What has caused your spiritual awakening? What different areas of spiritual awakenings are spontaneous and what methods can be practiced to continue spiritual awakening?
Which spiritual awakening occurrences are common? What areas of mental health diagnosis are being changed by the spiritual awakening movement. Dive deeply into the variety of ways spiritual awakening experiences occur and how they impact and transform our lives, and our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual selves.
Characteristics of Spiritual Awakening Experiences
Characteristics of spiritual awakening experiences vary vastly and can include feeling of transcending limitations and beliefs and accessing deep understanding about oneself as well as the world , Universe and multiverse. People may realize subtlety there is more to this world than they previously were led to believe, or there may be a heightened and profound sense of love and openness, being guided and knowing that changes life direction and desire to serve others. A person can experience a sense of harmony and peacefulness that includes forgiveness and letting go of stressors that brings resolution to previous unresolved issues. Some people may experience healing abilities and access heightened intuitive abilities that are long-lasting.
Other changes that can occur are sensitivities and heightened perception of seeing the unseen, odors, places, colors, people, situations, and auditory awareness. The cultural prejudices and limitations may seem like glaring hypocrisies and there may be a deep compassion and sense of longing to connect again to this deep state. If you have experienced a spiritual awakening experience that is not included in this list please make a comment below. And if you have questions please send an email which is listed below.
Often the process of spiritual awakening is described as a one-time life changing experience that blows up the person’s previous life, which is true for people who have a near-death experience, however, for many people, including myself there are multiple interfaces with changes in consciousness, changes in perspectives some of which are difficult to navigate, and others seem to integrate more seamlessly into the life we are living.
As mentioned above near-death experiences have made huge strides for bringing awareness to co-occurring experiences that occur when a person has experienced the death of their physical body. There are so many people now from a variety of careers, ages, genders, countries, and circumstances who identify a guide and/or a knowing and ultimate loving presence that is with them as well as other consistent occurrences. While some near-death experiences gain insight of their life changes when they return to their body, some forget parts, and as they reintegrate when they return remember what their new purpose and goals are often around healing and helping others. These are all dramatic changes that come with dramatic re-integration and time to make sense of what happened to them. Now with groups where people can share and different books a near death experience is less isolating. And I have met people who did not know about the IANDS who have strong feelings of discrepancy and how to ingrate themselves into life.
Out of Body Experiences
Out of Body experiences are more common and often occur to people when they are intentionally doing specific practices and can occur spontaneously. Often children have out of body experiences and then forget they had these experiences. A they get older and are acculturated into the mainstream values that does not discuss these occurrences, remain the out of body experiences recedes hidden until there is some kind of trigger or they engage in personal development work that brings forth these different kinds of experiences.
Having out of body experiences as a child and seeing or perceiving their physical body separate from their consciousness is a natural occurring phenomena but because we don’t discuss these occurrences, have an interest, or demonstrate in any way their value children learn to immerse their consciousness into their physical body and forget they are not their physical body. And forget they can have out of body experiences. However remembering having an out of body experiences as a child can trigger being more open to having more of these experiences. An out of body experience can be at the least disconcerting when there is no framework for these kinds of experiences and for some people may seem scary and unnerving.
When Do out of body experiences occur?
Out of body experiences can occur when people are falling asleep, when awakening from sleep (these are respectively hypnopompic and hypnogogic states) which is how we gain awareness of these states. The following example is of an adult who remembered many out of body experiences as a child.
Ellena remembers as a child being on the ceiling seeing her sleeping self below.  It was a common experience, and she did not find it unusual. It was not until she was in her 50’s that she remembered how this seemed normal and triggered memories of this happening at other times as a spiritual awakening experience More about this later.
Out of body occurrences also happen when a person learns to channel. There are different kinds of channeling and levels of how people interface as a channel. Some people leave their body and observe the exchange as an out of body experience while others are not in this mode.
A person can have an out of body experience when they have been meditating and have accessed deep states. During this process there are incremental adjustments the majority of the time that build slowly so the out of body experience occurs as a subtle change.
And there are some people who have an out of body experience with meditation that is less subtle and more of a dramatic and sudden change. Some explanations I have heard for this occurrence are that the person had previously been a meditator or in advanced student in their previous (parallel/other) life. Â Yet another time when a person can have an out of body experience is when using psychedelics which can even include cannabis for some people who are sensitive. I had a woman report her first time using cannabis resulted in her leaving her body. She felt her consciousness on the ceiling and was also simultaneously aware she had the body that was speaking.
Other times when people experience an out of body experience when there is what is called dissociation for survival when experiencing trauma and they feel they are trapped or frozen. In this situation as with near-death experiences that are more extreme out of body experiences there can be a separation of awareness from the physical body that is significant. In our language we use the term, I am beside myself, that describes this lack of integration.
