What is a Spiritual Awakening?
Dawn brings the light of a new day and closes out the darkness of yesterday. As you transition from one cycle to the next you may not be able to notice the exact moment where the light overtakes the darkness. The light grows gradually until one moment you realize you are surrounded by light.
As a Spiritual Mentor, Psychic and Intuitive Guide I’ve witnessed many moments of breakdowns, whether it was my own, a friend’s, or my clients and community members. Breakdowns are when we can no longer hold all the pieces together and we feel lost in how to move forward. I’ve learned that people are terrified of the breakdown moment because they don’t want to feel helpless, alone, and broken. Yet, in reality, it’s the breakdown that is the most beautiful part of your transition into a new cycle.
In this blog I am going to share what a spiritual awakening is, how you may experience one, what you need to know about them, and why they are important on your path. This will be a supportive tool to help you better understand yourself and the path you are traveling down, so you can create all that you desire.
WHAT IS A SPIRITUAL AWAKENING
Typically when we hear the term Spiritual Awakening we think of complete enlightenment, absolute joy, and the feeling of empowerment to create whatever you desire. I’d love to say this is true, but it’s actually not.
We’ve glorified spiritual awakenings for too long, that now we often don’t even realize we are experiencing one when we are.
So, what is it?
A Spiritual Awakening is a moment in time where you recognize that your life cannot continue in the direction it’s going. It’s an acknowledgment of the pain you are experiencing, whether it’s emotional, mental, physical or spiritual pain, and then realizing that you don’t want to feel this pain any longer.
Your Spiritual Awakening is the moment you wake up to knowing that the life you are living is NOT supporting you or the direction you want to head it.
It’s the recognition that the environment you are in, the people you are surrounded by, or your own thoughts and actions are limiting you from living in a happy and joyous way.
So, the spiritual awakening is not the moment of reaching the joy you desire, it’s actually the moment of realizing you aren’t experiencing joy and you WANT to experience it.
This is the moment where you awaken to the fact that there is more to life than staying stuck in disappointment, frustration, resentment and feeling unfulfilled. You become aware that there is more to life than what you are currently experiencing, there is something different for you to experience, or even the desire to see if there is something different.
You awaken to the possibility of more because you have caught yourself in a space of feeling low for too long. This is the moment where everything could change for you, depending on how you choose to move forward.
HOW DO YOU EXPERIENCE A SPIRITUAL AWAKENING
Every single person is going to move through their spiritual awakening in a personal way. Don’t get caught up in the step by step that I have laid out below. There is no perfect way to flow through your awakening, it’s messy, challenging, and life-changing.
Here are 4 phases we typically experience when moving through our spiritual awakening.
1 Breakdown
This is the messiest part of the awakening and we usually don’t think of it as an actual spiritual awakening. To be honest, in conversation with my friend she was the one to help me realize that my mental breakdown was in fact my moment of awakening.
The breakdown can happen in a number of different ways, whether it’s physical, emotional, mental or spiritual. This is a moment where you feel completely empty, you have nothing left to give, you have no energy to stay on the same path, you feel alone and lost.
The breakdown will occur because of a catalyst.
In this moment you feel completely out of control based on what is happening outside of you. You can no longer muster up the courage or energy to keep pushing through the problem.
Instead of moving forward, by ignoring our emotions and forcing ourselves to keep going, we end up crashing, hard.
The breakdown is literally a downward spiral of emotions, thoughts, and actions. You feel like you’ve hit rock bottom. The one positive of hitting rock bottom is that you only have up to go.
2 Awareness
Moving into the next phase is all about awareness. This is truly the moment you awaken to your breakdown and how you’ve been living. You recognize your actions or inaction that may have led you here. You notice how your environment has been affecting you negatively. You see that the people in your life haven’t been supporting you in the way you desire. You understand that your life has been problem after problem, challenge after challenge and you want real CHANGE.
You have been led to your spiritual awakening because in some aspect of your life you’ve been living on auto-pilot. Meaning you’ve ignored something, or have avoided taking action in a different way. If we keep living in the same way then nothing will change.
You’ve been avoiding your emotions and what they’ve been telling you for quite some time. You haven’t been happy. You’ve been stressed 24/7. You’ve been angry at that person for doing that thing. You’ve been resenting your past. You’ve been frustrated by the lack of support. (you may feel all or some of these)
Now the key difference between growing from a Spiritual Awakening versus staying stagnant and stuck in the space that led you here is the next two phases.
