Finding Your Path

Spiritual awakening is a journey unique to every individual. Some people go through it without even realizing it, while for others, it can be a profound and transformative experience. In my experience, spiritual awakening doesn't happen in a linear line where one phase happens after the next. Instead, it is analogous to the DNA spiral, where some of us might go through certain stages again and again before progressing onto the next stage.

The five spiritual awakening stages that I went through might resonate with your own experience. However, everyone's spiritual walk is tailor-made to fit us differently. Although our paths might not be the same, there are common elements to all our walks.

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Stage 1: Unconsciousness 

At this stage, you're mostly unconscious, which means that you'll be operating life deeply within your ego. There isn't enough space between you and your ego, so you think you are your thoughts and your emotions. You essentially don't have much control over yourself, so you can't help but be defensive, angry, mean, cynical, negative, self-destructive, and whatever people at this stage feel like life happens to them rather than them creating their own life. So at this stage, they might live life in a very reactive way. Any trauma that happens, they don't feel that they have control over, so they become the trauma, meaning that's their story, and that's a story they'll be telling themselves and engaged in. At this stage, it'll be hard to see other people as they are. People who are unconscious engage with other people through the lens of their own perception and projection rather than seeing others as they are.

Stage 2: Ego Death Ego death 

Ego death is when there's a total breakdown of the ego or a total loss of the subjective self. For me, I went through an ego death where all the identity I had built up so far was wiped clean. I realized that all the label that were supposedly me such as my gender, age, race, my beliefs, none of that was real. Even my personality wasn't real. Any ideas I had about life, God, religion were all erased. I honestly just felt like a pair of eyes floating in space devoid of meaning.

What results from the ego death is an internal space between the subjective self or the ego and the observer self. When you were unconscious, you couldn't feel your observer self. The ego is what you thought you were. When you go through an ego death, there's a separation that happens between you and the ego. So you start to understand that the ego is not you, the story you've been told of who you are is not you, and the story you're telling yourself is not you. You start to become aware of the observer self in the background, the part of you that observes and experiences life.

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Stage 3: The Search 

This phase is when you start to search for the truth. When you're at this stage, you read spiritual books, seek out spiritual teachers, watch videos on spiritual ideas, and try spiritual exercises such as meditation, writing, contemplation, praying, channeling, and so on. What drives you is that you want to learn what the truth is, who you really are, why you were born, what the meaning of life is, who God is, and so on.

Stage 4: Emergence of the authentic self

The journey of spiritual awakening is a transformative process that involves different stages. The fourth stage, the emergence of the authentic self, is where one can no longer pretend or fake it anymore, and their true self emerges. This is the self that one used to be before societal conditioning took over. At this stage, one may quit their job or let go of relationships that no longer resonate with them. Although this may lead to some discomfort and isolation, it also presents an opportunity to connect with oneself and find one's true purpose.

The emergence of the authentic self is not always easy, as old energy is leaving the body and new energy is coming in. One may experience emotional roller coasters and physical symptoms as their body adjusts to the new energy. However, this stage also brings with it the potential for multi-dimensional experiences, intuitive abilities, and a deeper understanding of oneself and the world around them.

Stage 5: Life of alignment

The final stage, the life of alignment, is where one lives in complete connection with oneself, others, and everything else. One has compassion for oneself and forgives their limitations, and in turn, starts to have unconditional love for others. At this stage, one realizes that everything and everyone is interconnected and that there is no right or wrong way of being. Spiritual awakening is not a destination; it is a continuous journey of growth and maturity that extends even beyond death.

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The journey of spiritual awakening is a personal and transformative process that involves various stages. Each stage comes with its own set of challenges and rewards that help individuals grow and mature. It is important to note that no stage is superior to another, as each stage is a unique expression of one's relationship with God and their experience of life. As one continues on this journey, they can deepen their understanding of themselves and the world around them, ultimately leading to a more fulfilling and purposeful life.