Going through a spiritual awakening is one of the most confusing, lonely, alienating, but also supremely beautiful experiences in life.
Put simply, spiritual awakenings mark the beginning of your initiation on the spiritual path.
Without experiencing a spiritual awakening, we go throughout life pursuing the emptiness of money, fame, power, and respect in an attempt to find “happiness.”
The unsettling and equally beautiful thing about spiritual awakenings is that they occur at the least expected times. There is no way you can plan for them. They lurch into your life and shake everything up like tornadoes.
But the hidden gift buried deep within them is that they occur at the precise time that you need them the most.
Spiritual awakenings are the soul’s cry for freedom.
Listen to its call and your life will be transformed into something meaningful and significant.
Refuse its call and your life will be like a graveyard.
If you have experienced a spiritual awakening, you have come to see through the lies and illusions of this world.
Deep in your soul, you realize that nothing external has ever, and can ever, bring you true happiness or fulfillment.
This profound realization leaves you craving for something richer, more fulfilling, and something that will make you feel whole once again.
If you’re looking for answers, if you’re thirsting for a direction in life, this page will share with you everything you need to know.
On this page, you will find all the possible spiritual resources you need for the beginning of your journey as a lone wolf and spiritual wanderer, including what spiritual awakening is, common spiritual awakening symptoms, and much more.
If you feel this page may help a friend or family member close to you, please share it and pass along this vital information.
If you prefer to listen to this article instead, we’ve created a video version of this article:
Table of contents
- What is a Spiritual Awakening?
- My Experience With the Spiritual Awakening Process
- Why Did Your Spiritual Awakening Happen?
- What Triggers the Spiritual Awakening Process?
- The Dark Night of the Soul & Awakening
- 10 Spiritual Awakening Stages
- 23 Spiritual Awakening Signs and Symptoms
- Physical Spiritual Awakening Symptoms
- 3 Spiritual Awakening Myths
- Spiritual Awakening Q&A
- Spiritual Awakening and Inner Work
- Spiritual Awakening Book
What is a Spiritual Awakening?
What is the meaning of ‘spiritual awakening’?
When we undergo a spiritual awakening, we literally wake up from the dreamlike reality of ego-centered living.
We begin to question our old beliefs, habits, and social conditioning, and see that there is much more to life and ourselves than what we have been taught.
It is common to ask questions such as, “Who am I?” “What is the purpose of my life?” “What happens after death?” “Why do good people suffer?” and other questions that examine the fundamental nature of life and reality during your awakening.
Spiritual awakenings stir the deepest and most significant questions within us that we have been putting off asking or have been too scared to touch.
If you’ve experienced a spiritual awakening, you might crave to find who or what you truly are deep down, as well as what the meaning of your life is, and whether there is a “higher state” of being.
Searching for God, or for the Divine, is a common desire during this experience.
My Experience With the Spiritual Awakening Process
I experienced the beginnings of my spiritual awakening in 2010. At that time, I was deeply indoctrinated into a world of fundamentalist religious teachings in the Christian sect I was born into.
After almost two decades of believing in the hellfire-and-brimstone teachings I was fed every week, something began to eat away at me suddenly.
I began to doubt, question, and sense that there was way more to life than my indoctrinated outlook, and I felt deeply lost and alone.
I had no one outside of the church that I felt comfortable talking to about my feelings. I had no true friends to confide in – and my family didn’t understand – or rather, didn’t want to.
As a result, I felt so alienated and suffocated with loneliness that I developed depression, health issues, OCD, and chronic anxiety, the latter lasting for many years.
Like Neo in the movie The Matrix, I was being offered the red and blue pill. Should I continue taking the blue pill and remain in my comfortable ignorance? Or should I take the red pill and be free (but experience the pain of waking up)?
Long story short, I chose the red pill. It wasn’t easy at first. I would often carry the unshakable sensation that I was falling endlessly through a void of darkness.
The Dark Night of the Soul descended quickly upon me, and I felt abandoned by life and betrayed by those closest to me. Ultimately, I had no fucking idea what was happening and thought for sure I was losing it (or would burn in hell for eternity).
But in the end, going through this process of spiritual awakening was worth all the pain and sacrifice. No regrets.
The amount of growth, love, transformation, and freedom I’ve experienced since choosing the ‘red pill’ has been totally mind-blowing, life-changing, and profound.
Why Did Your Spiritual Awakening Happen?
So, why do spiritual awakenings happen in the first place?
Spiritual awakenings happen as a natural product of your Soul evolving, expanding, and maturing. Just as everything in life grows, so too does our connection with our Souls.
As our Soul organically matures and ripens, we find it more effortless to access the field of pure Consciousness that some call Spirit, Source, or Nondual Awareness, which is our original home and True Nature that is already and always here.
Once we begin to see and truly feel that who we really are goes beyond thought, we begin to drop ego identification, returning back to our birthless and deathless True Nature as Life Itself.
It is then that we taste the true and deep joy, peace, love, and freedom that we have always wanted, but have misguidedly sought in the material world and realm of thought.
While the spiritual awakening process can feel painful and disturbing at first, it ultimately helps you to break through illusion and find out who you truly are.
The sensation that your life doesn’t make sense anymore is the product of having all of your former beliefs, desires, and paradigms challenged and often disproven. This is traumatic, but a necessary part of your expansion.
Free Spiritual Awakening Journaling Prompts!
Want to go deeper and reflect, integrate, and gain a greater perspective of your journey of awakening?