The following story illustrates an out of body occurrence as a stress response.
John was in armed combat for the navy and was with his companion when they were surrounded by the enemy. They had previously scoped out the surroundings and were certain they were doomed. This pressure resulted in John having an out of body experience where he saw his grandmother who informed him there was only one way out and showed him the way. He shared this vision/out of body experience with his companion and they took the path which is how I heard the story.
While Western medicine and mental health categorizes these experiences as a dissociative disorder many cultures understand these are useful and normal occurrences and not a mental health dissociative experience. Â Furthermore many cultures have sacred methods for engaging with out of body experiences for revealing insight, guidance and understanding as a method to engage beyond the ordinary world. The significance of this is there are parameters, safety methods, compassion, and integration methods and value attributed to these methods as systems that are not create an illness but have purpose and value.
Dissociative Disorders
Dissociative disorders are complex mental health problems that include dissociative amnesia, depersonalization/de-realization disorder that widely interfere with different psychological functioning such as consciousness, memory, emotion, motor control, and identity. They are often co-occurring with borderline personality, substance abuse, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and somatoform disorders that are physical symptoms without a clear physical cause.
Shaktipat
A spiritual awakening experience that occurs through Shaktipat (a Sanskrit term that means psychic energy) that is transferred by a spiritual master. It is an intentional conferring or transferring of spiritual energy directly from a highly evolved spiritual being or deity to another person. The spiritual energy transference can occur through a look, a mantra, a touch, and sometimes through an object, and usually into the third eye and effecting the heart chakra of the recipient. There is no forceful energy in the transference, and a person cannot seek it out. Although it is considered an initiation which may imply the person has elected to study with a specific person, there may be no prior meeting the evolved spiritual person, there may be no prior commitment, or exchange, and so it seems to be a spontaneous occurrence, but it is always predestined which has happened to me.
Intense Meditation Experience
An Intense Meditation experiences occur when a person is practicing a kind of meditation and is not limited to a particular kind. While it is often assumed a person who has been practicing meditation for a long time, consistently, and with dedication would be the one who would have a profound meditation experience, that is a spiritual awakening, this is not always how it occurs. Â There are people who start meditating, which may be in a environment where others have and do meditate which makes their experience stronger who have a profound shift of consciousness and is life changing. Sometimes this can occur when a person has experienced trauma. Getting support with trauma is always beneficial before and during using meditation.
 
The above image is the geomorph over the ancient sacred site of the cave at Delphi where the original Oracle resided long before Apollo. And pre this time was the location and origin of Gaia.
Sacred Sites
There are specific places on Earth that have potent energy that is unique to that area and strongly saturated into the land. Some ancient sacred sites have been built upon for thousands of years and have a more contemporary structure on them which does not deter the sacredness of the location. The sacred sites for this section are those naturally occurring, not manmade, that have healing, inspiration, and an ancient palpable connection to specialness that is separate from the surrounding area and distinct. Sacred sites may be a mountain, mesa, cave, lake, river, well, forest, hill, land formation such as Sedona and the vortexes. Other sacred sites may be pyramids, or anthropomorphic geomorphs. An anthropomorphic  geomorph is a formation that denotes the sacred energy of a location, like the door in a rock in Peru, called Aramu Muru, near Lake Titicaca. A geomorph over the ancient site of Delphi which is the even older site of Gaia in Greece is of a woman in the rock which is mostly not noticed. A person who is not attuned to the energy may travel through the location and not notice how the area is different, notice subtle shifts that others notice while other people may be drawn to the location to visit, to make a pilgrimage, or to live. Some areas that are sacred sites are part of the ancient mythology of different areas on Earth and other areas are protected and not known or revealed. A sacred site can awaken a deep emotional connection that was not known about prior to visiting the location, can trigger memories, and even a spiritual awakening that transforms the persons consciousness that is profoundly influential. Sacred Sites are not the same and each one holds different energy that is often palpable by some people. I have visited sacred sites where there are tears flowing, memories arise, and there is a wave of connection through the people who have made the journey.
Nighttime Dreams
Nighttime Dreams which may include visitation, lucid dreams, or dream walking. Because nighttime dreams occur when our consciousness is no longer in an ordinary state where we abide by the restrictions of the cultural paradigm and social norms we are able to have a variety of experiences during our dream time. The variety of experiences can include a spiritual awakening which occurs through memory retention. In some cultures and in ancient times dreams were very valuable for making all important decisions by leaders as well as peasants for making peace and invasion, and marriages. Specific nighttime dreams we recall are so distinctly different from our other dreams and have more vibrancy, greater emotional impact than even when we are in our normal waking state. These types of dreams often stay with us through our lifetime which may be a lucid dream, visitation dream, or dream walking. We also often are able to dismiss powerful dreams with the term ‘it was only a dream’ because our culture hasn’t valued their influential nature. Our nighttime dreams can bring memory, messages, profound insight and spiritual content and information that is particularly poignant and dynamic. Often these kinds of dreams are called Dream walking which is planning to enter the dream of a specific individual or group in advance for specific purposes. In benevolent applications, Dream Walking is done by a spiritual teacher who is working with a student or a group of students to convey symbols, messages, and ideas, inspiration and guidance. To learn more about different kinds of spiritual awakening dreams check out the video and blog Spiritual Awakening Dreams.