3 Fear & Doubt < Desire & Hope
You have the ability to move from fear and doubt to desire and hope, but you have to be willing to lead yourself through this transition.
When you have a breakdown moment you have an opportunity to have a breakthrough as well. The breakthrough is the recognition that your life CAN be different from what you’ve currently been experiencing. Fear and doubt is what led you to the breakdown and you tend to hold onto these two emotions through your breakdown.
You are fearful of your future and what it will look like if you continue down the same path. You doubt your ability to create the change you desire. You doubt things will change at all. You’re afraid that this is what your life will be like forever.
As you transition to the breakthrough you start to have new thoughts. You realize that your desires are disconnected from the life you are currently living and you begin hoping for a shift to take place.
There are a few different ways to lead yourself from the breakdown to the breakthrough and it may look like one of the following.
i. Consuming as much information and knowledge as possible. Because of your breakdown you are looking for answers in any way you can. Through this wealth of information you are encouraged to make a change.
ii. Gaining as many different perspectives as possible. You are finally asking for help from other people and through their support you are beginning to see life from a new set of eyes. Through this new perspective you feel encouraged to make a change.
iii. Receiving support. One person is offering you a safe space to feel comforted and supported, through their support you feel encouraged to make a change.
No matter how you get to this point you are choosing your desires and hope over the fear and doubt that has led you astray.
4 Better Choices & Actions
The last phase that truly makes it a Spiritual Awakening is better choices and actions that will lead you forward. Remember, you have awoken to the realization that life cannot continue in the way it’s been going. Don’t waste this awakening by falling back into your old patterns and habits. This is the moment where you actively make a choice that will lead you down a better path, a more supported and uplifted path.
You have a choice.
You always have a choice. So, what action steps are you going to choose to take? Will you support yourself in a healthy way or will you avoid the work of making a change and fall back into autopilot?
KEEP READING FOR MORE ON WHAT A SPIRITUAL AWAKENING IS…
Personal Development & Spiritual Growth
Spiritual EBooks
These spiritual development guidebooks help you connect to the universe, release pain, blocks and resistance, and create a bright and beautiful future.
Intuitive Soul Reading
For the person questioning something about their life and desiring clear answers. Your reading will provide support, guidance, and clarity for the direction you need to take.
Soulful Solo Session
For the person who is lost and overwhelmed and needs support. You will leave the session knowing exactly what the problem is; what steps come next; and you’ll gain courage and confidence to move forward to a resolution.
If you are on this journey and desire more guidance check out the Personal Growth Blog , join my free community Shifting Forward, or check out my podcast.
If you are ready to learn, heal & grow, but are scared to do it alone then know that I am here.
Back to the blog - What is a Spiritual Awakening?
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR SPIRITUAL AWAKENING
There is some important information that I know will help you move forward, whether you’ve recently experienced a spiritual awakening or not.
1 You can experience more than one spiritual awakening in a lifetime.
2 This is not a moment to fear, instead it’s a moment to be grateful for.
3 You are not a bad person if you fall back into autopilot.
4 Your desires are yours for a reason, don’t dismiss them even if they feel beyond your ability. You will find your way to creating these desires in your life.
5 When you feel alone, you are never actually alone. The Divine Universe is always supporting you to grow into the best version of you.
6 You are strong and resilient. You are capable of moving through anything. When you recognize this, life becomes easier and more enjoyable.
7 If something is stressing you out it’s for a reason. Don’t brush the stress under the rug and keep going. Stop. Reflect. Change the way you are behaving.
8 You are allowed to rest!
9 A spiritual awakening doesn’t need to be scary, it can feel liberating.
10 This small moment in time can change the way you experience the rest of your life.
There is so much more that I could share with you, especially in conversation based on your specific situation. All I want you to know is that even though a spiritual awakening is difficult, it’s also magical. You are meant to heal and grow from this moment. The best way to move through a spiritual awakening is to surround yourself with a support system that will guide you along your path. You do not have to heal all on your own. Creating positive change in your life is a lot easier when you have support each step of the way.
WHY IS A SPIRITUAL AWAKENING IMPORTANT
Now it’s a bit clearer for you on what a spiritual awakening is, how you may experience it and what you need to know about it. But, why do we have these spiritual awakenings? What’s the importance behind them?