What Triggers the Spiritual Awakening Process?
You might be curious to know what activates a spiritual awakening.
The answer is that innumerable circumstances can trigger this process! There really is no one answer.
Spiritual awakenings can happen at any moment or period in your life. They can be spontaneous, but they can also be triggered by major life changes, illnesses, tragedies, and traumas such as life-threatening illnesses, car accidents, divorces, war, midlife crises, and much more.
Awakening can also happen due to your temperament. For instance, you might be a naturally contemplative person, an introspective spiritual wanderer, or a sensitive empath who is, by nature, particularly receptive to seeing beneath the surface of life.
Furthermore, for some people, spiritual awakenings are even triggered by deep but challenging soul mate or karmic relationships.
Generally speaking, the spiritual awakening process happens in conjunction with an experience known as The Dark Night of the Soul.
The Dark Night of the Soul & Awakening
If you’re highly sensitive to the suffering of others and are a deep thinker by nature, it is possible that you have gone through, or are currently going through, a Dark Night of the Soul.
The Dark Night of the Soul is a period in life when we feel completely cut off from God or the Divine.
The more aware you become of your disconnection from the Divine, the more chances you have of experiencing a Dark Night of the Soul.
Going through a Dark Night of the Soul is profoundly entwined with the process of spiritual awakening.
Before seeing the light (i.e., spiritually awakening) we must “walk through the valley of the shadow of death” in order to prepare our minds and hearts for the expansion of consciousness.
Just think about the analogy of getting dressed. In order to put on new clothes, you must take off the old ones. That, in a nutshell, is essentially what the Dark Night of the Soul is about.
The old must be stripped away in order to make way for the new. This means that the suffering you experience during the Dark Night of the Soul is for a purpose – and that is the destruction of the old (outdated beliefs, identities, habits) to pave the way for fresh ways of being.
This life is a cycle of birth and death. As such, going through the Dark Night is not a pretty or manicured experience – at its core, it’s raw, primal, and perhaps the most difficult experience known to humanity.
Everything is stripped away from you. There is no light, no clarity, and no peace. But please know that it is a stage, and like everything in life, it will naturally fade.
Also, there are ways of speeding up the Dark Night (like doing inner work and soul work).
I have gone through a bleak and chaotic Dark Night of the Soul, and let me tell you, inner work and soul work were vital for my sanity.
It’s kind of like the difference between letting your old clothes just fall off you (which is a long, unhygienic, and tiresome process) or actively pulling them off and throwing them to the wind yourself.
However, please note that sometimes doing any kind of work, internal or external, can feel taxing and quite simply impossible during the Dark Night.
Sometimes rest and withdrawal are what we need the most, and that is perfectly normal, healthy, and fine.
Signs you might be experiencing a Dark Night of the Soul (along with a spiritual awakening) include the following:
- You feel isolated from everything (others, yourself, and life in general)
- You feel abandoned by god/the divine
- Your mood is almost always low and melancholic
- You’re lost and don’t know which direction is right
- You feel despair and horror when observing the world
- You feel a sense of existential dread
- You feel deep tiredness in your bones
- You lack the motivation to keep doing what you used to
- You’ve lost interest in most things
- You keep pondering the deep questions of life (e.g., “What is the purpose?”)
- You feel like you don’t belong on this planet
This list is not exhaustive, so keep in mind you might be experiencing signs that aren’t included here.
You can take our free Dark Night of the Soul test if you need more clarification.
10 Spiritual Awakening Stages
The spiritual awakening process is complex, multi-layered, and different for everyone. In reality, it cannot be fit into neat categories.
However, with that being said it is helpful to have a kind of “map” to locate where you’re at right now.
The following stages are general. They define the overall flow of the spiritual awakening process:
Stage 1 – Spiritual Calling
You feel a calling to go in search of something “more.” Life as it is no longer feels satisfying. Instead, you may feel trapped, empty inside, and crave a deeper life. You feel a call from the Soul to find spiritual fulfillment.
Stage 2 – Resisting the Path
Although you deeply desire to change your way of thinking, feeling, and being in this world, a part of you resists the unknown. Change can be scary. Numbing habits and addictions can appear in this stage as your ego tries to block progress.
Stage 3 – Finding Guidance
When you finally break through the resistance, you know that a lot of work needs to be done. Where do you go? What path do you follow? You’ll be drawn to finding as much external guidance as you can in this stage.
Stage 4 – Starting the Journey
Eventually, you will find paths, practices, and teachers who resonate with you. With these outer forms of help, you’ll be inspired to leave the old world behind and start your awakening journey. You’ll become a spiritual wanderer. The passion for learning will drive most of your behavior.
Stage 5 – Turning Inwards
After being on the awakening path for a while and listening to many teachers and teachings, you’ll eventually feel the call to turn more deeply inward. Instead of superficially dabbling in a lot of different practices, you’ll feel called to plunge into the depths of your psyche. You wish to get to the root of your pain and find deep healing and perhaps even spiritual illumination.
Stage 6 – Facing the Darkness
The deeper you journey into yourself, the more you’ll discover many of the issues that had been previously suppressed and avoided. The “darkness” you face within is your shadow self, and it’s by learning to practice self-compassion that you find the light. The experience of the Dark Night of the Soul is also common in this stage.
