There’s an uncomfortable truth we all need to face sooner rather than later on our inner work journeys of healing and awakening:
We’ll not only get stuck at some point, but we’ll start to stagnate and rot.
This might sound macabre, but the reality is that if we don’t allow the freshness and vitality of new information, discoveries, and opportunities to enter our lives, we’ll become stranded.
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Often, we don’t even realize that we’ve become spiritually stagnant until something shakes us out of our stupor or slaps us across the face.
In fact, many years – sometimes even decades – might go by before you realize that you’re living in a crypt of your own making.
As someone who has recently had a rude awakening and come face to face with my own spiritual stagnation, I want to help you avoid this pitfall so that you can continue to grow, evolve, and Self-actualize.
Table of contents
What is Spiritual Stagnation?
Spiritual stagnation occurs when we get stuck in any limiting worldview, habit, or pattern of being that limits our growth and internal evolution.
Typically, this is a quiet and gradual process that we become completely oblivious to, occurring “behind the scenes,” often after a period of intensive seeking and personal study.
Am I Quietly Integrating or Slowly Shriveling? (The Difference)
One can choose to go back toward safety or forward toward growth. Growth must be chosen again and again; fear must be overcome again and again. – Abraham Maslow
Having owned up to my own spiritual stagnation recently, a thought entered my mind:
Am I quietly integrating or slowly shriveling?
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They both have a slightly similar appearance, but underneath, they’re both vastly different.
Quiet integration happens after we’ve gone through a deep experience of contacting, embracing, and liberating certain wounded parts of our psyches.
Take the specific example of reconnecting with our wounded 5-year-old self. Perhaps we’ve done some thorough reparenting inner child work, have earned the trust of this exiled part of ourselves, and have freed much of our creative potential.
This inner work is tiring and emotionally demanding (while simultaneously being beautiful, expansive, and liberating), and a period of quiet integration is needed to process what we’ve gone through – this can take some time.
But slowly shriveling – what I call spiritual stagnation – is different.
On the surface, it may appear quiet. But instead of being an experience of restfulness, reflection, and recovery, it’s a sinkhole of lethargy, laziness, and lost connection to our inner vitality.
In other words, if you’re quietly integrating, you will internally feel like a calm and clear lake. But if you’re internally shriveling, you’ll increasingly feel dry, parched, and empty like a desert.
7 Signs You’re Spiritually Stagnating
Be not afraid of growing slowly; be afraid only of standing still. – Chinese Proverb
It’s an uncomfortable and irksome thing to admit that you’ve been slowly stagnating for some time.
In my case, this has happened to me behind the scenes for at least 3-4 years after a period of about 8 years of intensive spiritual and psychological work.
Perhaps some part of me was just exhausted on some level, and that exhaustion led to rest, but that rest led to a slow creeping stagnation.
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Whatever the case, I’m thankful to have finally received the “wake-up call” to leave my routine mausoleum of comfort and begin fresh again with a “beginner’s mind.”
Having experienced spiritual stagnation directly for many years, I want to share with you some of the main “red flags” to look out for within yourself:
- You’re not allowing much new information into your mind or heart, and therefore …
- You’ve lost the passion to learn about different facets of yourself and life
- You feel trapped or stuck in one place in life, but you don’t know why
- You keep repeating the same mental, emotional, or behavioral habits to the point of boredom and frustration
- You’re disconnected from a sense of curiosity and wonder
- You feel intellectually, emotionally, or metaphysically “parched” or thirsty
- You’re stuck in the shadow of the Sage archetype, thinking that you’ve already seen and done it all (stages 9 and 10 of the journey)
Can you relate? If so, don’t be hard on yourself.
Anyone on the inner path long enough is bound to experience spiritual stagnation at least once, no matter how much they’ve learned or evolved.
How to Prevent Spiritual Stagnation: 3 “Spirit Protectors”
When I write “spirit protectors,” I’m referring to the fact that spiritual stagnation has a deadening effect on our innermost essence: our lifeforce energy.
Using any one of the following spirit protectors can help to guard and preserve your inner flame from being temporarily extinguished by the quietly oppressive force of spiritual stagnation. Here they are:
1. Keep reading and learning no matter what
Letting my reading habit slip was the first sign that I was spiritually stagnating – and it eventually led to me feeling internally parched and weakened to the point of emotional numbness.
So my advice is to read far and wide. Do this every day without fail with whatever time you can set aside. No, you don’t need to read for three hours a day – even just twenty or thirty minutes will suffice.
The point here is always to allow new information to enter your psyche because it has a naturally revivifying power.
2. Change your habits and experiment with something new 2-3 times per year
Commitment is essential, don’t get me wrong. To go deep in any modality, we need to stick with it for a long time. But don’t let that block your interest in experimenting with other ways of being.
For example, if you dedicate a lot of time to painting as a way of connecting with your wounded healer archetype, try something different, like dancing, singing, writing, or exploring somatic healing.
