How did your spiritual journey begin?
Everyone embarks on their own unique journey…
Some people experience sudden spiritual awakenings. Others have always known there’s more to life.
My Buddhist mom made me meditate when I was 5. I followed her to the temple, prayed and chanted sutras.
But those rituals didn’t mean much to me at the time. I was just imitating the adults!
The full sense of spirituality emerged later on. Like many people, my unsatisfying life caused intense suffering, which pushed me to seek relief. That’s when I desperately returned to my Buddhist roots.
Meditation helped me untangle self-critical thoughts. And introspection shined a light on every illusion. Sometimes, whole fragments of my old identity collapsed like an eroding cliff.
My spiritual journey transformed my entire life. Some of those changes have been joyful, but also confusing and even awful—far from popular images of enlightenment.
Can you relate to these 5 spiritual transformations?
1) Releasing who you think you are
We could sum up the spiritual journey in 3 main parts.
First, we lead our lives believing we’re our personality, thoughts and story. This creates the illusion of being separate from all of life, igniting fear and the search for external happiness.
Then, a transcendent moment shifts our understanding of reality. We may experience many awakenings that reveal to us who we truly are—pure consciousness.
Finally, we let go of our false identity (through countless stops and starts) to embody more and more love.
What’s the point of it all?
Simply put, the spiritual journey is a natural part of our soul’s evolution.
The ultimate goal is to experience the awareness that we already are. And with that comes true peace, joy and freedom.
As daunting as it sounds, be prepared to leap into the unknown. Even spiritual teachings eventually hinder progress.
But rest assured, your evolution towards more love is guaranteed.
2) Relationships become mirrors
A deep desire for truth and authenticity becomes vital in personal relationships.
We can’t help but question them: Is this relationship fulfilling? Why is this person in my life? What do I really want? Friendships that no longer serve us can abruptly end.
Anything less than heart-to-heart conversations may repulse us. And sometimes, we’d rather spend time alone.
But most importantly, all relationships with others reflect the relationship we have with ourselves.
Toxic relationships helped me skyrocket my spiritual growth, though I didn’t always realize it. Every dispute showed me my greatest fears and urged me to explore: What’s keeping me from respecting my boundaries? How do these fears control me?
My inner child suffered greatly and craved my attention. So, I slowly learned how to heal past wounds. I offered myself the gift of self-acceptance.
At times, we cling to unhealthy relationships because we fear being alone, abandoned or broken. Those fears all come from past hurts that need our utmost care.
It’s common to feel like we’re wandering in an endless tundra. Books, teachers or friends can guide us, but we must embrace our inherent aloneness on the path.
If we can welcome our feelings of isolation, a sense of our inner wholeness eventually arises.
That’s when we feel fully connected with all there is.
3) Experiencing synchronicity and psychic abilities
Fortunately, the universe speaks to us!
Signs, omens and intuitive hits appear more often, as we align with our true selves. If you’re like me, these winks from the universe can be life-saving in our darkest moments.
For example, when I was having a particularly difficult time in a relationship, I contemplated leaving for good. The next day, I found a quarter with a bird on the back at a laundromat. This bird resembled the one my partner and I often drew together, which brought me to tears.
Life communicates to us in numerous ways: dreams, animal symbols, numbers, people’s random remarks and even TV shows. We just have to hush our mind enough to recognize the signs—and act on them.
It’s not always easy though.
Our busy minds can send us mixed messages. We may be too eager for signs and misinterpret a situation. In that case, it’s best to calm down and wait for clearer signs.
Psychic abilities also become activated and manifest in 4 key ways:
- Clairaudience (hearing voices/sounds)
- Clairvoyance (seeing images)
- Clairsentience (recognizing feelings)
- Claircognizance (knowing)
Most people resonate with 1 or 2 “clairs”, but we can receive messages through all 4. (This blog article discusses how to strengthen our intuition.)
Healing abilities, telepathy, chakra activations and other mystical experiences can also become the norm.
4) Adopting higher values
The spiritual journey flips our world upside down.
Now we know our beliefs and values aren’t ours to begin with. They come from our families, culture and society.
Pursuing external sources of happiness, like a degree, job or status, don’t make sense anymore. We might feel the urge to move to a peaceful place, seek a fulfilling job or declutter our home.
Spiritual values naturally compose our North Star. For example:
- Love
- Peace
- Compassion
- Truth
- Unity
- Gratitude
- Generosity
Since we feel connected to others, we try to pay more attention to our words and actions. We become acutely aware of others’ energy, which could motivate us to reach out or run away!
External stimuli like loud noises, crowds, artificial lighting and strong smells can keep us from enjoying dinner at a restaurant or social gatherings. So it’s often easier to stay at home or take refuge in nature.
Animals might dare to come closer, as they sense our loving energy. Our communion with nature may inspire us to start a vegan diet, favor organic food or buy ethical clothing.
And of course, we feel drawn to keep a spiritual practice, like yoga, meditation, qi gong, journaling or praying—though we can simply be more present in daily life.
5) Increasing compassion
One of the most humbling lessons for me on the spiritual journey is learning how to surrender.
When I began embracing painful emotions, I felt like a toddler being forced to finish mushy peas. I couldn’t just get up to go play. I had to sit with all of my emotional mess.
But my inner work paid off. With time, I made peace with myself. Though I’m always learning, I can hold light and darkness—in myself and others.
My spiritual journey has shown me how easy it is to unconsciously harm ourselves and others when we’re suffering. Our vulnerability moves me to extend compassion to everyone as much as possible.
When we realize we’re all Spirit, we can’t help but desire to make the world a better place.
The natural course of things
Everyone is already on a spiritual journey.
We’re just evolving at different rates.
It doesn’t matter whether we’ve always known our true nature or we awaken much later on. All of it has its place in the bigger picture.
Ultimately, each one of us will release who we think we are, gain wisdom from relationships, experience synchronicities, develop compassion and align with consciousness.
It’s an exquisite paradox because we’re simply returning home.
Want some free support?
I’m offering free EFT Tapping sessions in exchange for a short interview via Zoom.
I enjoy connecting with other women and learning about their challenges related to confidence, boundaries and relationships.
In the first 15 minutes, I’ll ask questions like “How did you discover me?” for new content ideas. In the last 15 minutes, you’ll get an EFT session to feel calm and clear. (Yes, things can shift that quickly.)
This offer isn’t a discovery call, where we discuss my paid services. It’s a fun opportunity to connect and support each other!
If you feel inspired to work with me, we can book a free call to make sure we’re a good fit.
I look forward to connecting with you!