back to you threefold.
You meet people for a reason
Chance meetings and seemingly coincidental introductions lead to meaningful new relationships with people that are on the same journey. As you embark on this journey, you become like a magnet for others on the same path. The exchange of ideas with likeminded people can validate what you have been going through, help provide you direction, provide you with feedback or another point of view and are sent as another reminder that you are on the right path.
Dr. Joe Dispenza
You’re more intuitive
You experience heightened intuition and perhaps notice development of other extrasensory abilities. What you may not know is they have always been there, buried beneath the layers of the ego reinforced by social conditioning. Awakening sheds these layers and puts you more in tune with yourself. Embracing this path strengthens your intuitive powers.
You feel more connected to the natural world
Even though you are feeling disconnected from friends and family, you will feel more drawn to and connected with nature. Observing the beauty of a sunrise and sunset, adding indoor plants or a garden, and spending more time outdoors feel refreshing and reinforce your sense of interconnectedness.
Your physical senses are heightened
As you become more in tuned to the present moment, you may experience increased sensitivity to physical, emotional, and energetic stimuli. It is common for your vision to become clearer, colors appear brighter, scents and flavors become more noticeable, your sense of hearing is more keen, touch brings completely new sensations.
You may have more bodily sensations
Along with heightened awareness and senses, you may be more in tuned with the electromagnetic field. People report a variety of things: some feel chills, warmth, tingling, pressure, tugging, or other bodily sensations. I get chills and full body goosebumps whenever my intuition is on the right track… Pay attention to these important hints from your physical body!
You experience physical symptoms
Physical symptoms of spiritual awakening can include fatigue, brain fog, headaches, sudden acute pain in specific areas of the body. (These symptoms, and the bodily sensations described above, can be signs of a medical condition. Consider discussing them with a doctor to rule out other causes, especially if they seem to be related).
You want to purge your life
You become aware of aspects of your life that are no longer serving you or are holding you back. You purge your life of toxic or limiting thoughts, behaviors, patterns and people. You feel the need to make room for what may come.
You see how unhappy most people are
As you look around you, you start to notice the hard reality of the world we live in today. Suicide rates are up and suicidal ideation is everywhere you look. The number of people taking mood-stabilizing medications, and/or mood altering substances, is at an all-time high. Addictions to dull the pain take on many forms, and many of them have nothing to do with substance abuse or illegal drugs. The struggle is EVERYWHERE. People fake happiness on social media and in person, and feel shame for the sadness and despondency we all share behind closed doors.
Your outlook on the world feels different
Spiritual awakenings are not easy. Ego-shattering realizations and rediscovering every aspect of your life can make anyone feel like they are continually waking up to a whole new world. It’s okay to re-evaluate and change your mind as you expand your awareness and knowledge-base.
You feel increased empathy
Feeling more connected to humanity as a whole, the compendium of All That Is, also known as the conscious collective, universal consciousness, or universal mind you will lead to increased empathy for the suffering of others. It may become impossible to ignore the struggles we all face as individuals and as a society.
You display more compassion
Increased empathy and awareness of the struggles opens your heart and allows you to feel more compassion to people around you. Viewing someone’s situation objectively from both sides allows you to release the ego’s need to punish and replace it with the desire to teach while still holding the person accountable for their actions.
You lose fear of what others think about you
Self-exploration and feeling in touch with your spiritual self fosters the level of confidence and self-assurance that can not be swayed by the opinions of others. You are considerate of others and their input, but they do not push you to change your mind.
You feel more wonder and curiosity
You will feel like a young again as the new sensations and broadening horizons leave you exhilarated and excited to learn more. Child-like wonder and curiosity bring joy back into your life.
You demonstrate genuine gratitude
Little blessings and life’s gifts that make traveling this physical plane of existence a little easier are to be enjoyed and celebrated. Gratitude and thankfulness are key components to the Law of Attraction and building a better tomorrow.
