Spiritual journeys are different for every soul. In my consultations with clients and general observation of people around me, I have noticed a pretty consistent pattern for many. Below are 11 basic stages of spiritual awakening people commonly go through. Keep in mind that sometimes we can move back and forth through these phases and the path is never linear, but most can probably relate to several, if not all, of the experiences described below. Wherever you are on your journey, take comfort in knowing that it's ALL for the advancement of your soul.
Frustration/Dis-ease – Life isn't turning out the way you were promised by religion, by the media, by your upbringing. You may have achieved what you set out to achieve (or not), but you have an underlying feeling of dissatisfaction that you can't shake. You begin searching for information. You DEMAND answers.
Truth Seeking – You're questioning everything. You look for the origins of the information you've been fed your entire life. Who decided things should be the way they are and why? You realize you've been misled both intentionally and unintentionally. The more you find out, the more you find out you don't know. You're hungry for information. As you start to put pieces of information together, things that never made sense before begin to make sense as you discover truth beyond what's been handed to you in the past.
Outrage - You're outraged....and excited. You can't believe you didn't see it before. Everyone needs to know and save themselves from all the deception out there! You stop watching the news. You start to share everything you're finding out with anyone who will listen. You almost can't help but talk about all the new found information you have. You identify with groups that are radical, anti-vaxers, moon landing deniers, flat earthers, the true children of Israel, the modern day moors, the raw vegans and breatharians, the sun gazers... the list is endless. Anyone who goes against conventional thinking are your new sources of information. Conspiracy theories start to make a ton of sense. All of your google research makes you feel like a genius. You become vegan, you start meditating. You become obsessed with the condition of your pineal gland and your Instagram feed is full of motivational quotes now.
Discovery of the Law of Attraction – You discover the law of attraction! You've found the answer to all your prayers. If you just think positively, then you will attract only good things. If you just imagine the life you want, it's on its way!
Disillusionment – You're doing all this stuff and your life still looks exactly the same except now you don't quite fit in anywhere anymore. You can't go back to your old ways of doing things, but the new ways are becoming exhausting. You're tired of being suspicious of everyone. You consider eating meat again....or maybe going paleo. There are so many choices out there! You find yourself bored to death with every day trivial conversation, but you can't say what you're really thinking because A) no one listens and B) they label you as weird and radical. You miss the tradition of church and/or other rituals you used to participate in, but you're so skeptical, they don't quite feel the same anymore. It's tempting to just pretend to be who you used to be for the sake of getting back to a sense or normality and routine.
Drifting– You wonder if you're really on the right path. You've alienated most of the people from your old life and even the ones you're still connected with don't quite "get it". You see all of the old rituals as pointless but you still participate because it's the only way to keep interacting with the people you care about. You're tired of explaining why you won't eat certain things, listen to certain things, engage in certain conversations. You long for tradition again, maybe just reformed. You are floating with all your ideas and newfound information and nothing much to show for it. The high has worn off, but you can't go back. The world is still the same as before...but you aren't.
Dark Night of the Soul – This sucks. You're lonely. All of the relationships that once filled your life are either totally gone or changed into something different and unfamiliar. You're afraid to admit that you still struggle with sadness after all your evangelism and spreading of the "truth". You wonder if you'll ever feel truly connected to those around you again. The Law of Attraction doesn't seem to be working...or it's inconsistent. You fight and fight to stay positive all the time and bad stuff keeps happening. You are exhausted from trying so hard to do the right things and seek truth. You need a break. Why is life so hard? Why do some people seem to have amazing lives with no effort. Why is it that even though you've found all this information, and put in all this effort, you're still dealing with some of the same problems over and over again. Ignorance might just be bliss.
Facing the Shadow Self – You start to indulge. You explore a dark side of yourself that religion, society, and even the Law of Attraction, never "allowed" you to explore. You accept the parts of yourself that are self-seeking, angry, insecure, etc...and it feels pretty good to just LET GO. You stop caring about not being liked or perceived a certain way. You swing from constant positivity to the other side of the pendulum...and surprise!!....you see that the world didn't fall apart like you may have been told it would. You begin to overcome your fear of the unknown and unseen.
Finding Balance – You realize that those dark parts of you were always there with you and the "negative" manifestations were trying to draw your attention to the parts of yourself that you'd been denying and get you to integrate them. You accept the good, the bad and the ugly about yourself out of pure frustration and exhaustion with trying to force yourself to become something other than who you really are. You're tired of pretending. You accept yourself AS YOU ARE. You feel an incredible sense of freedom. You feel a weight lifted off your shoulders.
Finding Purpose - You start to understand ALL the laws of the universe and not just the one law of attraction. You detach from identifying yourself with any one aspect of reality. You realize that reality responds to you and not the other way around. This is when you start to become the best and most pure version of yourself and are able to truly serve others. Meditation gets easier. Manifestations happen faster. You understand that there is no such thing as good or bad, only wanted or unwanted. You allow yourself to be, feel, and express unconditional love because you've learned to express it to yourself. You start sharing your true gifts out of a pure desire to serve. You begin to understand the interconnectedness of all people and things.
Zero Point – You realize that by understanding yourself, you have understood the whole of creation and duality. You learn to easily access your God-Self and manipulate your reality because you have completely transcended the ego and now you can embrace it as a beautiful and necessary part of the human experience. You learn to simultaneously enjoy the full range of the human experience AND engage with your reality as pur
e awareness and creative energy. You finally understand the saying "It's all good." You are truly free. Free from labels, free from restrictions, free from any sort of mental or emotional bondage. You understand how YOU operate on every level and in every dimension. As you learn to program yourself according to what you truly desire, your imagination becomes the paintbrush that colors your world.
Share your experiences on your spiritual journey in the comments! CoachingConsciousCreators@gmail.com