The terms ‘spiritual awakening’ and ‘being woke’ have been dulled and heavily misused in the past several years, losing their meaning to their easily ridiculed nature.

But what does it actually mean to have a spiritual awakening? To wake up?

If you’re here, you likely are feeling like maybe you too are going through a spiritual awakening, or perhaps someone you love is, or perhaps you’re also here to make fun of these concepts, all of these perspectives are welcome.

When I speak about a spiritual awakening, I want to stand strong in my own integrity of what I believe it is versus what I believe it isn’t. Being mindful that this may look different for everyone, and you may never relate to this concept at all, yet feel a lot of the things this concept beckons.

Here’s my personal perspective on a spiritual awakening, with the intention to shed more light on how this might be showing up in your life or in the people you surround yourself with.

What is a Spiritual Awakening?

I think it would make more sense to actually explain what a spiritual awakening isn’t.

At first glance of the term and the use of awakening, it refers to the beginning stages of entering a more spiritually focused life. A spiritual awakening is not what Buddhist monks chased their whole lives, it does not mean instant enlightenment, nirvana, or even pure bliss. My own experience with ‘waking up’ wasn’t even close to that, and still isn’t.

This reasoning is part of why I have such an edge in the spiritual community, the majority who identify as such make it seem like if you aren’t fully enlightened then you aren’t welcome into the club and I strongly disagree.

There’s a reason monks spent most of their days EVERYDAY meditating and praying for YEARS before ever reaching ‘enlightenment’ This is not something that happens overnight and indoctrinates you into the community.

From most people I’ve spoken with who have gone through their own process of a spiritual awakening, it was anything but ‘enlightening.’ So myth number one has been busted, and I would strongly caution around anyone of the spiritual community who makes you feel that way.

So then what is a spiritual awakening? The easiest way to describe it is starting to awaken to life in a new way.

Let’s ride this metaphor.

Think of when you first wake up. You’re a bit groggy, your vision might be blurry, your senses are starting to come online, you might require some stretching and some pauses to physically even get yourself up. A spiritual awakening is quite the same.

Some might call it, ‘lifting the veil,’ I think in even simpler terms it’s like coming online and things feel a little…different. Perhaps you’re questioning life a bit more, asking questions like, ‘But who am I, really?’ and ‘Why am I here?’ And if you’re someone who has been riding the motion of the ocean for your whole life and living the societal norms, this new perspective may feel completely jarring.

Carl Jung popularized the term ‘awakening‘ in the Western world, proclaiming the importance of ‘revealing ourselves to ourselves.’ This idea of rising to a higher consciousness has been around for centuries and is an intrinsic part of the human experience. Just not everyone experiences it at the same time, rate, or even in the same life time.

Rising to a higher consciousness evokes more of what it feels to be alive in a different way than you may be used to, but the path to getting there is not magically spurred by a spiritual awakening, this is simply step one.

What Causes a Spiritual Awakening?

As mentioned previously, we enter the beginning stages of this process at different paces and times throughout our lives, some never experience this feeling. There’s not necessarily one thing that can cause a spiritual awakening.

Here are some players when it comes to the induction of a spiritual awakening:

• Major life changes such as a medical diagnoses or near death experience
• someone spiritually ‘opening’ the door for you, like in an intimate relationship or a teacher that finds you
• Mental health crisis such as severe anxiety or depression
• A psychedelic journey such as with psilocybin (magic mushrooms) or ayahuasca
• A more subtle change as one gets deeper into their contemplative and meditative practices
• Spontaneous and seemingly out of nowhere circumstances that change your entire perspective

The waking up to life has to happen in a way that shifts the way you perceive yourself in and of the world around you, which means whatever is causing your spiritual awaking must have impact.

Anything that forces you to look at your life from a more ‘spiritual lens’ will likely set you on the path to awakening.

Can You Induce Your Own Spiritual Awakening?

I think if you’re fully meant to awaken in this lifetime you will, and that will happen when you’re ready to see the truth and take the plunge into what it means to live a more spiritual life. There may be things you could do to catalyze the process, but if you’re not ready or receptive, it won’t happen.

The best catalyst that I know of for ‘waking up’ is through intentional psychedelic journey work or other altered states of consciousness. Such as: a macro psilocybin mushroom journey, a microdosing protocol, or a breathwork journey. These are viable options if you’re spiritually curious but don’t feel like you’re at the point of waking up yet.

