Stages of Spiritual Awakening

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.