A significant shift in awareness causes one to question the nature of reality, one’s existence, and the interconnection of all the causes of spiritual awakening.
Spirituality is an increasing awareness of the present moment that results in feelings of inner serenity, clarity, and a newly discovered purpose in life.
While everyone’s journey towards spiritual awakening is unique, you may feel a strengthening sense of inner connectedness, increased empathy and compassion for others, and an awareness of the transcendent or divine connection.
People around the globe characterize spiritual awakening as a deeply transforming and freeing experience, creating major life opportunities for personal development, healing, and self-discovery despite the first feelings of confusion or discomfort that may accompany the process.
Sometimes, existential crises can cause a person to deeply reevaluate their place in the universe and their relationship to something bigger than themselves, regardless of whether they are brought on by outside life-changing events or inward reflection.
Similar to this, mental health crises or acute emotional turmoil can wake you up and inspire you to seek spiritual consolation and healing.
The spiritual waking process is called enlightenment or the night of the soul. Let’s examine spiritual awakening reasons.
Table of Contents
What are the signs of a spiritual awakening?
While each person’s waking experience is unique, there are several common ones you may encounter. About 20% of people will have a deep spiritual encounter, according to research.
- You can be more tuned in to your surroundings and emotions. Little things that used to not bother you could suddenly seem quite significant or overwhelming.
- You can start to question why you are here and what the point of life is. You might strongly desire to learn more about spiritual beliefs and look for greater meaning in life.
- You may occasionally experience a feeling of detachment from the people and your old life.
- Certain relationships or hobbies that don’t align with your changing self-image may feel like you’re outgrowing them.
- You can greatly desire to develop within and become a better person. For spiritual development and self-discovery, you might find exercises like yoga, meditation, journaling, and spiritual practices appealing.
- You may start to observe noteworthy synchronicity or coincidences in your day-to-day activities.
- Perhaps you experience a stronger bond with the environment around you and want to spend more time in nature.
- dreams are vivid. Some specialists claim that dreams might provide information about our unconscious thoughts, feelings, and desires.
- I possess a greater degree of intuition and detecting trickery or deception.
- Becoming highly conscious of bodily sensations, having heightened senses, or experiencing other physical symptoms like fatigue.
- After seeing the value and equality of all living things, you will want to help people, animals, and the environment.
- With enlightenment, you understand spiritual teachers appear when you need them. They could be a kind stranger you meet in a store, a new friend you meet by chance, or even a religious person who holds symbolic meaning.
- Several physical symptoms, such as exhaustion and mental fog, can also coincide with causes of spiritual awakenings.
Remember that spiritual awakening happens uniquely for everyone, so go at your own pace. Trust the process and allow yourself to grow on your spiritual path.
Causes of Spiritual Awakening
There are many different experiences that might lead to spiritual awakening, ranging from profound life-changing events to minute shifts in one’s perception.
A spiritual awakening can be brought on by major life events that alter a person’s perspective and make them reevaluate their priorities, values, and beliefs, such as losing a loved one, getting a terrible illness diagnosis, or being divorced.
Inspiring people to seek out a deeper meaning and understanding of adversity, terrible experiences or near-death experiences can also ignite a person’s spiritual journey.
Let’s investigate the reasons for spiritual awakening in further detail.
Trauma
Trauma can lead to a spiritual awakening. Having survived a horrific event may cause you to reflect on your life and look for meaning and healing outside of this world. You could find that meditation helps you deal with the emotional fallout and achieve inner peace following an auto accident.
Spiritual activities and meditation
Awakening can also be accessed through spiritual activities and meditation. Attending mindfulness workshops or spending time in solitude might help you progressively become more aware of the deeper truths about the universe and yourself. Regular yoga practice, for instance, may help you get a profound understanding of how you are interconnected with all living things.
Psychedelic experience
Many people who have had drug experiences say they became spiritually awake. If you use a psychological drug like LSD or psilocybin mushrooms, you might have a big shift in how you think about things and gain new insights into how things work. For example, you might feel more spiritual and linked to the planet after a transformational ceremony.
For example, reading the writings of spiritual giants like Eckhart Tolle can lead to big realizations and insights.
Reading spiritual books and articles
Spiritual literature and articles can also help awaken people. Your curiosity in yourself may be sparked by devoting time to reading literature that inspires you or researching teachings from many faiths. Deep realizations and epiphanies might result from reading the works of spiritual gurus like Eckhart Tolle.
An existential crisis
An existential crisis, marked by deep inquiries into the purpose of being, might be one of the profound causes of spiritual awakening. Accepting life’s uncertainty and fleetingness may inspire you to look for more profound realities and spiritual insight. For example, you may find yourself on a spiritual path searching for meaning and purpose if you are struggling with existential problems following a personal loss.
Near-Death Experience
An NDE (near-death experience) has the potential to be a powerful awakening catalyst. A life-threatening event might cause a significant change in priorities and points of view. For instance, following a near-death experience, you can get a greater understanding of how interwoven everything is and a renewed sense of gratitude for life.
Meditation and prayer
Meditation and prayer are effective causes of spiritual awakening. Making time for prayer and contemplative activities can facilitate your connection to a higher power and your innermost self. Following some time spent in prayer and introspection, you might feel at peace and have a clear understanding of your life’s mission.
Spontaneous awakening
Finally, some persons seem to have a spontaneous awakening without any apparent cause. Their awareness seems to grow on its own, resulting in a more profound comprehension of both the outside world and themselves. For example, following some peaceful time spent reflecting, you can have an overwhelming sense of clarity and oneness with everything.