Health and Mindset Coach
You have made sudden changes in your routine
Your day-to-day life changes to accommodate new interests and activities. You recognize behaviors that increase happiness and contribute to higher vibrational states of being. Higher vibrations allow you to further align with your purpose and attract more opportunities to expand your positive impact.
You see through the illusions of society
You can’t ignore the aspects of society built on shaky foundations of popular half-truths and rigid, dogmatic belief systems. Someone once said “A person is smart. People are dumb.” Blindly ‘following the herd’ ignores the souls need for self-exploration and growth; it is the typical lifestyle of an unawakened individual.
Check out this great article The Dangers of Dogma from Albert Ellis!
You realize that a lot of what you have been told is a lie
Fake news, social media algorithms, book censorship, area 51, 9/11, indoctrination, conspiracy theories come true. When you see the truth, you realize its everywhere and they have been blatantly putting it in our faces to normalize it- subliminally making us more complacent. At the same time, they have been inching toward totalitarianism with fear tactics. We are programmed to be suspicious of anything new and different.
Also read Silent Weapons for Quiet Wars.
The evidence is out there.
You learn how to forgive
You realize forgiving someone for a perceived wrong or injury is more for your benefit when you learn holding a grudge is only hurting yourself. Forgive yourself and others for not knowing better or choosing better. You are able to see things from another’s point of view, and humanizing them makes it impossible NOT to forgive. We are all struggling with something, and there’s no sense in making it worse for anyone else. Not to mention, we are all the product of social programming intended to cause pain, misery, and division!
Don’t forget… an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind. Every action brings about an equal and opposite reaction when it comes to karma- What you put out into the universe (through thought, word, and deed) will return to you three times as powerful.
You start to love unconditionally
You allow yourself to feel the hurt inflicted upon you by others, but instead of reacting you attempt to understand their actions. You realize emotions don’t require you to act. You remind yourself that we are all human, and we are all pawns. You choose love over hate, a little more each day. Love yourself and thy neighbor.
You want to make the world a better place
Not just for yourself, but for everyone. Your actions are less motivated by thoughts of ‘me’ and focused more on the greater good for ‘we.’ You contribute to society in a way that supports long term positive vibrations.
Easing the Burden
These signs and symptoms above are not an exhaustive list. They are not placed in any particular order nor do they necessarily arrive in any specific sequence. There are many layers to each aspect and it is common to stumble backwards on the road to mastery, and keep in mind mastery does not equal perfection. We are human and are therefore subject to human emotions and tendencies.
Allowing fear and worry to take over is common. Often an individual makes every attempt to revert back to the comfortable security of blissful ignorance. This avoidance can cause detrimental effects on both the individual and collective. These negative effects add to frustration, confusion, chaos. The efforts at resistance are eventually futile. Embracing the process helps to ease the burden.
Good Vibes Only
The catch phrases about positive or good “vibes” are based on the belief systems about energy, vibrations, and frequencies. Many are confused about these philosophical concepts and their origins.
“Good vibes only” does NOT mean limiting conversations to sunshine and rainbows, or shunning your friend for sharing the depths of their depression, or attacking your peer for posting “fake news.” Sharing the truth instigates those with opposing viewpoints and shuts down the conversation. Posting “dank memes” on social media do not prove that you have elevated yourself to an awakened status.
Your thoughts, decisions, and actions in every day life and in crucial moments, especially when no one is looking, are true indicators of your progress. Increasing the vibrational energy is the best way to ease the transition from awakening to enlightenment.
Ways to Vibrate Higher
There are many ways to raise your frequency. The following photograph is an excerpt from my Book of Light and Shadows. For more ideas how to raise your vibration, and what to avoid so you don’t lower your frequency level, check out Good Vibes Only!
If you have any questions or would like more information, I invite you to please email me! I enjoy helping people navigating the confusion and chaos, especially in the early stages in awakening!
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11 thoughts on “30 Signs & Symptoms of a Spiritual Awakening”
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