I also want to be clear that this isn’t a sure path into the world of spirituality. Some people do macro psychedelic journeys and don’t have a spiritual experience, or at least one that impacts their perspective enough to then proceed to live their life in a different way.

It truly depends on if you’re ready, open and receptive, if not, then you won’t magically wake up by doing psychedelics or exploring altered states of consciousness.

If you’re curious to this concept and it feels like it resonates with you and you’re reading this article, then you’re likely already on the path to awakening or much closer than you think.

If the psychedelic route feels calling to you, and you’re seeking a more spiritual experience, I would suggest working with a psychedelic integration coach to prepare and integrate the experience. This is something I wish I would have done on my own journey to waking up and working with medicine.

Having guidance from someone else who has walked this path can help mitigate some of the difficulty that may arise when navigating it on your own.

What are the Signs of a Spiritual Awakening?

I don’t want to say ‘IYKYK’ (if you know you know), because for many people who begin to awaken there is a lot of confusion about what’s happening. This is more of a retrospective, IYKYK.

Here is a very comprehensive list of signs you may be experiencing a spiritual awakening and by no means do all of these need to land true. You may experience one or several really clearly but there’s no number to aim for.

Again, this is the beginning of the path to spirituality which looks different to everyone. Trust your own path.

Feeling Detached and Disconnected From Your Life

It’s common to feel like when you are going through a spiritual awakening that you aren’t connecting with your former self or the people you are surrounded with.

This could look like wanting to distance yourself from your routines, your friends, your family, and the things that make up the life you’ve been living.

It’s also common to feel dissociated from who you are because you’re questioning and contemplating a lot more than you did before. This is a strong indicator that the path of awakening has begun for you.

I want to caution you in completely isolating, for some this can be really helpful but for others it can be dysregulating. I encourage you to find people who you can talk to about the thoughts and feelings you’re having so that you feel grounded.

A spiritual awakening doesn’t mean you have to completely disrupt your life, this is a lifelong practice, so take it as fast or slow as feels comfortable for you without completely shocking your system.

Being Upset That Everything You Thought You Knew Was A Lie

When you begin to ask the bigger questions of, ‘who am I?’ ‘why am I here?’ and ‘what is this thing called life?’ You might find yourself upset that you feel like the life you’ve been living and everything you know about it no longer feels true for you anymore.

It may feel like the world around you is made up of one big lie that we’re all just playing along with.

When (and if) you reach this point, remember, not everyone has this experience that you’re having. There’s certain order and structure that has been formulated to make the world operate in the way it does. It’s perfectly valid to be upset that it feels like you’ve been lied to you’re entire life.

I’d argue that this is an important part of the process of waking up. It’s like looking around you for the first time and thinking, ‘How did I not see this?’ Just don’t forget to also say, ‘I’m so glad I see this now!’

A Total Overhaul of Your Belief System

Depending on what your spiritual and religious beliefs are prior to waking up, there may be a major overhaul of your belief system for you as you wake up.

There’s no requirement to what belief system you have to hold in the space of spirituality, in fact, it’s encouraged to deeply connect with what feels best for you.

The openness can be overwhelming, especially if you’re someone who has been governed by a strict religion or even have very polarizing beliefs. As this begins to happen, be patient and keep turning inward to ask yourself what feels right to you.

More Vivid Dreams With Heavy Symbolism and Meaning

Dreams are natural altered states of consciousness, and can start to act as the portal into our unconscious and subconscious mind when we start to wake up. This can help you see what’s holding you back or keeping you stuck. If you’ve never had vivid dreams before, this can be alarming.

I suggest keeping a dream journal or having some type of recollection practice and begin to analyze your dreams when you’re in a conscious state. You’ll be surprised at how much insight and symbolism your dreams can hold.

Increased Self Awareness

It’s common to feel like you have a sudden increase of self-awareness when you enter your spiritual awakening. This is contributed to your new lens you’re seeing the world through and yourself in it.

You may start to notice some patterns, habits, or triggers you have that feel totally misaligned. Be gentle as you become more self-aware, it can be pretty shocking when you start to see yourself from a completely different point of view than you have before.

Deeper Connection to Your Intuition

Your intuition has always been there, but you may feel more connected to it than you have before.

Perhaps you’re starting to notice sensations of your intuition in your physical body, like your gut reactions are stronger than they’ve ever felt. Perhaps you’re also hearing messages from your intuition guiding you to take different actions at very specific times. This will become an important skill on your path.