Stage 7 – Illumination
After facing and working through the wounds and traumas from the previous stage, you will experience a period of “breakthrough.” Dissolving the shadows that have obscured your Inner Light results in experiences of Illumination. In this stage, you may, therefore, have glimpses of Divine Love, interconnectedness, and mystical experiences of Oneness.
Stage 8 – Traps & Pitfalls
All good things must come to an end, and this difficult truth is expressed in stage eight. Having tasted the bliss of spiritual union, the ego cannot help but try to use spirituality for its own gain. As such, in this stage, you will inevitably fall into some common issues like spiritual materialism, makyo (spiritual delusion), and spiritual bypassing.
Stage 9 – Rebirth
With honesty and humility, you will be able to move through the traps and pitfalls of the previous stage and experience the beauty of rebirth. Rebirth signifies a period of deep inner spiritual transformation – a permanent shift to a new level of awareness and awakening. This is typically a quiet but profound experience.
Stage 10 – Integration
Undergoing a deep spiritual and psychological rebirth, you will feel called to integrate your hardwon wisdom into your daily life. You may feel called to give back to the world in some way and help others, perhaps as a guide or teacher of some kind. Your focus is less on yourself and more on others. This stage is defined by sage energy, where you are invited to step into a wise helper role.
Note: it is common to move back and forth between these spiritual awakening stages. Remember that this is not a linear process – you cannot just move from A to B to C. This is a cyclical journey.
Furthermore, as this is a complex and messy path, it’s perfectly fine if it doesn’t look like what I’ve described. Your spiritual awakening process is unique to you. But I do hope this analysis has helped (in some way) you to ‘gain your bearings.’
If you would like to learn more about each of these stages, check out my other article: Spiritual Awakening Stages: 10 Levels of Illumination
23 Spiritual Awakening Signs and Symptoms
There are many spiritual awakening symptoms. In fact, spiritual awakening symptoms are not only emotional but also psychological and even physical.
Here are twenty-three of the most common symptoms out there. See how many you can identify with:
- You feel as though your life is false
- You craving for meaning and purpose
- You begin asking deep questions like “Who am I?”
- You realize that a lot of what you’ve been taught is a lie
- You feel completely lost and alone
- You see through the illusions of society
- You see how unhappy most people are
- You want to ‘purge’ your life
- You begin experiencing deep empathy and compassion
- You desire to be alone
- Conversations seem shallow
- You want to quit your job
- You thirst for authenticity and truth
- You become aware of your old negative habits
- You experience anxiety and/or depression
- You become more sensitive
- You want to make the world a better place
- You deeply want to understand who you are
- Your intuition is heightened
- More synchronicity
- You feel more wonder, love, and curiosity
- You have glimpses into your True Nature
- You see that we are all One
I’ll expand on these signs below:
1. You feel as though your life is false
Everything that you have believed, built, and worked towards seems to be false. Your life doesn’t feel as though it’s your own. You no longer feel like yourself – nearly everything you once enjoyed no longer brings you meaning or satisfaction.
2. You craving for meaning and purpose
You deeply desire to find the meaning of your life. You have no idea what your purpose is, but you want to find it desperately. There’s a sense that something is “missing” inside of you (like a part of your soul).
3. You begin asking deep questions
Questions such as “Who am I?” “What’s the purpose of life?” “What happens after we die?” “Why do people suffer?” arises. You begin thinking more philosophically. Such profound thoughts may greatly disturb you as you don’t know the answers.
4. You realize that a lot of what you’ve been taught is a lie
You start to see how many beliefs, feelings, and values are not actually your own, but other people’s or inherited from your culture. You are growing in self-awareness.
5. You feel completely lost and alone
Nothing in your life seems to make sense anymore. You feel as though you’re wandering through an endless wilderness. As a spiritual wanderer and lone wolf, you feel completely alone and cut off from people. You struggle to relate to those you once felt close to (i.e., your friends, work colleagues, and family members).
6. You see through the illusions of society
Materialism, success, and profit no longer mean anything to you. You start feeling as though you’re a cog in the machine of society.
7. You see how unhappy most people are
You awaken to the unhappiness and suffering of others. You may start to explore activism or read more about the human condition. It is tormenting for you to realize how much pain there is in the world.
8. You want to ‘purge’ your life
You’re sick and tired of feeling stranded, depressed, and hopeless. Suddenly, you feel the need to simplify and declutter your life. This could mean cutting ties with toxic people, reassessing your habits, donating old things, relocating to a new job or place to live, or even giving away most of what you own. Wanting to purge your life doesn’t always happen externally, but it is a deeply felt internal craving that also manifests as the desire to experience some level of internal purification.
9. You begin experiencing deep empathy and compassion
As you start paying more attention to the many hardships faced by humanity and nature alike, you develop more compassion. Your inherent empathy is awakened, and you may find it hard to cope with the intensity of your feelings. This is a pivotal point in your inner transformation: you either numb the pain you feel with addictions, or you find healthy ways to accept and express your emotions.
10. You desire to be alone
You crave solitude. Whereas once you may have been extroverted, now you experience the introverted side of your nature. You spend a lot of time alone introspecting and enjoying the silence. At every cost, you try to reduce social contact. At this point, you may lose touch with many old friends and even family members.
11. Conversations seem shallow
When you do talk to people you feel an acute sense of separation. You realize that very few people are comfortable with talking about deep and meaningful topics. In conversations, you feel restless and irritated by the small talk. You silently scream, “Can’t anyone wake up and realize what is happening?” Your distaste for frivolous chit-chat draws you more into solitude. You become a lone wolf and rebellious free spirit.