If you journal a lot, why not try something more energy-based or explore a modality like journaling and breathwork, journaling and color psychology, journaling and dream work, etc.?
3. Get feedback and see yourself from a different perspective
If you have a trusted friend, family member, or therapist, ask them for their honest thoughts on your spiritual practice and what they think you could try changing or including.
If that’s not accessible to you, try the following card spread used with a tarot, oracle, or other self-reflective deck:
- Where am I mentally blocked?
- Where am I emotionally blocked?
- Where am I spiritually blocked?
- How to become unblocked (choose three cards in total).
Here’s another all-purpose card spread:
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- What is my current spiritual state?
- A hidden block or resistance within me.
- My untapped potential.
- What action do I need to take to grow?
For more accountability and direct support, you can connect with me or Mateo within our Shadow & Light space. We answer direct questions in-depth as often as you need (way more than you get here in the public comments), and if you’re feeling spiritually stagnant, we can help you find more clarity and soul alignment.
***
It’s vital to be radically honest with ourselves as we journey through life and walk the spiritual path.
Are you quietly integrating or actually slowly shriveling? Are you open, curious, and welcoming of new information, or do you feel jaded, cynical, and tired?
It’s okay to take a break if you feel exhausted. That itself is a form of integration and self-care.
But if you do have the energy to keep moving yet find yourself getting stuck over and over again, it might be worth considering whether this silent thief of inner growth is operating in the back of your psyche.
What’s your experience with spiritual stagnation? Do you have any advice to share with our fellow wanderers and travelers? If so, share below!
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An answer to your question in today’s email, The title of my 2025 book would be The Year of Healing.
Beautiful title Renee <3
Thank you!
When feeling shrivelled stagnated and lacking the creative energies, …just Stop!
Let the dust of your busy mind heart and life just settle. Let go of the frustrations, blocks, negative gearing, family issues, life’s ups and downs,financial concerns etc., as we don’t always need to follow the negative doom and gloom as it has been embedded and engrained in us from our earliest days. Let go Let it be!
As a great thinker once said there is a great difference between doing and just being. To constantly push for all we think we need can exhaust, confuse us.
Just let it be …as being instead of doing allows for settling down of the mind heart and spirit. A respite time to recollect all that is past clear the way for what is coming next.
Blessings John 🥰💜
Thank you for this John. Stopping and just letting things be can sometimes be a solution, but it can also be taken to an extreme and lead to stagnation.
Much love <3
John, I can relate to your comment so strongly. I am in a place where I work to recognize when I am feeling overwhelmed, stopping and just Being can help me re-center and feel better. Thank you for the suggestion and reminder!!
Shannon
Can’t really relate to that topic. I guess this can happen if one consumes too much self help content rather than listening to what their own minds and souls are saying. I do have a question for everybody. Is there ever a time when violence is justified? I have read about Ted Kaczynski a lot and i am baffled that he already saw the writing on the wall decades ago!! But i’m confused about the violent acts. Is there ever a justification for murder other than self defence? If things don’t change soon there will be blood anyway. The West is going downhill. Also tech and globalization will destroy humans and this planet. Are the writers of this website planing on writing about anti tech stuff? I think this also qualifies nowadays as spiritual stuff. Seeing how the internet and social media have a very bad impact on younger people.on Almost anybody actually but especially younger people,teens and tweens. People are becoming more and more dependable on computers and machines. This is horrific. Let alone the destruction of nature by tech and overpopulation
“Is there ever a justification for murder other than self defence?” Not in my mind.
“Also tech and globalization will destroy humans and this planet.” We don’t know that for sure. However, poor choices from humans are (pollution, consuming, factory farming, overpopulation, etc.).
“Are the writers of this website planing on writing about anti tech stuff?” I’m not anti-tech otherwise I wouldn’t be running this website. Tech can be positive or negative depending on who is using it and their intentions.
Some of my thoughts. :)
Hello from Cape Town South Africa.I humbly thank you for your emails and articles. I do so enjoy your information, advise and wisdom. It does resonates with myself. Having experienced all that you have you have written, I have read and learned from many other wisdom teacher and gurus that to be stagnant is a blessing in disguise and that is absolutely fine. This enables you to put yourself on hold for a while so that all that has been done brings positivity, fruition and manifestations in order for this to become true to and for yourself and in you life. Being stagnant is a powerful and positive approach to not only you daily life but in a spiritual way too. Being kind to yourself when this is needed is so important as this is self care. Do not forget that you are a spiritual being having a human experience. Blessings to you and your family! Love and light Sallyjane
Self-kindness is key. There may be some kind of benefit to stagnation in that it teaches us certain lessons. But in and of itself, the experience is unhealthy – just as a stagnant pool of water is unhealthy to drink from. My approach is to call a spade a spade here. I appreciate your perspective. :)
I wish this was my problem right now, but it’s quite the opposite. There is a great deal of excitement and scary stuff in my life right now. My country is currently experiencing a hostile government takeover by extremists who are probably going to try to do to me (a transgender person) what they’re currently doing to immigrants. I am coming to terms with the fact that I need to get out of here sooner rather than later. I’m sure it’s a time of intense spiritual growth as I stay in touch with the guidance of the universe in order to have the opportunity (enough safety and freedom) to fulfill my life purpose and learn firsthand how very, very impermanent everything actually is.