Remember, this process is about returning back to your Self, and your Self resides in your intuition.

Heightened Sensitivity To The World Around You

Sounds, lights, tastes, smells, and energies may feel like the volume has been turned up rapidly.

Suddenly the busy city may feel like too much for you to handle on a day-to-day basis which wasn’t the case before. You may also notice energies of people or even large groups of people around you. All of this is common as you start to wake up.

The idea is that you’re engaging and being in the world in a different way than you were before which is going to take time to attune to. If you’re feeling extra sensitive to the world, make sure you have some place you can go to that feels calm and environmentally in your control.

Shifting of Your Relationships

You may notice that the people you want to be around are different than who you’ve been surrounding yourself with. It may also look shifting your previous relationships to be a bit different than they were before.

Perhaps the friend you once talked to about everything does not understand this new perspective you have, which doesn’t mean you can’t be friends with them, rather the relationship may shift.

It’s important to find people around you that you can talk to about what’s going on and that you feel safe with. This can be a very vulnerable time, so using your best judgment is encouraged.

Wanting To Be Of Service

When you start to connect that we are all one, and that you are an important puzzle piece of the entire equation of life as a whole, you may feel more compelled to be of service or give back in a more meaningful way.

This could be as extreme as wanting to change your career entirely or maybe even just volunteering on a more frequent basis. This looks different for everyone, but giving back is a common part of the process of a spiritual awakening.

A Repulsion To Things That Feels Misaligned Or Out of Your Integrity

This is a difficult and shadowy part of a spiritual awakening, feeling repulsed by anything misaligned or out of your integrity.

You might feel a complete shift in your entire mood when you find yourself in these circumstances, which can be confusing if you’ve never felt this way before.

Trust your intuition and know that if you feel a physical shift in your own energy and demeanor, then you likely are being asked to shift away from the misalignment or investigate why you feels this way.

A spiritual awakening is meant to guide you to more of what feels good for you by returning back to your Self.

You’ll learn that this is an ongoing process on the path of being more spiritual, and taking a frequent inventory of what you’re doing, what you’re surrounding yourself with, and how it feels for you is a great practice to adopt.

More Compassion and Patience For Those around You, Trusting That Everyone Is On Their Own Path

Just as you’re on your path and having compassion for yourself, you may begin feeling this way about the people around you.

Suddenly the friend who continues to go back to her ex no longer bothers you because you recognize that it’s her journey, and you can’t be the one to shift her perspective.

Even with complete strangers, you may feel a new sense of appreciation for people you see that are following their own heart and doing what feels best for them, whether they’re awake or not doesn’t matter.

This new sense of patience and compassion can be depressurizing, especially if you’re a people-pleaser and/or feel easily irritable in the presence of people who don’t live life the way you would prefer. If this no longer serves you to think this way, you now have the opportunity to shift your perspective to be more accepting and compassionate of others.

The Want to Be More In and Of Nature

Nature may feel much more alluring to you than it did before. You may find yourself wanting more nature moments throughout your days.

The calming elements and the symbolism that exists in nature is a big part of what it means to be communing with Pachamama (Mother Earth).

Nature can teach us a lot when we stop and pay attention, which is what the natural draw is to nature when you’re walking this more contemplative path.

Shifting of Your Habits and Routines to Include More Mindfulness

Perhaps you suddenly feel the urge to practice more mindfulness whether through meditation, journaling, or walking more. The shift of looking to the outside world for answers to now turning inwards may feel foreign, but there’s suddenly a deep sense of trust that the answers are within you.

Synchronicities Everywhere

Are you hearing messages in songs you didn’t catch onto before?

Seeing ‘angel numbers’ while you’re pondering questions?

Thinking about someone and then them contacting you or running into them?

There are likely synchronicities happening all around you all the time but now you’re tuned in and paying attention. The more you tune your awareness, the more you’ll find these synchronicities.

This is different than the outside world giving you answers, rather, you’re seeing that what you’re aligning with internally is also showing up externally in the world around you.

Physical Symptoms Like Trouble Sleeping, Headaches, and Fatigue

Some people report physical symptoms such as trouble sleeping, headaches and fatigue when they’re going through their spiritual awakening.

It makes sense, as you’re becoming more sensitive and tuning into the world in a new way, there’s a lot of stimulation and energy expenditure that you’re not used to.

