enlightenment

How Long Does Spiritual Awakening Take?

Are you getting a bit antsy for the spiritual results of your meditations, visualizations, and spiritual practice? Once that desire is ignited in you it can feel frustrating trying and waiting for that consciousness expanding experience of spiritual awakening. So how long does it take to have a spiritual awakening? And how long does it last when it does finally happen? Short answer: It may take many lifetimes for you to have your first spiritual awakening, but when it does happen it often hits in an instant. If you have the desire to “wake up” then you’re probably ripe for a spiritual awakening in this lifetime. How long does it take to have a spiritual awakening? Because we live our human experience in time, but our full spiritual reality is outside of time we need to look at this question from a couple different perspectives. You already are enlightened… If we look at spiritual awakening from an absolute perspective, you already are awakened. In the fullest sense where time does not exist but only pure divine consciousness, you are already enlightened. How does this work? To be infinitely conscious means that you are able to fabricate a reality where you feel limited and “not awake”. That is what you are doing here right now. Pretending to be asleep, simply experiencing separation from infinite consciousness. The process of awakening in time is just to remember what has been here the entire time through our awareness. Awakening may take many lifetimes Awakening doesn’t have a set amount of time or lifetimes required for it to happen, but it likely will take many lifetimes (possibly hundreds or even thousands of lifetimes). In the human physical world where we live in the confines of time and space we are subjected to the cycle of birth and death and reincarnation. Spirit decides to come to live a physical human life thus subjecting it to samsara willingly, knowing one day in one lifetime they will awaken and break out of samsara. The eventual way out of this incarnate reality is awakening. Awakening will happen soon. If you’re asking this question and are concerned with your spiritual growth you are likely close to the end of the process. Essentially if you have the desire to awaken you are ripe for a spiritual awakening. Continue to seek spiritual growth and awakening with a pure heart and you will certainly find what you are looking for. See my article “Spiritual awakening at a young age? Yes, it’s possible” How long does a spiritual awakening last? The experience of spiritual awakening often happens in an instant. Awakening is a sudden experience when it does happen. You may find yourself in an awakened state of consciousness that is actually just temporary. An example of this temporary awakening is when a psychedelic user has ego death and merges with reality. Though the experience only lasts as long as the trip does, the insight will likely stay in the user’s mind for long afterwards. It’s important to distinguish the difference between enlightenment and spiritual awakening here. The rare yogi who achieves full enlightenment can stay in an awakened state of consciousness for the rest of their lives and can leave the reincarnation cycle. Most people who have a spiritual awakening aren’t experiencing full enlightenment and thus the experience is temporary. A spiritual awakening experience can last just a few seconds, a couple minutes, hours, or even days.

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Awakening Vs. Enlightenment: What’s The Difference?

If you’re a spiritual seeker you’ve probably heard the terms “awakening” and “enlightenment” before. When I first started my spiritual journey I wondered what the difference was between these 2 terms and they often confused me. Are awakening and enlightenment interchangeable words? Are they different spiritual processes? What is the difference between “awakening” and “enlightenment”? Awakening refers to the process of attaining higher consciousness and greater insight, whereas enlightenment can be thought of as a spectrum of how conscious and aware of universal truth you are. Enlightenment is the scale that you gauge your consciousness from. Are you fully enlightened? Partially enlightened? Awakening is more like a verb however. It’s the process of “waking up” to divine truth. The historical context of awakening and enlightenment The English word enlightenment comes from the word Bodhi in Buddhism which means “the knowledge or wisdom of a Buddha”. However, where things get interesting is that Buddhism also has another separate word for awakening. The word they use is Budh which is a verb and means “awakening” or “to awaken”. So Buddhism has 2 separate words that are equivalent to the English version of awakening and enlightenment. Buddhist word: English translation: Part of speech: Bodhi Enlightenment; the knowledge of a Buddha noun Budh Awakening; to awaken verb The Buddhists knew the difference between these two terms and their significance. What is awakening? The term awakening originates from the image of waking up in the morning. We awaken from a dream into what we know to be a truer reality. In spiritual awakening we once again awaken to an even greater reality than we thought we were in. Notice how awakening is used like a verb here. Spiritual awakening is the process of realizing greater spiritual truth and insight. Those individual moments of spiritual breakthrough are what we would call a spiritual awakening. > see my article “What Is A Spiritual Awakening?” Awakening is a moment and a process of insight and greater clarity. What is enlightenment? Enlightenment on the other hand is more about our greater continual state of consciousness. If enlightenment is the scale on which we measure our level consciousness, awakenings are the things that can move us up into greater enlightenment. Awakenings will lead to greater enlightenment. Buddha for example can be known as a fully enlightened individual, meaning he topped out his awareness and understanding of the universe. He awakened fully. Whereas if you had your first awakening yesterday, you may have woken up so to speak but you are by no means fully enlightened. This also means that we are able to have multiple spiritual awakenings on our path towards greater enlightenment. > see my article “Can You Have Multiple Spiritual Awakenings?” You see, enlightenment is the spectrum of how awake we are. How other spiritual seekers define them At the end of the day, these words mean different things to different people. Because of this subjectivity involved I asked a community of spiritual seekers what they thought about the differences between awakening and enlightenment. Anonymous reddit user spirit_is_fire said: Whereas this seeker seemed to say that it doesn’t really matter and that there isn’t much of a difference: I think this spiritual seeker said it the best: These words are subjective and will mean different things to different people. Whatever definitions you find most helpful for “awakening” and “enlightenment” is fine as long as it makes sense to you and your journey. I hope my take on the difference between enlightenment and awakening can give you some clarity on the topic, especially since there appears to be many different ways of interpreting them. Conclusion Though there may be subjective differences when it comes to the words “awakening” and “enlightenment” I have found in my personal experience and in Buddhist literature that they have distinctly different meanings. Awakening tends to point to the process of raising your consciousness and is defined by moments of spiritual insight. Whereas enlightenment is the spectrum on which we measure how much we’ve woken up. In my personal opinion, awakening is how we become more enlightened. Discover what stage of your spiritual awakening journey you’re in. Take the free quiz here.