The number one reason why your spiritual awakening is important is because it is guiding you to shift the path you are traveling down. This does not mean that you need to change every aspect of your life. It does mean that something major in your life is not supporting you to live out your soul purpose and a shift is required. Sometimes the shift is physical and sometimes it’s not. Almost always the shift is emotional, mental and spiritual.
The emotional shift you are being asked to take from this awakening is that you need to start paying attention to your emotions more. Emotions are your teacher, they are guiding you as to how you experience life. If you are not having a good experience then it’s time to pay attention as to why and create the shifts necessary so you can start having a good experience.
The mental shift you are being asked to create is that you are holding onto fear, doubt and worry too much and these thoughts are holding you back from witnessing the greatness that is in your life. Your beliefs and thoughts are keeping you stuck in this repetitive cycle which is only causing the negative emotions to become more prominent. Again, meaning you are not enjoying life.
The spiritual shift you are being asked to flow through is the recognition that life is not about doing all of the tasks we set out to do each day. Life truly is about being in the moment, living, experiencing, creating, and enjoying all that this moment has to offer. When you can be present it becomes a lot easier for you to support yourself through the challenges. When you can be present it becomes a lot easier for you to celebrate the successes, whether big or small. When you are caught up in the act of doing and a challenge arises, your only thoughts are what can I do to get through this. You end up pushing and forcing your path, which leads you to pressuring yourself each step of the way. This is not supportive.
Your spiritual awakening is important because it guides you to find the meaning of life. It shows you that receiving support is the number one quality we desire (and you have the ability to create that support for yourself). It teaches you that there is more to life than just sitting through the suffering. It guides you to see that you always have a choice, to either stay where you are or to choose something different.
A spiritual awakening may not be the answer you were looking for, but it is a redirection that will help you to uncover the answers and clarity you desire.
Your spiritual awakening may feel like the worst moment in your life, yet it’s guiding you to the blessings you desire. At least, that’s my experience.
I was at my lowest.
I felt all alone.
I thought I would be stuck forever.
I feared what my future would look like.
I wondered how I could ever reach my desires.
I asked one person for help.
She showed me how to open the door so I could see the light.
I chose to follow the light.
Even though I didn’t know where it would lead.
I didn’t know how I would find my way.
The only thing I knew for sure was that if I didn’t create a change, I would end up worse off by following the path I was currently on.
I no longer wanted to resent the people around me.
I no longer wanted to be a victim to my environment.
I no longer wanted to put my dreams on hold because of where I was currently at.
I didn’t know where I wanted to go.
All I knew was where I did NOT want to go.
That simple desire, no longer wanting to be in this space, gave me hope that there was somewhere else that was better for me.
This desire and hope is what led me to make a better choice for myself and take action.
Have you found yourself in this space? Desiring more for yourself? Not knowing exactly what you want, but certainly knowing what you no longer want?
Maybe you are ready to take action, you are ready to make a better choice for yourself, but you have no idea how or where to start. You are lost on which step to take.
This is where I come into your journey.
You are not alone. I would love to support and guide you as you embark on this path. When one cycle closes another one begins. In order to see the light of dawn you have to be willing to turn away from the darkness of yesterday.
You are ready to support yourself on this journey.
You are ready to take action that feels good.
You are ready to move towards a life you love living.
You are ready to break away from the stress, overwhelm, confusion, and exhaustion.
You don’t know where you are headed, but you know that anywhere but here will be better.
The 1:1 Monthly Mentoring (6 month minimum) is where you will shift forward and create the next cycle of your life. This is where you will learn to empower yourself as you uncover your light. This is how you will create the uplifting, joyous, and peaceful life you have dreamt of.
Limited spaces open for this one on one intensive program. Are you ready to truly feel alive? Are you ready to experience something more for yourself? More joy? More peace? More love? More success? More fulfillment? Book your free clarity call today to connect with me (Sydney) and see if this is the right fit for you!
Now that you have more knowledge on spiritual awakenings you can support yourself through each phase. I’d love to hear what resonates with you the most in this blog. Leave a comment below or join my free Facebook community, Shifting Forward!
I’m sending you so much love and support as you traverse your spiritual awakening.
Until next time,
Sydney Smith
Founder of Adventuring with Poseidon Wellness
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