12. You want to quit your job
Even though you worked for years getting your degree, establishing your career, and climbing the ranks, you feel nothing but emptiness. Your job no longer provides you the sense of fulfillment that you need. You desperately crave more.
13. You thirst for authenticity and truth
Being true to yourself becomes a top priority. You hate faking and putting on the old masks that you used to wear. You want to be completely authentic. Pretense makes you feel sick and disgusted.
14. You become aware of your old negative habits
You are painfully aware of your flaws and destructive habits. Within you arises a strong urge to wipe the slate clean and start over.
15. You experience anxiety and/or depression
You may go through deep bouts of existential depression or persistent anxiety. The shock of plunging into your awakening leaves you feeling unstable. You may be misdiagnosed with a mental illness. Uncertainty and fear follow you around everywhere.
16. You become more sensitive
Everything impacts you more. You feel the energy of others more strongly, the pain of your loved ones more intensely, and the difficulties in life deeper than ever before. At the same time, you feel a gloriously enhanced connection with animals and nature. You start feeling more at home within the natural world (rather than the human world).
17. You want to make the world a better place
When all is said and done, you want to leave the world a better place. You start thinking ‘big picture.’ This longing to make a real impact translates to actively helping others or finding a life purpose that aligns with this desire.
18. You deeply want to understand who you are
Endless questions arise about your identity and your life, for example, “Who am I?” “Why was I born?” “What am I here to do?” “What is the purpose of my existence?” As a result, you begin reading many self-help books and spiritual texts. No wonder you ended up here. :-)
19. Your intuition is heightened
Gradually you begin to listen to the still, small voice within. You allow it to guide your decisions and you may become more receptive to the messages of your unconscious mind through dreams, physical sensations, and practices like journaling or meditation. You may even come in contact with your spirit guides, spirit animal, or other spiritual helpers. Eventually, you start to uncover your hidden gifts and talents thanks to learning how to trust your intuition.
20. More synchronicity
You start becoming conscious of the many signs and omens that life brings to you. Life becomes much more receptive and interactive with you. Serendipity and déjà vu increase. You may even undergo numerous mystical experiences.
21. You feel more wonder, love, and curiosity
The smallest things start to bring you joy and bliss: a falling leaf, a spider’s web, a child’s laughter, a puddle. Life is no longer ignored – it is seen as magical, amazing, and beautiful. As the barriers of the ego break down, you begin to love other people without expectations or conditions (this includes self-love). You lose interest in drama, conflict, and anything that perpetuates hatred.
22. You have glimpses into your True Nature
The deeper you turn inwards, the more you begin to discover that who you truly are goes beyond all thought, belief, idea, memory, or mental construct. As the layers of the ego and the blockages that obscure your inner Light begin to dissolve within the light of awareness, you begin to glimpse your true eternal nature.
Shifting out of the personal ego and witnessing life from the seat of Divine Consciousness is known as ego death, Self-realization, or enlightenment – and such an experience can be temporary or permanent.
23. You see that we are all One
As your awakening process matures and ripens, you begin to integrate the realization that who you truly are is always and already here as Spirit, Consciousness, or Life Itself. You see that we are all One, we are all expressions of the same Divine Source, and we have never been separate from this reality (the mind has only believed that to be the case).
As you begin to drop identification with thought, realize that the separate self isn’t ultimately true, and surrender back into the Now, you find the peace, love, and freedom you have always longed for. You find home at last, right here, right now.
Physical Spiritual Awakening Symptoms
Physical signs obviously differ for everyone. Here are a few symptoms that I have observed within myself and many others who have begun the spiritual awakening process:
- Amplification of sense. For example, your sight, hearing, taste, touch, and/or smell become intensified. You may even discover that you’re an HSP (Highly Sensitive Person).
- You discover food intolerances that you never seemed to have before (or perhaps weren’t paying attention to). E.g. Allergies to wheat, nuts, legumes, soy, spices
- Changed sleeping patterns, i.e. you sleep more or experience more disrupted sleep, often causing insomnia
- Vivid dreams – your dreams become scary, bizarre, or intense
- Dizziness – feeling lightheaded as a result of being ungrounded during the day
- Weight change – either gaining or losing a lot of weight
- Changed eating habits – what you once liked eating no longer appeals to you. Also, you may crave to experiment with other foods that you’ve never tried/liked
- Fluctuations in energy – feeling less energized than you used to
- Decreased or increased sex drive
- Decreased immune function (more illness)
It is uncommon to experience all of these physical spiritual awakening symptoms at once (one or two is more likely).
If you have noticed a rapid change in your health during this period, it might be due to the drastic change in your mind-body-soul connection.
If no logical everyday reason can be found (such as prior illness, family stress, injury, relationship meltdown, etc.), don’t rule out a more metaphysical explanation.
Shadow & Light Membership:
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If you’d like to confirm that you’re going through a spiritual awakening, feel free to take our Spiritual Awakening Test.
3 Spiritual Awakening Myths
There’s a lot of information out there on the internet about spiritual awakening symptoms, what spiritual awakening actually is, and so forth.
As someone who has undergone an awakening process and guided many others on their spiritual journeys, here are some of the top spiritual awakening myths out there:
- Myth 1 – Once you spiritually awaken, you become instantly enlightened. Reality: Enlightenment, for most people, happens gradually in waves. We go through layers and cycles of shedding the past and growing into our ‘new skin.’ In some rare cases, enlightenment (or union with our True Nature) happens just like that. However, the awakening process is a slow and steady process of spiritual alchemy for the vast majority of people.
