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A spiritual awakening is such an interesting phenomenon. So profound, yet upon us quickly and lasting the rest of our life. Leaving us wondering why we can?t quite fathom how or even that it happened. I know now that I ?woke up? in 2011; however, I didn?t realize that was what was happening till 2015. Of course, hindsight is always 20/20.
My whole life from as far back as a teenager I can tell you I was known as the strong one, the one that overcame crazy odds early on, the tough corporate girl who climbed the ladder to the top quickly and made things happen. I seemed to be able to move through anything and not be affected like most people. It wasn?t that I didn?t have a heart or feelings; it was that I repressed them, put my big girl panties on and did what needed to be done. I was the rock for everyone except myself, of course, (I didn?t have time for that). Everyone depended on me.
It wasn?t until 2011 when I ?woke up,? and everything started to shift. My outside world hadn?t changed just my inner world. It was never the same since. I went from being confident and indestructible to an emotional mess who suddenly felt insecure. I didn?t know who I was anymore, I didn?t know why things were now getting to me, and I definitely didn?t agree with the things I had always believed.
I thought I was having a mid-life crisis in my early thirties, and I had no idea then what I do now. Because of this, I would like to shed some light in hopes someone, somewhere is searching for what is happening to them and stumbles upon this to help them understand.
A spiritual awakening is not a one-time event, and once it starts there?s no going back, it?s like opening a door that can never again close. The door over time only opens more and more, and at some point, you will become committed to your journey of self-discovery and self-mastery and step into the multi-dimensional being you were awakened to remember.
So what is a spiritual awakening and how do you navigate it?
A spiritual awakening is a process of becoming more aware. Where we step out of the box we are living in, the beliefs we were conditioned with and begin the process of feeling, sensing that there is more than this life we are currently living. We begin to feel things like we have never felt before. Some may even start to see things, hear words or noises, or know things randomly they wouldn?t usually know, and some will think they are going crazy.
Awakening can be overwhelming, mainly depending on what triggered it. At the beginning for me, it was subtle shifts in my belief systems and friendships. Then in 2013 with the death of my grandma, it began to open up more. In 2015 with the death of my father, all the walls remaining around me came tumbling down and the flood broke free. I tried to hide it, escape it, and numb it but it only got louder over time. Death of someone we love tends to be a trigger for awakening, as we become more open to believing as a means to connect to those who are no longer physically here with us that we miss so much.
An awakening always starts with the shifting of your consciousness, meaning you begin to release beliefs you have always had and It?s not that you suddenly have new beliefs, you don?t know what to believe.
You may even begin feeling things you have never felt before, experiencing emotions, fears, or have thoughts you wouldn?t usually have. You start asking, ?who am I ?? Why am I here? What is my purpose? What the heck is happening?
You start questioning and seeking answers to things you never thought you would ask. The thirst for understanding of all things spiritual becomes insatiable.
In my experience there was no one way to say, ?here is what?s going on and here is what you can do to help yourself.? It was frustrating as I didn?t know who or what to trust. I didn?t trust myself, I no longer knew who I was, so how could I trust someone else?
Of course, this was all just as it was supposed to be; however, it doesn?t mean you have to struggle through your awakening. I want to share with you the fours stages of awakening to help you navigate what you may be experiencing.
The four stages of awakening have nothing to do with opening your gifts ( ie. seeing, hearing, feeling spirit), or opening up your psychic or healing abilities. Instead, these stages help you to remember the divine truth, who you are and what your purpose is in this human existence. Your gifts will open on your path to self-discovery to assist you in this transition. After that what you do with your sacred gifts is up to you.
The four stages of awakening happen over time. Stage one and two are about stepping into self-discovery, while stage three and four are self-mastery. These stages can happen quickly, or we can get stuck in a stage for a while, it all depends on your commitment to yourself and this journey. Most will even revisit the first two stages several times, peeling off new layers and opening themselves up to flow even further.
Stage one: Forgiveness and Intention.
