The Meanings, Signs, and Stages of a Spiritual Awakening

Imagine riding all snug and comfortable in an airplane and then suddenly you find yourself free-falling through the atmosphere. You are terrified, yet strangely exhilarated as you surrender to the realization that nothing is ever going to be the same again. A spiritual awakening feels something like that, and it’s not a thing that you can prepare for in any rational way.

The idea of having a spiritual awakening is certainly not a new concept. The Aryans of the Russian steppes believed in the elevation of human consciousness as far back as 3,500 years ago. The Zen Buddhists called it Kensho, or “seeing into one’s true nature.” But you don’t need to be a practicing Buddhist or isolate yourself in prayer on a secluded mountaintop to have a spiritual awakening. A word of warning though, it does take a paradigm shift for you to elevate to a higher level of consciousness.

As you begin to wake up, you may notice signs or synchronicities all around you. You may have moments of deja vu, or constantly start seeing angel numbers like 1111, 222, or 333. Or you might randomly open up a book and something profound will pop up in the words that you read, an answer to a silent question you have, or a sign that you have been looking for. You might be driving along and thinking a phrase that suddenly comes right out in a song on the radio.

You may begin lucid dreaming, where you are aware that you are sleeping and you have the ability to manipulate your dreams. These are not coincidences, but the universe letting you know that you are on the right path. The closer you move towards a spiritual awakening, the more attentive you will be of the unseen spirit realm.

There are five stages to a spiritual awakening and each one will progress you further towards the enlightenment that you seek. When you recognize which stage you are in, you have a stronger sense of mental acuity as you progress towards the deep spiritual awareness that your soul craves.

The first stage is intense and soul-shaking as the ego falls away and a sense of hopelessness descends upon the recipient. This is the period in which the Dark Night of the Soul can occur, which is a term first used by Saint John of the Cross to describe the disconnection from the source of creation and the world itself.

The second stage is the search for answers in the external environment. When you are in this stage, you are seeking a new perspective or way of living that’s completely different from what you are currently experiencing.

The third stage is when you turn from searching for answers without and begin to seek your own answers. As you reveal the layers within yourself, you look for your purpose, or your deep why, for the meaning of your existence.

The fourth stage is the transition from the old you to the new you. It is your own personal rebirth and it’s a very transformative and often painful stage of the journey.

The fifth stage is the most inspiring stage of a spiritual awakening. It’s when your ego comes into alignment with your higher self. This is the final stage of the journey and it’s where you have pure consciousness of the beauty of the universe and your relationship in it.

Also known as spiritual emergence, a spontaneous spiritual awakening can happen even if the recipient isn’t searching for any kind of esoteric truth. Where a spiritual awakening is deeply psychological and emotional, a spontaneous awakening, often known as a kundalini awakening, is purely physical. It’s manifested either through deliberately targeting the root chakra or as an acute response brought on by psychedelics or an experience that shatters the ego through sheer primal force.

In Sanskrit, the word kundalini means “she who is coiled,” and is represented by a serpent. It can bring on intense energetic vibrations that reverberate through the body and can range from feelings of pure euphoria to absolute overwhelming fear. It’s a very powerful and profound experience that’s rooted in mysticism and mystery.

Spiritual awakenings don’t come with warning labels, but perhaps they should. Because although becoming spiritually enlightened is a beautiful occurrence, it’s not all roses and rainbows. As you shed your old familiar patterns, you will feel alone, probably more alone than you have felt in your entire life. People around you will likely not understand what you are going through and those closest to you might be shocked at your seemingly sudden transformation.

No matter how beautiful the outcome, a spiritual awakening is an extremely visceral experience. Like a caterpillar undergoing metamorphosis or a newborn emerging from the womb, it’s easy for the onlooker to only see the end result. You admire a newborn and forget about the trauma of the infant passing through the birth canal. You appreciate a butterfly’s beauty while forgetting the amorphous mess it came from. That’s what a spiritual awakening is, a transcendent ascension born from heartbreak or a personal crisis. Here are a few life-altering events that can trigger a spiritual awakening:

In essence, Spiritual awakenings are cataclysmic moments and once you experience it for yourself, you can never go back to the way you were before, not without deep suffering on the soul level. Because when you elevate your mind to the knowledge that you are one with the universe, you see that every soul is connected to every other soul in the cosmos. You understand that you are not just a part of the universe, you ARE the universe. And that’s when you can manifest abundance as if by magic.