- Myth 2 – Being spiritually awake means always experiencing love, light, and bliss. Reality: Yes, we might go through periods of love, light, and bliss. But these experiences are temporary: they come and go. It’s unrealistic to expect ourselves to only ever experience one kind of state as we are multi-faceted beings. And that’s okay.
- Myth 3 – Only a rare and elite variety of people experience awakening symptoms. Reality: You’d be surprised how many people have gone through spiritual awakenings. It’s not an experience that’s reserved for the ‘elevated,’ rich, or ‘special’ people. It can happen to literally anyone in any circumstance.
Let me know if I’ve missed out on any spiritual awakening myths in the comments below!
Spiritual Awakening Q&A
Here are the answers to some commonly asked questions:
There are many reasons why the spiritual awakening process happens. Major life changes, tragedies, losses, health crises, marriage, divorces, and other milestones can often trigger a new outlook on life. Whatever the case, spiritual awakenings occur when the soul is ready to surrender into the Absolute – and that occurs at different moments for everyone (if it happens at all).
The spiritual awakening process is said to be a lifelong journey – once it begins, it never ends. However, the intensity of awakening varies, and often we go through quiet and calm periods, followed by chaotic and intense periods of change. It’s important that we honor this ebb and flow of transformation, seeing it as a vibrant and ever-flowing journey, not a static and one-off destination.
After undergoing a spiritual awakening, it’s important that you explore all the different spiritual paths available to you. Go with your heart and instincts, and choose a path that calls to your deepest needs. It’s also crucial to practice some form of inner work while walking your own path to ensure that you’re evolving, staying grounded, and healing inner wounds that may sabotage your progress.
There are many reasons why you may have had a spiritual awakening. We know that awakenings are triggered by big life changes, breakdowns, breakthroughs, and traumatic situations. But why you had a spiritual awakening is simple: Life decided you were ready to finally wake up.
The spiritual awakening journey is the process of both being and becoming on the level of Soul and Spirit.
On the level of Soul, we’re like a snake shedding its skin or a caterpillar going through a metamorphosis. This process of becoming is an awkward and painful process because it involves a lot of inner exploration, seeing through our shadows, and finding the courage to embrace who we are.
On the level of Spirit, the spiritual awakening journey is focused on being, where the separate sense of ‘you,’ the egoic consciousness, is dying and revealing more and more of who you truly are beyond thoughts, feelings, and identifications. As the ego begins to dissolve, your True Nature begins to shine through – also known as Spirit, Nondual Awareness, or Divine Consciousness.
So essentially, you’re going through a spiritual awakening journey because your Soul needs to grow, mature, and expand on a human level, and on a spiritual level, the journey is about rediscovering Spirit as your True Nature. Staying the same equals death and stagnation. Changing and letting go (even though it’s painful!) is a good thing. Not only will you eventually feel more connected to everything, but you’ll have the opportunity to find your true home, which is always and only found in the present moment.
Spiritual Awakening and Inner Work
Spiritual awakenings mark the beginning of our spiritual paths as lone wolves and spiritual wanderers.
But you might be asking yourself, “What do I do now?”
If you need more spiritual guidance, consider this entire website your personal guide that is available 24/7! We have hundreds of articles that can help you. But where to start? We recommend beginning with something called inner work.
Inner work is the psychological and spiritual practice of diving deep into your inner self for the purposes of self-exploration, self-understanding, spiritual healing, and transformation. It helps to deepen and mature your process of spiritual awakening.
We write a lot about how to do inner work on this website. You can find the main resources to help you begin below:
- What is Inner Work?
- How to Love Yourself (Ultimate Beginner’s Guide)
- 25 Signs You Have a Wounded Inner Child (and How to Heal)
- Shadow Work: The Ultimate Guide + Free Psychological Test
There are many other practices that can help you start your inner work, some powerful examples being breathwork and journaling every day. The key is to find what empowers and supports you.
If you need more direct support on your path, I recommend checking out our highly-rated spiritual guidance offering, the Shadow & Light Membership.
Spiritual Awakening Book
Does your spiritual awakening make you feel lost, overwhelmed, and alone in this world? We wrote The Spiritual Awakening Process to help newly-awakened people gain the knowledge and tools necessary for finding peace, hope, clarity, and deep inner healing.
In The Spiritual Awakening Process, we walk you through the beginning stages of reconnecting with the loving and eternally wise place within you known as your Soul. Some of the topics covered include:
- What is happening to you
- Why you’re experiencing a spiritual awakening
- The three internal spiritual worlds to explore
- How to retrieve and integrate any fragmented pieces of your psyche
- What spiritual “traps” you need to be mindful of, and
- How to communicate with your soul
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This book is printable (PDF file) and digital (you can read it on your phone, laptop, etc.).
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From the bottom of my heart, I hope this article has helped to support you in some way during your process of awakening.
Please know that you’re not alone. You’re not going crazy. And we’re here to help and support you – in fact, this entire website is. It’s our mission and purpose in life.
So please, feel free to reach out. Let me get to know you and your story. I’d love to hear from you below!
