“When you know who you are, you are free.”
— Papaji
My goal with this guide is that by the end of the article you will understand what this quote is pointing towards and know exactly the steps you need to take to break into this highest version of yourself.
Yes, awakening is an exploration of consciousness. But ultimately it is an exploration of your truest self.
As I’m sure you’ve heard from different spiritual teachers “you are the awareness” or “you are the watcher”. But what does that really mean? And how do I actually experience that?
The first thing you need to know is that awakening, enlightenment, and higher consciousness are not things that can be understood through your mind. Higher consciousness can only be known through direct experience of it.
The Many Types of Awakening
To know how to experience awakening you must first know the many types of awakening. How can you know the path if you don’t know the destination?
Each of the following types will have different techniques, experiences, and effects associated with them.
There are generally 2 main types of profound spiritual experiences you can have (though there are many other sub types that fall within these categories).
1. Samadhi & Enlightenment
Samadhi is a profound altered state of consciousness where the sense of a separate self dissolves and extraordinary bliss is experienced.
There are many levels to samadhi. Some are more accessible than others.
The earlier stages of samadhi are where you experience deep bliss and dissolve a sense of a separate self.
Buddhists call this dissolving “non-duality”, as in there is not two (self and environment).
The later stages of samadhi are where you transcend even bliss and merge with universal consciousness entirely. This is called many names by several different spiritual traditions including: Enlightenment, Moksha, Kaivalya, and Nirvana.
To learn about all 4 stages of samadhi you can read this resource here.
2. Kundalini Awakening
The second major type of spiritual experience you can have is an energetic awakening. You’ve heard of chakras before, yes?
Well, there is truth to their existence and they can be more powerful than you might think.
Kundalini is a potent divine energy that lays at the base of the spine in all humans (for most it lays dormant for their whole lives).
When this kundalini energy awakens it rises through the body’s energy centers (chakras) and can ultimately lead to higher states of consciousness (samadhi) as it reaches the crown chakra.
It can also lead to other powerful experiences such as:
- Heart chakra opening
- Major life changes
- States of samadhi
- Bliss
The 6 Stages of Spiritual Awakening
If you’ve already taken this quiz on my website then you know which the 6 stages you’re currently in.
There is a general path that most spiritual seekers inevitably follow on their path to higher consciousness and spiritual awakening.
Stage 1 – Asleep
At this stage you are not even aware that something greater may possibly exist. You’re just living your life as most people do.
This is where everyone begins their journey, unaware of the profound and infinite rewards of the path toward awakening.
Stage 2 – Spiritually Curious
In stage 2 spiritual curiosity begins. You may feel like something is “off” about reality or have a deep inner desire for something more than your current existence offers.
Those in this stage lack that first awakening experience necessary to fuel their desire to go “all in” on spiritual practice.
Stage 3 – Glimpsing Awakening
You experience awakening for the very first time. Although it may only be for a few minutes or even just a couple of seconds, you finally see from personal experience that something more is possible.
This is super exciting! and will cause you to have deep desire for more.
Stage 4 – Growth & Plateau
You may begin to experience more states of higher consciousness during this trouble shooting and spiritual experimentation phase.
You’ll encounter many spiritual roadblocks and overcome them during the growth and plateau phase.
Stage 5 – Integration
As you experience more awakenings and begin to understand the truths of samadhi more deeply you find a sense of sacredness in every aspect of life.
Every moment becomes rich and full of meaning in this stage. This isn’t to say you’ll be free of suffering, but meaning and grace are found even in your suffering and negative experiences.
This stage is about dissolving the separation between your spiritual self and your regular everyday self. In the integration stage, you begin to live your every day in divinity.
Stage 6 – Transcendence
Eventually through grace, humility, and surrender you may experience the later stages of samadhi known as Dharmamegha Samadhi. This is the final stage of Samadhi before total enlightenment and kaivalya.
Transcendence includes both this final stage of samadhi and the total enlightenment it inevitably leads to.
This is completely indescribable with words of course.
