What is a Spiritual Awakening?
Nowadays, thanks also to technology, probably most of us have heard or read something about Enlightenment or spiritual awakening.
Unfortunately though, quite some people associate awakening simply with an alternative way of eating, thinking or seeing things. Sure, this indicates a certain degree of awareness different from the mass, to some extent, but knowing how the economic system works or being proud of not watching TV or eating healthy does not imply that we are making consistent progress. It would be like thinking that if we are good at playing soccer with friends, then we can win the Champions League.
But then what exactly is a spiritual awakening?
Technically, a spiritual awakening experience is a great amount of divine energy that enters into our "ordinary consciousness", our "usual" state of being, thus causing a sudden shift in awareness.
This happens in order to let us at least understand that our life goes beyond a simple physical body and earthly emotions. In fact, the so-called Enlightenment allows us to live a natural state of awareness through which we can feel that divine energy everywhere and that everything is spirit, everything is One.
When these events occur, the person experiencing the awakening undergoes some changes. In fact, our whole being, body, mind and spirit, is "reset" and we begin to think and behave in a completely different way than before.
How do spiritual awakenings occur?
Usually the most common question is: how do spiritual awakenings occur?
According to Steve Taylor's book "The Leap: The Psychology of Spiritual Awakening" there are 3 types of spiritual awakening: natural, gradual and sudden:
as a natural and spontaneous process
through a spiritual path
suddenly (after a trauma).
Let's better analyze these three types of awakening.
In the first case the awakening occurs in a natural and unexpected way. The subject is quietly living his life as he has always done, and his mood doesn't matter much (it matters more on the third type). Simply in this case the awakening can take place at any time and will generate effects that will change him forever.
The second type of awakening can take place following a spiritual path. There are many people who, in order to chase this transcendental experience, decide to begin a journey, mainly through the practice of meditation, which can lead to one or more spiritual awakenings within one's life.
The third type of awakening usually happens after a trauma. A trauma of any kind, such as mourning, divorce, illness, sudden separation from someone important in our life or after bad news at work.
In this case, you may begin to feel disoriented, confused, depressed, with few ambitions in life and you can also suffer from pathologies such as anxiety and depression. And it is precisely in this moment that awakening may take place. We feel a more or less strong vital energy that pervades us, penetrates inside us and undermines our ordinary conscience and our beliefs.
What do you feel during the awakening? What are the sensations?
Now let's explore what are the characteristics of the sensations perceived by the subjects who went through this type of extrasensory experience.
The author of "The Leap: The Psychology of Spiritual Awakening" divides them into 4 categories: emotional, behavioral, perceptual and conceptual.
Emotional characteristics
Feeling of well-being within the whole body
Greater compassion and empathy
Greater feeling of being safe
Decrease or disappearance of fear of death
Decreased anxiety and stress
Behavioral characteristics
Greater spontaneity
Greater awareness in relationships
Development of empathy
Greater ease in establishing authentic relationships
Perceptual characteristics
Deep self-awareness
Feeling of peace and contentment
Feeling of living life to the full, as if you were reborn
Feeling of well-being, and connection with the world around you
Conceptual characteristics
Curiosity for the perception of the "new world"
Gratitude towards the divine you now recognize being present in any thing
Change of perspective towards life, yourself and everything else
How can you experience a spiritual awakening?
There is no clear answer to this question. It's because spiritual awakening can be determined by any thing or situation and can occur at any time in one's life, but above all it is not up to us.
However, there are some tips that can promote an awakening and that can help us feel better, such as: developing empathy and compassion, practicing meditation and mindfulness programs and also experiencing emotions of joy for little things that surround us. These are some factors that can promote a spiritual awakening.
What are the signs of a spiritual awakening?
It is not easy to indicate what can occur during a spiritual awakening,
indeed it is impossible since there are different intensities, and that each of us is unique.
Let's try to name a few:
Unconditional love
Sense of peace, bliss, contentment that is not caused by something or someone
Intense mental clarity
Awareness of being much more than a person and a physical body
Perception of this "presence" or energy that always watches over us
This translates into the feeling of wanting to give love to everyone and everything, to love everything and everyone regardless. There are those who perceive it in the center of the chest, others like a movement in the back, someone who feels to be love itself. And we recognize that it does not come from an external source, but that it has always been within us.
We can move in and out between the feeling of peace and the "old" way of thinking and behaving, but continuing our evolution and therefore if we keep on working on ourselves, we become able to let go of the attachments and resistances that prevent us from dwelling naturally in this peaceful presence, until even the most rooted mechanisms of fear, anger, guilt, shame, envy, resentment, etc. are swept away.
Through clarity, in fact, if we are humble and honest, we realize first and foremost the sides of ourselves we can work on, and therefore we gradually open ourselves to great changes that the energy of awakening brings with it. In the same way, we can notice qualities or talents that we had previously underestimated or not even taken in consideration due to our "contracture".
And thanks to that clarity we perceive more and more clearly this feeling of presence, of being alive, of being aware. Of course, this too can sometimes be more evident and at times less evident, but on time, if we continue to open ourselves to evolution, we realize that this Presence becomes so present, so dense that it can no longer disappear.
However, having said that, let's debunk some myths about awakening and Enlightenment that I often see have been created and considered to be true, sometimes unconsciously, by most of the seekers looking for an awakening or Enlightenment.
First of all let's keep in mind that awakening and Enlightenment are not the same thing.
There are different types of awakening and also different shades, so to speak, of what is called Enlightenment. Nowadays in fact we tend to define Enlightenment in many ways, so it's not clear what people are referring to when these terms are used.
I will do my best to write an article about it, trying to clarify this aspect, as far as words can do it, and show the inconsistency of these 10 myths.
For example, we should wonder why all Tibetan monks, including the Dalai Lama, continue to practice literally until the last day of their lives.
10 myths about awakening and Enlightenment
After awakening or Enlightenment life is a downhill, there are no problems, we always live in peace and happiness, and we do not get angry anymore.
If I have so many spiritual awakening experiences then I am more evolved than those who never had it or those who had few.
To awaken or to achieve Enlightenment I have to give up everything, go to India, dress myself in a certain way and meditate tens of hours every day.
Awakening and Enlightenment are meant only for a few rare lucky ones
If I prolong the experience of awakening forever then I reach Enlightenment
Once awakened I will no longer behave wrongly
Once awakened I will be indifferent to everything, I will not experience emotions or interests.
The "personal" self is removed or destroyed or disappears and nothing or nobody remains.
The world ceases to exist and everything that happens is fine
When I awaken I can no longer be a normal person
What about you, how is it going your path? Have you ever experienced one or more awakenings? What's your take on spiritual awakening and Enlightenment? Are you ready to let go of your beliefs to find out concretely what your natural state is?
If you wish to accelerate your progress and if you truly want to make a real change in your life, visit our website www.parashanti.com and book a free consultation so that together we decide the best strategy.
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Here instead there is an in-depth consideration of spiritual awakening.