If you need more help, we offer 3 powerful ways to guide you on your inner journey:
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I’ve been going through Dark Night of the Soul/Awakening since I was in my 20s (about 40 years). Always questioned everything and because I didn’t ever get any remotely sane answers, I knew that nothing we are told and taught by “authorities” is true. So I just keep sinking into dark nights, sometimes coming up for air, then watching the world take yet another turn into the downward spiral of insanity, now with the covid scamdemic, Bad Russia distraction, WOKE insanity, everything to distract and to keep people in fear. I don’t fear any of it but I am very very tired of it all. I’ve lost many friends and family who won’t talk to me because I don’t buy into the fear and insanity. I am retired now and just spent time in nature, researching psychology, philosophy, working out and working on my determination and strength to never comply with the insanity that surrounds us. “It is no measure of good health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society”. J. Krishnamurti
Thank you for sharing. I feel you. I would not say I go through a DNS right now but my trust in mankind as a whole took a serious beating in the last two years as well. I am now struggling heavily to accept or even love the ugliness of the world. This is my one big task right now I guess. Need to do some inner shadow work for that perhaps. Alas, to know my demon by name and location does not seem to bother him much.
Divine Messages From Above
Every day I tune in and listen to messages on YouTube which are astonishing, to say the least. They are supposedly channeled from Galactic Visitors who have come to engage and transform our meagre ways and senses, our perceptual bandwidth, and interpretation of low energies from low-density awareness in the 3D or third dimensional world into an open much wider band of energies which will in due course transform us all worldwide via a process of Ascension into recalibrated humans regaining our divine inner powers, restructured DNA bodies that are returned with all chakras cleansed and open. Ready to raise our consciousness and inner body energies to 4D and onto 5D states thus expelling the old karmic and dark energies, to be replaced and connected once more with them into a new spiritual world full of the powers of love and light which they profess to carry for all of us.
This is being projected as us becoming unblocked from all the many blockages and karmic overloads, deep social conditioning from the Dark Side or Deep State people that for many millenniums have controlled this World keeping it condensed in low frequencies in our five senses, with ritual displays of financial, psychological and behavioral controls. Making us swallow depression, confusion, war, fear of change, and violence. So our energies are kept locked down in 3D physical realities as slaves to their empire.
But these new world messages are daunting too, complex in many ways mind blowing to the average sensitive Spiritual person.
The sudden impact and revelation as to how humans are not just mundane but capable of connecting within ourselves to many ports and levels at once which will knock your socks off! Leaving you scratching your head dismayed and bewildered.
So I don’t believe we need this kind of onslaught into new age Spiritual living connections too quickly, without understanding where and how we fit in or not to this change. As many of us are still dealing with and recovering from personal past traumas from childhood and elsewhere with the engrained social conditions from the system and parents who failed to see and know any better, as they themselves were trapped in low vibrations, with ritualized behavior and have passed on their belief systems and cultural ways which still bind us to some extent today.
As these new age messages have not been edited and filtered at all and appear to be full on and not voltage dropped to give time to accept or non accept them. We are left in between somewhat bewildered and emotionally blown by the depth scale and intensity of their displays with all their complexities they carry to supposedly be acceptable for human consumption.
As we are being drawn back into being part of the Cosmic Family. As their concept of God or Source is not similar to our own, its a he/she energy that is connected only to beings on a higher vibrational level. As we are shown to be infantile in our ways of ignorance and are compartmentalized into sections for those whom are awake from those that remain stuck in old ways. So we find much difficulty in processing this new age style system with all its vast knowledge and sweet love bombing ways.
not all awakenings end up in a good place. i think that most people are in complete denial of how much one’s physical appearance determines their quality of life (or lack thereof). true loneliness is the result of a lifetime entirely void of intimate affection & connection. perhaps some can be content being single, alone & unwanted but for others it is one of the worst possible curses as due to factors entirely beyond our control we are forced to miss out on most of what makes life worth living.
No way this is going on my life. While i was reading i was like so happy but now that im writing this comes the desmotivation again. Its weird because when you go outside its like i can controll who i want to talk to me who i don want to talk to. I can controll how is gonna be the situatin and i can see inside of the persons i mean i connect better with people idk how to explain it.
Thanks for your post, i´ll keep in this journey because is ending and im happy that is ending but at the same time no because i like my new self but idk, the old self just was a fucking shit you know i was living in the past and future never in the present moment. I have developed the power to have like a bareer of present its like i can combine myself with what im feeling right now what im hearing what im smelling its feels so good life. Ive never felt that good
Im 17 and gonna make the life i want I promise to myself that im gonna elevate in this life, This life is not for looser the teach you to be a fucking slave your parents literally want you to have a degree an work all the life. Oh my god men, what we are doing wrong as scoiety? You know actually fuck it, im gonna focus on myself
“what we are doing wrong as scoiety? You know actually fuck it, im gonna focus on myself”
That’s all we can do I’m afraid. The concept of ‘society’ is helpful to understand things, but when you ask yourself what a society is, it’s a group of individuals (there’s no such thing as a society separate entity.) It’s much easier for each individual to focus on themselves and how they can make the world better than to focus on fixing some ‘society’ out there.
Hello Eduar, be proud of yourself to be awake at your age! So many people live in the lies. It’s a long journey full of up and down, but you gain peace, love, harmony, and tranquillity when you attain and do the work.
Keep working on yourself; show respect, care and love to yourself first.
