World, wake up! What is spiritual awakening?

It would be like the last time. And indeed, as far as my eyes and senses can see, the world is slowly waking up from a deep slumber. Maybe I am wrong, maybe I am just beginning to see it, but there are facts that confirm my observations. For example, the fact that in the last 15 years Google searches for "spiritual awakening" are on the rise, and if you dig deeper, "signs" and "symptoms" and "meaning" are also being searched for as related terms. All these are discussed in this article.

What is spiritual awakening?

The combination of the two words is used in both a narrower and a broader sense. In the narrower sense, it is used to refer to an altered state of consciousness, which can be part of a spiritual awakening in the broader sense. In a broader sense, it refers to a general change in worldview and perception, which involves a transformation of one's Ego identity. In religious terms, spiritual awakening is the invitation of Spirit and God into one's Soul.

Spiritual awakening in a narrower sense

If we are talking about concrete, temporary spiritual experiences, then spiritual awakening is an altered state of perception of the world, during which one feels one with all that exists and with a higher, all-encompassing power. During this time, the boundaries of the personal self disappear and there is a conviction of the experience as something sacred. This state of consciousness has a noetic quality, or an inherent sense of the experience as an indisputable source of knowledge. During it, one experiences deep positive emotions and may experience a loss of the sense of space and time (Stace, 1960). Because the experience is beyond anything that has been encountered, it is often difficult to describe in words. Most often, one's perception of reality changes afterwards. 

The existence of these and similar states of consciousness has been known to humans for thousands of years, and entering them has been a part of cultures and religions and rituals of peoples throughout history (Friedman & Hartelius, 2013). They have also been studied scientifically in the last 100 years. Spiritual awakening, awakening experiences, mystical experiences, spiritual experiences, quantum shifts, self-transcendence experiences, religious experiences, transpersonal experiences, etc. The terms vary from one literature to another, but the essence is the same.

I don't have statistics to show, but the growing interest of people in this topic shows, I think, that Western minds are also starting to have these experiences more and more often.

Spiritual awakening in a broader sense

The experiences described above are only brief (though extremely vivid and significant) episodes in a person's life. However, they are only symptoms that a person is really waking up. 

Waking up from what? Aren't we all already awake most of the day?

Before the awakening, it may indeed seem so. Just as before the awakening it may seem that all this talk of awakening is the judgement of the weak in spirit, the glorification of religiously inclined higher beings, or the promise of fraudsters to give spiritual perfection in exchange for a certain amount in their bank account. However, the three examples given have very little to do with spiritual awakening. 

Spiritual awakening is a (I would like to say long-term) process of changing the way one perceives and experiences the world, meaning a change from an egocentric to an ecocentric view. Whereas the egocentric view focuses on the human being as an individual isolated from others, the ecocentric view includes all that exists (the universe, nature), which is perceived as a single, living, all-inclusive, conscious organism.

The word "awakening" is used to describe this process because it does feel like waking up from sleep. 

Traps and snares

I would like to stress that what I am talking about is really an experience and a serious change in value systems and worldview, not a mental focus on spiritual values, rituals, meditation or ancient traditions (e.g. taking yoga classes because it's trendy). Yes, all these can initiate the process, but the practice of spiritual practices and cult rituals is not in itself spiritual awakening. 

Here it seems important to note the areas where many people (including me) fall down on the path of development. For example, there is the issue of seeing oneself as a spiritual person. In my opinion, no human being can be purely spiritual (at least in Western culture) and completely renounce their Ego and material reality. Man is human because he integrates the two - he is in the middle. I think this idea is best explained by the Swiss psychiatrist and analytical psychologist Carl Gustav Jung, in here.

Secondly, it is (classically) only a search for light and only for love. It certainly helps to build self-confidence for a while, but I think it is nothing but a refusal to look at what you don't want to see, an escape from reality. It may be hard to accept, but spiritual awakening comes complete with looking at anger, fear, hatred, sadness, otherness and experiencing it all deeply on a feeling level. 

Thirdly, it is being good, which is not a sign of spirituality, but of a lack of maturity and of seeking approval and approval from others. Fourthly, it is the attribution of special abilities to oneself, including the idea "I am special". Fifth is the focus on spiritual practices to avoid developing unresolved emotions and psychological trauma. This is called spiritual bypass. Spiritual practices are often a way of distancing oneself from trauma, but true awakening is only possible by "walking through it". 

Signs of spiritual awakening

Man has come to identify with his Self (Ego) and to feel himself as separate from all that exists. During spiritual awakening, however, this sense of Self disappears, and it is as if there is a union with a greater, higher, all-inclusive power. 

As a result, people often start to change their behaviour and attitudes - for example, they become kinder, less anxious, calmer. Lifestyles and habits are changing - people are making healthier, greener and more environmentally friendly choices, and many are moving away from eating animal products. Emotional well-being grows, emotions and feelings are felt more deeply, resistance to negative emotions disappears, on the contrary - people face them more easily and are able to confront their fears, anger, guilt. One becomes more authentic, more real, more natural, also slower and more aware. Able to relate events and actions in the present to experiences in the past. 

People develop their own personal system of values, ethics, morals and norms that are in line with both the moment of life and the highest spiritual values (authenticity, self-sufficiency, truthfulness, justice, beauty, vitality, wholeness, wholeness, etc.). The focus shifts from the external world (achievements, social life, work, money, family) to the inner world (thoughts, feelings, dreams, imagination).

In the opposites (good-evil) and contradictions, relationships are seen, the two sides are integrated and create a whole. A sense of inner freedom emerges. One's attitude towards oneself and the world changes, one begins to feel responsible for one's thoughts, emotions and actions, while the world and society are accepted for what they are - with all their shadow games. Finally, one becomes aware of oneself as one with all that exists and as the creator of that existence.

The importance of spiritual awakening

What is the meaning of all this? What is the point? I think the Czech psychiatrist Stanislav Grof has said it better than I ever could: 'When we experience identification with cosmic consciousness, we have the feeling of discovering the fullness of existence within ourselves and of understanding the Reality that underlies all realities. We have a deep sense of being connected to a higher and ultimate principle over all Existence. In this state it is absolutely clear that this principle is the ultimate and only mystery; once this existence is accepted, everything else can be understood and explained from it. The experience of cosmic consciousness is infinite, immeasurable and beyond expression. At the same time, even a tiny episode of its experience fully satisfies our hunger for understanding." (Grof, Bennet, 160)

"As Utopian as it may seem on the surface, this could be our only chance. (...) A deep reverence for life and ecological awareness are among the most common consequences of the psychospiritual transformation that accompanies responsible work with altered states of consciousness. The same can be said of the emergence of a mystical spirituality based on personal experience. I believe that moving towards a fuller awareness of our unconscious minds will greatly increase our planet's chances of survival." (Grof, Bennet, 212).

This free content is produced in my spare time without pay. If you see value in what I do, I'd be happy to make you a coffee! It's like a spur to create new content! 🙂

Sources:

Friedman, L.H., Hartelius, G. (Ed.). (2013). The Wiley-Blackwell Handbook of Transpersonal Psychology. John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated.

Jung, C.G. (1960). The Structure and Dynamics of the Psyce. Bollingen Series XX. Princeton University Press.

Google Trends.

Grof, S., Bennet, H. Z., (1992), The Holotropic Mind: The Three Levels of Human Consciousness and How They Shape Our Lives. Copyright, HarperCollins Publishers.

Stace, W. T. (1960). Mysticism and Philosophy. Macmillan and Co., London.

Scott Jeffrey, A Wildly Practical Guide to Authentic Spiritual Awakening.