Have you found yourself experiencing a life-altering event that has entirely changed your perception of the world from that very moment onwards? Perhaps you have lost someone dear to you and now you look at each new day with an intense sense of gratitude and joy for the unbelievable, yet phenomenal fact that you were lucky enough to be here experiencing this moment. If so, you may have experienced a spiritual awakening.
While it is not meant to ruin your life, a spiritual awakening can interrupt the entire trajectory that you once thought your life was on. It can permanently alter and change your outlook on life, and, in a way, it can ruin the false idealizations of what you once thought to be true and important.
Not being intentionally harmful, a spiritual awakening changes the precepts that we once held true and allows us to look at the world through a spiritual lens. Let us take a closer look into how a spiritual awakening can ruin the worldly views you once had and can take you closer to spiritual enlightenment.
Why Would it Seem Like Your Life is Ruined?
Rather than thinking of your life as ruined, it is better to think of it as changed. The process of having a spiritual awakening can pose intense discomfort in that it entirely alters what you thought to be true and poses a reality that is spiritually inclined.
Going through this process can be painful because it means cutting ties with what you once thought and believed to be the only version of reality, and it means opening your mind to new experiences. The later in life that you experience a spiritual awakening, the harder it may be to cope with and understand the changes you are going through.
A younger person is more impressionable, more open to experiences, and open to new possibilities. Seeing the world through a new spiritual lens may be welcomed rather than feared. For an older person who has been set in their ways, who has reared younger individuals in those same ways, they may face an awakening with fear.
They may harbor a fear of the unknown or a fear that what they have done in the past and what they have taught others may have been wrong. No one wants to have been led astray or lead others astray, and it is for that reason that the experience may be perceived as painful.
Does the Period of Enlightenment End?
The experience of enlightenment may cause you to feel lost. After all, you’re seeing the world through a different lens. Everything is new and has never been experienced by you in this way before. But you need to maintain the spiritual strength that comes with an awakening.
Enlightenment is not the destination, but rather, it is a continuous journey that needs to be worked on consistently. Like a muscle, if not used, it will lose strength and power. You need to work towards constantly maintaining your spiritual strength.
How to Maintain Your Awakened State?
Once you have had a spiritual awakening, you should not allow yourself to slip back into your ways of old. Think back on the major life change that occurred that set you on your path to enlightenment. Be reminded of your dissatisfaction with the life you once lived as a way of avoiding falling back into the past.
You can also maintain your state of enlightenment by continuing with your spiritual practices and practices that have drawn you closer to your spiritual higher being. Immerse yourself in deep meditation, practice yoga, make use of mala beads, or spend time in nature.
Once you have already established the path that leads to enlightenment, it will be easier for you to keep to that path instead of deterring from it and starting your journey from scratch.
Why do Some People Find Pain in a Spiritual Awakening?
In addition to the discomfort that may come with an awakening, people may refer to it as painful because, much like being pulled from a state of sleep, you are suddenly transported into a spiritual realm that influences your outlook and perceptions. This abrupt change may leave you feeling as if you are unable to catch up with yourself, which can be an overwhelming reality to face.
The pain that people often feel after enlightenment is also emotional. With increased feelings of empathy, those that have experienced enlightenment must face the pains that others so severely feel. In the harsh world that we currently live in, there is no shortage of pain and suffering. While it is a magnificent feeling to be spiritually closer to your higher being, you do have to face the vicissitudes of this world.
Conclusion
Just because of the discomforts that a spiritual awakening may bring with it, it should not deter you from pursuing the positive spiritual change that undoubtably follows the state of enlightenment. Find your strength and remember that, for as long as life has existed, people have pursued enlightenment.
Instead of fearing it, continually seek it so that it may elevate your spirituality and bring you the untold joys of experiencing a spiritual awakening.