Everything starts with you! Keep going, you are doing a great job to be here :)
Peace & love
Hi my name is Yesica I live in California and I’m going threw a spiritual awakening I relate to all the symptoms and comprehend all you explained it’s the most drastic change of my life I’ve completely transformed
I am inclined to think that ‘spiritual awakening’ is merely a blanket term to describe a forced personal transformation. Is this really purely spiritual or the result of having to change perspective due to consequences brought about by one’s own poor judgement and choices? I have not found anything super spiritual within my own process of having had a complete breakdown and losing everything. Four years later, I have simply come to realise my own weaknesses and the role I played that ultimately brought destruction. I am a firm believer in choices and consequences. I have gained wisdom and i have matured emotionally. Whether there is anything on the spiritual level, i have no idea. I am intuitive and empathetic, however, I have discovered I am less compassionate, less giving and for the first time in my life, self centered. This has provided some peace but it is fleeting. I say peace because not caring nor feeling deeply, life has a way of just passing by.
Hi Michelle,
I think ‘spiritual awakening’ is a term ultimately defined by the person and their experience. However, I clearly differentiate between spiritual awakenings and personal awakenings. Personal awakenings are usually on the ego level, the level of self. Spiritual awakening are on the level of the soul – they drive us to ask the deep questions of life, motivate us to look into various spiritual traditions for answers, and inspire us to seek a sense of spiritual liberation. If you’re interested, there are various stages of the spiritual journey that are divided into ten categories on our home page (under the ‘start here’ section): https://lonerwolf.com/ You might like to check those out for more clarification if you feel that would help you. ♡
60 years later, can I make it all go away ?
The animal’s that have found me that I have joyously helped. Yet, to feel their pain, hear their crying as we seek to find eachother. Animal that it seams have found strength and endured so much pain finding me,I can only say that it is OK now, as I so gently stroke them. Feel my love, don’t be afraid, I won’t leave you. I will now take your pain,you rest, as I remain until their last breath is gone. So carefully handled, returned to earth.I will see you again another time.
Someone may randomly us a object to strike a tree, I feel the pain and cries from within the tree.I am so drawn to the exact location,I can but place my hand upon the wounds and to apologize for the actions of another.I can feel the calm from within.
I feel the pain and agony of those who approach toward my aura, the physical pain brought upon my body, I cannot identify as mine or their’s.
To see and feel the lost and discerning souls, to try and grasp any understanding of my existence.
I have not been able to see a exact timing for myself of my awakening, others who were there, as I was but 3 days old, have spoken of brilliant blue flames with white so bright, none could stay looking at me. At that moment none present knew that ” I was dead “,the flames that had lifted me 2 feet high, have now given life back within me.
The human life of a small child that has died,I tried so desperately hard to save. Now gone, was “Leann”, as I was later to know the name of the child I could not save her life.
The weight, the burden, the pain in my soul, this tormenting agony.
I now require a surgery, or once again I will die. I can’t put myself within the walls of a hospital. I stay with my son, whom I gave birth to in my home 1981. Last night he said ” mom you have put everyone else first and above you, in life. When will you put yourself first “?
How?? Can I make this all go away! 60 years exhausted, pained and drained.
Hi Susan,
Sometimes we try to rescue others in an attempt to try and rescue ourselves. The child you said you could not save, I’m not sure if you’re speaking metaphorically or literally, but I can sense from your writing that you are suffering under a weight of shame and possibly self-blame. It’s hard for an article like this or an online voice like me to help you through such extreme suffering. What you need to do is reach out to a therapist, someone who can compassionately hold space for you and help to correct any mental confusion and soothe emotional suffering. After all, how can you help others if you can’t help yourself? – you need to be present and healthy to do that. So by helping yourself you *are* helping others. Ask your son to help you find a therapist or counselor, that is the first simple step you can take. Please do it. Much love ♡
Luna and Sol,
From the bottom of my heart , I would like to thank you for sharing your profoundly beautiful messages and transformative wisdom on this site . I have been all over the internet recently and although there is a countless resources and insight into the spiritual journey of humans , Lonerwolf has resonated with my soul in the very core of my being . I have stayed up far past my bedtime and gave to get up for work in a few hours , but I don’t care ( ha ha). For in this very moment my heart is singing ! I feel like I have discovers a powerful gift tonight and I believe this happened for a reason . Synchronicity is my favorite word and I have one tatoo on my body which is the word SYNCHRONICITY encircled with an infinity symbol. It is synchronistic that I have stumbled upon kindred souls tonight and I feel blessed. .
I have a lot to say , probably way too much , but I will try my best to shorten the journey of my path to spiritual awakening .
Sol, I read your personal journey and mine is very similar . I grew up in a religion that resembled a cult in every way . We were separated from society and lived by many soul crushing rules . Everything was a sin including cutting your hair ( women only ) , we had to wear skirts to our ankles and if a woman happened to even expose an ankle , she wa called in from of the church and shamed for being a temptress . We didn’t watch tv or listen to music aside from church hymns . The list goes on and on.
But I too grew up in the depths of shame, saying prayers of forgiveness to God even if I had a bad human thought . I hated myself and was afraid of everything , especially God and the fear of burning in hell for eternity .
I grew up in a big family of 7 siblings and we were textbook dysfunctional . My Dad was a closet alcoholic and it was a family Shame, dirty secret. We were also extremely poor and looked down upon by the congregation , being seen as a charity case . Inevitably , my Fathers drinking was discovered and the family was kicked out of the church . We were homeless , but found some friends( outcasts of the church ) who took us in . Well, things got worse because we were all thrown-into public school which was another trauma and shock , but I went through the motions , feeling dead inside everyday .