Kaivalya is the state of complete liberation. In the Buddhist and Hindu traditions it is freedom from the cycles of birth and death. The ego is permanently dissolved, the mind is transcended, and the Self rests in its own nature eternally.
How to Actually Break into Greater Consciousness
So how do you actually experience it?
Though the later stages are achieved through grace and surrender, the earlier stages and states of consciousness can be accessed with personal will, practice, and technique.
3 Powerful Techniques To Experience Awakening
1. Meditation (take your pick!)
Almost any style of meditation can lead to higher states of consciousness and samadhi.
I know, not what you wanted to hear. But listen, if you’re going to break into higher states of consciousness you need to understand the nature of your awareness and get familiar with it. Meditation allows for that.
You don’t have to do hour long sits totally in silence either. In fact my most profound breakthroughs happened when I was doing gentler and less strict meditation sessions.
2. Kundalini Pranayama
If you feel brave enough and ready to work with your kundalini, there are many techniques to begin working with it.
The most common technique used to raise your kundalini is a pranayama called “the breathe of fire” which involves a rhythmic deep belly breathing.
You can also just allow it to spontaneously arise during other spiritual practices (which it often does for advanced spiritual practitioners & seekers).
3. Grace & Surrender
At the end of the day a lot of it happens through grace, meaning that you can’t exactly plan for how or when the awakening will present itself. Having a spiritual practice is like an invitation, but only the universe can present the experience to you.
This is especially true of the more profound and later stages of samadhi.
Your job is to continue with a spiritual practice you enjoy and surrender to those awakenings when they arise.
These are just 3 of the most common techniques and ways to experience higher states of consciousness. There are dozens if not hundreds of techniques out there for this. Some more powerful than others.
I know this process can seem overwhelming. It’s hard to know exactly where or how to start this amazing journey. I made the spiritual awakening accelerator for seekers like you as a step by step guide to breaking into higher consciousness.
If you want my most powerful techniques and a complete road map to spiritual awakeing, this is it.
Break Into Greater Consciousness And Experience Awakening
Preparing For Awakening
If you’re an optimizer like I am you might want to do everything you can to make spiritual awakening a likely outcome of your spiritual practice.
Here are some things that can really help you on your journey to breaking into greater consciousness.
Setting an intention
Figure out your “why”. Do you simply feel called to this experience? Are you attempting to live a happier, more expansive life? Do you want to evolve spiritually?
Decide why you want this and set a tangible intention that this is what you’re pursing and what you want.
Writing this down can help a lot.
Don’t underestimate the power of a simple intention. Your subconscious self takes these things very seriously.
Optional preparation
There are some things you can do that will probably help but aren’t necessarily essential.
- Optimize your diet for spiritual awakening
- Create a sacred space for meditation, mantra, and other spiritual practices
- Seek community, find an awakening buddy, or spiritual mentor
- Journal
- Explore dream work and astral projection
Struggles You May Encounter
Resistance
The consciousness shift necessary for awakening can sometimes feel scary to jump into. During meditation practice you’ll likely feel things shift and this can scary.
As you feel this possibility of awakening you might feel fear causing you to revert back into a limited (but comfortable) level of awareness.
It’s important that you surrender in those exact moments. Any time you feel resistance or fear, that is your cue to surrender into whatever shift is happening and be in the moment as fully as possible.
Impatience
The moment of awakening can come more naturally for some and may take longer for others.
I know you want it to happen! It’s a beautiful and profound thing, but it takes time.
If you keep practicing you eventually will have a spiritual awakening. Just be patient, stay grateful, and remember to surrender.
If you’re looking for guidance on this journey take advantage of the spiritual awakening accelerator. If you’re looking for the exact techniques, practices, and guidance to experience higher consciousness this was made exactly for you.
And this isn’t just about experiencing some good feeling and “cool” state of being. Awakening is about discovering your true nature. This is divine. Take this seriously and approach it with respect.
Good luck seeker 🙂 feel free to shoot me a message if you need any help or guidance as well.
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.
