“Spiritual Awakening is awakening from the dream of thought.”

Eckhart Tolle

What is a spiritual awakening?  How do you know if it’s happening to you?  I was on Google in 2004, pretty sure this was happening to me, but wanting validation.  

orange flower with butterflies flying outAs I did more research ,I recognized myself in others’ stories of suddenly seeing the world in a different way.  Of feeling energy buzzing through my body and seeing everything around me glow with energy.

I was so excited, and on fire to help others understand how magical this was!  There is another way, you guys!  There is more than what you see!  Life is love, god is love, we are here to become conscious and share light with the world!

In my practice now, it is my greatest joy to help others move through the awakening process as well.  I have found some commonalities in their experiences and thought it would be helpful to share.

Some Signs of a Spiritual Awakening:

Man with arms outstretched towards setting sun on a mountain ridge.

1. Everything Looks different:

Your life may still be the same, but things around you look and feel different.

You may feel more appreciation for people and things around you, or feel as if things around you are glowing.  

You may feel that your life is more aligned than you realized, or you may realize you need to make some big changes.

2. You Realize Things Have to Change, You May Feel Lonely or Confused:

I often hear this when clients are awakening, they don’t know what to do next, and they may feel lonely or scared.

It can be so confusing when your consciousness expands and you start to gain awareness of your real truth.

Many of us operate our lives out of our unconscious or logical minds, which can lead us wayyy off track in terms of our real purpose on earth.

When you start to remember why you really chose to come here this time around, you may notice that your job, or your friends, or your spouse are not in alignment with your true self.

This can feel scary, but it’s much scarier to live in a state of unconsciousness!

3. You Realize You are Not a Victim:

Before an awakening it’s very common to blame childhood, or a terrible job, or past experiences for your current feelings or circumstances.

When you awaken, you realize that everything is happening to help you expand your consciousness, not to victimize you.

You realize you have learned through these experiences, and you are in charge of your life.

Your past begins to look beautiful, you begin to realize that everything you have gone through has helped to teach you important lessons, and you forgive yourself and others.

4. You Sense Energy:

Your awareness of the energy around you in your environment and from other people increases.

You begin to crave more time in peaceful, positive environments, and your discomfort with chaos and negativity grows.

5. You Realize We Are All One:

Your empathy increases because you realize we are all connected.  You become less judgmental of yourself and others.

You are filled with compassion, even for people you used to have more difficulty with.

You recognize that everyone is trying their best, and the more loving you can be, the better you feel.

6. You Want to Share Love With the World:

You realize how different you feel, and you have a drive to want to help others.

You understand that your purpose is to love and help, and you feel more uncomfortable not listening to this internal guidance.

7. You Become More Open Minded:

As you evolve spiritually, you become less judgmental and close minded, and more open and accepting of all ideas.

This doesn’t mean you have to agree with everyone, but you are softer and more loving towards those that are different than you.

8. You Laugh More:

You start taking yourself and life less seriously when you realize that there is nothing to fear.

You realize that your thoughts are not your reality, and are more able to laugh at your cute little human brain when it gets scared and frustrated.

9. You Crave Nature:

Our true nature is in harmony with nature.  We are not our phones and computers, and work and time.

We need to unplug and remind our energy systems often what nature feels like, and as you awaken you feel the call of nature more strongly.

10. You Need More Quiet Time to Connect With Yourself:

Nature is a great way to connect with yourself, because as you continue to expand your energy, you start to need more time to yourself.

You realize that you enjoy and need to connect with yourself to hear your own inner voice.  

You become less fearful of your thoughts and feelings, and you crave understanding your consciousness more.

This helps you move along the path of evolution.

11. You Understand You are Not Your Past or Your Thoughts:

You are the awareness of your thoughts, not your thoughts themselves.  

The process of awakening is the process of waking up to this awareness.

This freedom is life changing.

12. You Crave Freedom and Empowerment:

Going through an awakening helps you realize that you don’t need (or even like)! Other people’s rules or ideas about how you should live your life.

You understand more and more that you are your best guru, teacher, parent, therapist and friend.

You want and need to be free to be who you really are.

13. You Accept Yourself and Stop Explaining/Defending Yourself:

You begin to love and accept yourself more.

You deepen into the knowing that all of us are perfect as we are.

This helps you not to explain or defend yourself to others as much, and allows you to connect more deeply in your relationships.

These are just some of the signs, and the awakening process is different for everyone.  If you are questioning if you are going through an awakening, you probably are!

Read more about Spiritual Counseling with Shana Olmstead.