What does it mean to be awake? What are the characteristics of the state of ‘spiritual wakefulness’ or ‘enlightenment’? Are you experiencing a spiritual awakening?
Chances are- if you are reading this article, you are well on your way. Things, experiences might seem different, but is it just your perception? Or is there a bigger change happening in the world around us?
Remember, it is possible that you may experience none of these, one of these or all of these…
20 Signs of Spiritual Awakening
Lets start with the positive effects. Spiritual awakening is a powerful, jolting experience- but it’s not going to be easy. Here are 10 positive symptoms that you might be experiencing in your everyday life:
10 Positive Symptoms of Spiritual Awakening
1. Increased Empathy And Intuition
You find yourself listening less to what people say and more to the feeling or intention behind their words or actions.
2. Feeling Drawn To Nature
We may get distracted when walking outside (even during a busy day) around nature just looking at flowers, birds or the sky.
3. An Aversion To Negative People Or Behaviours
You find yourself less interested in gossip, pettiness or the judgment of others.
4. A Desire For A United Community
You seem more DRAINED by ‘us versus them’ arguments, energies or consciousness (be it politics, sports, nationalism, racial divides, etc.).
5. Feeling And Believing That All Life Is Sacred
We value all life as sacred. You may find yourself taking small bugs outside to live and perform their purpose (rather than squashing them).
6. Your Consciousness Feels Renewed
You begin to look back on your own life memories as only opinions of your experience versus a concrete reality. You realize now that your entire life experience can be different based on the consciousness you hold.
7. You Are Living In ‘The Moment’
We are less interested in asking yourself “what if”questions. For example, “What if this person never left me” or “What if I had a better childhood?”
8. Increased Inner Peace
You don’t mind a quiet time or alone time. You now tend to shut off the T.V. and social media more often recently.
9. Compassion And Positivity Surges Through You
Rather than competing or wanting ill will for another, you hope we all make it and all are happy because in reality we all are connected.
10. Enhanced Authenticity
You need less attention in crowds, public situations or around others. Rather you are content to watch, assist and help others to see their own truth and beauty.
Coming into your own has a cost. It’s not going to be easy to open your eyes to the physical world around you as you engage with your community, your family, and your self on a deeper level. Here are a few side effects of spiritual awakening that might at first be frightening or hard to accept as you forge your journey:
Just remember- life is happening for you, not to you.
10 “Negative” Symptoms of Spiritual Awakening
1. Sudden waves of emotion.
Crying at the drop of a hat. Feeling suddenly angry or sad with little provocation. Or inexplicably depressed. Then very happy. Emotional roller coaster. There is often a pressure or sense of emotions congested in the heart chakra (the middle of the chest). This is not to be confused with the heart, which is located to the left of the heart chakra.
Advice on how to deal:
Accept your feelings as they come up and let them go. Go directly to your heart chakra and feel the emotion. Expand it outward to your all your fields and breathe deeply from the belly all the way up to your upper chest. Just feel the feeling and let it evaporate on its own. Allowing the emotions to be felt will keep them from being stored in the body.
2. Food intolerances, allergies you never had before.
As you grow more spiritual, you are more sensitive to everything around you. Your body will tell you what it can no longer tolerate, as if it, too, is sloughing off what doesn’t serve it anymore. You might be cleansing yourself of toxins. Some people find they often have a white residue in their mouth, much like that of runners at the end of a race.
My personal experience: I suddenly had severe excema on my hands and feet. I discovered it was due to gluten intolerance. I can also no longer enjoy a lot of acidic foods- my stomach aches after red-sauce laden meals.
Advice on how to deal:
Take yourself to a naturopath. Look at your diet for known allergens, like dairy, gluten, and nuts. Consider a restrictive diet for a few weeks, and slowly add back foods, one at a time to see if you can target what is causing your issues.
3. Amplification of the senses.
- Sight: Blurry vision, shimmering objects, seeing glittery particles, auras around people, plants, animals, and objects. Some report seeing formerly opaque objects as transparent.