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Spiritual Awakening: What Stage Are You In? (Quiz)

Take the free spiritual journey quiz below to find out what stage you’re at. Spiritual awakening is a highly individualized and subjective process. There is no perfect model or method for awakening and most people don’t know where they are or where they could be in their spiritual development. However, there are several distinct stages that most seekers must go through in their spiritual journey. Here are the 6 stages of spiritual awakening: These stages are modeled after the 10 ox herding pictures of Zen Buddhism that represent the stages of awakening. Although everyone’s spiritual journey is different, there is a generally well-documented path toward awakening and enlightenment. The 6 Stages of Awakening Stage 1 – Asleep At this stage you are completely asleep and not even aware that something greater may possibly exist. You’re just living your life as most people do. Those in stage 1 may associate spirituality with religion and dismiss the possibility of divinity outside of a religious ideology. There is nothing inherently wrong with being in this stage, and many people who stay in stage 1 are able to live happy and purposeful lives. 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 begin hearing about spiritual awakening and may feel like something is “off” about reality. This leads to greater openness to the possibility of something greater and increased inquisitiveness toward spirituality. People in stage 2 are often intrigued by general philosophy, eastern spiritual teachings, and the nature of reality. You see the possibility of something greater in this stage but are unable to actually know it for certain. People in stage 2 lack the first awakening experience necessary to fuel their desire to go “all in” on the spiritual path. Later in stage 2 you may become very intrigued with the idea of “waking up” and pursue spiritual philosophy more intensely. potential trouble spots Stage 3 – The First Awakening > see also “What Is A Spiritual Awakening” In this stage, you experience awakening for the very first time, although it may only be for a few minutes or even just a couple of seconds. After your first experience with awakening, an internal fire is ignited inside of you. The desire for the spiritual path takes hold as the profound experience of spiritual truth dawns on you for the first time. This stage can come as a great relief for spiritual seekers who have been antsy to see what all the hype was about. After your first glimpse at awakening, you now know that the spiritual path is worth pursuing. This stage begins with an awakening, or profound experience of divine truth, and continues with a deep desire for more spiritual fruits. potential trouble spots Stage 4 – Growth & Plateau Stage 4 is the troubleshooting phase. You may have several sporadic awakenings spread out through this phase, but you don’t entirely know how to access them consistently. This stage is less about a fiery passion that arose in stage 3 and is more about commitment to the spiritual path and steady learning. Many spiritual roadblocks will be encountered and overcome during the growth and plateau phase. Stage 4 is called “Growth & Plateau” because of the series of spiritual plateaus and then growth that accompanies the transcendence of those plateaus. This is one of the longest stages out of the 6. potential trouble spots Stage 5 – Integration As you continue to raise your consciousness you begin to find a deeper sense of sacredness in every aspect of life and reality. As you raise your consciousness higher and experience more spiritual truth, you’ll begin to integrate what you’ve experienced into everyday 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. All of your previous awakenings and the spiritual truth you have accumulated in previous stages come together in this stage. 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 as if it is divine. Spiritual truth permeates your reality and experiences. Throughout this stage there is an ongoing commitment to spiritual growth and self-discovery. potential trouble spots Stage 6 – Transcendence Transcendence is the 6th and final stage of awakening. This stage is about leaving behind the idea of a separate self. In stage 6 you become both simultaneously detached and more deeply connected with the world around you. Stage 6 is a nondual stage, meaning your understanding of reality and of yourself is holistic and complete within the universe. You transcend the identification with a separate human ego and understand directly that you are an inseparable aspect of all that exists. In stage 6 you understand the highest truths of the universe and have direct access to the divinity of the universe. Notable examples of people who were in stage 6 include: Neem Karoli Baba, Ram Dass, Alan Watts, & Eckhart Tolle So What Do I Do next? Congratulations! Now you know what stage of your spiritual journey you’re in. With this knowledge you can see what stage is next for you and what potential trouble spots you may encounter trying to get there. It’s important that you have a baseline for where you’re at and where you’re going. Otherwise, you’re wandering through the spiritual path in the dark. Find a guru If you genuinely want to go all in on this journey towards awakening you may want to find a spiritual mentor. A guru can help guide you on your journey towards awakening. A guru may also be able to expedite or accelerate your spiritual growth, as they’ve done most of the hard work already and can share this with you. > see my