I want my message to be that we are all one and how important it is to treat every being the way that we would want to be treated. If humanity knew the truth, there would be no more wars, poverty, or systemic injustice.
I’m so sorry to hear of the scary and unstable situation you’re in right now, Press. May you find peace, safety, and healing as soon as possible so that you can spread this beautiful message. Sending love and prayers 💜
Press,
We are in similar situations. I am not transgender but have close family who are. This is a scary time for us all and I have found taking a brief moment to let myself just be and float helps me let go of negativity that collects around me each day.
We will find a way through this bizarre situation and move forward with our lives, stronger and (hopefully) more connected to each other!
Peace to you- Shannon
I have a tendency to “should” myself to death. Sometimes I need to stop turning the crank and do something else. Then when I come back to it, it feels good, natural. It is like when I write, something I am not very good at. If the muses have visited me it all just flows out, if not it is a struggle and more often than not, not very good.
You’re definitely not alone in that tendency, Don. It’s a part of the perfectionist inner aspect of the psyche in my opinion. ;)
Funny you should ask. I am about to publish a short, 41 page book titled “On The Path to a Righteous Extinction. The gist is that, IMHO, the human race is running madly toward self-extermination simply because we refuse to understand how the cosmos actually works and our place in it. We are about to be done in by hubris, arrogance, greed, violence, tribalism, and hate simply because we think we are important and the focal point of all creation. Once upon a long time ago I was a Medivac pilot and helped save the lives of two lunatics who had near killed each other in a knife fight They had carved each other up pretty good and both needed transport to save their lives. But I wasn’t going to put both of them on my airplane because they were tugging at handcuffs holding them to their hospital beds trying to still get at each other. My medical crew (two young ladies that probably didn’t weigh 200 pounds between them and no match for the two antagonists) and the E.R. doctor told me the one I left behind would surly die. I calmed the knife fighters down by telling them, quite truthfully, that I didn’t care if they died. That if I heard another word out of either of them before we got airborne I would taxi back and leave them both. And if I heard a word once airborne I would turn on the autopilot, come in the back, open the cabin door, and toss them out. They got the message and I didn’t hear a peep for the entire flight. They lived. The cosmos has the same attitude toward human kind. No one cares if we kill ourselves off. We live or die by our own hand. And it looks like we are choosing dying.
Things do indeed look grim right now. The best we can do is be examples to those around us via self-directed, committed, and sincere inner work. We can then create many ripple effects in ways we don’t fully understand. To me, this is one of the most powerful forms of activism and prevention of self-extermination. But, we’ll see. Thanks for sharing Tj.
I felt back in 2021ish that I was placed in a hold pattern. I didn’t feel stuck but I had accomplished so much growth that at that moment there was nothing to do but wait for my next prompting from the universe. It’s now 2025 and I have still not received any prompting. I’m American and although I know our problems in comparison to many places in the world are not terrible, to me it’s devastating. I honestly feel lost, abandoned and like I have one foot mired, stuck and threatening to swallow me up. Unfortunately I can’t seem to find any path forward and continue to be on hold. Thank you for discussing this because now I know that I’m not unique in my feeling stuck.
I’m glad you know that this is a common experience, LeAnn. And sometimes, not receiving another prompting *is* the prompting in a strange sort of way. I sound like Dr. Seuss here, but I’ll let you reflect on that. :)
Hard to know if its giving up or stagnation. I seem to wait for a magical occurence to appear oe some strange coincidence.
I have had enough at 56 failed at all the things that mattered to me and now waiting to start the boring office job. Dead before im dead.
But i have invested 2.5k into a ya novella with a positive spiritual theme surely if there was some magic in the world will be
Succesful and i will feel rejuvenated. Will see.
I wish you success David, however that looks to you.
This is a good point. To keep on growing and seek trusted ones for advice on the journey as well as trying new things to jig it up is a really good idea, that definitely had me reconsidering my approach too. For me my spiritual stagnation has come from wishing for approval from others for my messy experiences, but it often backfires. So I endlessly keep looking through different beliefs and opinions and experiences other people have online to find some kind of connection, always for it to cycle back to people shutting down each other’s varying beliefs; and people arguing over the nature of deities (which is depressing). It’s been so painful that often I moan more about these things than looking inside myself and at all the sadness I feel, I guess.
Thanks, I’ll try to think how i can better my journey again.
Thanks for your radical self-honesty here, Lala. The ego hates it but the soul finds it refreshing 💜