This was the beginning of my dark night of the soul , but the incident that occurred soon after , caused me to plunge full force .
I was 12 years old and my family ws finally starting to recover and heal . We had found a house and things seemed to be moving forward , but one night my Father got drunk and never came home . He was hit by car and killed, a hit and run case that was never resolved. My Mother was left to raise 8 children on her own. My family was broken beyond repair .
Sol, the way you describe the dark night of the soul gave me chills and I understood when it happened , the first time anyway. I remember dying inside and overnight I decided I would never be happy, and understanding that my innocence and childhood was gone forever . I went into myself and above all, I cursed God and it felt so fucking good!! I didn’t care if I were to burn in hell for it. I had nothing left , no loyalty , just emptiness and absence of faith that has been so carefully implanted in my psyche. I blamed God for everything and disowned him. But it hurt, the agony of it all , because I loved the God that I had been given, I had loved and feared him . The moments of love, I realize now was the creator that I am starting to trust and embrace . I like to call them Great Spirit, but I cannot use the term God anymore . I have had to rid myself of that God that I was brainwashed to fear through control and shame .
I went through years feeling numb and disconnected, but inevitably I started getting signs from the universe and teachers started showing up and I was given gifts from the UNIVERSE! I started with self help books such as , John Bradshaw, healing the Shame that Binds You. Then when my soul was ready ,The spiritual teacher, Echart Tolle’s powerful books fell into my hands and changed my life . This is so beautiful, all of it! And you know what , I’ll take the pain because I see it all now as a gift for my soul journey to evolve and heal ! I just finished The book, Journey Of Souls because I’m riding another powerful wave in continuance of my path to spiritual awakening .
Sol, this life has been such a heartbreakingly beautiful journey and I am happy to say I’m ready for what is next , my soul is ready!!
In closing , there is so much more to tell and I would love to hear about your journeys , Sol and Luna. ❤️❤️
And maybe, just maybe we will cross paths… “Somewhere down this crazy River”.
Peace and love from one kindred soul to the next,
Rachel ❤️❤️
Just on a short note, was hoping you could explain what it means when I had a spiritual awakening.
I felt like I was levitating and blue flames were shooting out my feet hands and head. Felt like I was vibrating as well.
This happened three years ago and even more happened just after that untill I pushed it away. Way to intense for me at the time.
Now I’m trying to understand it and get back on my spiritual path.
Great article… I’m Definitely going through this. I feel so alone right now. I am also recognizing how full of fear I am due to my religious upbringing. I’m using plant medicines to help me but I also have such subliminal fears that perhaps I’m crossing into all of those fears set in to me by religion… witchcraft, demons, satan etc. maybe I’ve opened myself up to dark spirits snd they are pretending to be the light as I was taught that satan would do. But my heart pulls me to this light. I realize this is maybe part of my awakening… what I need to heal… to realize and fully accept that those teachings were wrong. God/source/ the divine is so much more. But… then it hits again… maybe I’m in a cult of witchcraft and maybe this is satan’s trickery. My heart knows better but these beliefs are so infused. Would love your insight on how to find peace amongst these thoughts that maybe my spiritual awakening is the devil stealing my soul. I need feeedom from this message but not sure how to obtain it as it runs sooo very deep.
Hi Paige, I really empathize with your struggle. Having that kind of brainwashing can go truly deep and be hard to rewire (especially if you’ve been indoctrinated since childhood). Some of the things that have helped me have been:
– learning, understanding, and being aware of cognitive distortions (search for ‘CBT thinking errors’ and really letting this sink in)
– going easy on psychedelics and using small doses – in my experience the higher the dose, the harder it is to integrate the discoveries (and it can in some cases result in re-traumatization)
– sharpening your ability to practice spiritual discernment (aka. the sword of your mind: https://lonerwolf.com/spiritual-discernment/)
– practicing self-love and self-care/forgiveness
I hope this helps ♡
Hi Paige, I am here to encourage you to continue the path you are on. I too, grew up brainwashed, manipulated and shamed through the extreme doctrine of religion. I will never forget having nightmares as a child of “ The Mark of The Beast” which was a scripture from the Bible. As children , we were taught to believe that The Mark of the Beast was a premonition from God foretelling the inevitable future of mankind. The whole world was going to be forced to take the mark, which We were told was a satanic symbol , with worldly , sinful implications and if you refused, you would be tortured and killed one by one right in front of your family and loved ones . We were taught that when this happens , we must remain faithful and strong and prove to God that we were the chosen by refusing to take the mark of the beast and instead sacrificing our lives through torture . I was 8 years old and I will never forget the fear and imagination of the possible horror that the future could hold .
Paige, I’m sharing this story because I know what you are going through . It takes time and is a process , but do not give up. I felt like I had to reprogram my mind and start over , you have yo unlearn what you have learned and that will happen in the dark night of your soul. It’s painful , but once you feel the freedom of that toxic release you will feel like you are born again .
God Is Love!! I have had to let go and detach from the God that I had been taught to fear . And I’m not there yet, I’m still on the path of healing and regeneration, I haven’t yet experienced the trust and oneness with Great Spirit. It’s hard to let go, especially when you have been hurt .
Keep going because you have already come this far. I believe once you KNOW what you KNOW that knowledge is so incredibly transcendent that you can never go backwards, only forwards .
Peace and love,
Rachel