You would have come across this strange term called ‘Spiritual Awakening’ doing rounds on the internet or maybe heard it from a friend or an acquaintance. But, what exactly is ‘Spiritual Awakening’? Let’s explore through this article.
Have you ever felt that everything is worthless?
Have you ever craved to know the meaning and purpose of life?
Have you ever wondered who I am? or why am I here?
Have you felt lost about what to do with your life?
If you have faced some of these questions, you may be on the verge of embarking on a beautiful journey called ‘Spiritual Awakening’. If not, don’t worry. Not all human beings go through spiritual awakening. A person may go through a ‘spiritual awakening’ at any age. For some it may happen at the young age of 20, for some, it may even strike in the 80s.
How does one experience Spiritual awakening?
The ones who experience this magical phenomenon go through something extremely hard to put into words. Broadly the spiritual awakening phenomenon can be explained through the following stages.
Stage 1: Dissatisfaction and search for something bigger
It all starts with a feeling that something is missing in their life. There is a feeling of emptiness that worldly possessions are not able to fulfill. Then begins the search for something bigger, something that might help them feel right.
It feels like getting lost in a jungle and trying to find your way forward. The three-dimensional world we live in falls short of satisfying this hunger for knowing more about the ultimate truth. And then, all of a sudden, another dimension emerges, and it takes you inward. On this beautiful journey, you are set to find some interesting answers to your questions.
Usually, this deeper search for meaning is triggered by a negative life experience, a trauma you faced, a breakup, death, illness, or any major life event.
Stage 2: Broadened Perspectives
When you crave all these answers, you are drawn toward sources that satiate your thirst for knowledge. In fact, your teachers and gurus find you and you get pulled into this immense sea of knowledge. These enlightened masters help you broaden your perspectives and deepen your awareness about yourself. Ultimately, your outlook towards the world gets more mature and evolved.
Stage 3: Self-growth
The heightened self-awareness opens several gateways for self-growth by helping you recognize your patterns, self-limiting beliefs, drivers, inner critic, etc. You realize that the voice in your head is a different entity from your ‘being’. You no longer are a slave to the voice in your head. You are the ‘watcher’ of this voice. You are simply aware of its existence and can watch it talk endlessly. You practice ‘mindfulness’ and get drawn towards ‘meditation.’ You experience immense self-growth and become a totally different person.
Stage 4: Feeling at peace and joyful.
With each passing day, you feel more centered and connected to your inner self. Pursuing this path gives you immense joy. You are able to apply the learnings from your deepened awareness to your daily life. You feel deeply connected with yourself and at peace.
While you understand that ultimate enlightenment or full self-realization is hard to achieve, you know that you are on the right path.
What are the symptoms of spiritual awakening?
You start building clarity on who you are.
You are able to take a step back and have a broader view of things.
You are able to spot the tricks your mind plays on you.
You are able to see how unhappy everyone else in the world is, being trapped in the shackles of their mind.
You are no longer doing things to please others or look good in the eyes of others.
You love spending time alone in solitude and enjoy the ‘thinking’ process.
You are able to separate your thoughts, from your emotions, and emotions from your behavior.
You no longer justify your bad behavior by saying things like ‘You made me do this”
You stop playing the victim card. Things no longer happen to you, you make things happen for you.
You become aware of your negative habits and limiting patterns.
You want to reduce suffering in the world.
You may also experience ‘synchronicity’ or ‘déjà vu’.
Conclusion
Spiritual awakening can be a really intimidating experience, but it is the most beautiful experience one can go through. It is a craving to connect with your true self and to connect back with your soul.
You feel like all this while your mind has been wandering in this loud world, filled with so many issues and struggles. In all this commotion, you have always followed where monkey-mind took you. You were never able to hear your soul crying for your attention. Now that finally, you have gone back to your soul everything else seems meaningless.
No matter if you are seeking spiritual awakening or not, it will only come to you when you are ‘ready’.
Keep on waiting for it to hit you. But to expedite the process, it is advisable to read the work of some of the enlightened masters of our times.
Who knows what you get drawn towards?
Linking some of the life-changing books here.
The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment by Eckhart Tolle
The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself by Michael A Singer
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