A spiritual awakening is a long journey, not one single event. You will go through many
different stages, though the exact stages people go through vary slightly. Here are some
things you might experience.

Awareness and Awakening
The first stage is what I like to call the “awareness and awakening” stage.
This is often when you first notice signs of something different happening.
It can include quite a few different things, from being more aware of your disconnection and dissatisfaction with your current life,
to becoming awakened to your true self. It is not quite the stage of self-discovery,
​but it is when you are more self-aware and understand that shifts are happening within you.

Here are some signs you are going through this stage:
• You feel disconnected from yourself or your life
• You have feelings of depression
• You feel like something is missing, but not sure what it is
• You are questioning your current reality
• You seek a deeper meaning in life
• You start becoming more curious and a desire to learn more about the universe
• You begin to explore spiritual practices

It is not unusual during this stage to become interested in spiritual activities and
practices you had never even considered before, from tarot to consciousness
expansion.

Self-Reflection and Discovery
The next stage of a spiritual awakening shortly follows the awareness and awakening
stage, which is when you go down the path of self-reflection and self-discovery. You
have started to become more aware of the changes within you, and now you want to
explore it further. This is a stage of introspection, where you do everything you can to learn more about
your true self and higher purpose, and the universe around you. You might reflect on
your past experiences and even traumas you have gone through, you explore your
shadow side and become more in-tune to your inner child, and you seek knowledge and
understanding of spiritual practices.

Many people going through this stage find they are more interested in finding their true
purpose and they begin to explore their true identity. You might also become more
involved and passionate about personal growth and discovery.

Some common habits and practices during this stage include:
• Journaling
• Reading
• Meditation
• Solitude

This is the part of the journey when you are beginning to understand yourself more, and
become more accepting of the fact that you are going through a spiritual awakening. But
what comes next is perhaps the hardest part of this path.

Dark Night of the Soul
You are now about to experience the most uncomfortable, but also most transformative
stage of a spiritual awakening – the dark night of the soul. This is also when you go
through what is referred to as an “ego death” which is when you completely let go of
your old self and embrace your new identity.

An ego death is when you begin to completely shed those layers of your past self,
because they are no longer part of your current identity. But this experience of the dark
night of the soul is often the most painful and difficult things to go through.
It can bring with it a feeling of loneliness and isolation, where you feel disconnected
from yourself and the people in your life. You often question the meaning of life and your
own existence in it, and with that comes feelings of sadness and despair. People
sometimes confuse a dark night of the soul with a severe depressive episode, so that is
something to keep in mind.

A dark night of the soul is a more extreme form of an existential crisis, but on a spiritual
level. This can range from feeling lost and confused about what is going on, to being in
intense emotional pain and feeling very hopeless. This is because the process of
shedding your own self and having an ego death is a painful one; the person you have
known your entire life you are realizing isn’t your true self.
It can be one of the hardest breakups you go through in your life, but with it comes
healing and rebuilding your true identity. This is where the most profound spiritual
growth happens – in the pain.

Rebuilding Your Identity
After you have gone through the dark night of the soul, you will be ready to rebuild your
identity and enter your new higher level of consciousness. It feels like you are being
reborn, and you get to start the most magical healing process you have ever gone
through. You change your habits, often have new relationships in your life, and release
your own past traumas.

Think about renewal with this stage, as if you are reconstructing who you truly are.
Everything from your habits and routines, to interests and passions often shift during
this time. It can be very empowering realizing the power you hold and that you can fully
embrace this new sense of self.

Soul Expansion
Another stage during the spiritual awakening that you might go through is your soul
expansion. Not everyone notices this stage, this is when your soul allows you to feel
fully connected to the universe, mother nature, and all living beings. You are more
aligned to your true self and find your purpose in life. Your soul already knows who you
are deep down, but during a spiritual awakening, you are more in-tune to what your soul
wants for you – and that is such a beautiful and empowering thing.

Surrender
Finally, you are going to completely surrender to this awakening and enlightenment. You
will go through this during other stages as well, but it takes a while before you fully and
completely let go. Even after an ego death, you might not have surrendered completely
yet.

When you are in the surrender stage, you have let go of the past self, you have shed
your old identity, and you are now living in alignment with your higher self. This opens
you up to all the possibilities, where you are living your purpose.

Signs You Are Having a Spiritual Awakening
Are you experiencing unusual things that you feel might be a spiritual awakening? There are quite a few signs that can show you that you are going through intense spiritual growth, from disconnection and an ego death, to increasing your self-awareness. Here are some common signs that you are having a spiritual awakening.

