Have you ever felt like as you pursued your spiritual journey no one else understood what you were going through? That was my experience when I went through a spiritual awakening a while back.
While my spiritual awakening was a beautiful and transformative process, it was also a time of loneliness and struggle. In this article, I want to share my personal experience of why spiritual awakening can be lonely and hard, and how I navigated it.
Spiritual awakening can be difficult and lonely because it is such a personal and unique experience. You may want to share your profound experiences and insights with others, but the truth is most people may never truly understand.
Painful symptoms of spiritual awakening
When you think about awakening spiritually, you may think of something positive and beautiful. This is not always the case in the beginning. Sometimes a spiritual awakening can manifest in negative ways when we resist it or don’t know how to handle it.
> check out my full list of symptoms here “20 Signs of Spiritual Awakening”
1. Heightened emotions
A spiritual awakening can leave you with an open heart and increased sensitivity. As spiritual energy flows through you it can open up a lot emotions.
Sometimes this can look like intense crying for seemingly no reason. To others this may turn into anxiety.
The important thing to remember if this happens to you is that you surrender. Let the emotions flow and run their course. It is all part of the process.
See also “Anxious After Spiritual Awakening? Here’s Why”
2. Losing relationships
As you begin to wake up, you may find that some friends and family aren’t good for your life. This may cause you to distance yourself from those negative relationships. However this can create a sense of loss and grief.
It’s important to find people you can talk to about your spiritual journey. Foster new and beneficial relationships that nurture your spirit and grow you as a person.
3. Awareness of your shadow
A spiritual awakening can bring up lots of junk in your psyche that need to be sorted out. If you have a large shadow, this can be a particularly difficult process. Spiritual awakening, though difficult, will cleanse and heal these parts of you.
This process will bring up internal issues and parts of yourself you dislike. This is happening so you can become aware of it and heal it. But when it comes up, it can be particularly painful.
Why spiritual awakening can be so lonely and difficult
There are few struggles inner struggles that can occur when you have a spiritual awakening. A profound spiritual insight could change your perspective so much that it feels like you’re in totally new territory with a ton of new struggles despite the beautiful transformation that it is.
Here are some common difficulties after spiritual awakening and some personal examples.
1. Feeling disconnected from loved ones
During my spiritual awakening, I felt like I was on a completely different wavelength than my friends and family. I wanted to talk about things like consciousness and the universe, but they didn’t seem interested or didn’t understand what I was saying.
I felt like I was speaking a different language and no one really new what I was talking about. At best, I’d get supportive nods.
This can leave you feeling isolated and disconnected.
2. Spiritual awakening leaves you questioning everything
Another challenge of my spiritual awakening was the constant questioning of everything I had ever believed or known. After I came to the direct and startling realization that I am not my body, I started to question what else I had wrong about myself and reality.
I started to question my job, my relationships, my habits, and even my identity.
This was a deeply unsettling process, but at the same time I became excited. My curiosity switched into high gear. All of the sudden it felt like I needed more answers.
3. You don’t care about the same things after a spiritual awakening
To some this might be a blessing, to others it will be a struggle. There was a lot that seemed irrelevant after my spiritual awakening. Priorities shifted after my spiritual awakening. This meant that I cared less about unimportant things, but this also posed a problem.
For example, I cared less about school when my family expected me to really give that my all. This then created conflict between what I was expected to do and my new values. That’s just one example, but there are plenty of other places in life this can happen.
4. A profound spiritual awakening can leave you feeling nihilistic
On your journey towards waking up and spiritual awakening, you may come to some startling realizations. One very common realization you may have is that nothing really matters. This may lead to a spiritual depression or confusion for why anything exists at all.
The good news is that there is light at the end of that belief. You can either choose to see that truth with a negative light or a positive light. If you think nothing matters and that’s bad, then you’ll fall into a depression and believe there’s no reason to go on doing anything.
But imagine… nothing matters, and you can do ANYTHING. That’s very much a good thing in my opinion. It’s all a matter of perspective, but the struggle to get there is definitely real.
> see my article “20 Signs Of Spiritual Awakening & How To Know You’re Waking Up”
How do you navigate the struggle of a spiritual journey?
The biggest thing that transformed my loneliness during my journey was having an insight into the difference between loneliness and aloneness.
Loneliness is a feeling of emptiness and lack of connection. It was what I felt for a while as I longed to share my spiritual experiences with those close to me.
Aloneness on the other hand is simply being alone. The key with aloneness is that you can learn to be alone and yet still feel connected.
The truth is that your spiritual journey will give you that connection if you just keep going. The connection you can feel from experiencing the divine nature of the universe will be infinitely more powerful than the connection you get from a chat with a friend.
> see my article “Spiritual Awakening: What Stage Are You In? (Quiz)”
1. Finding a community or spiritual mentor
That being said, finding someone who you can relate to and discuss with on your journey can be SO valuable. Try to find people online on forums or spiritual social media accounts to connect with.
This will provide a safe and supportive space where you can connect with others who understand what you’re going through. Don’t expect there to be many around though, as the spiritual path is a path not often taken.
A fantastic way to find support through this journey of awakening is by finding a spiritual mentor. It was invaluable to me to have someone many steps ahead who also understands where I was now.
> see my article “How To Find A Spiritual Mentor”
2. Cultivating spiritual practices
Another thing that helped through this journey was practicing spiritual practices and techniques that helped me to stay grounded and centered. For example: meditation, yoga, and journaling.
Meditation or mindfulness in general is a great way to ground yourself and dive deeper into your spiritual journey. These practices helped me to connect with my inner guidance and find a sense of peace.
3. Trust and surrender
Surrender is more important than you might think. In fact, I would say it is the most important part of the spiritual journey.
Trust the process and surrender to the unknown. I realized that my spiritual journey was a personal one, and that there’s no right or wrong way to navigate it.
By trusting in the universe and letting go of my fears whenever possible I was able to fall more deeply in love with life and the process of waking up.
Conclusion
Yes, spiritual awakening can be a lonely and hard journey, but it can also be one of the most transformative experiences of your life. By finding a supportive community, practicing mindfulness, and trusting in the process, you can navigate this journey with grace and courage.
Hi, I’m Ryan. I’m a meditation teacher, spiritual seeker, and founder of nurtureyourspirit.org. I’m glad you’re here! I founded Nurture Your Spirit because of my love of meditation, spirituality, and spiritual awakening.