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20 Signs & Symptoms of Spiritual Awakening

Spiritual awakening is a term used to describe a profound shift in consciousness and newly found increase in awareness of your true nature. Spiritual awakenings lead us deeper in connection with the divinity of our universe. An awakening can be an empowering and transformative experience, leading to a greater understanding of life and purpose. But how do you know if you’re getting closer to that sought after divinity? What are the signs of spiritual awakening you should look out for? Today we’re going to explore some of the most common signs of spiritual awakening to help you identify and understand this transformative process. The 2 main types of spiritual awakening There are two schools of thought in the realm of spiritual awakening in eastern traditions. Gradual enlightenment and sudden enlightenment. Awakening can and should be talked about from multiple angles since different religious and cultural traditions define awakening in different ways. In fact, the two schools of thought often go head to head in debate. For that reason we’ll look at both here. Sudden Enlightenment The idea of a sudden enlightenment comes from the Zen tradition in Buddhism. The word used to describe this is Subitism, which means sudden awakening. This is the idea that pops into our mind when we think of awakening. The one moment when the universe blesses us with divine wisdom and we merge with the cosmos and feel oneness with everything! …apparently. This idea of complete enlightenment in one moment is more a fantasy than reality. The truth is that you might have multiple minor awakenings over the course of your spiritual journey. Though they may feel profound at the time, they are most likely temporary. Gradual Awakening Tibetan Buddhism, which is noted as the original Buddhist path, follows the notion of gradual awakening. The original dharmic path involves gradually following a step by step path to gain higher consciousness which could potentially take eons over the course of multiple lifetimes. Gradual enlightenment refers to a process of spiritual growth and awakening that occurs gradually over time through consistent spiritual practice and self-reflection. Both together The reality is that both are true in their own way. Gradual and sudden awakening happen simultaneously. You should commit yourself to a slow growth process in your spiritual journey, reflecting and practicing everyday. However, if you’re serious about the spiritual path you will have moments of sudden awakening. These enlightening moments are profound bursts of insight, awareness, or wisdom. It is not a book knowledge you learn, rather it is a profound experience that appears in your awareness. Although these moments of awakening don’t last forever, they leave you one step closer to the divine. Multiple sudden awakenings are a key part of the gradual path and it’s important to reflect on and integrate awakening experiences into your life after a profound enlightenment. > discover what stage of awakening you’re in with our “Spiritual Awakening Quiz” The signs of spiritual awakening 1. You’ve had an awakening experience before If you’ve had an awakening experience in the past, this is a great sign that you’re beginning to wake up. The truth is that the awakening process includes a cycle between waking up and falling asleep again. Some days you might feel your consciousness expanding and others you feel miserable and cut off from the universe. The good news is, if you’ve ever had an awakening before you’ll likely have another in the future. The path to waking up will include many peaks, valleys, and awakenings along the way. 2. Disconnection from materialistic values and social norms During spiritual awakening, an individual may question their previous beliefs about success, happiness, and material wealth and begin to see these as less important in the larger scheme of things. You may have a growing detachment from the beliefs and values that have been imposed by society and shift towards a more inward and subjective understanding of reality. 3. You have increased intuition As you awaken, you may experience an increased sense of intuition. This can take the form of vivid dreams, inner guidance, or a heightened sense of knowing. This inner guidance comes from a growing connection with your true nature. The closer you get to your divine nature, the more its force will guide you. You begin to trust and follow your gut more, listening to the subtle messages you receive from your mind and body. This intuition can provide us with valuable insights and guidance as we navigate life, helping us to make decisions with added clarity and confidence. 4. You notice your perspective shifting Spiritual awakening often leads to a shift in perspective, causing us to see the world in a different light. This shift can lead to a greater appreciation for life’s simple pleasures, a deeper understanding of our own thoughts and emotions, and a greater sense of gratitude and joy. During the process of waking up, your perspective will change many times. Things you once took for granted become peculiar and things you once found important may seem unimportant to you later in your journey. As your awareness grows you may start to see the bigger picture, fitting observations and ideas into a bigger more divine paradigm like puzzle pieces fit into an infinite puzzle. 5. Dissociation from your body This one may sound strange, but you may start to disassociate from your body as your sense of self grows. As you awaken you may start to realize that reality isn’t quite as it seems. One major awakening you can have during your spiritual journey is that you are not your body. It’s possible to disidentify with your human form and identify with the greater divinity of the universe. As you draw closer to awakening and this mergence with the universe, you may start to feel dissociated from your body. You may also start to feel like you are observing a body or observing this human you call “yourself” or “me”. 6. You feel more at peace

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