After Death Communication
After death communication most of the time occurs through the dream state and often is a spiritual awakening experience because it reveals there is communication after the physical body is no longer on Earth. This expands our capacity of what is possible and there is more to this life. Â This is a common occurrence and is often remembered because it is different from other dreams and has a vivid nature of content and sensory experiences that include thought transference also known as telepathy. The characteristics of after death communication include
- as a preplanned event and not randomly occurring
- provides comfort and support
- there is an emotional exchange
- meaningful content or information is exchanged
- the occurrence remains strongly in memory
- different senses involved can include auditory, knowing, touching, odors, and seeing and perceiving
- There is no specification on how short after someone passes or length of time after death communication dreams can occur
- After death communication dreams are not limited to humans but can be with animals and creature friends and companions, and spiritual masters.
In Western mental health traditionally an after-death communication would be identified as a hallucination. However, this is an outmoded concept and after death communication is quite normal and common. The following true story shows how an after-death communication is also a spiritual awakening experience.
Jena’s Dream Walking Dream
A psychiatric medical doctor, ‘Jena’, who was not into spiritual awakening experiences was married to a medical doctor who was also an alcoholic. She had given him an ultimatum to stop drinking because she was going to divorce him. He died not long afterwards. Certainly, there were different emotions with his passing and the circumstances with their relationship. A year had not passed since he died. One day she sat in her chair in her living room to rest for a moment. She heard someone come down the hallway moved out of the chair and walked across the room to meet her husband. She was very happy, and they hugged and exchanged a deep connection. She felt his body in her arms, smelled his odor and heard his voice. Then his cell phone went off and he said he had to go. She then woke up from the ‘dream.’ She remembered she felt herself get out of the chair and walk across the room and could not believe she had been dreaming because of all the different senses of sound, touch, sight, thought transference aka telepathy which were involved. And the most important feeling was the comfort that he was not only all right but good. This was a timed sequence of events that told her there is life after death communication, she was completely aware, and it was strategically planned for her in time. Previously Jenna would have identified this experience if someone else told her about it as a hallucination. It was a  spiritual awakening experience that validated many different areas for Jenna beyond our ordinary consciousness.
Intense Yoga Experience
Yoga as a practice of specific postures, breathing patterns, and inner connection has a profound effect on the connection between the mind and body that develops calm as well as the flow of energy through the entire body. This flow of energy and the postures release blocked energy creating an expansiveness. An intense yoga experience can results in a spiritual awakening where there is access to greater knowing, harmonization, being in a feeling of flow, and connection.
Intense Musical Experiences
Intense Musical Experiences (IME’s) are another method of spiritual awakening experiences and are considered to be of extreme significance with long-term effects. While the term Intense Musical Experience and IME is fairly new the practice of using particular sounds and music to transform consciousness for insight, guidance, problem-solving, creative solutions as spiritual awakening responses are ancient. Here are the four characteristics of IME’s
- An IME occurs as an altered states of consciousness of harmony and self-realization.
- Once a person has an experience of an IME they are significantly motivated to create the same harmony in their daily lives.
- During an IME, the person develops various interpersonal resources they continue to use
- Experiencing an IME results in long-term changes in personal values including social relationships, how they engage in life, activities they pursue, personal development, and perception of the meaning of life.
There is a profound shift in awareness that is fulfilling, harmonious, and connects the person in a deep way to their spirituality and values and changes the way they live their life.
Cultivating and continuing our spiritual awakening journey is enhanced and continues to develop when specific practices become regular. The effects include
Neuroplasticity
IME as an advanced transformation method that changes consciousness and develops neuroplasticity which is the neurological system forming new connections as neurogenesis that are part of learning and adaptation. This is also rewiring the brain where it is reorganizing the connections. In this rewiring process there are profound changes. While neuroplasticity is occurring there is also release of stress and trauma.
Epigenetics and Sound Healing
Epigenetic changes occur when there is neuroplasticity. This means the growth of new neurons and synapses changes how we respond to stressors without changing our DNA. These epigenetic responses are so significant they change our predilection for illness and promote positive changes in gene expression related to stress reduction, emotional regulation, and cognitive function. But these are only part of the amazing and profound changes that are occurring when we are engaging in epigenetic rewiring of our neurological system.