Take it easy on yourself as you are experiencing these symptoms. Use this as a time to continue to turn inward.

So You’re Having a Spiritual Awakening, Now What?

Since you’re here, I bet you’re doing a lot of research on what is happening to you and why do you feel this way.

As you’re coming across more research and understanding of your own experience here are some things to consider as you’re waking up:

Find Your Balance Between the Light and the Dark of Spirituality

Entering this path is a lot about finding the balance between the light and the dark.

A spiritual awakening is not an instant download of feeling peace and calm, though I wish. There’s a lot of darkness and shadow to work through as you start to wake up to life in this new way.

As you’re traversing this path and finding your way, finding the balance is going to be pivotal to moving forward with grace. In my own experience, I got thrusted into the darkness of my spiritual awakening and had a difficult time seeing the light.

This looked like not being able to integrate the shadow sides or even move past the darkness of being angry that I didn’t understand what was happening or why I had felt duped by this whole performance of what the world was this whole time.]

Awakening to life gets to be fun and it’s also challenging.

Hold both with grace and know that you’re not alone on the journey.

Connect With People Who Are On The Spiritual Path

Aforementioned, my own spiritual awakening felt dark and lonely at first. I truly had no idea what was happening. Slowly I began to meet more people talking about the same things I was thinking.

The more I connected with people experiencing something similar, the less alone and in the dark I felt, and the more support and guidance I had.

Finding a mentor was the best choice I made later on in my own spiritual awakening. They became someone I could turn to who didn’t make me feel ‘crazy.’

Finding people who feel similar can make the process of waking up far less difficult and scary, especially if you find people who are just a few steps ahead of you. Lean on them and let them guide you.

Try Things Out and See How They Feel

You’re not going to know exactly what this new path is going to look like for you, so try things on and see how they feel.

Maybe you practice how you call the higher power: God, Pachamama, Universe, Creator. Use them interchangeably and see what feels most resonant to you.

Try on how you want to communicate with said higher power, perhaps through your meditation practice, praying, or being in nature. See where the most clarity comes through.

Treat this as if you’re brand new to Earth, you don’t know what you don’t know, so put on your inner-child hat and play the game of the awakening as if you were seeing the world for the first time again.

Get to Know Your Soul on the Most Intimate Level

This journey is much about understanding the world around you from a new lens, but it’s also about getting to know you and your soul more intimately than every before.

Understanding who you are and why you operate the way you do can help you make better decisions and lead a life that feels more aligned and in your power.

Part of this getting to know yourself is understanding your soul’s essence and desires without judgment, to do this I’ve created a process that walks you through uncovering what this means to you and how it can impact your life positively.

Read all about uncovering your soul’s essence and why it matters.

Honor Yourself For All That You Are, You Are Nature and Nature Is You

The best part about the path to spiritually waking up is the newfound ability to honor and love yourself for all that you are, recognizing that you are a living, breathing and integral piece of the world.

Honoring yourself means you follow your path, trust your intuition, and perhaps feel guided and supported by a higher power. It also means that you have grace and patience with yourself, that you don’t expect perfection out of yourself, and that you treat yourself with respect and love just as you would anyone around you.

One of my favorite parts of this process is also seeing myself in the things around me, especially in nature.

Practice the totem meditation, where you hone in on an element of the natural world and embody that feeling within, trusting that whatever comes to you is what’s meant to be felt in that moment.

In practicing this, you can skillfully embody different aspects and elements of yourself and continue evolving, bolstering the world around you to get you to where you want to go.

Welcome to Your Spiritual Awakening

I hope at this point you’ve found some more resources and a deeper understanding as to what’s happening with you.

The path to waking up is hard to explain but difficult to forget once you’ve entered. You may feel like you can never go back to your old way of thinking and that might become overwhelming.

Trust that this path you’re walking is exactly the one that’s meant for you, and the more you lean in and trust, the more you will be guided and supported along the way.

It’s as if you’re now standing in the audience, watching the world act in the play that’s on stage that you were just a cast member for and you so badly want everyone to know that it’s all an act.

Remember that you can’t force anyone else to enter this path, all you can do is continue to return back to your Self, and continue to explore more of what it means to be a spiritual being having a human experience.

For more guidance on this journey, whether through medicine work or through mentorship, book a free 60 minute session with me to explore options for guidance.