- Hearing: hearing white noise in the head, beeps, tones, music or electronic patterns.Some hear water rushing, bees buzzing, whooshing, roaring or ringing. Some hear strange voices in their dreams, as if someone is hovering near them
- Enhanced senses of smell, touch, and/or taste: I have a friend that can smell and taste chemical additives in some foods in a rather unpleasant manner. Some mystics have reported smelling the fragrance of flowers now and then (this sounds rather enjoyable)
Advice on how to deal:
Surrender to it. Let it come through. Listen. Be patient. Whatever you do, do not be afraid. Hazy vision maybe relieved by yawning.
4. Vivid dreams.
Sometimes the dreams are so real that you wake up confused. You may even have lucid dreams in which you are in control. Many dreams may be mystical or carry messages for you. And in some dreams, you just know that you are not “dreaming”… that what is happening is somehow real.
Advice: You will remember what is important for you to remember. Don’t force anything. Above all, stay out of fear.
5. Events that completely alter your life:
Death, divorce, change in job status, loss of home, illness, and/or other catastrophes… sometimes several at once! Forces that cause you to slow down, simplify, change, re-examine who you are and what your life means to you. Forces that you cannot ignore. Forces that cause you release your attachments. Forces that awaken your sense of love and compassion for all.
6. Introspection, solitude and loss of interest in more extroverted activities:
This stage has come as a surprise for many extraverts who formerly saw themselves as outgoing and involved. They say, “I don’t know why, but I don’t like to go out as much as before.”
7. A sense of something “Impending”.
There is a feeling that something is about to happen. This can create anxiety.
Advice: There is nothing to worry about. Things are definitely happening, but anxiety only creates more problems for you. All your thoughts “” positive or negative”“ are prayers. There is nothing to fear.
8. Electrical and mechanical malfunctions:
When you are around, lightbulbs flicker, the computer locks up, or the radio goes haywire.
Advice: Call on your angels, and guides to fix it or put up a field of protection of light around the machine. Surround your car with blue light. Laugh.
9. Dizziness.
This occurs when you are ungrounded. Perhaps you have just cleared a big emotional issue and your body is adjusting to your “lighter” state.
Advice: Ground yourself by eating protein. Sometimes “comfort food” feels right. Don’t make any food right or wrong for you. Use your guidance to know what you need at any given moment. Take your shoes off and put your feet in the grass for a couple of minutes.
10. Memories surface
Body memories, suppressed memories, images of past lives and/or parallel lives. We are healing and integrating all our “selves”, so expect to have some of these experiences.
Advice:. Keep in mind that it is best to recall what only what comes to mind, leave the rest alone, don’t analyze everything to death (because you will be stuck in the tape loop of infinite issues to process), and feel your feelings as they come up. Ask for help from your guides.
What Should You Do After Awakening?
It’s pretty common for people to want to know what to do after awakening. But there are a couple of key elements that we need to be clear about to answer this question properly. Are we talking about immediately after awakening? Are we talking about three years after awakening?
In the Short Term:
Immediately after a spiritual awakening, you need to make space, and you need to assess where you are in life. Some people wake up in a situation where they can be a hot mess for 3 years. Maybe they have a spouse who can support them. Maybe they have good close friends. Maybe they have a lot of savings. Others don’t have that luxury. Thus, they have more work ahead of them to create space to fall apart and be reborn.
Creating long-term financial solutions are important for people so that they don’t end up in unnecessary financial and basic needs distress. There tends to be enough ego distress through the initial years as the ego is melted down.
Building a spiritual practice, it should go without saying, is also vitally important.
In the Long Term:
Some of you are much further along in your spiritual growth, and that’s awesome. As the intensity of the initial years of energy subside, it often is important to more actively intensify or re-intensify the energy. The floodwaters of awakening tend to knock down a few things, but it seems rare that they remove every obstacle and leave someone in a state of pure oneness and freedom. Instead, awakening is kind of like resetting the system. It’s a new beginning.
The clarity and freedom earned from dissolving and doing the necessary inner work during the early years offers a person the ability to intentionally dive deeper to break stronger and more powerful attachments. However, going further towards freedom is a choice. Many people are happy to plateau. Some people land in a place of ongoing, awakened flow, and you don’t have to go deeper or further than your soul’s desire. Hopefully if you get into these later years, it’s pretty clear if your soul truly wants freedom or something else, and hopefully, you now can surrender to and live from this truth within you.