Evolutionary Implications
The ability to engage in transformative methods that change our consciousness and response to trauma and stress is empowerment and evolutionary improvement. And because our entire physical, mental emotional, and spiritual being is dynamically changed by these epigenetic responses we are on a threshold of profound changes. These include diminishing of stress, cortisol the stress hormone, and inflammation that are underlying causes of mental and physical illness. The following is a detailed list of the different areas that are significantly positively changed when we engage in regular practices as in curated sound healing that rewires our neurological system.
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Stress Reduction and the Immune System
Regular methods that access transformative states increases our immune system function. This is a large contribution to staying in a healthy state and being resistant to illness. There is a decrease in stress and inflammation building our health and longevity, resilience, ability to adapt, and innovate to evolving circumstances and situations.
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Diminishing of External Influences that Distort Our Decisions
Engaging in methods that shift our perspective and brain waves, heart rate, and respiration reduces our biases that are unconscious influences from our emotions, expectations, and social norms. Social norms are how we are influenced by often not spoken but implied informal rules that govern our behavior in groups and society. People are able to approach problems without the influence of social norms, being more objective and arriving at a wider range of solutions.
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Deactivation of the Ego
Different spiritual awakening experiences impact can deactivate the part of the ego that is engaged with cyclic and negative thoughts, pervasive intrusive thoughts, and the ability to step outside of usual thought patterns. Some of the methods that contribute to spiritual awakening like yoga, specific meditations, curated sound and music systems facilitate relaxation, and connection to restorative states that lessen the controlling elements of the ego that get in the way of new perspectives, insights and creative solutions.
4.Compassion and Empathy
Compassion and empathy are caring, compassion and concern for others as emotional empathy and cognitive empathy is imagining other people’s perspectives. The ability to have and connect to others with compassion and empathy are enhanced through brain wave regulation and methods that connect us to the emotional centers in the brain and heart. This is especially important since there has been a decline in compassion and empathy over the last 30 years according to research. Spiritual awakening experiences as a process cultivate compassion and empathy.
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5.Insight and Intuition
Insight and intuition are experienced cognitively and within the body as feeling awarenesses. Spiritual awakening experiences contribute to just as curated sound healing practices enhance brain wave states that promote deeper cognitive processing and the emergence of intuitive insights, to see patterns, and notice relationships and patterns with what seemed to be disparate events or experiences as an enhanced ability.
6.Cognitive Flexibility and Creativity
Spiritual awakening methods that change consciousness like yoga, specific meditation, and curated sound patterns are transformative practices that stimulate and enhance our ability to have flexibility in discovering new solutions. There is fostering of open-mindedness, the ability to adapt to different situations, develop strategies and to view problems from multiple perspectives, with creative problem-solving skills.
7.Focus and Concentration
Deeper states of consciousness like accessing alpha and theta brain waves entrainment occurs with our brain and body with these frequencies. This resonance develops to increase attention and decreases becoming distracted. There is a sustained alertness which improves concentration and focus.
8.Reslience
Resilience is the ability to bounce back from challenges and difficult situations. When we engage in transformative practices there are changes that develop our resilience. This develops the ability to navigate through difficulties more easily, resolve conflict, and solve problems.
9.Improved Working Memory
Decision making, behaviors and holding content is a vital function of our memory. Reducing stress and inflammation improves recall benefits all of our neurological functions. New neurons are created and the ability to adapt new information, learn, and process occurs.
10.Social and Cultural Evolution
Specific practices are beneficial to engage with a group of people that enhances the individual experience related to spiritual awakening practices. When people intentionally synchronize their sound healing meditation experience with others there is a level of connectivity that enhances the experience as a social connection. When people share curated sound healing methods in person there is an enhanced experience that exponentially heightens individual experiences and the benefits.
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Mental Health
The practices that contribute to spiritual awakening as an ongoing process are based on research that already shows there is a relationship with shifting out of ordinary consciousness into alpha brain waves that lessens depression, anxiety, trauma, and PTSD, schizophrenia and bi-polar. When we draw upon transformative practices we are rewiring our brain from holding stress and trauma. And shifting into restorative states is healing to our nervous system and body enhancing restoration, healing, and recovery.
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Ancient Roots of Higher Consciousness
In many ancient cultures people have used sound and musical methods of entrainment for accessing entrancing states using particular sound patterns, rhythms, and tones, which transform consciousness. These methods were and are used in gatherings for social connection and harmonization, inner connection, and wisdom, for healing, restoration, and for accessing expansive awareness. Often wisdom was sought through particular sound patterns that carried the listener into advanced states for discovering insight for solutions, guidance, and understanding. Just as spiritual awakening and transformative practices are not new neither are curated sound healing methods. Defining what contributes to spiritual awakening, understanding how it is contributing to our collective consciousness positive changes is leading the way for the cultural paradigm for our mental, physical, emotional and spiritual wellbeing.
References
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