1. You Have a Better Sense of Awareness and Perception: While other signs you might not notice as well near the beginning of a spiritual awakening, this is one you will likely not miss. What often happens is people notice that suddenly they have a greater sense of awareness, and their perception is on overdrive. You find that you are paying more attention to things you never even noticed or considered before, from sounds being more profound and hitting you on a deep emotional level, to colors being more illuminated.
2. You Feel Suddenly Disconnected to Your Identity: While eventually you will develop a deeper connection to your true self and the universe, you first have to go through the stage of feeling disconnected from your old self. Your identity as it is before a spiritual awakening is different from who you become after you go through one. You are shedding your old self because it is not your true self, and it doesn’t align with your higher purpose. When you begin to feel unsettled, disconnected from yourself, or like parts of your old identity are falling away and revealing someone new, that is a big sign that your spiritual awakening has begun.
3. You Desire More Solitude: It is extremely common to begin craving more solitude, even if you are not someone who ever enjoyed being alone before. You do want to be sure this is not related to depression or mental health issues, but if you know you are going through spiritual growth in your life, it shouldn’t be something you worry about. A spiritual awakening is not a group activity – it is something you do on your own, and you often need more time to yourself to go through it.
4. Your Empathy and Compassion Has Increased: When you go through your spiritual awakening and begin entering the later stages of this path to enlightenment, you will also start developing more compassion and empathy for others and the universe as a whole. When you feel more connected to the experiences of other people and suddenly almost feel their emotions as your own, you can bet your spiritual growth is advancing to an entirely new level.
5. You Notice More Synchronicity and Serendipity: Other people notice this sign more than anything else. You may start noticing synchronicities and patterns, or pure serendipity. Things that seem to be way more than coincidences and not at all random. You might see angel numbers (like 222 or 1111) constantly and way more than is typical for you. For example, every time you feel an urge to look at the time and it is always 4:44 on the dot, every day and it keeps happening, that is definitely a sign to be aware of.
6. You Have a Sudden Change in Your Interests and Values: While this can feel a little scary and confusing, it is a part of your transformation during a profound spiritual awakening. You might found that activities you once enjoy no longer excite you, and that you are beginning to experience new interests and hobbies you are much more invested in. Try to embrace this change!
7. You Experience Physical Changes​: Your body and habits might also go through quite a few changes, beginning with weird physical sensations like tingling, warmth, or feeling electric shocks (not painful ones) radiating through your body. Your physical form adjusts to changes that your soul and spirit are going through, just as much as your emotional state does. You have more awareness of yourself and the universe, and a new energy entirely. This often manifests in physical changes.

In addition to this, you may notice that things like your sleep and appetite have also shifted. You may need more or less sleep, find that you always wake up at the same time in the middle of the night, or that your appetite is fluctuating much more than it did before.

​What is a Spiritual Awakening? A spiritual awakening is a completely transformative path of personal growth and transformation. You become more aware of who you are and your place in the world, you have a new perspective on life, and a greater sense of your purpose. Not everyone goes through such a profound shift in their life, but it can be the biggest and best thing to ever happen to you.

Here are a few things you will go through if you have a spiritual awakening.

1. Personal Growth and Transformation: One of the main things you go through during a spiritual awakening is your personal growth and transformation. There are multiple stages to this type of shift, and one of them is beginning to question your own beliefs and place in the world. During a spiritual awakening, you will likely go down a path of trying to find your purpose and the meaning of life. Many of your old habits and thoughts will also shift.
2. Better Self-Awareness and Understanding: In addition to your personal growth, you might also develop a better self-awareness and an understanding of your true self. You may think you know what your true motivations are in life, but with a spiritual awakening, you are more open to your thoughts and emotions, and become much more self-aware. There may be hidden behaviors you weren’t aware of, and your new values become more aligned with your true self.
3. Connection to a Higher Consciousness: As you go through the various stages of your spiritual awakening, you will get to one where you connect to a higher consciousness. This is when you feel more connected to the universe itself, and feel like you are a part of something much greater than you could have ever imagined. With this, comes a sense of inner peace, joy, and unconditional love for everything around you. It is a very humbling, but empowering experience.
4. Healing Your Past Traumas: While this can be an uncomfortable part of this journey, it is also one of the most profound. Allowing all of your traumas to come to the surface so that you can process them and heal from this is absolutely life-changing. This occurs when you are more aware of the wounds you have been holding on to, and are now ready to fully heal. Don’t try to bypass this part of the journey! You need to deal with your traumas and emotional wounds in order to achieve your full spiritual transformation.
5. Improving Your Mental Well-Being: A spiritual awakening often leads to transformative changes in your mental and emotional well-being. While going through the journey can make it feel like your mental space is much worse, this is simply a part of the healing process. Change is always uncomfortable, sometimes even emotionally painful, but you come out the other side a more enlightened and spiritual person. Trust your inner self, look for clarity and increased perspective, and embrace this part of your spiritual awakening. Practices like journaling, breathwork, mindfulness, and yoga can help tremendously when this becomes uncomfortable, but also help to greatly improve your emotional and mental well-being.
6. Common Misconceptions: The most common misconception is that it happens just once, one miraculous event, and once it’s over, so is your awakening. But this isn’t how it works. This is a journey, a path you go down toward true enlightenment. Like anything in life, it comes with various layers and multiple stages you go through. You don’t simply start a journey and go down one path. There are many to choose from, a lot of twists and turns, and often a lot of adventures along the way. Your spiritual awakening will work in much the same way.