Forgiveness comes with grief. We grieve who we used to be, who we thought we were supposed to be, who everyone else thought we were, and so on. Grief is not just about the death of a loved one; it can be the death of the old self, a place we lived, a way we lived and even living relationships.
I can?t tell you how many people wake up and then get angry or depressed. They wish they would have woken up earlier or even want their life to go back to the way it was before. Some will feel guilty for all the things they have done that they no longer align with or worse begin to wonder why on earth they had to have a life of suffering and struggle. I know these feelings well and can promise you that going deep into this well and holding on to the pain is like drowning in an ocean of emotion. Forgiving everything, and everyone sets you free completely, especially yourself.
The second part of stage one is Intention.
Your only job becomes to discover your truth, by setting the intention and asking the questions, like entering an address into a GPS system. This journey helps you to learn to navigate the real you.
Your most serving intentions are going to be ?who am I??, ?What is my purpose??, And ?How can I connect and work with my spiritual team to discover myself on a deeper level? Intention is the step most skipped because we live in a world of distraction and seeking everything outside of our being. I have news for you my loves; you are the one you have been seeking.
Stage 2: Surrender.
Surrender requires us to let go of control, let go of the seeking, let go of needing to know everything, let go of what you thought you knew. Instead, be open to the possibilities and opportunities spirit is trying to open you up to. Surrender seems to be the hardest thing for any of us to do. It is an illusion because we have been conditioned to believe for so long that we have to control our life, work hard to make it in life and surrendering frankly seems lazy.
Surrender doesn?t mean you don?t do anything. We don?t sit around all day creating dream boards and meditating and waiting for our new life to fall from the sky. It means, we allow versus force or push.
We see curve balls as opportunities. We see traffic as a blessing, a time to jam out and sing to our favorite tunes or sit in peace. A detour becomes an opportunity to see new parts of town and enjoy the journey.. We start allowing what is best serving to appear, and instead of saying no, we say I wonder what this will bring into my life? Is this a possibility for me to thrive even more.
Stage 3: Flow or Walking with God/Spirit.
I love flow because it is saying that Spirit or God is within us, walking with us and leading us. That we are allowing life to unfold and following the breadcrumb trail without demands of what we thought our life was supposed to be like, or look like. I firmly believe when you let go and flow, we see that life becomes far more amazing than we could ever imagine. You see we are aspects of God; we are the Universe within the universe. We came here for the experience, to touch, to taste and to love and our primitive minds have no idea what?s actually possible. We are only required to be open and grateful, and the rest happens on its own. We remember we are the one that we have been seeking and that we have a well of all-knowing. We are not putting a single being on a pedestal in the sky believing He/She is the only way to have a miracle in our life. We are all equally special and yet unique; we are capable of the life we desire. Flow is what it means to walk with God and to see we are all fractals of the same consciousness here serving a purpose.
Stage 4: Unity and One with God/Spirit.
Many like to call this stage enlightenment; however, I have a different perspective and believe there are even different stages within enlightenment we can achieve, but that?s for another article. I feel that we can each get to our level of enlightenment in this lifetime. It starts when we begin to break free of judgment of ourselves and others when we accept and love ourselves no matter where we are on our journey. I am you, and you are me. This space is one of peace, unity, and true freedom. Then it begins to shift where there is no more judgment, hierarchy, completion or fear. You are no longer triggered or annoyed by another because you see that where they are or their behavior, (even if we don?t agree with it), is serving a purpose in the whole. It is providing an opportunity for that person to shift, to heal, to choose again and to see themselves in you. That doesn?t mean they learn their lesson. You see we are all right because there is only possibilities and opportunities. We can be open and say it?s possible even without proof and see that even just the possibility is a gift from God.
So now when you look back on the day when everything changed, you can see the purpose behind your pain. You can see that you, my love are the one you have been seeking and you are as powerful and Magickal as anybody. No one is coming to save us; we are awakened to save ourselves.