These are some causes triggering a spiritual awakening, though each person can have different reasons for experiencing a spiritual awakening, its purpose is the same for everyone and that is the discovery of your profound consciousness.
7 Stages of Spiritual Awakening
The spiritual seeker can experience awakening in a moment but the entire process of spiritual awakening takes time, depending on the person spiritually awakened;
The Awakening- 1st Stage
As the spiritual crisis happens, you may start questioning your every belief and opinion, clearing out old attachments, and belongings, and readjusting and making room for new beliefs, people, and belongings to come into your life. You may feel confused, lost, and down. You might feel something specific is missing in your life but you cannot figure it out yet.
Dark Night of the Soul- 2nd Stage
Often called the “dark night of the soul,” the second stage of spiritual awakening is just what it sounds like an extremely difficult time that may be the lowest point of the path. Your soul goes through a deep reset during this period, removing layers of the ego.
Even though it’s challenging, hitting rock bottom can act as a catalyst for true transformation by forcing you to make significant and long-lasting adjustments.
The Exploration- 3rd Stage
The third stage is constructing your awakened life, which you begin after rising from the abyss of your dark night of the soul. It’s now about discovery and experimentation. You welcome this stage by exploring a range of pursuits, passions, and interpersonal connections, allowing yourself to try different points of view and experiences.
Every endeavor—whether it’s taking up a new hobby, learning a different spiritual practice, or making new friends—serves as a step towards realizing who you truly are. As you find what truly speaks to your soul, this phase is marked by openness and curiosity.
True Nature Embodiment – 4th Stage
You move from recognition to a profound respect and embodiment of your true self throughout this phase. It means valuing and bringing your innate abilities, aptitudes, and skills to life. As you move through this process of self-discovery and spiritual growth, you become more in tune with your inner self, which cultivates a sense of harmony and purpose.
Soul Building- 5th Stage
The fifth stage, sometimes referred to as the “Soul Sessions,” is a difficult procedure that takes time and patience. Here, you’re building your life from the ground up to enable the expression of your actual essence. During this stage, you will probably need to try out different approaches and see which ones work best for you.
You find the practices and procedures that speak to your true self during this time of soul healing and growth. Years or even decades may pass throughout this journey as you develop routines and systems that support your inner self.
The Surrender- 6th Stage
When you let go of the last tie that holds you back from being open and in touch with your truth, it’s a big step forward. You have gone deep inside yourself, taking back layers of who you are until you reach the core of your soul. It took a lot of work to make your life fit with your ideals and goals.
But despite all this change, there may still be parts of old relationships, ways of thinking, or actions that don’t serve your best interests. During this stage, you’ll not only give up power but also control. You’ll have to trust life’s path, your soul’s guidance, and the endless possibilities that lie ahead of you as you bravely take charge of your fate.
The more you surrender, the more you will be raised.
_ Mehwish Qurayshi
Awareness and Service- Final Stage
All the hell that you have been through will be paid off exponentially with peace contentment and serenity in your life.
This stage is a heightened consciousness state in which one experiences a keen awareness of their divinity at all times. It’s a graceful, clear condition of being in which one moves through life with ease and is aware of how everything is interconnected.
Living a life of service to others becomes a natural manifestation of one’s awakened consciousness at this point, rather than just a decision. There’s a profound awareness that one gets authentic fulfillment and connects with their actual purpose when one serves others.
Serving others is now seen as a chance to show love, compassion, and understanding for other living things rather than as duties.
How long does the spiritual awakening process take?
There is a wide variation in how long a spiritual awakening lasts. It may happen gradually over several months or years, or it may happen suddenly and intensely in a shorter amount of time. Its duration is influenced by elements such as the ability to adapt, the strength of triggers, and the availability of assistance.
Spiritual awakening is viewed as a continuous process of growth and transformation rather than a destination. There’s no time limit; it’s personal to each individual. While some people might make major progress more slowly, others might make significant breakthroughs faster. In the end, it’s a very personal process with no set timeframe that develops at its speed.
How To Navigate Spiritual Awakening?
Here are some tips from my personal experience to help you deal with this tough process;
- Make time for reflection and self-analysis. Consider your experiences, values, and beliefs to obtain an understanding of your spiritual path.
- Practice present-moment awareness to stay aware of your thoughts, feelings, and surroundings. If you practice awareness, you can handle the ups and downs of awakening more easily and calmly.
- Talk to teachers, spiritual guides or mentors, or people who share your beliefs. They can give you advice, support, and help on your journey.
- Be open to growing and changing. Accept the process of letting go of old habits and ideas that don’t help you anymore so that you can make room for new ones.
- Spend time with yourself and take care of your physical, mental, and spiritual health. Make time for things that make you happy and healthy, like meditation, exercise, and spending time in nature.
- Have faith in the understanding of your inner guidance and the progression of your spiritual awakening or enlightenment. Give yourself over to life’s current course and have faith that you are on the correct path towards enlightenment.
- Include your spiritual experiences and insights into your day-to-day activities. Seek methods to live out your newly discovered consciousness and synchronize your actions with your spiritual goals and objectives.
- Keep an open mind and a curious nature while you investigate various spiritual practices, viewpoints, and beliefs. Give yourself permission to change and develop, and be open to exploring new ideas and perspectives on reality and spirituality.
FAQS
What are the major causes of spiritual awakening?
Major causes of spiritual awakening include profound life events (birth, death, illness), deep introspection, meditation, psychedelic experiences, near-death experiences, encounters with spiritual teachers, existential crises, and intense emotional upheavals. These catalysts prompt individuals to question existence, seek meaning, and explore deeper truths, leading to spiritual awakening.
